I bought this 50 Fleetline De Luxe as a project 9 month ago. The stock 235 six and 3-speed trans lay beside the car on the floor. The seller also included a dirty 283/Th350 and was unable to tell the condition on any of the engines. The car was a former lowrider with hydraulics both front and rear. The torquetube was still in the car and the leaf springs in rear was butched up real bad and only the main leaf and another short one remains. The suspension travel was zero to none. I'm a real fan of lowrider bombs but this one has to be rebuilt so it can be used. I start this thread with text and pictures from the time of the purchase. The car was in very good shape both inside and out. No rust and chrome and paint was great. This 1956 Thriftmaster 235 with 3-speed gearbox looks a little sad to say the least. A two pump hydraulic setup in the trunk but the function was pretty bad so it is remowed. G body Olds Cutlass rear axle is perfect width for 49-54 Chevy. This one has a 2.56:1 ratio and will hopefully work well with the TH350.
A small c-notch in rear to gain some suspension travel. Triangulated fourlink keeps the rear in place.
This is the engine I got with the car, a 283 with a Torker 2 intake manifold and a Edelbrock 750. Way overkill... I made a quick overhaul with new ring and bearing to the engine and replace the intake manifold. The Th350 looks good inside and got new oil filter.
The Jalopy Journal
