Skill Center ’54 Chevy Build

Before we mounted the body, we cut out the trunk area. It was so sound we cut it out so if somebody needed it, it would be easy to use.

 

The inner fender halves had no rust so we split the fender on the outside of the pinch flange and cut the floor on the back of the body mounting cross-member.

 

We cut down the factory flanges for the quarter boxes and rear panel.

 

We left the filler neck box in tack and drilled out the spot weld to drop filler tunnel off with the floorboard.

 

The floor section was cut out incase we needed to put it back in another car.

 

Again, amazing work. I also can't believe how much you got those rear end assemblys for. That's awesome.

 

The rear clip was designed so the bottom of the latch panel and the frame bottom were even. A 1/8” filler mounts to the bolts for the bumper filler panel.

 

By saving the center part of the chassis, all the body mounts linked up. The truck arms miss the floor over 4” so no relief is necessary.

 

Are the truck arms made of channel iron welded back to back? Or is that two fabricated channels welded back to back?

 

Truck arms are 2” x 3” x 1/8<SUP>th</SUP> wall tubing that is mandrel bent to the same spec that was used on the early model Chevy pickups. The tubes are then cut in half, welded back to back with flat bar reinforcements top and bottom. Sleeves are welded through the arms for the u-bolts and a receptacle is welded that holds either a stock type rubber bushing or a monoball. The most popular manufacture of this type arm is Brisco Inc. in Swannanoa, NC contact: Loren Lanter

Brisco Inc.
251 Buckeye Cove Road
Swannanoa, NC 28778
Phone: (828) 298-1510
Toll Free: 800-328-4356
Fax: (828) 298-8871
Email: info@briscoinc.com

 

Awesome work, thanks for the pics!

 

thats beautiful work..
the race car influence shows in the careful consideration of bracketry and such..
one question..what is the intended use of the car?
with a solid mounted driveline AND a solid mounted body it will be a harsh motherfucker on the street...like PAINFUL harsh
I do like your Qoute "comfort-queen or Steve Mqqueen" can i steal that?

 

I like this build very much, seeing as it is a custom I don't think i would have made solid mounts for the engine. I would have kept the design the same but where the bolt attaches the motor mount to the frame mount I would have put some sort of bushing in there to keep the vibration down.

The truck arms are great, one of my favorite suspension choices. I almost bought some of the same components from a local busch team but came up on a 4 link for cheap at my shop.

This build goes to show that if you do your homework and spend enough time in engineering you can build one hell of a chassis for a low cost. When you learn the skills to do it your self your budget becomes much more friendly with the labor out of the picture.

one more thing your spring perches look beautiful

 

Sahhwhheeet, thanks muchly!

 

lowsquire was interested in the intent for this car. Well let me start by saying we are from TN and not unlike our brethren from NC, VA, GA, SC, and AL we grew up seeing this type of car built to run the winding mountain roads sometimes chasing, but most times being chased, if you get my drift. Modern day stock cars evolved from a generation of car builders that ignored the normal boundaries. Big motors, heavy-duty rear ends, truck shocks, some even made sway bars from old torsion bars, all the things that make hot rods great. Handling sometimes meant you could take that sleeper to the fair grounds and win a $100.00 on Saturday night, or keep your butt out of jail the rest of the week. One of the local&#8217;s here tells tale of a &#8217;53 Chevy his dad used for delivering goods that was show room quality on the outside but wicked fast on the inside. It was the family car, when asked by his mother why the roll bar, father would reply &#8220;Mother you never know when on of those big trucks might hit us, its all for the safety of our kids.&#8221; Long story short, these shoebox sleepers still have a place in a Southern boy&#8217;s heart. Remember; a corvette will rattle your teeth until it gets about a hundred -

 

This is really a cool build. I'm digging the engineering of it.

 

The engine, mounts and header all have tons of room so no issues on clearance.

 

Damn dude... some of that stuff looks eerily similar to my 50 Pontiac build... !!! Great minds think alike! What size of rubber for the back? I could send you a shot with 335's tucked to see if you like it?

 

The tires for this build are 245/45ZR17 on all four corners. They are 9 1/2" wide with a total height of 25". If you get a chance post a picture or two of yours.

 

Here's a rear shot. I'm thinking of running the 245's when the 225's I used for mockup are wore out.

Here's my link...
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=196378ck up are worn.

 

Two of the students working on the ’54 Chevy build are taking out the original dash. The dash was in good shape so we spent extra time to take it out where it could be put back in a restoration project.

 

Once the dash was removed the students started to fit a bolt-in roll-bar assembly. The bar actually mounts through the factor body mounts in the front. In the rear the students added a 2” x 3” x ¼” outrigger for the rear loop bar off the frame. Here is a couple of the pictures.