Projects My 1950 Chevy Styleline Build

Awesome! Sounds good. That block color is great.

 

Awesome progress ! I like the detailed photo's and video.

 

Deliveries this week! Got my Lokar shifter installed, and also the Lokar TC and throttle cables. Getting closer every day!

IMG_4890 by krbarnes posted Apr 30, 2016 at 5:10 PM

IMG_4889 by krbarnes posted Apr 30, 2016 at 5:00 PM

 

It sure is coming along nicely. I wish I'd have bought such a nice car to start with, lol.

 

As I'm starting to wrap-up all the mechanical stuff on the car, it's time to turn my attention to the electrical side. I ordered a wiring harness from Speedway, and dove-in head first this weekend.
All the original wiring has been removed, so I'm starting from scratch.
Having never done this before, it can be a bit intimidating.

IMG_4975 by krbarnes posted May 31, 2016 at 8:33 AM

But with a pretty good understanding of how things work, it wasn't that bad. The hardest part is trying to figure out where to run all the wires so it doesn't look like a rat's nest. Here's a few pics:

IMG_4982 by krbarnes posted May 31, 2016 at 8:33 AM

IMG_4983 by krbarnes posted May 31, 2016 at 8:33 AM

IMG_4984 by krbarnes posted May 31, 2016 at 8:33 AM

IMG_4985 by krbarnes posted May 31, 2016 at 8:33 AM

FullSizeRender by krbarnes posted May 31, 2016 at 8:33 AM

I've been looking for a tachometer that didn't look too 'new', and scored this old Sun SuperTach II from Craigslist for $20.

IMG_4981 by krbarnes posted May 31, 2016 at 8:33 AM

In anticipation of being on the road this summer, we found these new "car show chairs" at COSTCO this weekend - complete with cup holders and snack trays!!

IMG_4988 by krbarnes posted May 31, 2016 at 8:33 AM

 

Wow great build! I admire you for your attitude on rewiring. My T-Bird is in desperate need of a total rewire. "Looks intimidating" is an understatement for me lol wiring utterly terrifies me, I know it shouldnt, I can handle anything else, but still. Haha

I'm tuned in for this one can't wait to see the finished product!

 

Spent the weekend trying to complete and clean-up the wiring in the dash. Got all the gauge, radio, clock, dome, and glove box lights working, along with a new 12volt cigarette lighter. Now I'm just down to the front & rear lights (need to get the front sheetmetal back on the car).

IMG_5003 by krbarnes posted Jun 6, 2016 at 9:58 AM

 

Wiring is almost done. I have running lights, brake lights, turn signals, and hazards. I removed the original Throttle & Choke knobs, and fabricated LED turn-signal indicators in their spots using the original dash mounting bezels (picture to come). Since I couldn't figure out a way to use the original gauges the way I wanted, I added a 3-gauge panel below the dash. (I tried to go for a more 'retro' looking set.)

IMG_5006 by krbarnes posted Jun 16, 2016 at 9:48 AM

and a shot of the assembled dash

IMG_5010 by krbarnes posted Jun 16, 2016 at 9:48 AM

Plans are to get the front sheetmetal back on the car this weekend. Then it's down to the final detail work.

 

Another great weekend in the garage. Got the front-end sheetmetal back on the car, and all the front wiring complete (headlights, park/turn signals, horn, alternator). Getting down to the last few thing before she's back on the road.
Rigged some chains and used my hoist to handle the front end

IMG_5042 by krbarnes posted Jun 19, 2016 at 12:16 PM

IMG_5043 by krbarnes posted Jun 19, 2016 at 12:16 PM

IMG_5045 by krbarnes posted Jun 19, 2016 at 12:16 PM

Engine looks right at home in there!

IMG_5056 by krbarnes posted Jun 19, 2016 at 12:16 PM

 

I've got my list going of all the little things that need to be done on the car. After ordering an electric fan from Summit I realized it was too thick to fit between the radiator and the water pump (don't you just love having to return parts?). I was able to find another that pulled the same CFM in a thinner package, and it worked fine.

IMG_5067 by krbarnes posted Jun 28, 2016 at 7:50 AM

**** EDIT **** That electric fan was TOO NOISY! I replaced it with a regular Flex-Fan.

Next, I started putting the inside back together. I cut the hole in the transmission hump for the shifter, and pre-drilled all my shift-boot holes

IMG_5068 by krbarnes posted Jun 28, 2016 at 7:50 AM

Then I had to make a few patches to cover holes in the floor -- Master Cylinder access hole under the seat

IMG_5070 by krbarnes posted Jun 28, 2016 at 7:50 AM

and patched all the old throttle/brake/clutch pedal holes in the driver toe-board.

IMG_5069 by krbarnes posted Jun 28, 2016 at 7:50 AM

Finally got everything cleaned up, carpet & seats installed, and shift boot screwed down.

