Art & Inspiration 51 Styleline deluxe project

The 51 Styleline is quietly waiting for the shop to get done so the parts I've been collecting can be installed. I don't want to be in the middle of something and have to move everything so they can do some particular part of the shop expansion so physical work on the car itself is paused. The engine (505cu in. .100 over 454 with stroke) is at a friends shop and we are working away on it. The cam came in today, so tomorrow we are going to degree the cam in, verify the final valve train geometry and finish the engine build. Then it's off to the dyno to see exactly where and how much it will make as well as which intake and carb combo gets us where we want to be. Meanwhile, the 700R4 transmission is at one shop in town and the rear GM 10 bolt is in the next town being gone through. As these parts get finalized, I can make final decisions on how to shift it, what size tires to run, and all the little things like gauges that just keep popping up. The transmission is a runner I picked up from a salvage yard for a hundred bucks a few years ago. I ended up having the old one rebuilt rather than fight with the tail shaft swap to make it 4WD. Today, I stopped by the shop and John told me the trans was in very good shape. He said someone had been into it and it looks like they knew what they were doing. It is a late model F body trans as it had the mounts for the trans to diff brace. It also had a TCI manual reverse valve body in it and no real signs of wear. The torque converter was has been built with the lockup removed. It has the electronic speedo drive so I'll either need to change that or the speedo in the car. Before I lock in all of the new plan, are manual converter lockup switches forum friendly? Also are digital speedometers ok? I don't think shifters are OT, so do I leave the shifter on the column or put a floor shifter in it with a trigger for the lockup? If I leave it on the column, I'll have to get a 4 speed friendly column as the stock column doesn't have enough travel for it all to work. The manual valve body means a lot of gear shifting, so a floor shifter might be easier. But that isn't the stockish image I was hoping for when the car wasn't running. The plan tentatively calls for a 3500 stall converter (manually locked for highway use), Quick Performance rear end kit with 3.55 gears, a locker, new shafts, and disk brakes on all 4 corners. I'm leaning towards the Cal-tracks traction bars. Rear tires are going to be no more than 29X10 on 15 inch wheels (probably steel) as I have a set of slicks that size for track days with 235 60/15s on the front. Even with the slicks on, tire traction should be the fuse that keeps everything from breaking. If all I break is traction, I can live with that. Once the shop is at a point where the car can stay in one place, the work on the car itself and pictures will start rolling in. The goal is to make it mechanically sound before Good Guys in July. Body and paint will most likely be a next winter project. The plan was for a cruiser that could hold it's own. But, the more it takes shape the more it looks like this car might be a little rowdy.

 

I'm not a fan of the manual lockup/unlocked switch.
There are simple kits that lockup when in 4th gear (OD) and unlock when transmission down shifts.
Just a suggestion.

 

Also, if you really plan to drive it, you'll get tired of the manual shift valve body.
Rowing through the gears constantly is why automatic transmissions are so common.

 

Nope! Not official unless there are photos!

 

Here is the starting point.

 

One more..... The current power plant.... brace yourselves..... here it is:

 

NOW it's official! Looks like a good start!

 

Looks like a pretty nice car, Like that body style.

 

Sounds interesting

 

It is definitely a car project. The cam is in and degreed. Center line is at 106.5 instead of the advertised 108 but it will work. One head is on, the other has been on and off 3 times tonight. It's still off while we get a helicoil for the stud that pulled the threads out of the block. We have it taped off and everything covered up, hopefully we can get it done without having to tear it all down to prevent shavings from going where they aren't supposed to. The good part is with one head in place, we could start working on valvetrain geometry. It looks like we are going to need offset rockers to make everything work best. I just need to verify the offset on the rockers Chris Straub sent for my other engine and we will know what to order to bring the lifter pattern to the center of the valve. Oil pump is sanded flat and tolerances are now in spec, we'll weld the pickup on once we get it tested in the pan to make sure it sits where it needs to.

 

What am I supposed to brace myself for?

