I finally got the 57 Chevy out of the garage and it's time to start on the Fleetline. I'm really excited about this as I've wanted to do a custom/cruiser for many years, but never found the right one. Finally, by word of mouth, I found this 50 Deluxe and struck a deal.Barn Find.jpgI had to keep her in storage for a time, but now she's home.Home.jpgThe plan on this car is to keep it simple and fairly original. Yes, that means no chop. And no Mustang II either. I want to drive this car, so entrance/exit and visibility are important. Also, the lines on these beauties are fine in their own right. It has 283 already, and I added turbo 350 and Ford 9 rear. I know that rear is overkill, but it's what I had. The Chassis Engineering leaf kit (2" drop) and dual master is already here. And I'll install disc brakes up front. But that's about it for redesign. The stance is to be tail dragger with nose slightly higher. I like to see the full circle of the wide whites up front. The front bumper and bright work is a little lacking on these cars, and I guess that's why you see so many mods up front. I've always loved that big 1950 Buick front bumper and lucked into finding one as they only made them that year. Also, word of mouth.Buick Bumper.jpgSince I want to get as much of the major modifications completed before removing the body, blasting and such, the first step is to fit it together. I've seen two methods of mounting this bumper. One is to just hang it on the front with the large guards/turn signals in place. The other is to incorporate it into the original Chevy design. I chose the latter, as it looks more like it was designed that way, and really adds pop to the front of the car. First though, cuts needed to be made to fit the large upright teeth into the grill area. Leaving the top cross bar alone, the middle and bottom were removed.First Cut.jpg This allows those giant teeth to fit up into the mouth area, but leaves the support structure intact. Still need to latch the hood, you know! As you can see, the blade is too wide, so next, more cutting and some welding. Bumper Mockup.jpg I plan to make the cuts in the area behind each end tooth and remove about three inches each side. That will eliminate the flat area that was behind the bumper guards. The idea is that the compound curve will wrap around the front of the fender and flow into the uprights. Off to the next step and more later.
Anyway, here's the photos. My computer skills didn't get much beyond the year the Fleetline was made!
Rolled it out from under the front and took all the teeth off. I need to remove 5 inches from the blade so it fits the width of the fenders. At first I thought to remove the material and butt weld it. However my welding skills are novice at best. So now I plan to overlap the joint by 2 1/5 inches at each end. That way it will be easier to retain the proper contour and the overlap will be stronger anyway. Since the outer seam will be behind the upright guards anyway, no harm no foul.
After welding up the blade, the bracket needed to be narrowed by 8 inches. Since the bracket and the upright teeth share the same fasteners, I just took out 4 inches on each outer end of the bracket. Now the outer uprights just bolt through the blade, hiding the seams, and the bracket slides perfectly into the frame. Narrowing the blade eliminated the flat spot where the large upright/turn signals were and contoured the blade nicely around the fenders. Next the splash pan will be trimmed.
Been away from the project for a little while, but did get the body separated from the frame. So, now it's time to do all the underneath stuff. Safety strapping the jack stands onto a pair of dolly's makes moving it around a snap. I got the Walton Fabrication leaf kit, and it seems to be very high quality. Removing the old spring hanger rivets is not so hard when the body is off. I used a grinder to remove the rivet tops, and with a little persuasion, it all came loose. I measured for axle center line before removing the axle, and it seems to line up for wheel well center nicely. I'll weld the shock cross member in place tomorrow, and then finish up the rest of the frame mods. I plan to run the rear brake line down the driver side of the frame as the Ford axle has the T-block on that side. Drive shaft will also get measured, since the engine/trans is still in place. Next, it all comes apart again, and in for sandblasting and powder coat. When it comes home, I'll make it a rolling chassis again, and on goes the body - just like Detroit!
Just found your build, I like it! I have a 50 fleetline my self and was planning on the 50 buick grill as well. But, the way you shorten the bumper is perfect and looks great. Very interested to see what the side profile looks like with the body back on the frame. Subscribed!!!
