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Projects My '50 2-door Chevy Deluxe build

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by 1sik38coupe, Jan 23, 2013.

  1. 1955IHC
    Joined: Aug 20, 2013
    Posts: 636

    1955IHC
    Member

    Its all about using what you have. My fathers 54 is essentially stock. The only changes are a TH350 trans via an adapter from Stovebolt engine company and a 4x4 s10 rear end they are wider then a 2wd made up some blocks with the center pin offset to keep the axle centered. Up until the engine blew it was a dd it drove and handled great with tbe stock suspension and the stance was right on. Just wondering how are you going about putting on a MII front suspension kit if it has already been clipped?

    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  2. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas


    Thanks, Brother!! I'm following your build, the work looks great. You're making great progress too. I can't wait for it to cool down a bit so I can get back to it.
     
  3. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas


    Not sure what you mean. When I got the car the front suspension was stock. I removed all of it and bought a complete MII weld on kit from fatman fab. A buddy of mine helped with welding in the new cross member and spring perches, then I just bolted everything else together.

    Here's the before and after:
     

    Attached Files:

  4. fordsum
    Joined: Mar 22, 2012
    Posts: 124

    fordsum
    Member
    from SO CA

    You are doing a good job... I wish I was moving along faster
     
  5. 1955IHC
    Joined: Aug 20, 2013
    Posts: 636

    1955IHC
    Member

    Sorry I misunderstood you. I thought the car was already clipped with the Nova sub. Keep in mind the rear center pins are forward a bit on the springs I forget the exact amount if you don't offset the holes in the perches the axle won't be centered in the wheel wells. I machined some blocks to make up the difference.

    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  6. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Thanks alot!! But man I wish I was too, I can't wait to get this baby on the road!

    No worries man, when I bought it the guy I got it from actually gave me a Nova front sub frame but it was in real bad shape so I decided it was less work to use the fatman MII set up.

    For the rear, I ordered the lowering/centering kit from fatman too. It comes with blocks that drop the rearend 1 1/2-2" and allows you to use the stock springs.
     
  7. luckythirteenagogo
    Joined: Dec 28, 2012
    Posts: 1,269

    luckythirteenagogo
    Member
    from Selma, NC

    Your build is looking good. Is there any progress since your last post? I've got a 50 Chevy I'm starting on, and am going to be going through a lot of the things you did, so thanks for the pointers.
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2014
  8. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas


    Thanks, did get a little bit done, update post to follow. Good luck with your build, just keep at it. I've learned I bit off a bit more than I could chew and got overwhelmed. Now I'm just trying to do a little each weekend or whenever I have a chance. Slow but steady runs the race, eh?

    Take lots of pics and start a build thread, it definately helps to keep you motivated!
     
  9. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Here's a bit of an update. I started stripping and sanding the frame last year just before Halloween. I barely got into it, then the temp dropped and I had to stop because the paint says 75 degrees or warmer for recommended curing. My project is outside so I had to wait for warmer weather. In hindsight there was alot of small welding I could have done on the body, but with a new baby in the house, I spent most of my time inside or at work, and not in the garage.

    Enough about that, on to the car! I have the topside of the frame primered now and welded in some plates for the trans cross member. I used the stock location and hope it will be far enough back for the 700r4.
     
  10. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Here is what I did for the trans crossmember. I cut some plates from a bit of 3/8" plate I had in the garage. Then drilled some holes in them for bolting locations. Basically, I welded them as end caps onto the stock crossmember that I had already cut away.

    The plan is to make two more plates, bolt one on each side, then weld a piece of square tube or 2x3 tube between those. That will hold the trans mount. This way the crossmember (and trans) can be removed by just unbolting it.
     

    Attached Files:

  11. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Here is my progress on the frame. Yeah it's alot of pics and dosen't seem like much progress but it is the product of about 12 hours non-stop, if I added them all up, of scraping, sanding and scrubbing with a putty knife and the 4" grinder using stripper pads and wire brushes. It really was alot of hard work. Now I just have to flip it over and do the bottom portion.
     

    Attached Files:

  12. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    More pics:
     

    Attached Files:

  13. Cruiser
    Joined: May 29, 2006
    Posts: 2,241

    Cruiser
    Member

    Your getting there, better to go slow and easy getting it right. Keep up the good work, will be watching.

    CRUISER :cool:
     
  14. drtybiker
    Joined: Mar 11, 2014
    Posts: 303

    drtybiker
    Member
    from florida

    Where can I find this build of brierhier

    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  15. luckythirteenagogo
    Joined: Dec 28, 2012
    Posts: 1,269

    luckythirteenagogo
    Member
    from Selma, NC

    It's looking real good. Trust me, I know how much work it takes to get it to that point. Keep it up.
     
  16. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Thanks for the encouragement guys, it's cooled off a bit here in Vegas and I'm real motivated to make some noticable progress.
     
  17. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Thanks for the encouragement guys, it's cooled off a bit here in Vegas and I'm real motivated to make some noticable progress.
     
