Set in my Big block today for the first time. It will come back out several times but I needed to get the motor mounts welded up and get the trans crossmember set in place. I'm really excited and wanted to share! Next is my fenderwell headers, I hope to get them ordered right after Christmas. Once that is done I have a full front suspension set up allready rebuilt from the 4 door 55 I scrapped and I will dissasemble the front end and get the frame cleaned and painted. From there, bodywork and interior. I'm hoping to be on the dragstrip by April or May. Flashback, here is where I was awhile ago, the firewall had been butchered out, so out with the old..... Here is the new: Then I had to stop working on it for awhile to do a paying paint job. I got that customers truck out of the way the other day and rolled in the 55: Now it was time to get to work so off came the front clip again, and sanded and cleaned the firewall, then a good coat of primer. You can also see how I notched the firewall to clear a big block awhile ago. The floors were cut out too, so out with the old and in with the new!! Now it was time to degrease the frame and finally get some color on the firewall. It's 1969 Chevrolet hugger orange. And now some fun, setting in the 454 for the first time. Now with the motor mounts welded up it was time to hook the trans up and set in in again this time I mocked it up a little bit. So, now I'll get that front suspension off and clean the frame the rest of the way and get the new front suspension on!! For the front end I'll be running Early 60's wagon springs, part number 6004, with ball joint spacers. This thing will be looking like a gasser in no time! (Air filter is temporary off my racecar, I'll be running some more traditional era valve covers and air cleaner) Scot
Lookin real good, I like the firewall! When I did mine the area's that were massaged were done with the help of a discarded steel cake pan that my wife said to throw out.......glad it landed in my garage it came in very handy.....the curved corners worked out well. Keep up the good work!
Looks damn near like my garage! Its coming along nicely. What is the deal with 55 projects and s-10 roller wheels/skins...my 55project has those ugly bastards too!
I ran into some clearance problems with mine using stock box/forward rollcage struts/fenderwell headers, so I'm working on putting a Vega box in it right now. You change one thing, you gotta change half a dozen other things to make it work. (G) Larry T
I hear ya Larry, so far it looks really good. I was looking at the clearance where the gear will sit and I think I have lots of room. You got me thinking now though so I think I'll go dig my gear out of the snow and do a test fit before I get any further Thanks, Scot
Looking good, keep us updated on your progress. Who makes the best fenderwell headers for a big block? I am running hooker super comp chassis headers on my 57 now but am wanting to put fenderwells on it. Does anyone make a big tube race type fenderwell header for 55-57s?
The ones I have found are 2" primary and 3 1/2" collector. They are made by patriot. If you search 55 headers on evilbay you can find them un-coated for around 225.00. I want them bare so I can VHT paint them white old school style.
Very Very nice .I hope you are going to add Disc brakes and MC. I tell my grandson with his 38 Chev truck rod that it's " Not how fast you can go,It's how good you can stop "!!!!!!! IMHO LOL. Tom (Tired Old Man)
I tried a set of Patriot on my car and they hit the forward struts. Sold them to a buddy and he said they hit the steering (box or column, don't remember which). The thing is, with engine position pretty much up to the owner, there is no way they can design headers that are gonna fit every car. Your probably gonna have to "adjust" any header you buy. I ended up scratch building mine. Larry T
Nice project, great job on the fire wall. I know where a 55 post 2 door post is sitting and I keep thinking it could be saved. LOL
Lookin good, springs and spacers are what I'm using also. 1969 Chevrolet hugger orange, and silver are the colors I'm putting on mine, if I ever get a chance to get back to it.
In my 56 gasser I used a lakewood bellhousing bolted to the factory mounts and a hurst style front mount and the patriot headers "speedway" would not clear the stock steering box in the stock location. The #5 tube would have had to been almost flattened to clear. Maybe your mount location will give you more room. I ended up notching the frame, 2x4 tubing so I could drop the front of the box about 2" There was another post on here about fenderwell big block headers that a guy had and he said they fit the stock box no problem. Seems like Dale Wilch sold them.
You guys are making me nervous about all these headers haha. I started looking at the speedway headers, but if you really pay attention, you go musclecars, 55-57 chevy, headers, and those pop up. Then you open the headers and they say 49-54 in the link and they do look a little different than the other headers. So I called them and they gave me the run around about application but would never tell me they specifically fit the 55-57. So then I started looking at the patriot headers and they are supposedly a drop in IF the engine is in the stock location. Which mine is. It took a lot of firewall massaging to get the engine in there without the 2" forward motor mounts. I got a PM from a hamber here that says he has a set of the correct patriot fenderwell BBC headers he would sell me,.....AHHHH the power of the HAMB Scot
I could be wrong, but I thought Speedway's fenderwell headers were Patriot. Maybe Hotroddon could straighten us out. I think he works for Petronix/Patriot. Larry T
The Jalopy Journal
