We’re not gonna do that, it’s extra weight and we’re trying to keep it as light as possible. Plus it takes away from the nostalgic look. The halo bar and down bars on the 10 point cage is bad enough.
Got the frame done and everything painted, got the seats bolted in to see how they looked, and got the axle bolted in for the final time. Got the steering box on too. Gotta go to the bolt store in the morning to get bolts to finish the steering up, and we’ll have the front end done tomorrow. Starting to put stuff on for the final time. It’s getting exciting.
Looks great. Dumb question for you. Does the bar along the rocker need to be there? I wasn’t sure if we need 1 or what the reason was for it Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Answer is... If the rocker panels or floors are not factory, those bars have to be there. Sent from my Moto G Play using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Actually Tri fives dont require a rocker bar per nhra rules because the frame is wide enough. But it’s chromoly so it weighs only a couple pounds, adds rigitity in the frame, and makes a good place to mount the body to.
Steering is done, and it’s back up rolling. Gotta mount the rear springs and the track locator, and the suspension will be done. Gonna mount the body this week and start mounting fiberglass. Hopefully it’ll be in color in a few weeks.
They’re empi seats I got them from speedway, and yes I got the black vinyl covers. They’re better than the rci lowbacks like I put in my 57 and the covers are nicer too.
Got the spring buckets jack screws and all that for the rear suspension. Gonna have to notch the frame to get the coil directly under the frame rail between the fram and the axle housing.
Awesome 55 chevy gasser. Competition orange paint would make it look mean with the injectors and the five spoke wheels. Keep them photos coming. Great job.
I’m not small lol. These fit pretty good and are fairly comfortable. My hip bones are too wide for those tiny fiberglass seats.
I used the EMPI seats in my Morris Minor. The sit pretty good . Comfortable enough for some 1/8 th mile trips.
Got the frame notched, got some pieces broke and welded in to box it, got the screw jacks and coil spring mounts in. Track locator bar is next and we’re done with the suspension.
Track locator is in. We had to make a stand so it could be level and long as possible. Trying to keep it light, but want to make sure it handles well too.
It will handle better if the track locator is mounted as low as possible. Look how the 60's GM cars mounted them. Look how low the NASCAR cars have them. I also would like to see your rear radius rods without the crook in the top bar. The vertical load will try to bend them and it could steer the car. The right side will bend first.
As per Southeast gasser rules, the track locator has to come off the top of the rear end, for a 60s look. I would have ran the track locator diagonally across the bottom from the front of the ladder bar to the rear end if it was allowed, like modern cars are built. But it’s against the rules. And what are you talking about, the top bar on the ladder bars?
The ladder bars are competition engineering ladder link bars. If they didn’t have the straight away at the back, you couldn’t adjust them because the to connecting points would grow in distance from each other and you couldn’t get the bolts back into the mounting brackets on the rear end. I’ve got the same ladder bars on my 57 and it works well. And here’s a picture of an anglia Quain and Donovan Stott built for a guy, same basic design we used on the 55 here.
Looks like a real car. I would done the body repairs with the body off . Just me, everybody does it different. Nice job so far.
I see a little weight saving provided by Mother Nature ( or the metal mice)! How do you find time to post all this?! Thanks, Carp
The Jalopy Journal
