Projects my sketchy 55

you can buy just the top new from summit. kinda pricey at like $250 though...

as scored off craigslist:


5 hours of wire-wheeling & a can of spray bomb clear later:


right before milltown:

 

Looks good man, a little at a time.

 

thanks. i'm a mechanic for a living, so i know what it takes to keep an old shitbox going down the road. i do plan on getting some body work done over the winter...maybe even some shiney paint (if all goes as planned)

 

at the alter boys jalopy jamboree

 

sweet ..yea i just scored one from a guy on the net for 60 bucks it also matches my manifold older style edelbrock ..

 

Very cool, looks better every time I see it.

 

Is there a straight axle in this cars future, or are you going to stick with the IFS?

 

Looks like you're having fun!!

 

thanks, yeah this car's pretty fun to bomb around in. not much maitinence required either, which is nice. gotta do a set of header to block gaskets though, toasted the passenger side on the way out tothe rumble at ralph's.

this car will never see a straight axle as long as i own it.

 

Hey, been following this thread for a while . . . so am I right that the only mod to the front suspension is Impala 409 coils, or did you ever get those spacers in? How's the ride?

Doing something very similar with a 56 Fairlane.

Keep up the great work, damn bad ass rod.

 

I don't get it.

 

nice man looks mean! havent checked out your post in a few months, great set up

 

thought you would like to see one without straight axle, was at jefferson show in wis. just love this car he swiss cheesed the lower control arm in pic three

 

this car belongs to the owners son,

here some of the engine

 

yup, just "big block" springs. i say that cuz i'm not sure what they are, but they're not what's "supposed" to be in there. the 3" blocks out back add to the look though, keep that in mind. ride's fine. not harsh at all.
thanks, & good luck on your ford.

what's to not get?

thanks! it's turning into what's in my head.

yup that's my kinda car alright, thanks for sharing. also i believe the term you were looking for was "swiss-cheesed" in referance to the control arms.

 

Cool, thanks for the info. Please keep posting the pix. If you want, check out my Fairlane on my profile. When I get it a little further along I may do a thread on it, but I doubt it. I definitely need to get some taller springs in front, though. Thanks for keeping me inspired.

By the way, SamIyam has a very bad ass '55 non-axle gasser himself, so he's probably just flipping shit. Check his car out. It gets plenty of strip time, and even street miles, if I understand correctly.

Best of luck - Speed

 

Very cool, fun build. I really dig it. Gold stars and thumbs up all around.

 

This pic absolutely nails the stance I'm shooting for. Really dig that bad-ass '55.

 

I agree it is a badass its got all kinds of attitude

 

looking good .. hey if yu are still interested in them centerlines let me know if we meet at the fall out i could bring em up..just pay me when i get there ..ill lay it out ..

 

yeah, i remember reading an article years ago (before i planned on actually getting my hands on a 55) in rod & kulture, i believe, on his car. i sat there & read it in the bookstore & thought to myself; that's what i want. so it's just kinda weird. ya know?

thanks, the glass clip prolly helps keep the nose high too. i do want to get around to doing those ball joint & spring spacers, gotta get the nose up a little bit more. my boss's chevy II towers over my car.

butch M, i love your rides too man.

i'm actually planning on ditching the front centerlines in favor of some "rockett launchers" when funds allow. thanks anyways though. actually i'll see if my boss wants them. pm me a price.

 

Yeah, I see your point. It does kind of make ya wonder what he was getting at.

 

just plain badass. this cars the shit. nailed the stance, just a pure pissed off lookin hot rod right there

 

just got home from the hotrod fallout in CT, what a great show. talked to bunch of great folks, saw a bunch of great cars, & drank a of bunch beers.

30 miles from the show one of the rockers slid off the valve & bent a pushrod. i wound up picking up a self aligning rocker from a napa 2 exits up, but when i put the new pushrod in it wasn't sitting right. upon closer inspection i found the lifter had lost it's retainer & came apart. luckily it was just sitting right there so i fished it out & reinstalled it (without the retainer) with a magnet. slammed it together & made the rest of the trip & the 2 &1/2 hour ride home no problem.

gonna go ahead & get a full set of self aligning rocker arms so this don't happen again. maybe i'll pull the intake & fix that lifter too, maybe not...

 

broke down at a pretty cool old gas station, the outside was updated but the ofice was straight outta the 60s.

 

hey dude hope ya got home ok.....i left a rooster tail of all all the way back to new londen ferry ...had a blast at the show....great meeting you .....see you guys next year at the show..

 

see you at milltown 5! yeah i re-adjusted the rest of the rockers in the hotel parking lot this morning, crossed my fingers, & bombed it home 2&1/2 hours no problem. the show was great & it was cool meeting you guys too!

 

some more pics from the trip to fallout

 

Reminds me of the movie death proof. Shouldn't Kurt Russel be coming out with a pack of smokes?

 

some pics from our "season closer" show