Getting it done! Nice! Not wanting to trigger anyone nor draw a virtuous defense of any one motor but I am curious when in the traditional era the SBC made 1hp per ci.? D
I may be incorrect, but I believe it was the mechanical fuel injection 283 in the corvette. Like 1958 or 1959?
The 57 Corvette "fuelie" 283/283 was quite a feat, a notable milestone. 10.5:1 compression, fuel injection and a long duration "Duntov" solid lifter cam to make the most of the small port heads. From Chevy hardcore dot com - "…you can appreciate the Duntov cam, as well as that entire engine, for the amazing achievement it was in its day. – Billy Godbold, Comp Cams
Back on the job after calling in sick lols. Some dimple die mods for the firewall braces and my first hand made patch for the door jambs. Not sure my grinding skill can overcome my welding lol. Had to bail on the tig welder this time….
Holy shit....now I know why you're so eager to keep progress going without the frame! Anyways. Progress looks great!
Yeah this things like a bad onion, the more I peel….worse it gets. Have a crap ton of patch panels to weld in. This ole girl has more plastic than Dolly Parton haha.
Geez I though you sent all these rough bodies over seas .. and everything in Texas was pristine Henry steel.. How wrong was I . Great build thread and great progress . Not to mention excellent build quality . Looking good and looking forward to future updates . Its going to be one cool old hot rod ..
I have tracked the car back through Texas-Kansas- Alabama and that’s where the trail ends as far as I can confirm. Pretty sure it spent it’s life mostly up North or Midwest. Wish I could say I was impressed by the work of others before me but geez at the janky crap I’ve uncovered so far. I’m far from an expert but damn.
will you be replicating the paintjob that it used to have or going for something different? I think the old "dirt track" style paint scheme looked pretty good.
I’m struggling with that direction. On one hand I liked the theme, but think I’ll go with a historical odd color. I love black but it’s expected and I like to stand out lol. We’ll see. Ive been all over the map from Black to 1928 Harley green to Harbor gray.. just can’t nail it down yet
Small amount of work today. Waiting on a pulse tig to arrive before I dive into body panels. My $200 ebay tig runs too hot even for a tight weld seam. Using mig but it’s eating twice the number of grinding discs. Made the drivers front A pillar patch, next up is the cowl patches after welder gets here.
per google … “The original small block Chevrolet grew in displacement and output over the years. In 1957, the 283 cubic-inch engine fitted with Rochester fuel injection became the first engine to produce one horsepower per cubic inch.”
Yes but thats by google, in 56 the 300b had 355 hp out of a 354 cubic inch hemi. https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1956-chrysler-300b Anyway, its semantics, one of the first! Let's just say that
My dad set 2 national speed records with a Hilborn Injected 265 and an Engle Roller cam. I can just imagine what he could have done if they would have had speed parts back then.
For a second there I thought you were working on my car. The onion is exactly what I called my 31 when I started tearing into it. It was a "finished car". Like you I was not impressed with the total lack of skill, booger welds, hidden rust, and shit work covered up with paint, bondo, carpet, etc. Some of the shit was just plain dangerous. I have been working on it off and on since 2010! I retired last year so now I'm on it every day. Maybe someday I'll do a retroactive build thread, but until then I'll enjoy yours. If you still have the 5" crossmember that runs under the seat between the body sub-rails there is a serial number stamped in it on the passenger side. From this number I was able to determine mine was originally built in San Francisco. Henry had assembly plants all over the country. If only these cars could tell the stories of where they have been.
That was just an old fact I read in a book many years ago. I did not Google it. Should have known dodge beat them to it That being said...I couldn't find the introduction date of the 300b. But the 1955 300 was introduced in February of 1955 And the 1957 chevy did go on sale in fall of 1956. I wonder how close they were actually introduced? If the 300b came in February of 56.(just speculation) than they were pretty close. Whatever one was first...I'd take the 300b over the chevy any day.
First patch panel almost done. Needs finish tig on both sides and some cleanup of pinholes. Liking this pedal tig! Panel beating in my future to get it back to Henry.
What TIG machine did you end up getting? I saw you were waiting on pulse TIG machine, but missed which one you got. I have a YesWelder TIG-205DS which doesn't have pulse or a pedal that varies the amps, would like to get one someday, but not invest too much in a hobby machine that I won't use all of the time.
Went with the Eastwood 200 Elite. I have to say I love the pedal but am a little disappointed in the pulse. Trying the pulse with pedal are beyond my current abilities . It does work but I find it easier to use just the pedal for now. My thoughts are you absolutely need a pedal to prevent the blowouts on 18 gauge butt welds and still get decent penetration.
Another step…. Metal finished the cowl patch and it’s time to move on. Will make a final tune up and finish once all panels are complete and I can focus more on the little tweaks. Decided to fab a filler panel while repairing the header panel. Think I may keep it if I can get a clean fit with the dash and cowl filler.,
You surely know how to talk to sheet metal! Very 'lighthanded' touch. I have some flatheads, my F100 has a SBC, has for 50 years. (!) Holy crow, 50??? Yep. Started with a donor from a '69 'Vette, ran so well my 354 Chrysler Hemi never got installed! Also building a nice 292 SBC (283 .060 over, old Northern Calif. trick!) Just in case the flathead doesn't pull the T touring well enough! I'm 'practical'. Glad you are too.
Love your build, great craftsmanship and attention to detail, love the SBC- your gonna have a freaking blast with this hot rod when it’s done!! Matt
Looking good, I had lots of problems with all my patch panels. My panels bottom edge body line was not even close to the Ford original, it was too flat, not beautifully rounded like Ford was and it was 3/16 longer from top to bottom and the bottom edge did not line up with the door at all. I spent a bunch of time making the proper curvature in the body lines both in front and behind the doors, and shortening it 3/16 so the bottom line matched the Ford original body line and aligned with the door too. I wanted my body to be exactly as Henry made it and these patch panels are only kinda close.
Yes, already ran into that, test fit the ones I have , and all will need modifications to work and fit properly. Still saves a lot of time vs fabrication by myself, but frustrating that it’s needed.
The Jalopy Journal
