My 54 Bel Air Story

I bought this car from my neighbor for $3,500. A barn fall on to her and destroyed the hard top. They didn't move the car for a long time so the weather got into her interior and destroyed her. All the seats, head liner, and carpet have been replaced. The front bumper was cut and shortened and the marker lights moved inside the the new custom grill. There is now almost more bondo then steel in this car. The whole car has been painted flat black to match the black interior. The day I bough her, the carb was pouring gas from the seal and running onto the exhaust manifold. It made for a very exciting ride home, lucky it only took me a few minuets to get home and nothing burst into flames. I bought a new carb, stuck it on, and took her for a ride. I quickly found out the radiator was clogged causing her to over heat. I took the radiator to the shop and with some welding, brazing, and replacing, a new cooling system was put into the car. I then replaced the exhaust/intake manifold gasket and that helped getting the carb to run right. Starting was always a headache, so I put in an HEI ignition and changed the car over from 6 volt to 12 volt. That of course included the generator/alternator, starter, horns, and all bulbs inside and out. I drove her all last summer like that but in the fall the wires to the headlights start to short out. I looked like a disco rolling down the road. After inspection I realized that a lot of the wire coatings under the car were rotting off. I now have a new wire harness sitting in a box awaiting my free time. I also went ahead and bought the 3 speed windshield wiper system and I can't wait to install that.

The car has 90,000 mile on her and seeps oil from many spots. I live in the Adirondack Mountains and going up hills puts quite a strain on my ol' lady. With these two things in mind, I am planning to put a new cam into her and add a few carburetors on my old 235. I have another thread going right now, where I am getting a lot help on choosing what is best for my situation. I'm on the fence on 2 or 3 carbs and what type of cam to use.

After the engine is up to par I will then rebuild transmission then start grinding out that bondo and replacing it with real steal. I am lucky to have a car that will take up so much of my time.

Thanks for reading and keep it cool fella's.