Well it's been a LOOOOONG time since I've posted on this one, but the day has finally come! To be honest with you I've had my fare share of doubts that this car would ever make it to the road, but as of today she's a driver! Original build thread... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=552706&highlight=deluxery Since the last time I posted on this build I decided to take on a new job, move to a new town in the middle of nowhere Colorado, and propose to my girlfriend. Between planning a wedding and the relocation, the build was placed on hold for quite sometime, but thanks to the help of a good friend storing the car for several months while taking care of my wiring and a few other things I could not get around to, and my old man loaning out his shop, his talent, and a large handful of his time over the last few years, the shoebox is on the road under its own power!! Sunday this week she was pulled from my buddies garage to my fathers house. I took a week off of work to head to Denver for my bachelor party Sunday, and then put out every last effort for the days following to get this car on the road in time for the wedding this summer. If I had any chance of pulling this off it would be working side by side with the guy I grew up building cars with in the shop we built them in. Aside from the joy of blasting away at this car for a solid week, it made me feel like a punk teenager again working side by side with him. That by far was my favorite part of the week. This is where we started. Engine is mounted and wired, but bare boned with no driveline or brakes. by the end of a 14 hour day with my dad, the engine is running! It always amazes me how long the small stuff takes (i.e. springs, valves, fittings, running around for parts. etc.) Tuesday and Wednesday we tackle brakes and plumbing. The disc brake setup I bought for the front of this car is a joke and needed extensive modification to even work on the car, the drive shaft had to be custom made, and the granada rear end that was mounted over a year ago had rusted into an unusable state and had to be replaced, after two more 14 your days we're just about over this car. Sometimes I have no idea why we love this hobby! Our projects are huge fluid filled greasespots that cause us pain in every way! Why the hell didn't I learn to play guitar?? Those are much cleaner and easier to work on, and girls like them more anyways! Thursday is the last haul as I have an appointment for Friday morning with an exhaust shop. Where I live now is small town U.S.A. and we don't have half of what big city Denver has to offer, including an exhaust shop that would touch this car. So leaving next week it's gotta get done. Thursday is final transmission details, numerous bugs to tackle, the arrival and mounting of the new goodyear super cushion tires, and would you look at that she's back down on all fours and driving under her own power around the neighberhood and back into the garage! To drive this car anywhere was a dream come true! I couldn't believe how far we had come since Monday! Friday morning she made the appointment with the exhuast shop. Dual exhuast with glasspacks and chrome pencil tips. Shop did a great job and she sounds amazing. Friday evening me and my old man are EXHAUSTED from the week, but by the grace of God, his shop, and a TON of help from him and friends I have been blessed with, she's racking up miles around the neighberhood (without a windshield of course), and looking great doing it. Next on the list is glass, hood, and just about everything else, but at least she's got a heart now! This week has been brutal in every way but extremely fulfilling! Excluding any unforseen disasters, I'll be driving it away from the wedding, with my father as the best man! Couldn't be happier.
Man good to hear its on the road can't wait till mines drivable again but I got a long way to go congrats enjoy the ride
Glad to hear these great father-son hot rodding stories! Lost my dad to cancer in December and now I'm finishing his shoebox the way he always wanted.
Awesome dude. Giving me some motivation. I will be getting married in dec and want my car driving and looking decent by then also.
A bit less of a windy ride now. A buddy of mine was helping me with the wiring at this point which is why the headlight is out. but eventually we had lights!!
it's great to see new life breathed into a project. the fact that you got to do it with your dad is an extra blessing. awesome.
Looking good! A thrash is always a killer....sore hands, grease in cracks you think will never come out, tired and spent....but man it feels good to make huge progress in short time. Congrats!!!
SparkyDeluxe - The car looks great man. Glad to see you get it on the road driving a bit. It makes all the other things worth while when you can get behind the wheel and drive it. I am looking forward to that day with my shoebox also. Cheers!
While im gettin married this weekend so shes gotta look her best. New coat of paint and some dummy appletons.
I'm about 8000 ft above sea level so it's damn near impossible to tune these old carb cars perfectly, so it's still running pretty rich, and the hood needs some adjusting, but its getting there.
Great looking ride,between this thread and a few within this week I am getting fired up to finish my 51. Love the SBF!
Im just over the hill from you in Granby. There are a few hambers in this little town. Let me know if you ever make it over here. If you ever need upholstery I can stitch it up for you.
Car looks great. On that carb they are pretty easy to tune. Just get yourself a vacuum gauge and a jet kit. You want to get the gauge to about 12 -15 in of vacuum. Use a port on the carb that has full vac all the time. You should be able to tune it pretty good for your altitude.
You made some serious progress !! Looks great . A quick question ... what rad are you running ?? I've got a SBF in my Shoe , and I'm looking for options/ideas . Thanks !
I love Granby! We'll try make it that way soon after the wedding. As far as the upholstery I'll definitely be talking to whoever can handle some tuck and roll on your end of town!
Thankyou! Did all that and she's still rich. Pretty sure it's just needing to be re-jetted. The car may be rich, but I'm not, so that expense will probably have to wait for a bit.
1955 Chevrolet. Couple of wood spacers on the outside and she's a perfect fit! Don't tell my Ford or she may spit it out.
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