 

While they work on the shop addition, the car is relegated to the wait list. The work continues one problem after another, but it's getting there. I have added to the waiting to be installed collection. I have the rear spring kit for the 68 Camaro 10 bolt. 3.55 gears are in, traction lock is in, disc brakes are on and it is ready to go under the car. I'll take pictures when I unwrap it. It is wrapped up in a tarp so it will stay dry until I can put it back in the shop. The wiring kit is here. The Classic Instrument gauges are here. We have to repair a head stud hole in the 505 block (needs an insert), then we can bolt the heads back on and prepare the engine for the dyno. Today I picked back up the transmission. Fresh rebuild good for 650 hp all day. Manual reverse valve body, lockup control. Trans was already set up with the manual reverse, but my guy went through it and re-enabled the lock up. Driving down the highway with a 3500 rpm torque converter would not have been good for it. It will need to switches to control the lockup. One to turn it on and off, and the other to disable the lock up completely. On strip runs, turn it off. On highway trips, just hit the switch in 4th gear and it will lock up. I still have to put a plug in the TV cable as it doesn't need the cable now. But it is home and ready to go as soon as I can get a spot in the shop. I can use one of the boat motors bolted to the trans for mockup. I also need to decide if I want to paint the trans or try to clean and polish the case.

 

Still can't do much in the shop with the addition blocking most of my work areas. Today I put a scatter shield I picked up at Wild Wade's swap meet Sunday, on the trans. There is plenty of room for a deeper pan so I will hold off on cutting the under trans bars until I get everything in the car and see how low I can go. I did find out that the Gennie mount for the 700 may not work with the scatter shield. I'm waiting for more information. The mid mount won't work for sure, the rear mount will work if the linkages will clear the shield.

 

The shop project inches forward and hopefully by next week they'll have the roof on the south addition and I'll be able to start on the car in earnest. I now have a Gennie shifter coming. We discussed the gates on the shifter and they are sending a blank gate plate and I'll mill a reverse pattern plate. I've got a pattern in mind and we'll find out if it works. Thinking I'll make a few templates in tin prior to milling the final gate plate. I also talked to Turner Race Transmissions in Dayton and they are building a converter for the 700. Apparently there aren't a lot of people running the 700R4 with big blocks making over 600hp. I now have everything on hand to do drive train from bumper to bumper. I have a couple new concerns as I keep inching towards assembly. Will the rear mount shifter clear the seat and leave the shifter inside the shifter panel on the floorboard? Will the exhaust fit between the frame rails or go outside the frame through the inner fender skirts. Lap and shoulder belts have also popped up on my list of things to figure out. Not sure how to attach the shoulder belt to the car. Not sure that the B pillar will be strong enough so I'll have to figure out what others have done.

 

I have 3-point (retractable) belts on my car, from Wesco. The B pillar is surely strong enough. I bought extra floor plates and re-purposed some very large and thick strut washers I had around, they are close to 1/4" thick.

I just saw one post on the '52-'59 Ford forum where someone used an eye-bolt floor mount, looked very sanitary and strong.

The kit came with B pillar shoulder bolts, custom jobs, grade-8. With the garnish on the pillar, they were too short. Ace Hardware had sexy grade-8 stainless (A286 alloy) bolts, no shoulder. I made some bushings from 416 stainless on the CNC lathe.

There are mounting plates for the 3rd point, make sure you get those. They are geared for #10 hardware. The holes were .204" and I threaded them for a 1/4-28 allen head screw. On the pillar I needed a thru hole for the 3rd point. Lower on the pillar I made an access hole with a hole saw and fished the plate up to where the 3rd point is.

I had to take care with getting the holes in the garnish in the right place. But the plastic piece at the mount covers it all up.

 

Still no room in the shop as they work, so decided to get the Gennie shifter set up. Using a rear mount which might be tight clearing the front bench. I'll find out once I get the car in and put the engine and trans in to see where it falls. Instructions were decent and I installed the parts on the trans. First issue was there was no way for the linkage to clear the scatter shield. So I fabricated a section of stainless tube as an extension. I threaded the tube and enlarged the linkage hole to enable a no slop connection. I took the hex head bolt and filed the tube to just under sized, heated the tube and inserted the hex head. The extension clears the shield with a couple additional washers. The next problem was that the support tabs did no clear the lever. Back apart and a little filing to clearance the brackets. Just clears. The trans goes through the gears, but I am not feeling a 3 - 4 shift point, so I'll run it back by the repair shop that rebuilt it. I'd hate to think it was missing a detent.


And Yes, I plan on running a scatter shield on the Converter as well. Since I'm pushing the HP limits of the trans, the main body scatter shield will make me feel just a little safer.

