I never really believed that "barn finds" happened as frequently as they seem to...

just have fun with it.......

 

To make friends here you should NEVER say RAT ROD never never never.[/QUOTE]

Screwball he just sucked you into saying it!! Does that mean you have to give up all your friends??

 

----------------
'Double ditto' on that. I was feelin'
good for the guy.....until I read
those two words.

mart3406
===========

 

Thank you
Looks like a cool start have fun with your new car.

 

It was a short tail Turbo 400 I am sure. Unless someone badly messed with it.
I'm a fellow Buick guy who has owned several Rivs. The one I currently own is too new for this board. ('70) So like the double R-word, I don't talk about it.

 

Shades of the fifties !! That's what we did, lowering blocks in the back, that's all.

Then a couple decades later they went nose-down...
And then both front and back dropped....

Nice buy, I'm sure it will turn out fine.

 

---------
Everything you've mentioned is
do-able - but only with major work,
lots of time and major dinero.
Seriously, for now, I'd keep the
original 6-banger and get the car
running, fixed-up and drivable and
then drive it and enjoy it for what
it is. Even just doing that, Ill bet
you find you'll have to do a lot more
work and spend a bunch more
money than you think.

But putting in a 430 Buick -
here's a bit of what you're looking.
First, virtually nothing of the
original car will be either compatible
and/or up to the task. First - brakes
and front suspension. There's no
way that the the original Chevy
front brakes and stock suspension
will be up to the task and will need
to be replaced with something that
is. The stock front drum brakes in
particular were marginal at best,
even 'back in the day', when these
cars were new and definitely not
up the to task of modern-day driving
conditions - especially not with a
near-400 hp Buick V8 under the
hood! Also, there's going be major
interference with the stock steering
box and the steering linkage where
it runs under the engine. Basically
to fit a 430 Buick in there, you're
looking at either a complete frame
swap - or at least cutting the stock
frame off just back of the firewall
and front-half'ing the car with a
front frame and suspension clip
from another car. On the stock
Chevy there are some sheet metal
reinforcements that go from the
firewall to the the stock frame. Of
course they'll have to go to. Then,
as you mention - the tranny tunnel
interference issue. 430 Buicks all
came with the bigger, stronger 400
Turbo-hydro trannies - no 350 THM
trannies on the 430's from the
factory, ever. You could adapt a
B-O-P pattern 350 turbo to the 430,
and massage the stock tunnel to
accept that, but the 400 turbo will
necessitate cutting out and basically,
fabbing a whole new tunnel to get it
in there. Then finally, the back end
of the car too. About the driveshaft
and rear end. There's no question
that as you put it "a rearend swap
may be in order". It will. First the
stock Chevy uses a closed drive
shaft and torque-tube rear
suspension set-up. All that will have
to go and be replaced with a
conventional 'open drive-shaft
style' rear end end. And since the
stock torque tube doubles as a
rear suspension link and pivot
point, you'll need to adapt or build
a conventional rear suspension
using either leaf springs or coil
springs with a 4-link, or ladder bars
etc. Again, all do-able, but not cheap
or for the faint-hearted or neophyte.
I'm not trying to dissuade you from
building your dream - you're right a
430 Buick-powered '53 Chevy
certainly would be "sweeet" - but
I'm just saying - "know what you're
getting into" and "think about it long
and hard"- before you start spending
money and cutting things. A lot of
good old cars have been partially
cut up and then abandoned when
their owner-builders found too late,
that their dreams exceeded their
financial abilities and/or their
engineering and fabrication and
mechanical skills.

Mart3406
-----------
P.S I mentioned a complete frame
swap. If you have your heart
absolutely set on using that 430 -
that would be the easiest, quickest
way to to put a 430 Buick in there
and resolving all of the brake,
steering, front and rear suspension
and rearend issues all at once. I
haven't measured one but it should
be close and very adaptable - you
might want to look for the complete
frame and drivetrain from a a '68
through '72 Buick Skylark (the 430
will bolt right in using stock 455
Buick Skylark GS mounts) or short
of that, a similar, frame and drivetrain
set-up from one of the near-clone,
Chevelle, Tempest or Cutlas's of
those same years.
==================

 

so much bad advice there I don't even want to start.^^^

 

"And now I get to build my rat rod."



Incoming!!!!!!!

 

Barn finds are still around. Two weeks ago I got a call from a friend in Kentucky to look at a car for him. I made the contact, drove about 10 miles from home and when I walked into this guys barn, sure enough, there was this barn owl shitted '49 Chevy business coupe. Key still in the ignition, intierior in good shape, no rust anywhere. Made the deal and soon Dice will have another project. OH! Sitting next to the Chevy was a 1934 Plymouth 5W, in front of that a '30's roadster pu, and a '39 Packard coupe and in front of that another '20's roadster pu....on and on.

People show me "barn finds" frequently, usually something that they have had in the family for a lot of years. They just don't quite know what to do with them. Like us, those that have these "barn finds" don't have the funds to restore them so they just sit. Wish I had the funds for some of the vehicles I have been shown, but I have a hard time maintining what I have.

