Alright guys I have been all over this site, I've seen some clean ass vehicles, and read some posts that leave me in aw of the info that you all know. Need a little help, finally got some pics of the new...uh...old baby. Not sure which way I want to go, but am thinking of stayin with the old school look, wanna bag it, definately want to swap the 216 with another inline, and an auto tranny. I know I need body work done, will plan on doin it first. Any help for a reliable place in San Antonio would help. Any comments or ideas would be very helpful. Thanks, and I have to say the is a pretty damn good site and I am glad you all let me be a part of it. Hutch
You could go with a 235 and a Powerglide. Should fit pretty well. Not sure what year they came out. Go with a dual intake, split headers, and a 235 out of a later 53-62 in order to get the extra power. Pre-bags you can get lowering blocks for the rear and cut a coil up front. Don't sweat the body until you've got all the heavy work out of the way! When are you Stateside? Keep your head down over there.
Will be in the states in May but for only 18 days before I come back to this lovely vacation retreat, and will be back for good in Nov. Ya I really want to get it on the road, just figured it might be smarter to get the body straight first, strippin it down and then put the motor in while the front clip is off. Not sure though. Thanks for the info Danimal
That is one nice car you've got to work with. Definatly old school mild custom, frenched headlights, dual sunken antenneas, down in the weeds, maybe functional lake pipes hooked to the split manifold. You've got the right idea, start with the mechanicals: suspension, steering, brakes. When that stuff is done start adding body panels back onto the car and working with them. Generally all plans go to shit (being a military guy you'll understand) the minute you take something apart and by then the car will be telling you what to do. Still it is nice to have a plan. Like the man said, keep your head down over there. Later, oj
Nice ride brother! Enjoy R&R, my wife just went back to Assghanistan and I leave sometime JUL-AUG timeframe! I just bagged mine and there is a 350/350 in it! I am going to put lake pipes on mine next week.... THanks for your Service. DS SSG Merritt, USA 11 Bang Bang.... Know why the sky is blue?? Because God loves the Infantry!
Tell your Mrs the world is watching and thinking of her and hers now that the pakistan government has turned to friggen water... and save a bullet for Osama .
hutch34 Just wanted to say Thank You for your service ! Keep your head down and get your time done and get home safe, By the way if you haven't done an intro ,do one and more people will welcome you aboard !
Nice start - all ideas are great. We honor your service and appreciate your sacrifice. DJ - Captain, USAF - 606th ACS 1965-1966
I don't have any answers for you, but I wanted to welcome a fellow San Antonian to the board... <waves> Slonaker
stay safe and keep both eyes open out there. nice car. i'd say you should go with a 235 or step it up with a 292 for power. one heck of a ride you got as she is. good luck with her.
What DANIMAL said! I'd forget the bags and just lower it and drive it. KISS-keep it simple stupid. (I'm not insulting you! It's just a saying) Thanks from this Vet for your service.
I have a '61 235 with dual exhaust and a 4bbl intake (soon to be replaced with multiple 1bbls.)...also a mild cam. It peps it up well. If you convert to anything beyond a powerglide tranny, you'll probably have to dump the torque tube, which'll open up a host of new issues to deal with, like longitudinal axle location. I haven't done this, I still have the 3 spd from '39 in mine. Whichever way you go, the Stovebolt sixes can all be dressed up like little beauties. When you do, make sure you have the water pump/pulley sorted out. I'd suggest holding onto your current waterpump and cannabalizing it. If you build a new motor, I would also suggest doing the full flow oil filter conversion on it, as the bypass filter you can put on is largely useless (or so I've heard). I currently run without a filter, and I'd really prefer to have one, it'd ease my troubled mine to know I have a good filtration system. My neighbor swears by the GMC sixes (292s, bored out to 302s). They have much better combustion chambers and more power potential. But that really depends on what you're going for.
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