 

Well we buttoned up the engine and headed to the dyno today. And after a day of frustration, I either don’t have enough carb or have too much carb. My BG 830 wouldn’t idle. It has something wrong that didn’t show up when it was rebuilt. Hmmmm. We switched to a 1000 cfm Holley and couldn’t get the mixture right. We were way too lean. Threw on my Dominator 1475 and we’re still too lean and only pulling 1000 cfm at 7000. So the 1000cfm wasn’t enough and the 1475 was too much. Even though the 1475 was still lean.
The numbers were a mixed blessing as well. Best HP was 643.9 at 6500 and 572 to @ 5300. It was pulling 498 ft lbs @ 3500 and still at 513 @ 6500. Not terrible for an engine that turned out at 8.5:1 compression (this is not where it was supposed to come in so maybe a head swap or boost). So we are working on figuring out what to do to make the air/fuel mix happy and then it can go in the 51. More than likely I'll throw my 990 heads on this engine for now and see if I can get the A:F ratio where it belongs. We were in the 14s and 15s until 5500 when we hit the 13s. Still too lean for any serious driving or putting much load on it.

 

Well today the 51 made it into the shop. It's sitting with the transmission beside it, the rear end is behind it, and the engine is still out for the next round of make it go. I've committed to 5-6 lbs of 871 induced boost with my old striped Mooneyham blower. Going to throw my single 1475 Deamon on it and see what it will do. I'm not crazy about the blower sticking out of the hood, but it will work. Personally it's one thing to have a stock bodied 51 that has a healthy engine under the hood and people wondering if it can go. You put the same healthy engine in the car with the blower sticking out and you better be able to bring it or your just a poser. We're working on another rear end as the 10 bolt won't hold up if I really get on it a too many times. The 9 inch will be just a little narrower for a little better grip, but I'm not sure I want to go pro-comp style tubs and fat tires. Thoughts? I'll start posting some in progress pics as it starts to come apart and back together.

 

It's a new year and the project is slowly rolling along and my resolution is to keep things on track as much as possible now. So let me recap some of the changes that didn't get posted to this thread. The Mooneyham 871 is sitting on the 505. It has been inspected and given a clean bill of health. There is a pair of ATM E85 850s sitting on top of the blower. The throttle linkage is rigged and ready to go. The engine is almost 100%. I have to use an external thermostat housing since the competition blower manifold has no provision for a thermostat. I have it plumbed and just need to make a plate to mount the thermostat to the blower to keep the hoses from getting into the blower belt. The 10 bolt has been replaced with replaced with a 9" and is 3.75" narrower at 56.25" mounting surface to mounting surface. Spring perches are still the same so the 15X10 slots I picked up for the rear with 3.5" back spacing. I now plan to radius the fender wells to allow 4.56 gears. The frustration has been continuing as I pulled the front end and engine to find out I have to set the engine back to clear the radiator with the blower. Then before I could start, I had to put it all back together so someone could look at the car to possibly buy it. My wife isn't fond of it. They came and liked it, but then tried to low ball me so it is ready to come back apart again. I want to thank @TRAVLR and @kid Filby for helping me stay motivated to get this car built and figure out the correct changes to make with the plan to make the car work. I have a set of bucket seats for the front and the matching rear seat out of a midsized GM car. There doesn't seem to be a way to keep the stock bench and clear the roll cage. The cage builder I found has not given me a date to bring him the car, so today I ordered a 49-53 Chevy Sedan cage kit from Rhodes Race Cars. The cage kit has the dash cross bar, so I will go ahead and set the engine back about 6-8 inches. The front end is definitely becoming a tilt front to allow easier access to work on the engine and the inner fenders and air tubes will be going away. This street car is starting to take on a more serious drag race attitude. An my thoughts are drifting to a more business build and possibly a little OT. There is a lot of electronics and traction and handling enhancements to consider as I start the modifications. Current concerns are if I should install the power windows and locks, make the electric drivers seat functional, and do I start the body work. The frame still needs reinforcing and cage supports tied in, transmission cross member (X frame) built. I have to pull out the interior and carpet to put the cage in so do I just go ahead and build it from the frame up or make it run first and then do the body work?

So the plan as of right now.
The power plant: 505 blown BBC.
Transmission: 700R4 Reverse manual valve body w Gennie shifter
Rear End: Ford 9" 56.25 wide
Tires: 30X12 15" rear 215X60 15 front.
Radius rear wheel wells Example from Travlr
Set Engine back & Convert to Tilt front Example from @MISTER TWISTER
Build exhaust

 

Glad you are making progress! Looks like you have a great foundation to start with. Don't get discouraged about any hiccups you run into, or how long it is taking. Just stick to your plan.
FWIW, I have owned my car since 2009... Just got it on the road in 2022. LIFE happens!

