Hot Rods '51 Chevy Fleetline DeLuxe Project

Nice start, and welcome to the board. I have a 51 2 door sedan too!

 

Just finished up the first brake rebuild.. She's making me work for it! The wheel cylinder was completely seized and full of black sludge but I broke it free using a press. The walls were surprisingly not pitted so I installed new pistons and a rebuild kit. I love to retain original parts so I feel good about it all. I cleaned up the backing plate and installed new shoes and hardware... three to go! Soon I'll be installing new lines and plan to rebuild the master cylinder if the cylinder walls are not too pitted.


I think there were about 6 generations of a spider family living in this brake drum!

 

WOW, lookin good.

 

Nice job on the brakes. If you don't know already Chevs of the 40's is a great source on parts for your car.

http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/

 

Nice job on the brakes. If you don't know already Chevs of the 40's is a great source on parts for your car.

http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/

 

These folks also have a lot of parts.
http://www.nationalchevyassoc.com/index.php

 

Had to laugh seeing snow tires on your car. Do what ya GOTTA do to get through. Brakes look great

 

Thanks for the vendor suggestions, guys!

Haha, I thought it was pretty funny with the snow tires.. especially for the Memphis area that gets all of like 1/4" of snow a year.

Believe it or not...

SHE RUNS!!

Today I fired up the old 216 for the first time in who knows how long, I would guess in 20-30 years from what I am told. She got new plugs, wires, dizzy cap, points, condenser, and fresh radiator hoses and clamps... oh and oil too!

So I ran a rubber fuel line straight from the pump into a plastic gas can. I put some lead substitute in the fuel, installed a fresh battery, shot starting fluid down the carb, held my breath, and pressed the starter button.

I was speechless.. she turned over on the third turn! I kid you not!! And ran like a clock, with hardly any smoke!! All the gauges worked, and the radiator didn't leak! After the run I now know that I need a new fuel pump.. the old one leaks all over the place and doesn't pump very strong. It also sort of sounded like I will soon need a new throwout bearing.. nothing can be perfect!

OH, and a carb rebuild wouldn't hurt.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z09gSv6aRM

I also picked up an Eastwood gas tank overhaul kit and plan to restore the gas tank soon. I finished up putting together the brakes today, all that is left is to rebuild the master cylinder, install the new brake lines, bleed the brakes and take a test drive!! :tu

 

That is a Cool 51. Love these ol chevy's!

 

Great project subscribed....

 

What a great find, and in a two-door! And, with a complete car, you don't have to use up time, and money to find stuff. My 50 was incomplete, so I have to scrounge around. Have you considered a disc kit for the front?

 

Great build great progress......man that car going to be awesome

 

Thanks for all the kind words guys!!! Today I've been out hard at work. I FINALLY got the master cylinder out.. boy that was a job like no other. I've never seen one so hard to get out. The master cylinder does double duty as the pivot point for the brake and clutch pedal so you must remove a lock key from it that is almost impossible to get out... after a few select words and busted knuckles, she's finally out. I think I will be going with a new master cylinder and not attempt to rebuild the old rusty heap that I pulled out after all.

I'm going to stay with the drum brakes to keep this car as traditional as possible. In fact I am going to be shooting to keep every part period correct.

Alright now go easy on me for this next one. I toyed with the idea of pinstriping a little bit on this car, but for some reason I decided to try it myself

So here ya are.. my first time pinstriping anything! It's a long way from perfect but it is a start.

 

Hey Will, nice addition to the fleet... good to see you over here too. You have the eye for picking out decent cars to start with.

Great that it runs, should be fun to put around in until you have to rebuild it. My '55 sat for 15 years and the 235/powerglide worked great for about 2 years of regular driving before the compression went.

Subscribed.

Mike

 

Looking good Will. Your talent is limitless! Hope you are doing well!

 

Great find. Those Fleetlines are hard to beat. One of my favorites!

 

Thanks for the very kind and supportive words, guys!!

 

Lovely!

 

Kool!!!!

 

Nice job, love the approach. I am a big fan of the torpedo back Chevys. Some enjoyable rides goin to happen in that sweet rig. I like the guard dog system also, ain't nobody messin with this car. Congrats!! ~sololobo~

 

Thanks so much guys! I've been out at it today. Taking advantage of all the decent weather I can get and working around a freshman college schedule can be interesting but it doesn't keep me from working on the ole '51. I finished up the gas tank restore kit and got it installed back underneath the car with fresh filler hoses and sending unit gasket.



I also polished up the old hubcaps and put them back on the car


Then I realized that the clutter and 10 pounds of dirt on the floor was going to keep me from getting any more work done, so I cut out about 3 hours just to clean up the garage... much better


Then I started working on getting the master cylinder taken apart so that I could hopefully rebuild it. I soaked it in a diluted muriatic acid bath and got most of the old gunky junk off and out of it.. but now I'm left with a problem. I CANNOT get the large end plug off of the cylinder. I have used penetrating oil, heat, impact and everything I can think of but it is just rusted solid on there. Any other suggestions for getting it off?


In the mean time I went and picked up the new fuel pump and got it installed. It was a straightforward job as it should be.

A little old vs. new...


And now looking like a shiny sore thumb in the old greasy engine compartment.


With the fuel system all fresh, all that is left to do is to finish the brakes and she will be ready for the road.

 

Bitchin' ride my friend! I have a '49 2door not a deluxe though!

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

A very cool car in good shape. You might think about using Por 15 and coating the whole underside of the car.

CRUISER

 

You have a really great Fleetline there. In some ways I'm not surprised to hear that old 216 started right up. A lot of people think that the old oil dipper 216's are junk and we should just throw them away in favor of a newer 235, I don't think so, I like that you are going to try and keep the old girl original.

So did you get a lot of crap out of the gas tank? I know you don't really know if the tank is sealed properly yet but would you recommend the Eastwood gas tank product. My brother needs to renovate his 1940 Plymouth coupe gas tank.

 

Thanks! I'm going to take pride in this old 216. I'm going to get as many more years out of her as I can!

My gas tank was surprisingly clean inside. I would recommend the Eastwood product for sure. It is a bit of work, but the whole process is really well thought out and the instructions are easy to understand. It utilizes their own Metal Wash, then muriatic acid, acetone, etching solution, and then gas tank sealer to essentially restore the interior surface of the tank.

I just filled up the gas tank a little while ago and so far so good.

 

Very cool project. Congrats on getting the old 6 fired up. Now you've just got to split the exhaust manifold and install a dual system with couple of glass packs. Nothing like the sound of a chevy six barking through dual glass packs.

Frank

 

Now that's an idea. I hadn't given much thought to split manifolds yet but that would be awesome. I'll definitely look into doing that once I get her on the road!

 

Great project! Split the exhaust with glass packs for sure. You're gonna love the sound

 

love it bromigo.

 

I hate the Master Cylinder on those cars. I hate the location, I hate the way its combined with the clutch. I have a 1950 hardtop.