IMG_5072 by krbarnes posted Jun 28, 2016 at 7:50 AM

Pretty much the final item before she's roadworthy again is exhaust. That will keep me busy for the next couple of weeks. More to come!

 

It's alive! Drove it for the first time last weekend.
Engine bay turned out really nice

IMG_5132 by krbarnes posted Jul 26, 2016 at 8:58 AM

IMG_5131 by krbarnes posted Jul 26, 2016 at 8:58 AM

Still have a few bugs to work out, but for the most part I'm really pleased with it!



Still a bit of summer left to enjoy it too!

 

Well.... the engine that I bought off of Craigslist for $100 was worth about $100. It ran well enough to get me through the summer, but it has some serious issues (VERY low compression on one cylinder, pretty low on another). For not much more than the cost of a total rebuild, I funneled my funds to a new GM 350. Hope to have it installed in the next few weeks.

IMG_5521 by krbarnes posted Oct 20, 2016 at 9:06 AM

IMG_5523 by krbarnes posted Oct 20, 2016 at 9:06 AM

 

Which one did you buy?

 

This was the 190HP one from Jegs. They say it's good for ~260HP with intake/carb/headers. That's plenty for my cruiser. The price was right, plus a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty!

 

Just finished putting the same motor in my 51 and wrapping up installing the same wiring harness this weekend. I really liked that harness. worked great in my 51!

 

Out with the old.....

IMG_5597 by krbarnes posted Nov 18, 2016 at 10:07 AM

IMG_5598 by krbarnes posted Nov 18, 2016 at 10:07 AM

IMG_5600 by krbarnes posted Nov 18, 2016 at 10:07 AM

And getting the new ready....

IMG_5603 by krbarnes posted Nov 18, 2016 at 10:07 AM

 

I used pretty much the same motor in my 84 Monte SS. It was a Goodwrench, which I think Jeg's is probably selling as a no name. I did the headers/4 barrel thing. I smoked an early WRX off the line all the way up to 100mph back in the day.

 

In with the new. Doesn't look much different!

IMG_5632 by krbarnes posted Nov 29, 2016 at 10:45 AM

 

And we're back in business again!!

 

Cut a coil off the front springs, and 3" blocks in the back. Getting close to the stance I'm looking for. (anything more will require some major surgery....plus the front crossmember is only about 4" off the ground.....)

IMG_5709 by krbarnes posted Jan 6, 2017 at 10:40 AM

 

Amazing what a $17 indoor/outdoor rug and a $10 can of spray adhesive.can do!

IMG_5921 by krbarnes posted Mar 14, 2017 at 10:00 AM

Finally bit the bullet and ordered new 15x6 Wheel Vintiques Smoothies, Bowtie center caps, and Diamondback Wide White radials (205/70/15 front, 215/70/15 rear). Painted the wheels the same color as my engine - "Ocean Mist"

IMG_5977 by krbarnes posted Mar 14, 2017 at 10:00 AM

IMG_5980 by krbarnes posted Mar 14, 2017 at 10:00 AM

Next on the agenda is to install the Newport Engineering electric wiper motor that arrived last week, then try to figure out how to fabricate/connect a parking/emergency brake lever. I had to remove the old lever when I converted to a V8.

 

Sweet, nice build.. Have fun..

 

nice build ...

 

Wiper motor went in without a hitch. Very easy install. I did modify the old Choke knob to use on the wiper switch instead of the ugly black knob that was included in the kit. ( "C" for Clean & Clear !!!)

IMG_6001 by krbarnes posted Apr 5, 2017 at 10:06 AM

Another mod I did was to fabricate LED turn signal indicators, and put them into the old bezels where the original Throttle and Choke knobs were on the dash. Worked really well!

IMG_5998 by krbarnes posted Apr 5, 2017 at 10:06 AM

Although the noise wasn't that bad inside the car, and since I really needed new carpet anyway, I decided to pull out the seats & carpet, and lay down some FatMat. Should make for a nicer ride on longer trips.

IMG_6065 by krbarnes posted Apr 5, 2017 at 9:58 AM

IMG_6066 by krbarnes posted Apr 5, 2017 at 9:58 AM

 

In case anyone is interested, here's my "build list"

1950 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe 2-Door Sedan
Restored about 15 years ago – engine, body, suspension, paint, interior
Original 216 I-6, 3-speed manual, closed driveline, rear suspension, and rear differential removed
Original front suspension and steering gear removed
Brake pedal, master cylinder, brake lines, clutch pedal & linkage removed.
Original wiring removed

Build List (new purchase/parts in BLUE)

Front Suspension
Chassis Engineering bolt-in front crossmember
Speedway Motors Mustang II front suspension kit
Tubular upper & lower control arms with new ball joints
2” drop spindles, seals, bearings
Manual rack & pinion steering
Disk brakes – rotors, calipers, brackets, hoses
Monroe shocks, coil springs