I love the grille mod.... I, too, have 49 Fleetline....it is in progress. Will be 283, 700r, MII, S10 rear, tilt, air, pw, pb, etc
I can hardly wait to get the body back on, so I can see the profile as well. I chose the 2" drop leaf as I want to drive the car, and don't want to be scraping over every little bump. Not interested in bags. Planned stance is to be slightly nose high to show off the bumper. I hope skirts will enhance that look. I like the tail dragger look anyway, with the entire white wall showing on the front wheel well. I feel very lucky to have found that complete bumper, as Buick only had that particular one in 1950.
I also have the rear 1950 Buick bumper. But I'm not sure if I'll use it as it seems a little heavy and ponderous to me. I may just use the original blade, but cleaned smooth with mounting brackets welded inside - no bolt holes! I'm open to ideas. I'm still thinking on tail lights, but actually really like the stock ones.
The frame and body shell are back from media blasting. Body has primer, and while it was on the rack, they painted the under side black. Frame is powder coated, and almost ready for reassembly. But before I can mount engine/tranny, the front cross member needs to be installed. Breaking down those 63 year old suspension components is a chore! But I wanted original front steering, so there's no way around it. Should get it all back from powder coating this week, and then it's all about building, rather than tear down. The Ford 9 has a spool because it was originally destined for a drag car. But, I've located a Mustang third member with 380 gears to be installed this week. So, once all the drive line is in place, the body shell should be back on soon!
OH YEA ! looks great. A ton of work but well worth it.Nice job making it fit tight to the body so it doesn't look like it was just added on. The new shitbox cars will get out of your way when they see your big teeth grill coming at them. Cool man.
Finally got all the front end pieces back from blasting and coating. I sourced a front end rebuild kit from "The Filling Station". Getting the front suspension back together turned out to be a pretty big chore. I've done several Tri-Five type suspensions, and they are simple compared to this stuff. I think Fred Flintstone must have designed these early A-Arm components. Instead of bolt in ball joints, you need Superman to screw in the cross shaft's and line up the pivot pin style bushings. And just try to find A-Arms where the threads for the bushings aren't trashed! Now I know why so many builders just go with the Mustang II style. Hopefully I got it right. I'll have to wait till it goes in for alignment to know for sure. The front of the frame is very flimsy without the cross-member bolted in place. Now that it's installed, I can drop in the engine/trans, and get the drive shaft shortened. The body has been blasted and etch/primed. As soon as I can get the firewall and trunk painted, it can go back on the frame. I know this isn't very sexy compared to the body working/sheet metal skill displayed by so many talented builder's here. But I wanted the foundation and basic's of the car to be there from the start.
Are you using the stock spindles with the front discs? If so, do you know what you bought for rotors and did you need to do anything to them to fit? Looking to do the same on my '50
Yes, stock spindles. The kit is from CPP. Item #4954WBK-S. If you look at the last photo, behind the large inner bearing, you will see a bearing adapter. The newer inner bearing has a larger inner diameter that the original spindle, so they provide the adapter. It was slightly loose, so I am applying Lock Tite Green to hold it in place. CPP says this works great, but I will wait to see. If the adapter spins on the spindle, that could be bad, to say the least. I'll keep a close eye on it. I don't know what other spindle could be substituted, as those type ride on the spindle support. Not surprising that the engineering was changed on those!
I'm leaving town for a few weeks, and didn't want to leave the body sitting in my driveway. Since all my volunteer's have wisely disappeared, I had to do it myself. Using a chain hoist in front, and engine crane in back I was able to get enough altitude on the body to slip the frame with engine under it. Dolly's with rubber wheels really helped. Took a little finagling, but got it in place. I used another rope block & tackle to control it so the frame didn't roll down the driveway. Got it in position, then lowered it down, and shoved it to the side. I think I'll hang the rest of the sheet metal, and get the car at street weight, about 3100#. Then I'll set the pinion angle, and tack it. When I pull the body again for some firewall paint, I can finish weld the spring perches, the easy way.
The 50 is looking good . Nice body '. Was wondering whats your plan for paint?Im looking forward to the rest of the build . please keep posting.
Thanks. Not real sure on paint, yet. Lexus has a real nice light gun metal gray that would go nicely with the wheels. We had thought of a two-tone cream and burgundy combo, because we really like that Camel leather interior. I'd like something different and classic, but not too outrageous. So I guess candy apple red is out! First I need to find a good body guy. It may drive around in primer for awhile!
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