Glorious Gasser "Cherry Bomb"

This crimson cart, a 1957 210 Post Chevy dubbed “Cherry Bomb”proudly sits in the stable of Jeff and Tracy Spears. The Spears knew they wanted a 60’s straight axel gasser but from there it “just got out of hand”. The final product was a little bit more than they bargained for but the fruits of their labor and love ended them front and center at the 2019 SEMA Show and that ain’t too shabby!

This was a full body off restoration that was 2 years in the making. When Jeff found the car it was a black shell, an ex-drag car with 27,000 miles on it. The relic was turned over to the pros at Roy’s Paint and Performance in Plymouth, Iowa and the rest is nostalgia loving, go-go gasser history.

The remote controlled flip front end is the most unique aspect of the all steel “Cherry Bomb”. There were no cuts to the tails or the fenders. Rather, it was all welded together, the gaps filled and then painted. The result, is a stock look when the front end is down, stunning and super cool to boot.

The details on this ride are over the top. Ever wonder what 12 pounds of metal flake looks like? Well, take a gander at “Cherry Bomb” and see for yourself, and no less than 16 coats of clear could tame all that sparkle. To give himself more room for the lettering, Jeff used ’55 Chevy side chrome rather than ’57. Joey “Taz” Henschen out of Cincinnati, Ohio did all of the hand lettering, folks there’s not a single sticker is on this ride. By the by Tracy named the car “Cherry Bomb”.

The Spears did the machined billet aluminum work and engraving at their machine shop. L&D Chrome plating out of Minneapolis took care of all the bling.

1957 210 Post Chevy Gasser Cherry Bomb SEMA Show (40)

In the cabin of gorgeous gasser are 1967 GTO bucket seats, a 14 point roll cage, frenched gauges and custom LED lighting. All together creating a vintage cockpit with a modern flair.

A 1973 454 big block bored to 486ci topped with a 871 blower and 2 quick fuel Holley 750 carbs sits between the rails. The power plant has period correct cast aluminum heads and a custom aluminum radiator and tubes. A turbo 400 tranny gets those ponies to the pavement. Doug’s Headers are married to hand fabricated 3inch stainless chrome bent exhaust pipes. Magnaflow mufflers add the perfect growl.

“Cherry Bomb” still has the ’62 Pontiac/Olds rear end that was running in the car back in the 60’s, updated with Fabcraft Metalworks internals. It doesn’t get much more period correct than that. Jeff changed “Cherry Bomb” from leaf spring to coil-over with custom built ladder bars. Just to keep the over the top theme consistent from the frame down she’s all chrome. “Cherry Bomb” rolls on Cooker Tire cheater slicks on the rear and period correct pie cutters up front. The Wheel Vintiques rims shine and Wilwood brakes bring all those ponies to a swift halt.

For the go go juice, there’s a hand fabricated 34 gallon gas tank. According to Jeff, “Cherry Bomb” isn’t all that bad on fuel mileage. And speaking of mileage, yes he drives it. At the time of our conversation it had about 300 miles on it. “Cherry Bomb” has gone for a trip down Beech Bend Drag Strip and with the cutouts covering the exhaust, the ’57 even goes to church on Sundays!