advice on a 51 chev deluxe?

Being fairly new to buying a project car and not a daily driver, I have some questions about this particular car that i just can't seem to answer myself:

Here's the rundown-51 chev deluxe 2dr: rod knock on the 216 6cyl, still 6 volt, 3 on the tree. Driver's side Body mount below door jam (from what i can tell it used to be a body mount) is thoroughly rusted and the frame just below it has a silver dollar sized rust hole. I crawled underneath to see some daylight through the floor near the driver's rocker and in front of the passenger seat, but no other bad spots on the frame....that I could see. it needs both rockers and patch panels on either side of the rear wheel well to remedy the bondo job that's now crumbling away. other than that all the chrome i'd use is there and no other body damage-the trunk floor is solid.

the car still has that stock goofy torque tube setup, but does come with a 10 bolt rear end that measures 60" drum to drum, which after research would allow me to run 7.5" tires with about a 3.5" back spacing.

so, my question is, for 1400 is it worth it? keep in mind i plan on small blocking it with a t5 and the included 10 bolt rear end. (yea, yea, boring I know. It'll be my build, not yours) while i'm confident i can do all this, using wider leaf springs and converting to 12 volt, I wonder about the frame damage, is this something i can tackle with a grinder and mig welder or would this be something i should just pass up?

 

where are the pic's?

 

you can probably take a shim out on that ol 216 rod cap shim pak.
and be able to drive it.

 

The rust hole in the frame... is it on the bottom of the frame, or up on the vertical side?

How are your welding/fabrication skills?

On the knocking 216, I wouldn't really waste any time on it. Get that SBC in there. (The only reason for keeping the 216 would be for some historical/period-correct deal. But if you plan to have fun driving the car, SBC is the way to go!.)

 

Thanks all for the replies!

anyone ever patch a frame before? I guess that's my real concern here. I'm looking for a general consensus of: for the 1400 tag, would you patch the frame and put time in it?

 

heres the parts u need call bob 216-541-4585

 

here's some pics of the car from my buddies cell: it looks a lot better here than in person!

 

bringing her next week i hope.

 

Looks pretty nice for that price. Mine was a lot worse and I paid more! Good Luck.

 

do it have a clear title? that is harder to fix than rust. Believe me.

 

thankfully, yes, the title is clear and original.

I'll get some more pics up once i bring her home.

 

nice score !

 

good score and good luck. i am finishing up a 51 Fleetline after a 2-yr build and certainly appreciate all the work you have ahead. there's tons of good tech. advise here on the Hamb, so 'listen up" and good luck!

 

I've certainly been doing my lots of my homework here on the hamb.

After paying a $12 cover to get into the car craft summer nationals show today, and seeing nothing but chrome bolt-ons on mustangs and camaros, ricers bragging of 11 second street cars, and five-digit price tags on anything mopar, I can't wait to hang my arm out the window of the old girl.

 

Fix what it needs to be a safe driver, repair the engine, and start driving it (at least locally). Once you start driving it around and having a good time you can start doing other work to it.

Cooter

 

I second what Cooter said!

 

Cooter is right! i have a 48' chevy that i went crazy taking shit apart... seven years later it still not done! So with my 51 i made sure that i got it running fine, re-wired it, lowered it, and drive the shit out of it!

 

I'm a chassis builed for over 25 years professionally, and I say go for it. There are 2 companies on the west coast that carry anything you need for your project. They are called "Chevies of the Fourties" in Vancover Wa, and Iand I restorations out of Salam Or. if I'm not mistaken. I have a 51 Pontiac club coupe and a 37 Chevy, and they handle many GM parts, rubber, patch panels and mis. parts you may need. Dont be afraid of the rust, just cut out and repair one side at a time to prevent warpage. Bill....dragcarbuilder.

 

chevsofthe40s.com

 

thanks a ton guys, I love the HAMB!

I sold a topper on mys10.com, with pics of it on my lowered '83 driver, and not only didn't sell the damn thing, but got harassed because I didn't clear coat my truck or have 22's.

now comes the hardest part of this purchase...finding a home for the ol girl. my landlord won't let my keep the car in the garage because it'll ruin the floor of his garage that is 70+ years old.

I'll stop whining. thanks for all the advice again! I'm sure there will be more questions on my part in the future!

-TCK

 

sadly to say, someone beat me to it.

if any of the moderators need to save space, feel free to kill this thread.

In the mean time, I'll continue my search for a 2 door 49-54. I got a few leads here and there. And if any of you hambers out there know of or have a hung up project, feel free to pm me.

Thanks a bunch! keep the rubber side down!

 

freakin sweet