Block party

The motor I have for my '55 is a 283 that I purchased as a part of a bunch of stuff removed from a '57

Ready for breakdown

BelAir. The whole lot was $400, which included the motor and a complete '57 rear axle, so I figure the motor cost me around $200. I was told it was a 1963 motor. It was running when pulled from the car, and it spun over good and the plugs were in really good shape, so I earmarked it for use in my '55.
I also have another 283 coupled to an aluminum Powerglide that I pulled out of a '63 Impala that I bought for parts back in 1996. It was a four door that had been parked in someone's back yard in Atlanta since 1982, when a tree fell on the roof.

New double roller timing chain

Before starting on freshening up the motor earlier this week, I researched the serial numbers on both motors and discovered that they are both 1958 models. The one connected to the Powerglide was built as an automatic transmission motor, and the one I'm putting in my car was built to couple with a manual tranny. Not a big deal for me, but interesting nonetheless.
Since the motor seems to be in good condition, my plan is to simply freshen it up, replacing all of the parts that typically wear out. I have a complete gasket set that has been sitting on the shelf for 15 years, so I decided I may as well use it on this project.

Oil pan and timing cover reinstalled

I pulled the manifold off and the valley looked pretty good. Very little sludge build up. Both heads came off to reveal some carbon build up, but nothing out of the ordinary for a motor this old. The timing chain was really loose, so it had to go. It was probably impossible to get the timing to set right. Pulling the oil pan off, again I found a minor amount of sludge and debris. So far so good!
I sandblasted the oil pan, timing cover and intake manifold. I also scrubbed the block with Gunk and Dawn dishwashing detergent (to remove the oil residue).
One nod to modernity was to install an oil filter adapter, so I can use a readily available screw-on filter. I learned that the original canisters were prone to leak and messy when changing he cartridge. It's something that would be easy to refit back to original if desired.
There is the expected amount of carbon buildup on the piston tops. A few swipes with the wire wheel cleaned them up quite nicely!

oil filter adapter

At first I was planning on cleaning up the heads and reinstalling them, but after some clearer thinking, I decided to spend the $400 or so and have them rebuilt. They'll get cleaned, inspected, and new seals and hardened valve seats installed. I should end up with a pretty decent motor by then.

pistons cleaned up nicely

Bringing up the rear

There's not been as much time available this past couple of weeks for restoration work, but I've still

New brake lines to the new discs

found some time to keep the project moving forward.
Last weekend I tackled the installation of all new brake lines. I purchased a bulk roll of 3/16" steel
tubing and went to work. Since I am installing a disc brake setup, the original routing for the front and rear lines won't work, so that absolved me of trying to accurately recreate the original look. Instead, I focused of getting the lines as neat and straight as possible, and after a few hours I think it all came out pretty nice. The three lines that will eventually terminate on the proportioning valve were left sticking up with enough material to make whatever bends will be necessary to make the connections.

Rear lines all done

I was also able to get the steering box and linkage blasted clean and reinstalled.  Digging through the old boxes of "restored" parts, I found the tie rods and adjusters that I had stripped and painted fifteen years ago. With my improved skills, I stripped and repainted them with the CastBlast gray that I've been using on many of the parts that I want to appear as bare metal. Up until now, I've had a piece of steel pipe connecting the two steering knuckles, but now with the steering box and linkage in place, I can use the actual steering wheel to guide the frame around the shop.
One thing I've been trying to finish is the rear axle area. I wanted to replace the rear pinion seal to ensure there would be no gear oil slinging around the underside of the car. My old restoration handbook made it seem pretty easy: remove the nut and washer, pull the yoke off, pop old seal out, tap new seal in, reassemble.

Steering box and linkage installed

The 11/8" nut came off with a little resistance, but I had no way to remove the yoke without a puller. Fortunately, I have a great mechanic who is happy to loan me his specialty tools when needed, as well as dispense advice when requested. As he handed me his puller, he casually reminded me to make sure and count the number of revolutions when I removed the nut. My alarms went off in my head and I asked "Why? I've already removed it." With a look of disdain reserved for idiots who have just enough knowledge to get themselves in trouble, he explained to me that I couldn't simply crank the nut back down without knowing where to stop, as the crush sleeve in the pumpkin would then be incorrectly distorted. That in turn would change the interaction of the pinion gear to the ring gear, thus causing a grinding noise when turning. Yikes!
Frustrated with myself, I went home and--after the fact--did some Internet reading to learn that it is crucial to mark where the nut is in relation to the yoke before removal so you can put everything back the way it came off. It had seemed so simple before all of this!
Feeling betrayed by my manual, I gave it some thought and decided that since the yoke had been on the pinion gear shaft for 60 years, it was probably set pretty tight. Therefore, if I cranked the nut back on

Oops.

before I removed the yoke, and tightened it almost to the specified torque, it wouldn't compress any further and I could then mark everything and feel pretty confident that I hadn't screwed everything up. So that's what I did. I won't know if it worked out until many months from now when I finally get Old Yeller back on the road.