  18. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    I haven't posted in a while but the good news is, I've been slowly chipping away at the frame the last few months. I flipped it over and tackled the bottom. Got it all sanded down and primed:
    photo 1 (15).JPG photo 3 (12).JPG photo 2 (15).JPG photo 3 (13).JPG photo 4 (12).JPG photo 5 (6).JPG photo 2 (17).JPG
     
  19. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    I sprayed it with the top coat, extreme chassis black satin finish, gave it three coats and let it bake in the sun:
    photo 4 (13).JPG frame.JPG
     
  20. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Flipped it back over, gave the top side another two coats, to make sure I covered everything good, and finally.....The Frame Is DONE!!!!!!! photo 5 (7).JPG
     
  21. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    It was a good weekend, I cut the spring perches off my axle, ground it smooth, stripped it down, and hit it with a little primer. It was too windy out to give it a good paint job, but I did order all new brake parts from the local store.

    photo 1 (12).JPG photo 3 (9).JPG photo 1 (13).JPG photo 3 (10).JPG photo 4 (9).JPG photo 4 (10).JPG photo 5 (4).JPG
     
  22. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    I cleaned up and painted the stock leaf springs too, like I said, it was a good weekend!

    I was able to find some info right here on the H.A.M.B. about the tin covering on them. This is quick explanation of what I learned: They are called spring gaiters and they hold on a layer of cloth or webbing, usually made from cotton or burlap. They were made so you could oil or grease your spring packs and the tin covering helped to keep dust, dirt and road grime out. Some of the fancier cars actually used leather wraps. It seems this design helped prolong the life of the springs and cut down on squeaking. Keep in mind, when most of these cars were made, a lot of roads were still dirt or gravel, so moving parts on the undercarriage got a lot more wear and tear.

    If any of that is wrong, I appologize. It's just what I found and thought some might find it interesting, as I did.

    In a few of the close up pics, you can see the cloth material under the metal cover.

    photo 1 (18).JPG photo 2 (18).JPG photo 3 (15).JPG photo 4 (14).JPG photo 5 (8).JPG photo 5 (9).JPG
     
  23. luckythirteenagogo
    Joined: Dec 28, 2012
    Posts: 1,269

    luckythirteenagogo
    Member
    from Selma, NC

    Everything is looking great, keep it going.

    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  24. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Thanks brother! I've made a bit more progress, just haven't had the chance to post it.
     
  25. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    I put the rear brakes back together. I'm glad I saved all the stock parts when I removed them cause I ended up re-using a bunch of the little pieces that didn't come with the new parts kit. Here is a before and after on a few of them, I had to clean up on the wire wheel. Then I painted it all and pieced the puzzle back together. Man I hate drum brakes!
    photo 1.JPG photo 2.JPG photo 3.JPG
     
  26. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    With the brakes all put back together, I pressed the new bushing into the front eyelet on the leaf springs and mounted the rear axle back in the frame. I had to trim the spring gaiters a bit for the lowering blocks to sit flush against the spring pack. I also had a few of the front suspension parts powder coated and tried to paint the rear pieces to match. The powder coating looks way better.

    photo 1 (3).JPG photo 2 (3).JPG photo 5.JPG photo 4 (2).JPG
     
  27. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    With the rear axle all mounted up, I put the front suspension back together and mounted the rack and pinion steering. Put the junk tires back on it and now I got a roller again!

    photo 1 (2).JPG photo 2 (2).JPG photo 3 (2).JPG
     
  28. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Soon as I can make some room in my garage for it, I'm gonna mount the motor and trans into the frame. I just don't want to leave it sitting outside once I put them in. It looks like I'll have to build some kind of rack to set the body on so I can swap spots. (move the body onto the driveway and move the frame inside the garage) after that, I need to run brake lines and measure for the new drive shaft. In the mean time I need to weld some new cage nuts into the body to replace the body mount bolts I broke during disassembly, and I want to smooth out the firewall a bit. I feel like it is really starting to come back together now and I'm very excited.
     
  29. 1sik38coupe
    Joined: Nov 4, 2007
    Posts: 132

    1sik38coupe
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    I haven't posted updates in a long time but I have made a small amount of progress. I fixed the broken body mount bolts and plug welded most of the holes in the firewall, then threw some paint on it. I can't seem to post pictures now, not sure if it's my outdated laptop or the H.A.M.B. preventing me. I'll try to put some up when I can get it to work. Next step is putting in the brake lines, then I want to mount the engine/trans, and set the body back on the frame. I hope I can get that done in the next few weeks. Money is real tight and the summer heat has hit Vegas hard, so I'm at a snail's pace. Keep your fingers crossed!
     
    Chopped52deluxe likes this.
  30. luckythirteenagogo
    Joined: Dec 28, 2012
    Posts: 1,269

    luckythirteenagogo
    Member
    from Selma, NC

    Keep going! Keep fighting the battles, and you will eventually win the war...
     
    Chopped52deluxe likes this.

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