Projects Any kustom 54 chevy bel airs anyone?

I'm getting ideas for a 54 I wanna build when I get one. Looking for traditional kustoms and early lowriders I'll start by adding one

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

Just found this site looking for ideas of my own! I hope soon to be the owner of 2, a 210 & Bel Air. Of course I don't have them yet but looks very promising. Both project cars and I haven't seen them for 10+ yrs, I know the one of them will need a lot.

 

My cousin has a nice custom hardtop great car

 

Moonglow

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

mild cusom

 

Mike Ness'

Cole Foster's

 

Its a 53 though but still a kustom

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

I guess mine’s more of a gussied up stocker and not a real custom. I change hubcaps and wheel treatment. Has dual carbs and headers with smithy glasspacks on the stock engine.

 

looks great !man!!

 

Why does the avatar photo look like the Chrysler that we have seen on the HAMB from Texas? Your dad’s?



Hello,

You might be young, but, from past experiences, it is never too young to start. Within a few years from your age, we all started getting involved in hot rods and drag race cars. Our parents were not the young rebels that started with their own hot rods. They were more like young kids with ideas of work and family. Cars were just something to start and go to work. Different era, different outlook on life. I think that may have given us an opportunity to be a little creative as we started our long journey with cars in general.

Even though our high school class was pretty large for being in 1959-62, the oldest guy in our class was the first guy to have his own car. It was a 54 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop. He had the opportunity to drive anywhere and he did. But, his car had a selective clientele riding with him. Luckily, we became friends and we were both on the varsity football team. It took another year for most of us to get our cars, but that first year introduction to high school was a prestige thing being able to cruise around in a cool car. Not a hot rod, just a cool car.

Jnaki

My friend wanted to have a car that would stand out from the rest.

Here is an excerpt from another post:
Hey EI,

Nice work on your Bel Air Hardtop. One of my friends from high school had a stock 54 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop. He was the first guy to get a license, so he was the “go to guy” for rides and cruising. After all of us got our licenses and cars, he wanted to change his stock look to more of a mild custom.
It looked like this car.
While it was still stock, chrome rims were added, along with the standard accessories. But after he got it painted that greenish blue color, the interior looked out of place. So, a trip to TJ was made to get the full, white tuck and roll, including the headliner, door panels and the rear package tray.
(not the exact Bel Air, but the color was a close match…)
Finally, his car became a very cool cruiser, with no intentions of competing with our hot rod/drag racing cars. He kept the stock 6, but added chrome stuff to it. The stance was lower in front and it gave the Bel Air some attitude. He also got new mufflers for a better sound. It was a nice custom car for daily driving to high school and the local drive-in cruises.

He asked if he should have flames painted on the car…the answer was no. We all agreed it would ruin his new paint job. But we did outline with tape, several scallops (3) along the side of the hardtop fender and door. It looked strange.

The problem was the front fender crease and the rear pop out fender. Those kept the design limited. Either it had to go above or below the fender crease, but it looked funny with the crease running alongside of the white tape. The rear bulb fender called for its own scallops, but he thought that it was too much for the side of the car.

Jnaki

Your drawing makes the scallop more important than the work on the Chevy. Scallops highlight the work, not over ride it. Also, the whole cars “should”…remain one color on your 54 Bel Air. IMHO... Remember on your cool Bel Air, chrome accessories along the side will hinder the smooth design.

Anyone has what they think looks good on a car. If you like the body lines highlighted with full length scallops that bump over body parts, then so be it. There are others that have done it, too.

Perhaps, some small, empty ghost, pinstriping scallops only? Politely ask our resident expert, “TheMoose”…give him your ideas and see if he has the time to pop out a few.

The final result was that my friend left the greenish blue paint, no scallops, and put on a zillion miles of fun cruising. His Bel Air was a "go everywhere" driver that looked custom. We even took out the rear seat back and put in our early 10 ft. surfboards. He was a good athlete and surfer, too. Daily drives, plus many other uses for this old 54 Bel Air hardtop fit the bill. My friend's car was one of the only semi-custom cruisers on our campus. But, it went everywhere, all of the time.

Some of the stories for this Chevy Bel Air were just classic, from making it into a surf vehicle or watching the slowest drag race in our high school history. It was a daily driver and the transformation to a mild custom car. No SBC motor for him, but we had talked about a custom SBC install with another friend with a hot, 57 Chevy Bel Air. The 54 Chevy remained the only car that went a few steps farther into the mild custom trend. Full white tuck and roll upholstery, paint, chrome rims, exhaust pipes, lowering, and custom knobs were part of his modifications.
Friday Art
Even with surfboards stuck in the trunk and rear seat area, it was very low and possibly illegal. Each of the boards weighed approximately 45-50 lbs.

The most fun event was a drag race between a stock 51 Pontiac Sedan and this 54 Bel Air. Each car was loaded with 4 teenagers and it had to be the slowest drag race in history. We were all “scooting in our seats back and forth” to get the cars to go faster, while laughing all the way down Cherry Avenue Drags location. Talk about time standing still…Ha!

Good luck on your choice and build…

 

How about a '53 hardtop?
This was my High School daily driver in 1979-80. I nosed and decked it and added four grille teeth for a total of seven. It also got new tires, chrome & upholstery thanks to my $2.15/hr job at a plant nursery. I helped a bodyman with his house addition in return for spraying the paint.

I sold it in '84 to help pay for college.

 

I wish. But no my dad has a 57 plymouth suburban 2dr were freinds with the owner. But that's a cool story. Also my dad had a 53 with flames but it had a caved in roof only had it for a couple months

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

Heres two I found on kustorama. I might actually put an olds bar on mine but time will tell

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

Never really liked newer lowrider paint jobs and daytons on a bomb lowrider. But this one has the bumber guards and visor I wanna put on mine

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

It's a '53 and a 210 not a Bel Air, but same body...

 

To you guys that just copy and paste at least learn the difference between a 150, 210 and a Bel Air.

 

not a belair, but my sedan delivery I had from 2003-2008...chopped 6", 59 Plymouth tail lights, extra grill teeth

 

Some ideas for my ride

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

The thing is that I wanna do a lowrider mixed kustom for mine. But putting a hemi in it with gasser headers or lake pipes

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

Heres a red no post bel air

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

But wait theres more

birth day febuary 21 2008

 

This is one of my favorites. Bill Hoffman's '54. Clean and simple.



A little later version.






Notice that he turned his sedan into a hardtop. Subtle genius...