I think there are some modern upgrades to the thing that make it possible, some of the modernized t-55s are barely recognizable as such.
And a 100 mm gun is still a pretty big gun, so likely not fun to get hit with.
So, assuming comparable crew and not grossly different on some upgrades (for example, if their optics are in similar classes of at least tech level) it's probably a closer fight than one would assume given the age difference. The T 55 really is a fairly solid tank design.
There was the Iraqi T-55 Enigma variant which apparently uparmoured it somewhat but even the AW wiki is scathing about the effectiveness of that.
"
The T-54/55 Medium Tank family is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic armored vehicles of all times. Throughout the Cold War, even with the appearance of much more modern vehicles, its distinctive silhouette remained one of the symbols of Soviet armored might. It was widely exported and used by dozens of countries and even though it was already quite obsolete by the 1970s, it received numerous upgrades and continues to serve in some countries to this day, participating in many (if not most) third world conflicts.
Iraq in particular acquired a large number of T-55s throughout the years, even though tracking the exact numbers is very difficult. According to the most common account, Iraq purchased 300 T-55 tanks in 1973 following the Yom Kippur war losses with roughly more 1500 tanks of the same type acquired from Poland and the Soviet Union as well as from other smaller sources in the 1980s along with 1500 more Chinese Type 59 and Type 69 tanks. A large number of these tanks were, once again, lost during the Iran-Iraq war that took place between 1980 and 1988 and by the end of the conflict, the country, albeit undefeated, was seriously weakened with much of its modern equipment lost to the Iranians.
With its budgets depleted and most of its modern tanks gone, Iraq decided to upgrade its aging T-55s on a budget, fitting them with an indigenous armor kit. This armor kit, consisting of massive armor boxes, was clearly inspired by the Warsaw Pact M-series armor upgrades. The boxes of this set consisted of angled aluminum plates (15mm), steel plates (4mm) and rubber plates (5mm) on top of each other, separated by approximately 25mm gaps of air. Five or six such composite plates formed the inside of the turret armor boxes made of 5mm steel plates.
The official designation of this tank is unknown, although some sources state that they were called “Al Faw” by the Iraqis. The T-55 Enigma name is unofficial and likely appeared only after Operation Desert Storm when the news of these tanks started arriving in the west and nobody really knew what they were looking at (an enigma). All the Enigmas built were likely lost during Operation Desert Storm.
As combat vehicles, these tanks were quite useless. At least five Enigmas are confirmed to have been knocked out by the Coalition forces and were subsequently recovered as military trophies. The most famous one is currently located in Bovington. "
