Hi, first post. Love the threads. I want to build a '55 chevy probably HT bel air hot rod. I don't want the stance of the gasser, but still want a classic rod as it might have been in the mid '60s. I always wanted a black '55. Undecided between a small or big block. I haven't worked on cars since my '56 F100 with a 428 when I was in high school, and now way too many years have passed. Hence, I probably need to work with a shop. Any good resources in the SF Bay area? thanks!
also, if anyone knows of a good car to start from, maybe even something pretty complete and close to what I want, even a post (versus hard top) car. Patina would be better, or a really high quality project. Probably better for a re entry back into hot rods. thanks
Wow, comedians would call this a tough room! I would spend as much as you can on the best possible starting point. Shops aren't cheap and labor adds up fast. A running, driving car will keep your intrest and will be cheaper in the long run. My '57 is out getting painted now and I'm looking at a $1000 bill just to put glass in it when it comes back. Stuff like quarter panels and floors will be 5k to have someone else do it for you. What is your budget for a car? Small blocks are cheaper and although a lot of folks are tired of seeing them, the '55 Chevy was the 1st car to ever have them!
Find a nice restored stock one and go from there. Pomona has an awesome swapmeet and it would be worth the trip just to see what's out there. You'd probably be money ahead in the long run. Don't rule out 210's either. It sounds like your eager and I don't know what you have spend so get out and about just to see what stuff's going for these days and update the sites you visit once you find something. Good Luck and Happy Hunting. Seth
I'm an ancient hot/street rodder who's built many types. Bought a 55 post to duplicate my high school 55 (very mild custom), thought it was fairly solid with all the parts. Wrong. My first one rusted down around me, this one seemed o.k., but needed only everything. Beware, I don't care who says different, the parts for one are now expensive, mostly leftover junk at swap meets (leaving the field to Danchuk, etc.) Its now been 3 years and I'm just now bleeding the brakes! Not hard to build, just tons of time (i did a body off) and searching. Bottom line, buy the best you cannot afford-after someone else has done the work and put together one that is fully complete. My opinion (i know, like aholes-everybody has one)
Many thanks for the advice! I have a pretty healthy budget so please steer me to the nicest you recommend thanks!
You arrived at the best place for traditional tri5s on this board. I found the best info on this board for my project.
Figure out what you can do, what you can't do your self and what you are willing to spend. I'd think that a very solid but tired running driving car would probably be the best start and if it has a butt ugly and unpopular color so much the better. I can see your vision as I am a member of the class of 65 and when I was growing up every town around seemed to have one mean running 55/56 black tudor running the streets. I'd be way more worried about body and chassis than engine or trans when I was hunting for a candidate.
I would agree that chevytalk.com will be one of your best resources. Go there and check out the modified tri-five forum or even the stock tri-five forum for more to read than you likely have time for. I would also recommend considering buying a complete driveable street car. Buy the nicest you can afford and still have money left to personalize it to your taste. There are a ton of nice cars out there that can be purchased and then be detailed over time as far as the interior, tires wheels, stance and being able to drive the car in the meantime will keep you from losing interest. Good luck.
I am researching. Looking for the best car to start with. If you come across any please let me know. Budget can accommodate so no worries as long as good value I always wanted a hardtop now wondering whether post would be more suitable look for a rod thanks!
I've found the best cars by word of mouth, talk to people, include a finders fee if they lead you to the right car. Buy the most complete rust-free car you can afford to start with, you'll be money ahead in the long haul.
i got a 57 hardtop bel air that im going for the same look. I have had it for 8 years (granted i was 12 when i got it) and its still a work in progress(and the hardtop traditional aint so bad ) but my advice is. buy some books and read up on the how to's and search the hamb for ideas. you can find some decent semi complete rollers now for not too much dough. and believe me, like said above you do NOT want to build your car through classic chevy and danchuk. Best connections to make are with fellow tri five guys on here, and anyone else you meet or know at your local swap good luck and keep us posted on what you find. -Nick-
what they all said--get the best you can buy to start--gets very expensive and time consuming if you start with a poor candidate-repo parts and such will eat your money very fast--a nice restored car is easy to convert--driveline is not very important--paint and body work plus chrome will add up to more than you can buy a nice car for--have done it both ways--money ahead with a restored or nice car, not to mention time factor-can drop $40-50K real fast if you are not careful and thats doing the work yourself except paint/body--been there done that
You're getting some good advice from a lot of us who have done it right and done it wrong. I'd suggest finding a local car club devoted to the tri-five Chevies. Most clubs have a lot of guys who really know what to look out for with respect to the really expensive repairs that are hidden and who will be willing to check out any car that you are thinking of buying. It is worth spending a couple hundred bucks to have someone knowledable do that for you so don't be afraid to offer to pay them. Of course some club member might also have a good car for sale. Clubs are also a good place to find out about the shady sellers and lemon cars in your area. Someone else might have mentioned it, but expect to spend 5-10K more for a hardtop than a 210.
Thanks again... I am going to find as nice of a traditional '55 as I can. Get back into it, figure out what I really want, modify it and maybe build one of my own. But for the next two years I lack the time, but I want to find a nice one sooner than that. I need to find a car club - great idea - located around the SF bay area. SF, Oakland, San Jose... And yeah from my userid I was/am into Porsche 356a's, from the '50s.
As said before, check the classified ads at tri-5 . They seem to have quite a few good looking projects for sale from time to time. Also unless you want to spend alot of bucks and alot more time don't get into a full restoration project if you're not finding what you want. I love my 55 but going from the ground up and doing everything is expensive and very time consuming. Take your time and find the right one
Check Phoenix, AZ Craigslist. There is an awesome 55 2 door hardtop 210 for sale for $8000.00 (Bell/I17) area.
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