Projects '49 Styleline Deluxe - Project FrankenStyle

NOT a Fab-Heavy Project, but many helpful Tips I've learned along the way...
Purchased off Ebay, with no history, the car was represented as being a Kansas car. Given the large amount of powdery-silt throughout, and virtually no rot, I would say this car definitely came from an arrid climate. The Body Tag off the cowl is missing, so I would assume the car was most likely Titled to the Engine Serial Number, instead of the Vin Tag, a popular practice back in the day, and something that was done specifically in Kansas. The Title I recieved HAS the corresponding Vin Tag number.
QUICK FACTS: Bone stock, with 1956 123 HP Chevrolet 235 Engine with 1959 Head, and factory 3-speed on the column. The car appears to be original, however, the Fender Skirts are dark green, like the roof.
The mileage reads 85k.

The intent is to retain the patina body, with period-appropriate customizing.
Here are pics of how the car looks, before the transformation:

 

Nice score


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That car looks to be in very good condition. I wouldn't make many changes at all if it was mine.

 

Why does it have Illinois tags on it??

 

I bought it from an Illinois Couple who said they grabbed it out of Kansas. Hence the mysterious background.

 

Here are some more shots highlighting the condition of the car. The only rust is small hole ahead of the Driver Side Rear Tire, that weird built-in cup in the Trunk Floor, and a few pinholes where you rest your feet in the Front Floor. More on that later.
The Door Bottoms actually look better in person (very clean), and the Frame is spotless.

 

As it came off the trailer from Illinois the Head was weeping antifreeze on the passenger side, so a great excuse to pull the motor and thoroughly check it out.
I've read lots of discussions about how to pull the motor. GM suggests removing the entire front clip, which is totally unnecessary. I removed the Hood, and Front Grille, and 2 of us popped the engine out in an hour. You don't even need to remove the hood (it opens a full 90 degrees), but I always like to remove it for easy access. It won't go back on until all the bugs have been worked out.

 

What did you find on the antifreeze leak? The old car I'm working on did the same thing same place (passenger side, not Illinois or MA). I'm hoping a retorque or head gasket fixes her up!

 

Nice Car.

VR&C

 

The Head Gasket was a thin P.O.S. But, I wanted to make sure, so I sent the Head out and had it magnafluxed.
It looked great, so I had new valves installed and put it back on with a quality gasket.
While that was getting done, I date-coded the engine as a 1956 235, but the head is not so easy to date-code.
GM reused the casting numbers every 10 years, so it could be a '49 or '59.
As far as the Engine goes, it looked brand new inside. Quite a surprise, as it was an oily mess on the outside.
New Freeze Plugs, Timing Gears, etc. makes me wonder if it was a Jasper Engine. Even my local Machine Shop said it looked like a factory rebuild. (I can't find the Engine Internals pictures. I'll check with my Helper to see if has them on his phone, and will add them to the Post later).
It got a thorough cleaning with the Gasoline from the Fuel Tank, spray-down with Prep Spray, and 7-coats of VHT Orange Metalic rattle can.
Note, the original 216 Front Engine Mount was used, instead of Side Mounts. If you don't have or can't get the stock brackets, you can use Davis Mounts. These are actually better than the stock mounts and have no real downside other than possibly the additional work of attaching the frame brackets to the side rails. If you have a 55-57 engine it will definitely have the holes for them. Some 58-62 engines have the holes, and some don't.
QUICK FACT: The Stamped Number by the Distributor is your Basic Date Code.
The Last few numbers in the sequence tell you the Plant/Year/Type.
This Engine is F (Flint Michigan), 56 (1956), Z (Regular 235).
The Cast Number behind the Starter reveal the Actual Day/Year the Block was cast.
(Usually the previous year). In this case you can see the last number is 5 (1955).

 

When I was cleaning/detailing the Engine Bay and Frame, I noticed Mounts riveted to the frame, with corresponding threaded holes on the face of the bellhousing, but nothing to connect the two. In trying to identify the missing Mounts/Brackets I found many cars were missing this original setup. In Figure 94 from the Factory Service Manual you can see the 3-part Mount for each side of the bellhousing, right above "B" in the photo. These were probably removed to pull the engine and not reinstalled when the motor was swapped.
I was real lucky in finding a set of the Brackets that mount to the bellhousing, and the Mounts are readily available.

QUICK FACT: The "Tranny Mounts", as they are referred to, sell for $24-$44/pair all over the InterWeb. Rock Auto sells them for $10.19 shipped! It pays to do some homework.

