Before my dad passed away we had plans to use one of the 55s in the back yard to build a gasser.Well with a BIG push from a buddy of mine we rescued the 2 55s from their dirt nap.These have been parked for just over 20 yrs behind the fence in my mom and dads backyard almost to be forgotten.hahaha We had to cut down 4 trees and swap out 4 tires and dig about 2 feet of dirt out of the way to get them out.The 2 door post will be the gasser and the cheiftan is undetermined if it will be a parts/donor car orif it will be a lowered 60's kustom.According to my mom my dad drove the post to work everyday and would pick her up around the corner from her office in it cause she didnt want people to see it.WTF? Hahaha that was back in 81.The last tag on the plate was 84 a yr after i was born because he wanted to clip it for the disc brakes.The interior shot was taken as soon as we got it out.The interior was redone by my mom for my dad for christmas back in 83. It only had sheets over the seats no cover or anything over the car and the seats are still NEW soft and perfect.
All the trim is in the trunk of the brown 55.Shitty thing is the tree that grew up between the fence and Chieftan decided to grow around the driverside door handle and tear it off completely.Plan is straight axle the yellow 55 and drop a 455 with 64 heads hi pop pistons and a cam with a dual quad intake and maybe a 5 speed or manuel valve body auto.un decided on the trans right now.The car will be a street strip car.My buddy will be doing the fenderwell headers for me. Next weekend will be the frame swap and hopefully the straight axle swap too
I think your parents would be disappointed in you if you didn't radius the rear quarters. Don't let them down!
sounds like it's going to be a kool car,I love the look of a tri 5 poncho gasser.I'm in on the radius rear wheel well also.
thanks guys! And yes for sure radius but im trying to find a decent way to do them. Any ideas or knowledge?
Fenderwell headers should be a tough build since the exhaust ports point almost straight down to begin with! Sounds like a plan though! Good Luck! KK
the frame it is sitting on in the pic is a late 70's chevy frame i was told.So Im gonna take the frame out from under the other 55 and put my post body on it for ease of body mounts and to make the front clip swap faster and easier. you know what i have the block sitting on a stand and i never even thought about looking at the exhaust ports.if I have to will raise the motor a little because this thing HAS to have fenderwell headers.I told my dad it would.Plus I got a badass fabricator for a friend who is ready to attack this thing. Ill be posting new pics next weekend or if I get down to my folks house to start cleaning up the motor and getting all the parts in line
Good luck with your build. Without knowing the body style on the hardtop , their may be a differance in the wheelbase and frame configuration. The sedan post car looks like mine which is a 2511 and has a 122 WB. The Starchiefs had a 124" so your frame may not be a good source or exact match for the other body. But if your doing a gasser it may not make much differance. Frame info http://www.pontiacsafari.com/55/ShopManual/2 - Frame.pdf
the frame that is under the brown 55 has already been clipped with a newer front end. do you know if the body mounts will work? Also on your front end what did you use a tube axle or a beam axle? I really want to use a Beam axle so I can drill it out and then have it chromed. I personally dont really care too much for the tube straight axle
A couple pictures down is how I did mine, pretty easy http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=517931&page=7 .
I used a Ford F1 axle , 48-52 I believe. The 49-54 Chevy/GMC axles would be a good choice, I prefer the looks and also the strength of the factory forged axles. My build thread for pics and info http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=501387 You'll have to look at the frame link I posted to look at the differances , what model number is the doner frame from?
its the original frame for the 55 chieftan. ill climb under them during the week with a tape and get some measurements. are you running a 389 in yours?
I've had 11, 55-57 Pontiacs through the years and a good protion of them got 59-60 Pontiac 389s with 4 speeds and I even used an old early 56 slant-pan hydro in one. I still want to do just ONE more..either a 57 super chief 2 door hardtop or a 55 two door sedan. Listen to 55 Chieftain as he's got a good handle on what he's doing with old Ponchos as gassers. My old 57 sedan I sold to my brother: 400/4 speed from 67 GTO with 4.88s, Hurst linkage and a mini spool. He bolted the front sheetmetal together and hinged it for a flip front.
What a great basis for an old style gasser! These mid 50's Pontiacs (especially 2dr. sdns!) make a great looking gasser! All the '49-'59 Chevy truck I beams make a good choice. The later '55-'59 are a bit wider, but if you're going to run skinnies up front they will still fit nicely.
@ Hotroddonnie Holy fuck man!!!! That is a bitchin car! @Mitchell yea I really want too but my buddy that does all my fab work on other projects and is doing alot on this is very interested in it.He really wants a 55 Chevy but funds would never allow so if he wants it and WILL do something with it he can have it.If not I will slam it on the ground but I also have a 64 Bonneville wagon I need to finish hahaha
Rad! Would be cool with some Supremes, piner whites, bellflower tips, and a Watson inspired paint job.
My 64 wagon is gonna get just that Supremes,pinners,bellflowers,bags and some lace on the roof here is my inspiration
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