Ok ... so dont be to hard on me guy, never did a full restoration before, and need some advice from the pros! So here is a list of what I thought of today, oh and the car is a 53 chevy 2door belair 1. Is geting the body sand blasted the way to go? 2. What are the main difrences in the other bel airs close to that year, like grills ect. Like what will fit and what wont. 3. Are there any good parts catalog or supplers? Where I live in the mtns of Tn parts are hard to come by. 4.How do I tell what model bel air it is? Just a few questions I have been trying to figure out. Like I said dont be to harsh lol
Soda blast. trim is different on other years. Glass, doors, hood, trunk lid will fit but trim holes may be different. Check out rust on your body mounts, each one is different.ems sells body patches and mounts.
post a pic of what you are working on. soda blasting not cheap but, good. do as much work as you can .
'54 models are the only ones that will have parts interchange, 55-up and 52 down were completely different bodies. Grilles and bumpers are different between the two years but can be changed over. '54 tail lights are a bolt-in and much better looking (in my opinion) than the stock '53 lights. Post pictures. Is there a reason it needs to be blasted? If it's got paint on it yet, you can probably just sand it off. As far as I'm concerned, surface rust and pitting is the only reason for sandblasting a body. Paint you can sand off and rot holes you have to cut out anyway. Soda blasting doesn't necessarily do a good job of taking rust off.
^ Yep. Google for parts suppliers, there are many. Off the top of my head, chevs of the 40's is a good one, good to deal with. If its a belair, that's it. Not really any model of bel airs, other than the obvious, 4 door bel air, two door post bel air, hardtop belair,(no post) and convertible. Bel air is just a trim level, like the 150 and 210, and was available on all bodystyles. Bel air is a blanket sort of name that some people sometimes use to describe 50's Chevys. They aren't all bel airs, it's a trim level. The easiest way to tell is by the stainless trim on the sides. Post a pic and we can tell ya for sure, or google it. As mentioned before, 53/54 are basically the same car and most things interchange. In general, they are exclusive. Good luck, they're great cars.
Do not sand blast if you can help it. Only spot blast rusty spots if necessary. Sand blasting can damage and warp panels and it gets sand all over the place and is impossible to remove. You may think you got it all but it will keep sifting out for years. In fact do not remove the original paint. Stripping to bare metal is not necessary and makes it twice as hard to do a good paint job. There are tons of antique Chev parts suppliers. It is one of the easiest cars to get parts for. Your local auto parts store can supply most of the routine stuff like brakes, fan belts, spark plugs etc. Specialists can help with trim parts. Bel Air is the model. At first Bel Air was the name for a 2 door hardtop, later it was used for a line of deluxe trimmed Chevs.
Try to resist the temptation to do a body off restoration on your first attempt. We all crawled before we learned how to run. Don't enter a marathon before you do some 5K runs.
Pretty good advice really, but since you are an aviation mechanic you already have the meticulous thing done and the patience. But as Tommy suggests, you gonna put a real bunch of time in learning (oopses). Good luck dude!
Thanks for the info guys! I have never heard of soda blasting? here are 2 pics of my car. idk for shur that it is a bel air, just a 2 door 53 chevy. I wasnt aware of the diffrent trim levels. Thanks for the sound advice!
In my opinion, a Model A should be every persons "first build". There's a LOT less going on. Much easier to research, store and find parts. 40/50/60's cars are for the experienced with lots of tools and space. Otherwise, fix what you can and drive it.
Soda is just as difficult to rid as sand, especially at seams and folds. If you don't get it all out, over time it'll cause rust. Avoid it if you can. Chemical aircraft stripper is a better option, imo. A DA, or an etch acid for the surface rust areas. Done.
Since you are a wingnut....me too, you know the importance of bagging and tagging EVERYTHING....pictures, drawings the amount of hardware and where it goes on each bag........you cannot take enough pictures! This could be a dedicated 9 month rebuild or a limited funds 9 year rebuild, will you really be able to find every part you took off and remember where it goes???? I am in no way trying to discourage you...rip that bad boy apart....but you have to document everything, I cannot stress that enough. Lost parts are the bane of our existance...and it's never the cheap shit you can replace at the box store. Get on the net and buy a specific manual for your car even if you wont have a stock part left on it....it will help you to better understand the car you are working on. I don't mean that chiltons or haynes bullshit either, get a repo shop manual like you use when working on aircraft......detailed and in depth. Whewww, I'm worn to the nub. Good Luck with it!
first thing I would do.Get tires fixed,not new .Because of flat spots from sitting.......Check and fix brakes,Get running,If outside rattle can primer over rust spots.After that keep us posted and we can walk you through the rest.....Dont rip it apart for a first rebuild.Think of doing little projects first,Evaluation....
1953 chevy grille is unique to 53'; anything else will be a custom application. Chevs of the 40's ( www.chevsofthe40s.com )catalog front cover has from 1937-1954 front grilles on it. They would also have a 1953 reproduction sales brochure showing all the body styles, as well as shop manuals and owner manual, etc.
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