Out with the old...

With the new seal in place, I was able to clean and paint the yoke,
and repaint the pumpkin. At least it all looks pretty!

...and in with the new. All finished!

Eating the elephant

Fresh coat of epoxy paint

When my son and I were restoring his Mustang, there were many days, even weeks, where he was discouraged and overwhelmed by the task at hand. Since he had never gone down this path before, he couldn't see what I saw. That is, that each thing we did, no matter how small, was one more step towards the finish. Equally difficult was the inability to see further down the road, and how the completion of one or two tasks would lead to more progress later on. I used to remind him that it was like eating an elephant: you have to take one bite at a time, but eventually the task would be complete.
I was having some of that despondency last week, but after my little cry over how monumental this project seemed, I put my head back on my shoulders and refocused.
The first thing I did, which always helps me in other aspects of my life, was to make a list. Using the calendar on my phone, I entered
two or three tasks for each day of the week. I kept each day realistic so as to not get bogged down with one thing. The goal was to get the frame back on the ground with wheels by the weekend, and it appears that it will happen. I also pulled out a number of small items that needed restoring to fill in the gaps, so as to have a sense of moving forward at all times.
I had started repainting the frame last week, and by Sunday there as a good coat of epoxy black on the whole frame. In the interest of time and effort, I decided to forego disassembly of the front suspension. I just wasn't in the mood to deal with compressing springs. Besides, the control arms were in pretty good shape to begin with.

Spark plug heat shields before during and after cleanup

The biggest step this week was installation of a new front disc brake setup. I was a little wary when I started opening the boxes, because I bought this kit from a vendor at the Thanksgiving Turkey Run, kind of on the spur of the moment. The price was good and t
he thinking was, at the time, that by making a large purchase I would be more inclined to get to work on the car. I guess it worked!
Anyway, as I began laying out all of the parts, I was more and more impressed with the kit. There was no issues with fitting. Ever part needed was there, right down to the cotter pins. The bearings were a quality name brand. As a result, I had both sides installed in about an hour! Of course, there's still the mater of brake lines and master

Hood hinges, waiting on steel finish paint from Eastwood

cylinder, but that's for another list.
I planned on getting a number of larger parts out for some outside sandblasting on Friday. We have rain forecast for Friday, so that task is moving up to tomorrow, but otherwise the list worked great.
If I can stay on task, I should begin stripping down the motor this weekend. I found a complete gasket kit in my searches last week, so I've decided to pull the heads and oil pan. That should give me a pretty good picture of what condition the motor is in. My plan is to
basically clean it up, paint it, and replace any exterior components (fuel pump, thermostat, etc.) that normally wear out. The aluminum Powerglide is going to the transmission guy this week as well. It's been sitting for probably close to 35 years, so I'm bracing myself for a big bill on that. The good thing is, the aluminum Powerglides are popular with racers, so the parts are readily available.

The old drums get their last day in the sun

 

New discs installed. A really nice kit

Feeling overwhelmed

I'm working from the rear of the frame-the easier end-towards the front as I strip and repaint with epoxy.
Yesterday, I decided to go looking for the brass distribution

Hubcaps, dome light, trunk emblem...nothing organized

block for the rear brakes that mounts on the rear axle. I began pulling old dusty boxes out from beneath the shelves, and with each box opened my heart sank a little more.
The first box wasn't too bad. Each part that came out was familiar to me. Window regulators. Seat trim. Steering wheel. Even the complete front brake line assembly with blocks and straps.
The second box had a few familiar items, but just as many oddities that I can't place, neither in my mind nor on the car. The next box was

More disorganization

the same, only I started recognizing parts from the '57 that I had back in the 90s (the red overspray identifies some of those pieces). Other parts look nothing like anything that goes on this car. A mixture of odds and ends.
Another box yielded the same pile of confusion, and still I hadn't found the distribution block. I then turned to the two buckets of bolts that hold a mish mash of nuts, bolts and brackets. Many of these things have nothing to do with the '55, they've just found their way into the bucket over the years. Dumping them out on the floor was like pouring a thousand  jigsaw puzzle pieces out. How will I ever sort this stuff out?
I have four or five more boxes, but I'm pretty sure most of that stuff are parts that I restored and wrapped up for safekeeping. I never found the block, so I turned to eBay this morning and ordered a new one for $13. Money well spent to avoid frustration and lost time.

