Another Socal '53 Buildup

Hey guys n gals. I decided to not leave well enough alone and have begun to overhaul my '53 coupe. I've been debating over whether to run an air suspension or start modifying the body. I already had a mustang II and a solid running 350 combo. But it lacked pizzazz, balls, and didn't look too ***y at all. So I figured I'd start here and see where it leads. I've decided on the following:

Removing everything from the firewall, filling some holes, and repainting
Welding up the mustang II that was bolted on
Tubular Control Arms and drop spindles
New front suspension. Springs, shocks, bushings, disks, etc.
700r trans, stall converter
Repainting and resealing the block
New motor and trans mounts
New wiring harness
New Distributor, coil, and wires
New tilt column (mine didn't fit right and had an ignition)
New oil pan, fuel pump, fuel lines
**** York tri power
Clay Smith Cam and Lifters
New headers and exhaust
Zoops serpentine - I know I'm going to get **** for this one.
Aluminum radiator
Vintage Air
New valve covers, and dress up junk
Powdercoating core support and inner fenders
Full wire and hose tuck
Reconditioned factory gauge cluster and sending units

Leaving a static drop for now. See if I still have the airbag itch after all's said and done. I'm trying to build my interpretation of a vintage 'sleeper' with a few modern conveniences. Here's where she's at so far...all pulled apart and prepping the firewall.

 

Cool project

 

Thanks Joker

 

I would bag it. A buddy of mine has a bagged 53 and it looks killer. Look at his build its under andysawyer

 

No jive Drivinford, Andy's going to town on that 53, it looks awesome! Builds like his are what keep me considering bags.

 

Some progress was made last week thanks to the fellas at Tri-C Engineering -

Firewall is almost done. Decided to run a Vintage Air Mark IV and a mini heater, so the heater core hole will be filled along with the ducting holes that have covers on them in the pic.

The Mustang II was just bolted in, so some welds were applied for safety sake. Welded in new tabs for the control arms.

Engine is pretty much ready to go. Had to order some new valve covers so the ones in the pic are temporary. Went with Edelbrock cl***ics to match the intake manifold that ****ster27 used for my tri power.

I ended up with a lil more shine than I was originally going for, but I don't think she's looking so bad!?

 

What do u plan on doing for ur brakes? And manual or booster?

 

I have a power booster under the car that's in real nice shape. We're just going to replace all the lines with new ones.

 

That guy welding is awesome....O wait thats me....

 

That guy is pretty damn awesome Bones, here are some more pics of his handy work. Seriously guys, Brian's a great guy to see if you need some fab work in or around the Los Angeles area. He's been jamming on the firewall and front end while Frank at Tri-C has been getting the engine together. I'm thrilled as hell with the progress you guys made last week!

Firewall is all filled up, all the grommets for the heater and air lines are drilled into the far left behind the inner fenders. Thanks bones

Distributor is in, wires are loomed, and the engine is ready once those valve covers are switched out.

 

ouch..I patted myself on the back to hard....haha
All the guys a Tri-C are awesome.....and things are moving along good...
cant wait to see the firewall painted nice and shiny.
see ya Matt

 

Steering column came in and Brian wasted no time getting it fitted. Cut out the new hole and made a snappy cover for it, and connected all the linkage. Now that everything's fitting great inside and out, time to pull it back out and get it to paint. B also re-fitted all my pedal ***emblies and brake release, they were ****ed. Little things like that have me looking so forward to getting back behind the wheel! Which btw, I took my 53 wheel over to Koch's steering wheel for restoration. Time to ditch that lil grant and get something more appropriate in there.

 

Hey working on the Inner fenders...filling all the holes,smoothing them out,and making them fit the upper arms a little better(they were hacked up)..
should be ready for paint soooonnnn........

 

Nice car...........It looks as though you've done your homework planning the rebuild. Best of luck..............Mike

 

Looks awesome so far! Are you planning any kustom body mods?

 

Thanks Mike, that's a killer Elco Fuelie you have there!

Thanks Mitchell, I've been giving some thought to frenching the headlights with 55 eyelids and taking the seam out of the hood. If I ever decide to re-paint it I'll likely do a few things first. As for now, everything will look original until the hood gets popped.

 

It looks like you began with a really nice car and you're off to a flying start. I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.
Thanks for posting.
Cheers.

 

I am supprised that someone is not *****ing about all the billet on your pulley set up! It looks fantastic IMO.

 

Thanks dad-bud. I looked around for a long time to find a 53 coupe this complete. I have to say though, even I was surprised at how solid she was when she started getting pulled apart!

You n me both Forced_382, shocked! I'm still waiting for it. Though it may get filed in the 'to each their own' category and squeak by.. Thanks for the compliment!

 

Short week last week, but some progress was made nonetheless. New valve covers are on and fuel line was ran. Frank even made a bracket to keep the filter from shimmying around too much. He's completing another bracket for the throttle cable and that should about square it up. Sorry, the pics aren't too good. I'll get some better shots.

Meanwhile Brian's been remedying the inner fenders. They had m***ive jagged cuts in them to accommodate the Mustang II and looked like hell. He replaced the cutout portions with new sheet metal and made them come all the way down to meet the suspension, and filled any holes. Another subtle detail that will make a huge improvement in how things look under the hood. I'll post pics when they're hung back in the bay.

 

OK...I'll bite! I hate the pulleys but who cares...Thats a good looking engine. I like what youre doing with the fire wall. What color will you be painting the fenders and fire wall?

 

Thanks n847! Firewall and the fenders will be matched to the car. Originally fenders, radiator support, etc was getting powder coated black. But I decided to paint it all instead. Hoping that turns out to be the right move.

 

A couple pics of the throttle cable and fuel line bracket placement.

 

that 53 has some good bones. these body styles are my favorite. so many directions to go and make killer customs. i prefer bags, but super low is fine by me. less is more sometimes. keep it clean so it holds up 10 years from now visually. my 2c

 

She's a lil big boned, but she's healthy. You've got a nice collection over there yetiskustoms. Cornering the market on 53-54's, love it! Yeah, I think eventually I'll end up bagging it. Going to have to save my pennies though.

In the meantime, some more progress. Got my steering wheel back from Koch's. Came out sweet, these guys are good. Car is at the paint shop having the firewall, inner fenders and the rest of the under-hood bits prepped and shot.

 

Billet and bags. No no no!

 

Okay Tedster, 1 billet part but still no bags! Not too bad, right? Hell, I may never bag it. Depends on how creative I can get with a static drop to maintain ride quality. If I can get some plush springs and shocks that take 'er down a few inches, I think I'd be satisfied. Originally I was going straight to air without 'wasting' any money on static drop components. Now I've decided to give it a shot and see what we come up with. Any suggestions are very welcomed!

Check out how much work Brian put into these inner fenders. Here are some before and after shots. Notice the ridiculously high 'bikini cuts' that were hacksawed in to accommodate the Mustang II? They're filled and come right down to the spring perches now. Since this was done, the firewall and the inner fenders were shot with blue and the flipside was undercoated. Frame's been cleaned up, painted, and the front suspension is going back together.

 

I dig it. The serpentine belt set up looks out of place... but hey you already knew that. Its gonna be a sweet driver when it's finished.

 

Looks good......

 

Man what a beautiful Bel Air hardtop. I love all the extra trim, please don't alter the hood. On the ground is cool, but I prefer the nice stance yours has for no bull **** driving. Keep up the awesome work, restoring orig wheel, yahoo! Hip rig man. ~sololobo~