And many thanks in advance....I've never owned a tri 5 but I'm looking at a stripped 55 Chevy 2 d ht. Decent body, but parts are everywhere and I'm not sure what might be missing. My questions: Can you tell me what the most expensive parts to replace are? Seat frames, exterior trim, dash parts, interior, radio ? Are there any deal breaker parts that are impossible to find? Also, does the cowl tag correspond to the engine number or do engine numbers just define year? Thanks again.
Virtually everything is available from vendors. To answer your question, these folks have a catalog, and you can price everything out to see what stuff costs. Or pick up a parts car, and take the plunge ... www.danchuk.com/
Hi, the engine number is the engine number, the cowl tag tells you about the body, the serial number tag (on the door jamb) is the car serial number with basic model and year and assembly plant info, and is what they usually consider the VIN these days. you can probably buy almost everything to build a new tri five chevy, but it will cost a fortune. I built a stripped 55 hardtop 20+ years ago, I was able to find a cheap 55 Pontiac hardtop to scavenge a lot of parts from. if you are trying to build a mostly stock car, then you'd be better off spending more money for a complete car. If you're building a race car, or something else that does not need the parts you're missing, then a stripped car could be a good place to start.
It depends. The good thing about tri-5's is there's such a huge aftermarket for them. Brand new repro patch panels, complete body panels, dash & interior, rubber parts, yada, yada, yada, are all available. You can just about build an entire car with repro parts. Moreover, there are junkyards that deal exclusively in used '55-'57 Chevy parts. That said, front bench seats are expensive to replace. But they're rare because so many hot rodders tossed them out in favor of bucket seats. So that's no problem if you're building a hot rod, but it can be expensive if you're restoring your '55. As I recall, the only other comparatively expensive parts are Bel Air Hardtop, convertible and Nomad-specific stainless (like upper paint dividers). But that may have changed since I sold my '55 BAHT 10 years ago. I think the cowl tag just identifies engine, trans, paint & interior colors. You might also ask this question on www.Chevytalk.com ; there are a whole bunch of really hardcore '55-57 smart guys there. Hope this helps.
The engine is only specified in the serial number, either it stars with a V if it was a V8 car, or it doesn't if it was a six cylinder car. Nothing on the body tag about that. The only info about the transmission, is what brackets were welded to the frame to attach the shifter or clutch linkage to. And the instrument cluster is different, and of course it would have a clutch pedal if it were manual trans...but that stuff got changed in many cars over the years. The body tag will show some of the body related options, such as EZI tinted glass.
Hey Barn Hunter, I work for Dan's Classic Auto Parts in Portland, Oregon. He specialized in the tri-five era cars for decades. Like since 1981. We have lots of OEM parts, grilles, fenders, bezels, interior trim, etc. Call us M-F 9-5:30 PST at 503-234-6674 I'd love to be able to help ya.
There is a 57 Chevy near me in the same shape, apart with piles of parts that I keep thinking about but you can spend a lot of money on small parts. Make sure it has the seats, window moldings, window regulators, rear glass and trim. You can end up spending a lot of money on small parts such as chrome clips, screw sets, window regulators, glass and rubber, gauges, wiring and even just the right bolts to reassemble the car. Do your home work before you make an offer, everything is out there but at what cost?
2drHt in '55 is a Bel Air. Like Mr. Jim said, V in the ser # would be a V8 car. The hardtop flippers and glass are two things that cost. What are your plans? Watch for floor, rocker and frame rust. Any pix?
I bought 3 56 Chevys and built my one good one out of all the best parts I had. I saved a lot of dough by having parts cars instead of buying repro parts. You would come out ahead by having a junker for the small stuff. As mentioned, the bench seat and seat shells are getting tougher to find at any price. Rear glass is expensive. Mechanics is a piece of cake, just about anything will go in there. But these are really great cars to build. About the easiest one I ever stuck together. Lots of stuff interchanges, unlike a lot of Ford cars.