 

if i had that 53 id just clean it up and drive it why pull out a motor thats been rebuilt to put in another one?

my friend has a53 belair 4door in the same basic shape was a good original driver now its sitting in his garage with no motor /trans because he had to "build it" and hes in over his head and wont admit it

 

Thanks all for the advice, and the wake-up. So I took the day to go back to the tire shop and give it a good look-over, shake some shit and see what fell off, and try to determine A) where I want it to end up, and B) where to start in order to get to A. So here's what I've come up with.

First, my plan has been from the get-go to build something WE can enjoy as a family. I want my son to think back twenty or thirty years from now and ask "Dad, what was that big car we used to take out every Sunday?" That being said, I see no reason why he needs to get to Chuck-E-Cheese at low 10s in a quarter. SO, the straight 6 will stay. Got a real nice Buick 430 if anyone is interested. (AND a 58 Chrysler Firepower hemi w/ transmission, a few flathead Ford V8s, etc etc etc... but that's another post.) Now for the look...

I want to do this right. Old school right. My initial thought was to dump the whole car a few inches with the tried and true method of flipping and swapping the spindles, then blocking the rear. That got scratched. I'm going to leave the front alone, and block the rear. As far as dropping the front just A LITTLE, I have a set of 4 old Fenton turbines that I actually pulled off of another 53 Chevy a few months back, so I feel it is only fitting to put them back on one. The fronts are 14"s and the rear are 15"s. That will bring the front down just a little, without ruining the look I'm shooting for. I'll get them blasted, then I'll paint the insides of the fins and polish the tops of the fins back through.

Exterior-wise, I'm debating on whether or not I wanna take a stab at "woody-ing" the doors. I had a few thoughts on it, and I'm still playing with it, but nothing is in stone. I took a trip to the salvage yard yesterday and stripped all the woodgrain vinyl off of a 1988 Grand Wagoneer, just so I could lay it out on the doors to get a better idea of how it looks. Inside the woody trimwork (or framework) I can either PAINT the woodgrain, use vinyl woodgrain, or (and I'm kind of leaning toward this idea...) taking the door down to bare steel and clear coating it. Maybe I can even knurl it with a flapwheel. Nothing in stone, just ideas. The rest of the car is going to get the standard satin-black treatment, maybe a little gloss red scrollwork here and there. More on that later.

Interior should be pretty easy. Floors are decent, so I'm going to POR-15 the works, and lay in a new oxblood carpet. I'll re-cover the door panels to match (I've got the oxblood vinyl in the workshop already, used it on another project a few years ago), and hit the dash with a deep red, maybe midnight red, and buff the shit out of it. The headliner might be difficult, but not impossible, to find and I have three chrome headliner bows from a 50-something Pontiac that I might try to incorporate into the project. As much as I'd love to lay the back glass down a little, I'm not going to mess with it. Skirts WILL be in place.

So that's my vision. Thumbs up, down, opinions, thoughts, advice, all are welcome. Oh yeah, did I mention I'm going to TRY to get as much of it as I can done by the 19th of April so I can drive it to the Charlotte Auto Fair? Here goes nothin'...

 

A few more pics...
At least it turned out to be a 235!

 

if you find you want to sell that car at some point in time. shoot me a PM, ive been looking for a chev for a little while now.

Good luck with the build, just remember KISS, keep it simple stupid. Drive the shit out of that thing and enjoy the time on the road with it, not building it into something crazy that will take years to do.

 

I'm glad you are going to keep the 6. You could always do some mild hop up stuff to it, like dual 1 barrel carbs, header, etc. Lowering a few inches is good. Being a 4-door the only look that would work for it is a mild custom. Nothing wrong with that!
I don't think a "wooding" look would work. Does not sound like it would look good or traditional to me...maybe look rat r...I can't say it, most all cars with that look are ugly!
How about a white roof, a blue or some simular colour for the body. Satin, or even better in Metal Flake.
You got a nice car, hope you and your family enjoy it for many years.

 

-------
Now yer' talkin'!!

Mart3406
=======

 

OK, so all the arrangements were made today, and the 53 will be picked up Thursday morning and delivered to my buddy Scott's garage. My 66 Galaxie has been occupying one spot at the shop for the past five months while we pieced together the driveline, so throwing one more project into the works ain't nothing but a thing. We're aiming to have the 53 running by the close of business Thursday. We'll also be removing the front clip, since it is apparent that someone else had previously, and didn't take the time to put all the "extra" bolts back in the holes they came from. Passenger side fender is... wobbly. May as well put it back together proper while we're in there anyway. After we get it running, we'll begin overhauling the brakes. That should be about as fun as a bikini wax. Not that I've ever experienced a bikini wax, and with good reason. It just LOOKS like it would suck. Here's to hoping the brakes are substantially less painful...