 

The original 3-speed Transmission looked great inside when we took it apart to replace all the gaskets, so it too got a new Orange Metallic paint job. It date-codes as a 1949. The only way to tell is on the face of the case, so you have to remove the Bell Housing.
These cars came with a Torque Tube Drive Shaft, which had a reputation for leaking, although this one wasn't, I went ahead and installed an "Okie Bushing". There's a flush pin on the top of the Drive Shaft which needs to be drilled-out. It's less than 1/4" thick, so I took special care not to drill too deep and damage the internals. The only way I found the pin was by undoing the Axle U Bolts and pitching the Drive Shaft down. It's smooth with the Drive Shaft Housing, so it just looks like a dot. The Okie Bushing drove in with moderate effort, and drives the original Bushing further down the Drive Shaft, where it's abandoned.

 

Sweet old Chevy, I love it~

 

While all these mechanical upgrades were being performed, the Interior was gutted and that's when the pinholes in the front floor pans were discovered. I decided to cut out both driver and passenger front pans and replace them with repops. Cutting along the original seams worked great and popped most of the spot welds. Everything was ground clean, holes drilled every 3-5" in the new pans, and temp screwed in place with self tapping screws. Once welded, ground, primed, and seam sealed, the new floors installation looks better than the factory originals. (The 2nd photo is the original rear floor).

 

Yup it's cool!

 

Couldn't stand that Ugly Green Roof anymore, so more Orange!
Well, actually, it all started with rust under the moldings around the base of the roofline. Inherent problem with these cars. Luckily I caught it before it ate through the sheetmetal.
Everything ground down, primed, clips blasted and primed, stainless trim polished, and reinstalled.

 

The Engine is back in the car, complete with Fenton Dual Intake, Langdon's Dual Carter/Webbers, and Williams Headers. Inline Tube Fuel and Vacuum Lines required only minor modifications, and it started right up!
There are still a few things to do before it can drive.
More Engine Bay details to come, along with the previous owner's terrible attempt at the 12 Volt Conversion.

 

I dont guess you have any pictures of underneath of that remote fill for the master cylinder do you? I was considering putting one in but it looked to me that there wasnt room between the top of the m/c and floorboard.

 

Here's the Power Brake Setup I used, from ABS Power Brake.
Good quality, very easy to install, although no instructions at all. They don't even tell that you need to utilize your existing MC!
Gut your MC, and their Setup with an extended pushrod, goes right through it. That way the pedal orientation doesn't change. The only issue was the MC now sits atop their bracket, making everything that much closer to the floor. I had to ream both Clutch and Brake Pedal holes in the floor because the arm swing changed enough that they were binding.
As you can see, the Booster doesn't hang much lower than everything else. Once on the ground I'll determine if I need to make a skid plate.
The Remote Fill Hoses and Vacuum Hose run over the frame and up the driver side of the cowl, under the hood hinge.
QUICK FACT: The photo shown has the wrong Remote Fill Hoses. You must use Brake Fluid Compatible Hose.
Not too readily available. I got mine from Pegasus Racing.

 

Your upgrades should make this old car safer and more fun to drive, good work.


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Sweet work on the brakes! You do nice work!

 

Thanks Guys. Although I've never had an issue with the Drum Brakes on these cars, I did also go with a Front Disc upgrade, mainly for resale.

 

Your going to have a lot of people try to talk you out of that visor. Nice ride.

 

All new Side Glass, Weatherstripping, Channels, and Fuzzies installed. I install everything with 3M black weatherstrip adhesive applied to both pieces. Just make sure to mask your paint, once this stuff dries, and doesn't come off! The new Windshield and original Rear Glass will go in once the Headliner is installed.

 

your work is making this into one sweet ride - Thanks for all of the detail info

 

Like the orange, I'm panning on doing the same set up for my 235.

 

Thanks Guys! I build a car about every 2-years, and usually in 9-months or less, but this one has dragged on for over a year. I must be getting old! The positive feedback is definitely motivating!

 

Time for some Faux Wood Graining for the Interior.
The Upper Dash, all the Interior Window Trims, and Arm Rests have been wood grained.
Very simple process:
- Prime/Basecoat. Let it dry 3-days. For this I used Rustoleum Satin Brown Boots rattle can.
- Loosely brush on Wood Grain Color, and immediately wipe with a cloth for the desired effect. I used Rustoleum Flat Black.
- Top coat with Clear.
- If you don't like it, you can wipe it off with Mineral Spirits, within about an hour. That's the idea behind letting the Basecoat set up for a few days, so you don't wipe that off.

 

Nice work! I like the route your taking with this ol' bowtie. Is it going to remain at stock height? I think I would've been tempted to put a set of dropped uprights on when you did the disc conversion, but then I like them low.

By the way, that head is a '59 - the '49 216 and 235 heads were 15-bolt and don't fit your later block.

Keep up the great work and keep the pics coming!

 

Thanks Waldo! And for the clarification on the Head.
I went with 3" Drop Coils up front, and 3" Lowering Blocks for the rear. Where it's more of a Cruiser, than Crusher, I figured that should suffice.
No pics of it sitting on the ground yet, but we did have it rolling around, and the 3" drop looked really good.
Exactly 3" front and rear, before the engine and interior reinstalled, so I would imagine it will settle down a bit more.