I just picked this one up. A running driving car this time. I got it in MI bit I guess it was in OH before that. Suppose to be done about 15 years ago. It is a '50 sedan. It has a Nova front clip and rear ('72), 454 from a '90's SS truck with a TH350 and 4.11s (maybe 4.50's). Here is where I need advice/help 1. The wheels have to go. The car is a little too street machine witht he ones on it and it has M/T on the front that says for drag racing only. I was wondering if there was anyone that was good at photoshop that could put some different wheels in there for me. I am thinking Supremes, Cragar wires, chrome reverse, steelies with caps or anything else that might enhance tho look of the car. Also is there anyone near me that knows how to properly measure for fitting wheels. There is room to play in the back as there is a spacer but the front might be a little tight. 2. The bumpers are painted silver, I would rather have chrome. Where is a good place to find parts for this style of Chevy? Also it has a 3 piece front bumper, is this a rare thing or were they all like this? 3. Steering column needs to go. it is from a '80's GM vehicle and has a tiny grant steering wheel. The shifter is on the column and I would like to keep it there as well. Any recomendations on where to get a new column? I would want something that could look stock and would allow me to run an old steering wheel if possible. 4. I want to change the rear gears. At first I was told that it had 4.11s then the guy said that he checked it out and he thought it might have a 4.50 gear in the back. I want to go to a different gear to make it more highway friendly and cut the TH350 a break as well. I was thinking a 3.73, does anyone have a better suggestion? 5. When I picked it up and was running it the RPMs seemed high. 2500 at idle and 5000 - 5500 driving (speedo is broke so not sure what my speed was). I was given the instuctions for the tach and following the instructions I reset it. I drove it a little to see what it was at and it was at a more reasonable RPM level. How do I know it is correct? 6. As stated above the speedo does not work. It also has seperate accessory guages. I would like to run the stock guage and do away with all the others. Any recomendations on where to get the guages rebuilt? Also I would need to get a correct speedo cable, would the same place be able to make me one? Thanks for the help.
Good places to get parts are national chevy association and chevs of the 40's. Chevs of the 40's also has new one piece bumpers or you could just have yours rechromed. I think the three piece is more common than the one piece bumper. As for the column, would just changing the wheel make a difference? My mom has a '50 hardtop and it had a van wheel and column in it when she bought it. I painted the column and got a kit that allowed me to mount a '64 impala wheel on it and it made all the difference in the world as to how it looked. As for the guages, I think there is an alliance vendor who will do it for you, check the list. My mom's has a 3:08 gear in the rear behind a 327/350 combo. It is the most comfortable car I've ever driven and it never gets hot. My wagon is in the process of getting the same combo.
Thanks for the info. I would like to redo the whole column. The turn signal switch is broke on it so I would like to get a column that has one that works. I also feel it would fit the car better to have a painted steel column in there. I also want a shift indicater for when the wife would need to drive. It is more of a want to do to make the car more mine rather than a need to do.
Nice car. I would see if you could fit the original steel wheels on it. You can get 1 piece bumpers from most of the big name chrome guys and trade them your others for cores. If you can't find a stock column from a junkyard the aftermarket skinny style ones look close to stock if you paint them. You can also run a stock wheel on those. You might have a problem with the speedo depending on the trans.
1. I would go with bullet caps and lugs with wide whites on that car. Fitting new wheels and tires. Measure the spacing from the front of the drum to the fender lip. On the bullet caps, It would be best to just find a set of used rims that fit that bolt circle and try different size used tires. 2. Pm me 3. Consider old Gm vans others will suggest other sources. 4. Your tire diameter plays a part here. 5. Hook up an aftermarket tach gauge and see if its the same as the one in your dash. 6. Original gauges can be made to work simply by using a 12-6 volt voltage reducer. Consider buying all used gauges you can get your hands on and using these to rebuild the ones you have. There is a Hamb source that rebuilds these also. Speedo cables can be found at Napa. Know your connection types and the length needed before going. A really nice chevy!!
wow nice score, three piece bumpers were more common then the single piece (california thing), but you could always weld the three piece up and get it chromed? and steelies with www's would be awesome and a altitude drop
I have had thoughts of dropping it a little more but not in a big hurry for that. I want to get all these items taken car of first, when I go lower it will be bagged. ajmopar, thanks for you handy work. For some reason I am not really feeling the WWW on this one. Do you have any others you could throw up. I think Buick wires could be cool but I don't have the correct bolt pattern for those.
Figure out what rear ratio you want, then go here: http://www.transmissioncenter.net/speedometer_calibration_______va.htm If link doesn't work type it in, good speedo information. Tells you how to find the right gears speedo gears for your set up, worked for me.
My wife and I took the car out for a ride tonight for dinner and now have another issue. When I shut the car off at the diner and when I got it home it wanted to keep running after I turned the power off. It only does it for a second or two. What causes this and how do I fix it? Thanks
Does it have a electric fan? If it does most likley it is feeding back to the Ign. circut, easy fix put a diode in the power wire to the fan. Fan motor acts as a generator as it winds down thus putting power into the Ign.
It actually has both. The electric fan is small. Not to sound stupid, what is a diode? Thanks for the help.
A diode is a electrical check valve,only lets current flow in one direction. Being you also have a regular fan, disconect the electric and see if that fixes the slow shut down.
3.08 is a good gear ratio,unless you want to have a little pick-up. Then I would go with 3.55.As far as the wheels go,i'd say dark blue artilleries with a red pinstripe on them.
black steelies, chrome lugs, 1.75" whitewall cheater slicks on the rear and skinny whitewalls on the front with a slight rake.
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