49 Chevy Project
Today, 7/23/2006, marks the 1st year of our 49 Chevy Project. Today the car is up on stands in the garage. The engine is out, the front suspension is in peices, the trans sits on the garage floor, and the interior is in shambles. To the casual observer it would look like a junk car waiting to be towed away. But looking past that it is not on the road, many things have happened in this first year.
Engine |
We bought thinking we had a 235 under the hood. One of the first lessons we learned was how to read casting numbers as we discovered that we had a 216 instead. Since the engine was quite the oil leaker, we started looking for a replacement. We debated whether to do a Small Block Chevy V8 or stay somewhat "old school" and keep the inline 6. In the end we found a 235, opened it up and discovered it was bored 40 over, took it to the engine rebuilder, and have now gone 60 over. Dual carbs, fenton headers with dual exhausts, HEI ignition, and a heavy duty clutch waits to be installed. |
Suspension |
After a few trips, the lowrider stance left something to be desired in handling and rideability. The original springs had been heated, with the car's weight causing the springs to deform and the car then settled lower to the ground. New rear springs and lowering blocks have been installed...if won't be as low, but the ride should be much better. New front coils with 1 1/2 coils cut away were purchased and when the old coils were removed the front control arms have been totally reconditioned with all new shafts and bushings again waiting to be installed. We also are having the front spindles reworked to take later style bearings and brakes (see below) and will get some drop with these new spindles. |
Brakes |
Although the front brakes had been rebuilt, they grabbed and pulled in a scary way. In our learning we also realized that the stock single master cylinder could easily be upgraded with a dual master cylinder. The older style drum brakes are being replaced by disk brakes using the parts that fit a 75 Monte Carlo. |
Instruments |
Temp, Oil, and Odometer work but the Fuel guage and Speedometer do not. So a complete set of TPI guages will replace the old guage cluster. The new guages required some fabricating to get them installed. Click here to see the process to getting new guages. |
The biggest things to happen this first year is that we have gained much knowledge by asking questions on multiple forums (see Learning Resources) and met many nice people willing to give advice and help us get our problems resolved. We continue to plug away with our plans even when we encounter a road bump along our way.
We look forward to beginning our second year by finishing up the projects that have been started in year one and then begin looking at other things for year 2 and beyond.
|