What a mess. How could've I been so stupid?

The goal this weekend is to get the front half of the frame stripped and repainted. If all goes well, I may even have time to start installing the new disc brake setup. A lot of time lost last weekend was due to a gimpy paint gun and other annoyances that slowed me down--things that shouldn't happen again. One step at a time...

Re-restoring the frame

This morning I began the restoration of my restoration.

No more nice coat of chassis black

The body of Old Yeller has sat on the frame since 1999. At that time, I had sandblasted, primed and painted the frame and suspension components with the intention that it was the last time I would do so. Therefore, I was a bit disappointed, as well as surprised, at how much corrosion had poked through over the past 15 years. Especially since the car has been in storage for the whole time.
Every surface that faced up has become rusty, in some cases quite a bit. It was an eye-opener as to the quality of my work at that time. I also think that my knowledge and skill set was severely lacking as well. Since then, the Internet has provided enough info to make anyone an expert on any topic. Products have changed as well. I don't think epoxy paints like POR-15 and Rust Seal (which I use) were available back then. Hopefully, my wealth of resources will help me do a better, more permanent job this time.
Today, then, I took the wire wheel to the frame and knocked off the paint and rusty spots down to clean metal. The beauty of these epoxy products is that they are virtually impervious to moisture, so if you clean the loose stuff off the metal you're working with and get a good coat of paint down, the result should be pretty solid.

Starting over

I've started from the back, since it's easier, and will work my way to the front. Once I get there, I'll install the new disc brake setup and then I can turn to the motor!

Leaf springs before and after stripping

Separation anxiety

The first thing I needed to do, once the car was emptied of it's contents, was to get the body off of the frame. It wouldn't be too difficult of a task, because it never was bolted back on when I moved it.

Ready to lift

Using the same technique we applied to Daniel's Mustang when we restored it, I suspended two come-alongs from the roof trusses of the shop. Using tow straps, chains and unistrut, it was a simple process to winch the body high enough to roll the frame out from underneath.
Having the car body dangling almost four feet off the ground is always a scary sight!
From there it was a matter of positioning the dolly so that the car would sit nice and balanced. Since the BelAir is almost a foot

Up, up and away

wider than the Mustang, I had to attach some 4x4 cross beams on the dolly to catch the rockers of the Chevy. This actually makes it sit even higher, which is good for working on the under side.
The body now rolls effortlessly across the shop floor.
I rolled the frame outside and gave it a god wash down. Once the dust was gone, I was surprised to see how poorly the chassis black paint had protected the metal over the past 16 years. Rust is poking through on every surface that faces up. Unfortunately, this means more work on the chassis that I had anticipated. The good news is that I've been using an epoxy chassis paint, Rust Seal, that should provide a long-lasting barrier.
I plan to focus on the frame for a while. First the rust mitigation, then installation of a new disc brake

Scary times....

setup that I purchased at the November Turkey Run here in Daytona Beach. When I did the suspension back in '99, my intention was to make the car as original as possible, so I installed a new set of drum brake components on all four corners. As well as a nod to safety and modern braking technology, the disc brake purchase was another way to prompt me to move forward with this project.

Back on solid ground. Whew!

All tucked in for the day.

Let the games begin!

Welcome to my newest project...and my oldest. Let me explain.
I say newest, because I recently finished restoring a 1966 Mustang with my son, Daniel, as his first car. You can check it out over at 1966mustangresto.blogspot.com.
I say oldest, because I've had my 1955 Chevrolet BelAir since 1988. We were living in Atlanta at the time when I purchased it, with the blessings of my wife of (then) three years, from the second owner, who had owned the car for the previous 25 years. It wasn't running, and had it's share of rust, but it was absolutely original and complete down to the last nut and bolt. After paying the asking price of $1500.00, I had it towed home.
The car arrived at our house on a Saturday afternoon. It was dumped in our driveway, and from there I rolled it down into the back yard. In my excitement and eagerness, I immediately began to disassemble it. That was my first--and biggest--mistake. Since I had no garage, or even a secure place to store parts, everything I removed went into buckets and then inside the car. It was quickly up on blocks, the wheels and other parts stashed underneath. The motor, which wasn't original, was pulled out along with the original cast iron Powerglide. Not having a place for it, and not mature or experienced enough to know better, I dug a hole and buried it in the back yard. Simple enough to get another motor and transmission, I thought.
After a month or two of this misguided frenzy, my excitement naturally waned. I was beginning a career, we were renovating our house, and then the ultimate deterrent came along. We had our first child.
We lived in that house for nine years, and for eight and a half of those years, the BelAir sat in the back yard, deteriorating. Trees blanketed it with leaves. The dogs tunneled underneath to escape the summer heat. Rats and roaches took up residence in the mildewy interior. Another child arrived, work became more demanding, other interests distracted me from my dream. The old Chevy became a fixture that was hardly noticed--at least by me. My wife, I'm sure, chafed silently at the rusting hulk in the back yard. A local guy stopped by once or twice a year asking to buy it. I always politely declined.
Just writing all of this down, with the wisdom of thirty years under my belt, makes me cringe with embarrassment and shame.
In 1996, we moved to a larger house with a two car garage. In spite of the pleadings of my wife, "Old Yeller" was dragged up onto a flatbed and transported to her new home. Finally, she was safe and dry, if nothing else.
During that time, I also bought and refurbished a '57 BelAir. With all of the persuasion I could muster, I presented the idea to my wife that this was such a good deal, and would afford me the opportunity to finally drive one of these classic icons of Americana. I still can't believe she gave in, and suddenly we were a two-clasic-Chevy family. The old '55 got pushed even further to the back burner.