 

Thanks again. I have been sorting out the details of the build and thanks to people like yourself here on the HAMB, I have it just about ironed out. I have brought the rear axle over to the workshop. I have to change the wheel studs out to the 4.75 bolt pattern. Then I will mount the 10X15 wheels on it to make sure the back spacing will work with the leaf springs in the stock position. Once the rear is set up, I'll put the car on the lift and swap it out. I have to keep it as a roller. I will use the axle center to mark the radius line and cut the rear wheel openings. If I work from both ends into the middle it should all come together when I need the new drive shaft.

 

today was mostly spent sorting out the rear end. Started mounting the leaf spring kit from Total Cost Involved (Speedway). Spring perches are 43 centers as per the instructions. Wheel edge to edge is 71.5. Should be spot on for radiused wheel wells. In another thread I’m getting advice on wheel studs and half inch will be the minimum now.

 

More parts came as well as a minor setback. Electric company called because of the high usage from running the electric heaters. Looks like I used almost a grand in electricity last month. I need to hold up and refocus on insulation in the shop space. I have a 10K heater for the 30x30 area so I’ll install it and do the last 2 foot of walls by the floor stringers. Then something on the ceiling to keep the heat in and I hopefully will get a green light to run the electric bill up a little bit. Last month was a mild winter month, so I understand the wife’s concern. But the cage kit is here now. That is about the last major part needed for the build. Now I’m at that “some assembly required” stage. The cage is a Rhodes kit for 49-53 Chevy sedans.

 

Might want to think about propane furnace. I use a diesel heater to warm it up then the propane heaters keep it warm. I haven't burn 10% of a 500 gallon tank yet.

 

I’m back on the Styleline since it warmed up a little bit. Not sure how the pull the entire front clip. I thought I would try it and found out the hood isn’t attached to the fenders so it might as well be pulled separately. The metal grill doesn’t seem strong enough to not get tweaked trying to hold the fenders straight. So one fender at a time. Getting squirreled by the second heater core in the fresh air tube. The vaccine valve on the firewall between the air tube and inner fender, and one kind of heat exchanger for the transmission in the radiator hose. The fact that they apparently undercoated the car does help with disassembly but, I can’t complain about that until I finish searching for rust. It is slowly getting there.

Vacuum module?


Transmission cooler/heater?


air tube heater core

 

Just a fyi leave the hood on it if it fits after you remove the front clip you should have no issue installing engine and trans I have built several of these cars and it’s a real tough chore to get the hood springs back on if you do take it off make sure the hood and springs are back on before the clip goes back on it’s way easier to install the springs without the clip on it and you should have no issue pulling the clip as a unit as long as you have some help to move it you can’t do it by yourself but with some help it’s no problem also there are inner fender panels next to firewall that will have to be removed to access all the bolts to the fenders and the core support mounts at the center in the frame should take care of that so you don’t have to remove each fender

 

^^^^^ I did leave the hood on as I removed the fenders and then the inner panels. Finding all the inner panel bolts was challenging as someone undercoated the car. If it will work, I plan on making the front tilt to gain engine access easier. This would delete the inner fenders completely. Next step is put it up in the air and get the driveshaft and tube off. Remove the trans mounts and bring it down and pull the engine and trans. Some of this would be so much easier with a second pair of hands.

 

If you are removing the original engine and trans then just unbolt the rear axle cover at the trans and the other engine and trans bolts and it will pull off the tube as it has a slip yoke in the back of the trans then remove the entire rear axle and tube assembly you can use stock springs on a driver but the spring center pins are about an inch forward of center I figured you will use some other rear suspension though

 

Thank you for the information. Yes I have a complete rear suspension kit for the 51. I currently have a 9in with the new springs attached. Once I get the engine and trans out I need to fully assess the frame and floors before swapping the rear suspension with the replacement parts. I will more than likely wind up using a set of Cal Tracks to control the spring wrap. I am discovering features on this car that I did not know were there. The heater core location came as a surprise as I saw the hoses going through the firewall. I assumed (incorrectly) that the heater core was in the more common under dash location. Now I will also be exploring a more conventional heat and possibly AC setup.