New to the car scene, I need help!!

SBC and inline 6s are easy to find and pretty cheap... and easy to work on. another good place for advice is chevytalk.com for specific Chevy questions and more restoration advice

 

Check out:

www.recycler.com. There are always running small block chevy's and ******'s there for sale in socal. You'll definitely need to get in with someone willing to spend a few weekends crawling around in a puddle of grease to get the swap done. Plus someone with a pickup and an engine hoist to do the lifting. Me= no time, no truck. And my girlfriend would probably get mad, you know, of the time factor, not because I'm the spitting image of JD himself and you'd be all over me . Good luck. Also, you should have at least some cash to offer even someone willing to help you out. $75-$100 per day or something, you know?

 

hey is that you in the pic jimmydeans girl?

 

I would totally be willing to pay someone to do the work, but right now I am paying to keep it in a garage, and spent almost every dime I had just to buy it. :-( But I would like to even just help someone else on their hot rod project if I could,just to sit and learn from someone would be great for me right now. I need to get to know the parts the way things work, I am totally alone on this car venture thing right now, I have a few friends who have some cl***ic cars, but all of them are pretty much fully running and restored. I'll do anything just to learn about cars right now. Then I can get some more experience and find a friend to help me do the heavy lifting later on my car. I bought the Chevy because I knew it was a good deal, I love old cars, and I wanted something of my own. I just need to get more knowledgable. Anyone got a car I can crawl under? oh and where can I pick up an old Chevy manual?

 

yep

 

GOD DAMN, ill be at your house in an hour......

 

The secret is to break ****. dig in and break ****.
The more you break, the more you'll learn.

 

Seriously, aside from the crotch sniffing. Everyone on this board started out where you are but girls get different advice from guys. go figure. I'm maried, and my wife is hotter than you so I'll give you straight dope.

You bought the car. Ok. Now stick with it. Search and read all of the old tech posts that have the words 55 chevy or SBC in them. Buy any books on the same topics. Buy some tools and jump into it. You don't need a boyfriend to do it for you. You are smarter than your boyfriends anyway. Once you get started you will have actual questions, not vague wories. Ask them here and I'm sure they will be answered. I think most of the people on here believe in a little afirmative action to help women who are serious about learning this stuff.

More than learning how to fix cars you have to learn how to solve problems and find the info you need . . . its all out there somewhere. Cars are complicated and when they aren't we push the limits and make them that way. So you have to get used to stepping up and figuring out stuff you have never done before. . . that part of it never ends . . you have to learn to enjoy it.


It will take a while but you can do it. And when you are done you will be the ****ing hot rod queen de Los Angeles and James Dean himself will probably rise from the dead to ask you out on a date.

 

Easiest/cheapest way to get that puppy going will be to get hold of similar running gear to whats there, if its a 6 toss similar back in if its a V8 car then ditto, means no changing mounts etc ,same for the trans makes it easy stuff you can do with only a little help rather then a mission with lots of help, once its going you can look at the bigger picture.
Good luck, and at least you started with something easy to get parts for.

 

Jimmy Dean got canned from the sasage gig.

 

The good thing about old cars is no matter how expensive the parts get, you will almost always get your money back. Drive a new car off the lot and you just lost several thousand dollars. Buy a '55 Chevy (even a four door) from grandma, you'll never lose a dime.

pigpen


"Well, that's what my broker told me!" (Martha Stewart)

 

[ QUOTE ]
The good thing about old cars is no matter how expensive the parts get, you will almost always get your money back. Drive a new car off the lot and you just lost several thousand dollars.

[/ QUOTE ]

No ****. I'm in the process of selling my later model car as we speak and I've had to reduce the price a couple thousand already just to get rid of it. I will NEVER buy a late model for modification purposes again.

 

The only reason I ever buy a new car is to get the long term maintenance agreement so I don't have to work on the damn thing. Computers and cars DO NOT mix.

pigpen


"It's a FOOOOOOOOOORD" (Really old car commercial)

 

Hook up with the goose and he'll bring the whole car club over to help you work on it.

 

[quote
No ****. I'm in the process of selling my later model car as we speak and I've had to reduce the price a couple thousand already just to get rid of it. I will NEVER buy a late model for modification purposes again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Now Deyo you know thats all relative! How much was that ******?

 

books, get lots of books. specifically a shop manual for your car... you need tools too, dont buy junk tools from autozone/pepboys etc. step up and get a craftsman auto tool kit thing at Sears... swap meet is also a good place to shop for some good quality used items.

you also have to learn how to use the tool. stripping and breaking bolts is part of the game, its extremely frustrating while changing an old exhaust gasket and the bolt breaks off in the hole.

youll also probably bang up your knuckles.. maybe, get some mechanics gloves... got a pair a yr or so ago i should have gotten a pair yrs ago... most big name auto parts stores carry those.

 

I'd suggest a course in Basic Automotive Mechanics at your community college. Anything further in depth will try to teach you about electonic fuel Imjection and stuff you don't need and can't use to repair your 55.
I gotta ***ume Jimmy doesn't mess with cars and has no interest in them?
Joining a car club where all the guys' primary purpose is not to get in your pants would help too, if you can find such a thing.

 

Oh, BTW, If you take a course, ask the instructor if you can work on your car in cl*** as your project. In my town, there's a local college that will do this thing....and they will allow you to store the car on their property between cl***es! I built a complete project 56 Pontiac on school property, using school equiptment in their school shop! They even had a school parts store on campus with a really healthy discount. This was the only way I could build a car at the time...I was living in an apartment complex at the time..

 

Here's your new motor:

http://www.recycler.com/asp/AdDetails.asp?iID=86524&sBAC=714&bSQ=0&iC=150&iSC=150

You need some dough, though. Any vintage stuff lying around that you can ebay? Consider your priorities.

 

Tools are a must, a place to work on it is a must, the desire to work on it is good too. I ***ume you want to do the work, not have someone do it for you? If so....

I know my personal hurdle with doing stuff on my car is I'm not strong enough to break some bolts loose. A lot of the time I have to wait until my husband can loosen it for me. It ****s, the stuff in the can can help, (I use something called Twister I think), but with-out power tools, I need the ***istance of a set of muscles.

Any easy project to tackle, and you don't need much know-how to do, is strip the interior, (if it needs it, and it sounds like it does). You'll get a sense of acomplishment, and it's pretty easy to fix up too. Some spray cans for the window trim, fabric for the door panels, covers for the seats, ect.

But taking an auto cl*** is a good idea, it helps to have a knowledgable person show you the mechanics side of things. Books help, but practice makes perfect. And I wouldn't attempt any major body mods with-out someone who's got know-how. You don't want to cut it up and not be able to put it back. Good luck.

 

To learn about cars check this site out girl...
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/

 

Go here for an ***embly manual. You'll still need to pick up a good shop manual, though. Check here, here, or here for the shop manual. I highly recommend that last site, East Coast Chevy, they really know their stuff. Ask them for a catalog, it's got LOTS of helpful info in it regarding engine/****** swaps, etc..

Start small, take one thing and tackle it. Don't be afraid to ask questions and seek advice. When the small thing is done, your confidence will get a boost. None of this stuff is rocket science, once you start getting in there and messing around with it, you will learn how it works.

By the way, don't get too worried about the prices in some of those specialty catalogs, the stuff can be found cheaper if you know where to look. Make some friends with car folks in your area, they can tell you where to pick up the good deals.

Good luck!