On the dolly around 1999. The '57 is in the foreground

Two years later, with the arrival of our third child (Daniel), we made the decision that I would stay at home and care for the new baby, instead of another round of daycare. Since a newborn baby sleeps so much, I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands, so I started pecking away at Old Yeller. Fenders came off. Interior came out. Parts were acid dipped, primed and painted. Finally, I realized that the car needed to come off of the frame, so I devised a homemade dolly to support the body while allowing me to detach and roll the frame out from beneath. I was finally making some serious headway!
I bought a larger compressor and a sandblasting pot. Each day, after Daniel was down for his morning nap, I would roll the frame out into the driveway and blast away. I applied etching primer and a good coat of chassis black the the bare metal. New suspension parts that had sat in boxes for years finally saw the light of day and were installed.
After many months, the chassis was rolling again on all four wheels, so I pushed it into the garage and off to the side, to turn my attention to the body. Finally, the rusted rockers and floorpans were cut away to be replaced with new metal. Again the sandblaster peeled the years of rust and paint away to reveal bare metal. More primer, and eventually even a coating of original color yellow on all of the areas that were repaired.
In 2000, we moved again, this time back to our home state of Florida. Of course, there was no way Old Yeller would be left behind, and in fact my criteria for our new home was that it have a three car garage so she could have her own bay. In the last month before our move, I worked like the devil to get the car to a point where I could reinstall it on the frame for transport. All of her parts and pieces were again stuffed inside for the trailer ride to the Sunshine state. As I rolled her off the trailer and into her new home, I just knew I would soon be back on the project again.
Life has a funny way of getting in the way of dreams. Another job, actually a career change, along with the Florida lifestyle of boating and beaches meant that the dream again faded to the background. The car sat in that third bay for four years, with the only contact being bicycles and building materials that were propped against her.
We made another move in 2004. This time to another house without a garage. With a little more wisdom under my belt, this time I rented a storage garage and stuffed Old Yeller in with all of our other stuff that normally resided in  the garage. Out of sight, out of mind.
During this time, I purchased a small warehouse facility that I used to house our businesses along with a couple of tenants. When the end unit became vacant around 2007, I saw another opportunity to get my dream back on track, as well as saving the monthly storage charges. Another trip on the trailer for Old Yeller, and she was again stuffed back into the dark recesses of a garage.

Old Yeller trades places with a future project.

So we come to the present. Actually, 2013. My youngest son, Daniel, shared his dream of owning a classic Mustang as his first car. At first I was opposed to the idea, but upon discussion with his mom, who is also known as The Most Patient Woman On Earth, I agreed to go along with his dream, provided we find and restore a car from the ground up. The ulterior motive was to spark within me the desire to resume work on my own dream. We cleared out all of the extraneous junk out of the warehouse bay, set ourselves up with all the equipment needed to rebuild a car, and went to work. (See above) After two years, we actually finished his car and suddenly the space was open and ready for the next project. Which brings this story to the present.

All the old parts come out into the light

What I have on my hands right now is twenty eight years of dust, buckets and boxes of parts, some labelled but most not, and a very fuzzy memory of where everything goes. I'm confident all of the parts are still there, and I have my restoration guides and assembly manuals to refresh my memory, so I have hope. I also hope that this chronicle will inspire someone else to get to work on their own dream.
So it's time to get to work!

Still has the tag from the last time she was driven...in 1978.

This is where the progress stopped in 2000.

All new floor pans, rockers, and a good coat of lacquer.

The trunk is the next area to be tackled.