Projects official start to my 54 project!!

oh no you havent pissed me off!! im keeping the engine just for that reason. i might not like the 302 and then i can swap over to the yblock pretty easy. i know i have had alot of people give me different opinions on the 239. some say if its rebuilt or what not run it. then others say those motors arent as reliable and the parts are harder to find that the later y's. The engine was a one year only, first attempt at a ohv engine too. just makes me nervous. at least with the 302 i know the history of it, what it came out of, etc. i can always go back. the benefit of installing a 302 is it is not reversible if i choose a y block again

 

Thought youd have the pics up by now!

 

Make it drive, then worry about that

 

Well the internet is down at home, as soon as its up pics will be up!!

 

a few new pics of the progress from the other night

 

a few more, got the a-arms loosely installed, just need to rent a spring compressor to get the rest of the front end together. everything is painted and ready to go, with the exception of the main steering cross shaft.

 

Bet some us would like to now more about that "Bad" baker next to the '54.

 

ahhhh the "Rude Stewed". it is the scavengers car club drag car. currently we are working out some of the bugs on the car. its also in "slim53"s garage. its alot of fun. full glass front end and decklid. runs in the low 12's consistently.

 

I like the first pic you posted..looks like a real hotrod shop. Except for the walker...

 

Made some great progress this weekend. got the whole front end assembled and working properly. also installed new rear wheel cylinders and new rear shoes. put the wheels on and i must say seeing the wheels on it makes me want to keep going even more!!!!!! here are some more photos, enjoy!!!

 

that is funny, i forgot the walker is lurking around there.....

 

Looking pretty damn good

 

here is some more progress on the engine part of my build. got the block painted along with the stock valve covers for now. still need to put new valve seals in the gt40 heads and get them painted. THEN....install the heads and intake and mate the engine and trans again and put it in the chassis!! enjoy

 

Looks great! But I want to know more about the Honda.

 

Very rare low miles 4 mis matched tires haha!!

 

What was wrong with how the engine looked before???

 

Made some good progress the last couple weeks on the engine. it has come along way. here are some photos of what i got done today. pretty much ready to drop in the car. just waiting for my pullies to show up so i can mount them on with the belt. enjoy, next photos should be the engine and trans mounted on the chassis!!!

 

so it has been a few weeks since i have had any major progress. had a few setbacks that i finally got over. so a quick story (well maybe not that quick)

so i was all ready to drop my engine in the frame about two weeks ago. all i had to do was put the new oil pan on and i was done! so as im going along to tighten the bolts i was only using a 1/4 inch drive ratchet, and not over tightening. the damn flange on the cheap pan cracked!!! DAMMIT! so i talked to the company i bought it from and they didnt have an issue replacing it for me. so fast forward another week from that. i get my new oil pan and decide ok, now im going to finish this thing up. so where i had been keeping my parts here at my place of employment. got broke into. they stole quite a bit of stuff, including two sets of take off wheels, a new ford exhaust system for a customer car, AND all my new parts, with all my hardware that i had labeled for my re-assembly. (all my parts and hardware were in a box together) so they made off with all my hardware, new headers, new distributor, new trans pan, new trans filter kit, the paint i used for my engine, tranny seals, exhaust gaskets, transmission bolts!!! what a bitch!! so last night (after buying some new hardware) i finally was able to set the engine and trans in the frame and bring it home. here are some photos!!

 

That is a real solid car, i think most of us here never seen one like it, as a project, and i bet most never will.

About the bags, i think you should have done it now that the body was off the frame, it doesnt cost a fortune like many think, and if you dont want a set up that lays it fairly easy.

Keep the updates comein, its gonna be a sweet cruiser man.
What did you do to lower it btw?

 

i used fatman dropped spindles in the front, and cut a coil. im curious to see how it sits once the body is back on. in the rear for now i have 2inch blocks.

i keep going around about the bags, its not really that the setup would be that much, its more about all the money i have spent already on it, and adding that cost into it might push my wife over the edge!! haha! i figured maybe once i get some good miles on the car i will look into the bags. would be nice to "ride on air" thanks for the compliments, i have had many tell me that they havent seen a frame as solid as mine is. even the guy who did the blasting and coating said for a car that old, he has never seen one that nice!! makes me feel good about doing the car, knowing it will be solid, and last a long time!

 

Sucks to hear that stuff got stolen from you. They'll get theirs.

Otherwise, it looks like you're making good progress and keeping a positive attitude! Keep it up!

 

Baggs, please tell me you are going to dress up those head and valve cover bolts with a lil paint. Engine color is awesome, great job.

 

yes, those are just temporary. i was thinking some nice polished allen head bolts. or just paint them. its all i had when i was putting it together.

 

I just noticed the engine. that IS beautiul.

 

Real nice car ya got goin' on there! I like the color too.

 

Looking mighty nice there. I like the visor, neat sleeper color as well, tu-tone is sweet. Good luck with puttin er back together, better be careful man, the keys are hanging in the switch!! ~sololobo~

 

so now that ive got the chassis back in my townhome garage (sucks) i have been able to sit down and do some work on the brake lines. got the rear lines all done, and the front hoses all in too. just need to finalize the front running brake line and my junction block. here are some photos of that so far.

 

so if things go the way i have planned, i should have the body back on the frame the weekend after fourth of july!! just need to finish the front running line, and mount my gennie shifter on the trans!!! stay tuned for updates!

 

Looks good! Make sure you tighten all those line fittings before the get hidden or covered. I must have been drunk or still feeling concussion side effects when I did my lines, since about 5 were only put together finger tight. Not too hard to find when you bleed 'em and fluid is POURING out. Just not as easy to tighten with a car body in the way!

 

Well here is a pretty big update. I recruited some help this last weekend and headed down to where the body was and the plan was to finally drop the body back on to the chassis. well after some careful planning the plan was a success. the only issue i ran into was having to cut a bigger hole in the floor than planned for the floor mount gennie shifter. i went with a mid mount and im going to keep it. but now looking at it i should have went with the tailmount. the mid will work fine but if i had to buy it again i would go with the tailmount. otherwise the body lined up prefect and with the help of a tractor and a cherry picker the body went on awesome!! here are a few photos of it. the first couple are of the body seeing the sun for the first time in 30 years!! then how dirty it was and after washing. it was amazing how nice the car really is. i always thought that i would have to buff the car out. but after a good washing it cleaned up really nice! we pulled the old carpet and found one dead mouse and the smell was not pleasant. so i vacuumed it all out and washed the floor down with some hot water and soap. smells much better now. but now knowing that there were some mice in there i will re-wire most of the car. but there really isnt much to re-wire so im not to worried about it. the plan now is to focus on getting the car running. so i still need to run my fuel line, wire the engine up and fire it off!! so stay tuned for more updates, the next month or so should have alot of progress!!! enjoy!