 

Pulled from a long-forgotten, well-past rotten, 1953 210... Only fitting that they be given a new lease on life rolling beneath another '53 210. 14" Fenton front, 15" (Unknown) rear. Despite the difference in the number of fins between the 14s and 15s, they actually looked wicked-cool on the car they came off of.

 

I agree. I think those wheels are going to look pretty darn sweet on her.

 

I love a good 235! And I love your story! I'm only like 3 hours from ya in TN. Good luck! AWESOME BUY!

 

Like I said, I pulled them from a 53, so I've already SEEN what they're going to look like. Trust me, they're gonna fly here.

 

For what it's worth, I think you've got a nice time capsule there. Rather than stuff around with it, why don't you look at conserving / preserving it? Tasteful lowerage if you want, a mild hop on the 235, go through the running gear and refurb what's needed, cut and polish the original finish, then drive it with a huge smile on your face. It'll be more fun and unique than doing a bunch of crap to it (including painting it fucking satin black) that it doesn't need.

 

Where the engine is concerned, as stated in above posts, I've decided to keep the original 235. The ONLY thing I'd like to do to the engine is split the exhaust and run duals. MAYBE a dual carb, but that's not really even a priority.

Cut and polish the original finish... sorry, which picture are you looking at? The original finish, well, there isn't enough of it left to cut and polish. The surface rust would make that near impossible, and since I picked up the car as inexpensively as I did, I'm not going to throw a $3k paint job on it. It just isn't in the budget. And besides, I would PREFER a satin black paint job on it, and quite frankly... ummmmmmmmmmm it's my fuckin' car.

I've restored 10 cars. I didn't think it was nearly as much fun as the customization I've been doing to my 66 Galaxie (which I have failed to mention up to this point because I'm aware that this board is pre-64 and I've already pissed on too many peoples' Cheerios with the double-R word, which I'm certain I will pay for for a long time from now...). I'm looking forward to making this 53 Chevy MY car. The way I want it. Just stick around and watch. I don't mind advice, or suggestions, or even drawing my attention to things I obviously didn't consider. In fact, I appreciate all that. But please be respectful and recognize that while nothing is set in stone as far as color, or whether I woody it, or whether the wheels are going to stay or go, or if I put a big fuckin' unicorn horn on the hood (not really) etc etc etc, suggesting I take my entire project a completely different direction because you think it's a "bunch of crap" ain't gonna happen. ABSOLUTELY I want to hear what you think of it along the way. ALL of you! Don't worry, if my skin was any thicker I'd be a fuckin' turtle, so if you want to criticize it along the way, please, be my guest. You're not going to hurt my feelings any. Hell, when it's done, tell me it looks like shit! I'll still buy the first round on Cruise Night, because I had fun doing it, and it's MY car the way I want it.

 

That's gonna cost you.

Bob

 

"barn finds" are real. My uncle picked up a 57 chevy 210, 4 door sedan, six banger and auto, that had been parked since '60 when the tranny went out. Garaged till he bought it in around '98. Tons of things had gone wrong, mice ate the interior, but no rust whatsoever.

You just have to be there at the right time and place. and have the cash.

 

That's gonna cost me? How's that?

 

Christ Almighty, righto keep your bloody shirt on. You did ask for opinions, I never said what you wanted to do was a bunch of crap, so how about settling down a wee bit? I don't give a fuck what you want to do with it. Dry your eyes and have a lie down.

 

THAT is an awesome story. Admittedly, mine is not truly a "barn find", as that one is. But this is about as close as I've gotten to one so far. I once picked up a 1967 T-Bird Landau for simply knocking on the door and asking about it. Not an appropriate car to be discussing here on the HAMB though, so enough of that. But yes, I agree, it all has to do with being in the right place at the right time, and having the right amount of cash in your pocket. In this case, I didn't even bother to haggle. He said $600, that was gooooood enough for me. I love my new 53, and I wouldn't dream of turning it into a "clown car" as mentioned in a previous post. Everything will be tastefully done. Should turn out alright.

 

If you haven't figured out the RR word is considered highly offensive here.

As in to many of those characters too a pretty decent little ride like that Chevy and turned it into a rolling piece of junk.

I think you are on the right path though. I don't care for satin black simply because it is so over done and satin black cars are like belly buttons as almost everyone has one and you show up at a traditional car event and 50% of the other cars will be some shade of flat or satin black.

If the engine and drive train are good I'd go through the brakes, lower it a couple of inches front and back, do the interior like you were thinking but the rez blanket thing is getting over done too put the paint job you want on it and pile the family in it and drive the wheels off it. If it has a 235 those are reliable as hell and while they won't set any speed records they pull pretty gas mileage. I went on a lot of fun road trips in my grand parents 54 when I was a kid.

 

Titles can be a HUGE pain in the ass depending on the paperwork you have and the state you live in.

Cool car man. Keep it simple and drive the wheels off of it. My 2 cents is to polish the car's patina up and drive it for a week before painting it satin black. The patina may grow on you and once you paint over it, its gone. Keep us posted man!