Steering
Factory steering wheel and column adapted with:
CPP Column Saver bearing
CPP Stainless U-joints
¾” D-D shaft
Heim-joint for shaft support

Rear Suspension & Differential
Chassis Engineering rear suspension kit
Leaf spring mounts
Leaf springs
Upper shock mount crossmember
Shocks, U-bolts, lower shock plates
3” lowering blocks
1967 Nova 10-bolt rear with 3.08 gears (Craigslist)
All new rear brakes – wheel cylinders, pads, springs, clips

Wheel Vintiques 12-Series Smoothie wheels – 15x6
Wheel Vintiques Chevy Bowtie logo center caps
Stainless Trim rings
Diamondback Wide Whitewall Radials (Toyo tires) – 205/70/15 front and 215/70/15 rear

Engine
New GM Crate 350 / 195 HP long block (GM part # 10067353)
New harmonic balancer and bolt
Polished stainless block-hugger headers
Edelbrock dual-plane intake (Craigslist)
Edelbrock 1406 600cfm carburetor - rebuilt (Craigslist)
New HEI distributor with MSD StreetFire plug wires
New water pump, fuel pump, alternator
Finned polished aluminum valve covers and air cleaner
Chrome pulleys and alternator brackets
16” flex fan
Polished stainless steel radiator catch can
2.5” exhaust with Flowtech Raptor turbo mufflers, Flowmaster tailpipes, and Gibson 3” stainless tips
Lokar ‘Spoon’ gas pedal
Lokar throttle cable
Lokar carb bracket
Lokar engine oil dipstick
All new hoses and belt
Champion 3-row aluminum radiator
Hand-fabricated steel fan shroud

Transmission
Walton Fabrication bolt-in Transmission crossmember
Rebuilt 700R4 Automatic transmission (from my son's 1990 Camaro IROC)
Converted to switched TC lockup
Converted to mechanical speedometer drive
New filter & pan gasket, new rear seal, new dipstick seal
New transmission mount
New custom made drive-shaft – new yokes & U-joints
Lokar 16” Shifter & boot
Lokar transmission TC cable

Brakes
Speedway Motors frame-mounted (under car) pedal assembly, power brake booster, and master cylinder
All new Copper-Nickel brake lines
Speedway proportioning valve
Wilwood residual valves.
Saab parking brake lever adapted to vehicle with new cables and hardware

Electrical / Instrumentation / Interior
Speedway Motors 21-circuit wiring harness
All visible wires wrapped in Flexo braided cable sleeve wrap (like Techflex)
New ignition switch (original push-button still works too), headlight switch, cigarette lighter
New turn signal/hazard switch
LED rear tail lights
All new bulb sockets and light bulbs
Front parking light converted to park lights/turn signals
Choke/Throttle bezels on dash converted to LED turn signal indicators
Original 6 volt horns wired in series to work with 12 volt system
Original Speedometer and Fuel gauge functional (voltage reducer on fuel gauge)
Column mounted SUN super tach II (Craigslist)
Autogage analog gauge panel – oil pressure, voltage, water temperature mounted in dash speaker grill
New speedometer cable
Newport Engineering 2-speed electric wiper motor
Torque converter Lockup switch and LED indicator mounted in Radio Delete plate
Interior floorboards covered with FatMat sound deadener
New Carpet
Front seat belts
Goose-neck rear view mirrors mounted on custom-made polished aluminum base

 

Enjoy! Damn nice 50 you built there.

 

Very nice job, looks great. I may not have done everything the same way, but variety is the spice of life, right? In any case, enjoy that car!

 

Picked up this parking brake lever from a early '90s Saab on Ebay for $25. Made a mount that bolts to the shifter bracket on the right side of the transmission. Works great!!

IMG_6068 by krbarnes posted Apr 17, 2017 at 1:56 PM

IMG_6083 by krbarnes posted Apr 17, 2017 at 1:56 PM

IMG_6092 by krbarnes posted Apr 17, 2017 at 1:56 PM

 

I have been running into some temperature issues while idling/sitting in traffic. Thinking the old 6-cylinder radiator just wasn't going to cut it, I bought a new 3-core aluminum radiator.

IMG_6375 by krbarnes posted Jul 4, 2017 at 11:57 AM

only to discover that this wasn't my problem -- it's an airflow problem. After a discussion on the Tech forum, I decided I needed a better fan and a shroud. I replaced the flex fan with a fixed-blade fan. After a trip to Harbor Freight for a sheet metal brake, I made a shroud, welded it up, painted it black, and put it on. Now i'm seeing temperatures about 30degrees lower! Woohoo!!!

Shroud2 by krbarnes posted Jul 17, 2017 at 10:57 AM

Shround4 by krbarnes posted Jul 17, 2017 at 10:57 AM

Shroud5 by krbarnes posted Jul 17, 2017 at 10:57 AM

 

Nice work!