Hi all. I've been around a while, mostly playing on Solidworks and dreaming. This project is happening for a few reasons:
1. A 1953 Chevrolet 150 Business Coupe showed up on craigslist one night. I was not previously looking for this type of car, but I saw it and loved the proportions.
2. My dad is a longtime GM guy and has a 1955 Chevy Bel-Air. His knowledge of this platform will be a huge help.
3. My self-designed cars that can be found in my other threads scare my wife. She is much more supportive of me starting with a "real" car.
So on to the 53. It is all original, sat in a field for several decades (more than I've been alive in fact) but has a heck of a lot of heart. With a little help the 235 straight six runs well and it drives. I drove it on nice days for about a month. Long enough to discover a few things:
1. The 235 is a pretty weak engine. Good torque, but it can't keep up with modern traffic.
2. The main seals, front and rear, leak bad. I have to run it a quart low on oil and it still drips. If I fill it to the line, it will drain out on the ground overnight.
3. It vapor locks. Luckily I had a can of gas in the trunk. Poured gas down the carb, got it running, juiced up the idle, and hurried home.
4. Most recently, the clutch fork inside the bellhousing broke ( I think, not confirmed), leaving me clutchless on the side of the road. This required a tow.
5. The 3-on-the-tree novelty wears off and you are left with a un-syncronyzed tranny that can't be hurried, which is unfortunate when you need to hurry.
6. The car has a wonderful charm. I maintain that this was from an era when American cars had the best interiors in the world. They are simply beautiful.
Here are some pictures:
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Yes that is the original brown lacquer paint; cracked and badly damaged. Not much rust, just on the floor boards in front of the seats.
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So now I've got some work to do. I could go many ways, and part of me wants to restore this car. That part is immediately swayed by the persistent smell of gas, and the many shortcomings that you have to deal with when driving a car this old. I have instead chosen to modify it, somewhat drastically. It will have a new heart and soul, covered with the same beautiful and as close to original looking wrapping. After daily craigslist searching, I found a great donor vehicle at a steal-of-a-deal price:
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This wonderful L98 powered C4 corvette has a front suspension that is entirely attached to a removable crossmember. The rear suspension and differential are a similar deal. If you're not familiar with this, you can check out google and find images like these:
Beautiful all aluminum suspension! I think this will be a great way to get fully independent suspension, rack and pinion steering, disk brakes, and a limited slip rear end all in one go!
Thats it for now. I'm hoping this build log will keep me moving, even when things are slow going.
EDIT: I wanted to add the present my wife made me:
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These are clips from the original advertisements for the 1953s. I think my modifications will improve upon those numbers a little