I dont post much on the site mostly because I'm always in awe from the technical skills that so many HAMBers have. I like to lurk and read through all the tech posts and learn. I have always loved 54 Chevy's. My dad had one as his first car and have always wanted one of my own. I soon came across Gambino's FU 54 and was hooked. The search was on. After several disappointing leads, I opened my search to any 2 door 49-54. I soon came across one for sale by Aaron (HARDLUCK) back in January. It was local to my home town (Dallas, Texas) and he was even willing to deliver. A deal was made and I soon became the owner. I knew that the build would be slow because I am a Marine stationed in Virginia, i dont have a garage, and I have a heavy deployment cycle. This car would have to be built while I was able to come home on leave. Well I am home on leave and after some emailing with North Texas Customs my project is underway. Here are some pictures from the breakdown process. I will post more as the build goes. I know I love posts like these and I hope you do too. Enjoy!! These are from the original for sale thread: And these are after sitting quietly in a dark corner at my cousins shop for 5 months.
I wish you the best with your build. I am a fan of the 49' - 54' Chevy's. I own a 50' Chevy that is undergoing a rebuild. I want to personally thank you for your service to our country.
Rod Zombie thank you very much for your tax dollars! Here are some pics from today getting delivered at North Texas Customs.
Well it's been awhile since we updated this project. Marco I know that right now you are deployed so I hope this puts a smile on your face. After blasting we could see exactly what needed to be addressed sheet metal wise and the parts were ordered. Since the car will need floor pans, inner rockers, and floor braces, we decided that it would be best to mount the shell on the rack and lock it in place. These cars are not designed to carry their own weight but rest on a frame instead, so removing them from the chassis can throw gaps of and make the rears sag. First step was to mount on the rack and hang the doors for good gaps... Once we were happy with the way everything looked we welded the shell in place with supports and braced the inside to keep things in check... Starting with the floors we removed the rotted sections... We then carefully trimmed the panels to fit for a nice but weld. When ground and finished dressed it'll look like it never happened. Now we need to repeat for all for pans and two toe boards, then on to the outer rockers and quarters...
awesome some progress on the car , my neighbor had one of these he dragged out of the woods for $150 it got a 250 6 out of a school bus lol , he never did anything else to it but it was fun to see it drive by even sort of ratty condition as it was
First of all thanks for ur service to our country and you are welcome for the tax dollars! Lol, the car is looking great! I had rust repairs done in the excact same places on mine. So what do you plan on doing with the car? Tail lights, chop, trim???????
I know sgt Hernandez wants a mild custom, very subtle. I think he wants it lowered and built toward a bomb style... I'm sure he'll chime in when he gets near a computer. I think this is his 6th time deployed...
Man o' man. I just got on a computer and logged on to see if anything new was going on. What a surprise to see some updates on my car. Yes this is my 6th deployment. Now alittle about the car. I am going for a mild custom look with diffrent tailights, mild lowering, nosed, decked, etc. Alot like John Denichs 51. His car is a true inspiration and alot like I want mine to look when its done. If I can get it to look half as good as his I will be happy. Tyler, I will be sneding you an email shortly. Thanks again for putting up with my project while I'm away.
Man time flies! We finished up the welding on the front of the shell except for a few weld on the back side of the rockers so..... outer quarter and rocker all butt welded and flushed Pretty much had to hand fab this whole area and inner pocket Floors finished and ground all butt welded, no overlaps Nuther view... And the passenger side
So Hellfire wants to go with a mustang cross member and since we're a dealer for JW Rod Garage we"ll go with a set up from them. Out back we"ll use a Gambinos' notch kit and probably a triangulated four link. Hellfire has plans to switch over to bags at a later date so setting up the chassis this way now will make the swap a snap down the road.
Yeah EMS, I really don't like the fit of their panels, but I have to say I was really surprised with how little if any mods had to be done.
Nothing like seeing some progress on his custom to keep the troops motivated overseas. Despite being a huge waste of time sometimes, the Internet is a wonderful thing.
I was wondering about that, I have found other companies producing panels for much cheaper, but even in the photos the quality looks much cheaper than EMS.
I should clarify, I meant in the other companies photos of their products. Your photos look like top notch work.
The panels are same gauge steel and are not flimsy like something coming from LMC or golden star. I'm actually surprised to say that I wouldn't hesitate to use or recommend the panels we used on this car. On other makes and models I still have reservations...
Have you by chance used the EMS panels that are for 53-54 chevys? I need to do tailpan and quarter panel repair on my wifes 53.
Yes sir, I've had trouble with all their tailpans...but it's an easy area to tweak. Just make sure that everything gaps out nicely and the deck lid shuts with the rubber and latch in place before any welding.
Good to know. Our tailpan is beat up so the deck lid doesn't close now! haha. I wish EMS carried new sheetmetal for the tail light area however. I have been scouring craigslist for complete quarters with taillights to no avail.
Beautiful Work Tyler! Man your boys are doing a hell of a job. I knew I was in good hands bringing it to you. If anyone in DFW needs some work done, go see Tyler. Yes the plans are for a Mustang II up front and a Gambinos notch in the rear. After that I will finish the body work and set up my engine and tranny combo. It feels great to see the progress that has been made. A+ work.
thanks for your comments, tailpans are very sensitive to body alginment, a good looking car can have some twisting and the tailpan will magnify the small amount of distortion. it gets worse on pre 40 cars. but your comments say it gap it out before welding and it all should be ok. we agree! also your body jig on the large i-beam, body clamped down securely with proper risers to frame mounting points, a+ not many shops do this.
Maybe I missed it but where do you guys get those cool sheemetal clamps for holding the panels together? Thanks, Dick.
The Jalopy Journal