My mistake - more than 11,000 210 2dr HTs in 1955. Thanks Jim The one that didn't exist was the 4 door HT in 1955.
It's already been said, but I'll re-say it...Seat frames (if you want stock seats) and Stainless are important because they are expensive. Hardtops have a lot of stainless exterior AND interior trim around the glass. Also hardtop reproduction chrome plated headliner bows are expensive...Basically, most anything hardtop specific is more expensive, because there's less of them...You know the old economic theory of supply and demand.
Thanks for the great information. I looked up some of the parts dealers and indeed the stainless side trim is expensive. So are the headliner bows and inside window surrounds. I think there is a bench seat in the garage. Thanks for mentioning the door flippers...I wouldn't have thought of those. Anything else that they don't reproduce that HT only? No pics yet.
Maybe you should look at pictures of the inside and outside of 55 hardtops on the internet, see if you can account for all the parts in the picture, when you're digging through the pile of parts. It could be a long process! you can also look at the parts book, it has a lot of pictures.... http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/1929_57chevyparts/index.htm
To reiterate what squirrel said, If its in a million pieces, then obtaining an assembly manual would be of great help. Reproductions are sold at several vendors.
Buy it if its cheap enough, they nearly put themselves back together ...but then Im kind of a freak over a 55 and enjoy workin on em, so that could possibly make it a little easier for me
^^^, yep, they do fall back together and are easy and fun to work on. If the body, floors, etc are solid and it has a clean title, you'll be off to a good start. Sheet metal such as fenders, hoods, etc. is still plentiful and reasonable. Stainless side trim (original or repop) is costly. Don't sweat diecast parts such as the taillight/headlight doors, turn signal housings, hood bird as you'd be replacing them with repop anyhow. What's the asking price and how about a pic? You would have to inventory the parts that are there, then create a parts list of missing/needed parts from a catalog to know what your parts costs will be. You could add that total to the car price to see where you're at for the build launch (and know if you're better off starting with a more complete car). Said list/cost may also be presented and used to negotiate car price.
In my state the title is the most important and potentially most expensive piece. Make sure the stainless tag is still spot welded the the driver's side front door jamb. If it's riveted on some states will not consider it legal or even lawful...can get you in a lot of hot water, depending on the state. If this hardtop has anything weird with the tag or title or lack of, contact your state's DMV before buying it. Be very honest..I've actually had a friend who bought a 32 ford coupe for a killer price [no title] only to find it had been stolen years ago. My buddy spent some quality time at the sheriff's office and almost went to jail over it.
Here is the great thing about him being in Georgia....no title required or issued on pre 75 vehicles. Getting registered is a piece of cake for some states...
Don't mix old original Stainless trim with aftermarket replacement trim, at least not side by side. All original or all aftermarket is best............................
heh...I was missing a piece of original trim and couldn't find one...so I did some work on a repop, to make it look more like the original. It took a lot of effort! they sure dont' make them like they used to.
I might have a full extra set of trim from my '55 DelRay. Fill us in on your needs once you have it figured out. I may have more than a few goodies that you need, and I'm more than happy to clean up my storage and sell some stuff for pennies on the dollar ...
As stated .. virtually all the parts are available. I have built 2 1955 and 1 1957 Chevy. The 57 was really just a glass bottom boat. One of the 55's and the 57 were 2 door sedans. The other 55 was a hardtop. A bit different with the short floor and extra braces but build one and you build them all. I did all the floors with individual sections. Now the complete floor with braces can be bought. The toughest parts to find are 2 door seats. This spring I have 55 2 door sedan that I am planning changing the roof out. Joe
Lots of good info and encouragement. I haven't seen the car in person so don't have any pics to show. I have seen pics of the car and parts sitting all around, just want to know what to look for when I get there. Unfortunately it won't be shown for a couple of weeks. After that, I will post some pics. I'm like the rest of you....love to see pics!
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