Build process of mine & my Father`s 55 Bel-Air...

**03COBRA** · 07-13-2009, 11:27 PM

I know it`s not a detail, but trust me I can`t wait to work on this paint. Hopefully this is the right forum for this :nervous2:. My Father and I are building his dream car. He`s had a couple of 55`s in his younger days, but he gave up everything when I was born to take care of me and my Mother. So this is a dream come true for him, and me. I didn`t really pay as much attention when my Father fixed my cars when I was younger, so this is a true dream come true for me. I get to make up for the stuff I missed.

Mods for the car:

-350/700r4 Motor & Trans combo

-Heidt`s front control arms with coilovers

-Heidt`s 9" 4-link rear setup with coilovers

-Heidt`s 1" front sway bar

-Heidt`s 7/8" rear sway bar

-Wilwood 12" 4 piston, drilled and slotted brakes all around

-Wilwood master cylinder

-20" & 18" BOSS 338 wheels

-Flaming River steering column

-Flaming River rack and pinion w/crossmember

-Shaved hood, trunk & gas door

-Shaved firewall

-Widened rear wheel wells

-LED turn signals and taillights

-Chrome 1 piece frt bumper

-Chrome Nomad bumper out back

And more to come. Still finalizing some things...

Here is what she looked like on 11-17-08 when she was dropped off the trailer.

Today (3-1-09) we loaded her up on the truck and took her over to the shop doing the work. As you can see we pretty much just took the body off the frame once we got there. Getting ready to be blasted next week sometime. After that he`s gonna tackle the rear quarters and fix the roof. Then we need to skin the doors and fix the fenders. After she get`s blasted my father and I are taking the frame home to get the frame going while he works on the body work!!

And here`s a peak at the car that convinced us to have him do the work...

3/31/09: Got a big portion of the cutting done as you can see. My god I almost fell over when I saw the car like this. Anyways I`ve got all of the Heidt`s suspension and Wilwood brakes in. They are a Father`s day gift for my Dad...

4/15/09: The work is flyin on this car. He`s really getting the job done fast for us. We`ve got the new floorpans, trunk pan, and the quarters are being finished up this week. Don`t really have good shots of that, but I do have some good shots of the firewall. We are shaving the firewall complete and then making new holes for the stuff we need. And I apologize for all the iPhone pics, I`ll try to get some good shots with my camera and not my fathers phone!!

4/20/09: Just some new pics for you guys, camera phone again!! Sheesh, I need to get some good shots with my camera, I feel so bad about all of these camera phone pics!! Anyways, hopefully you can see the quarters are on and welded. Still need to do some finish welding and then clean the welds. But she`s starting to look like a FIFTY-FIVE again!!

4-28-09: Got some more work done on the car. The rear quarter and tail section are finished up and put in primer. He`s got other various little touches started and near finished. This week he`s gonna start on the doors and the fenders, and finished the hood. Again another very productive week on the car. This was a spur of the moment idea to stop by, we had to go talk to him about some paint colors, so again you get camera phone pics!!

5-3-09: Today we got the car moved over to the shop. Not much new has been done to the car since the last update. Just ground some welds down and some other minor work. The next time it comes out of here she will be painted. Then we just have to get the chassis done and she will be almost done!! This time I actually had my camera for this visit, so you get some descent pictures today!!

5-8-09: Today my father ran by the shop to finalize paint colors and all for the car. While he was there he snapped a few pics of the car. The body work is almost all complete. He repaired the doors, fenders, and other little touches. She should be painted next month it looks like...

5-12-09: Well not really much of an update, just got a bunch of goodies in this week. Just thought I`d share with you guys what we got...

-Third Member with 3.50`s and posi

-Built 700r4 w/shift kit and high stall

-Dakota Digital gauge cluster and clock

-Smoked glass for the entire car

-Taillight housings and led lights

-Danchuk chrome grille

-American Auto wiring harness

-Vintage Air setup

5-13-09: Went by the shop today to give him some belt molding clips for the car. He was there busting his butt and doing some work on the work. He`s got both fenders fixed and welded, finishing the left door, and finished the hood as well. It`s getting very exciting now!!

5-23-09: Paint work has begun!!! Over the past few days he painted the main parts of the body. He`s gonna wait til we get the chassis done before he paints the fenders, hood and trunk just to be sure nothing happens to them until we are ready for them. We are gonna wait to cut and buff the paint until the end. So we took the car out of the paint shop and now we start on the chassis next week. Should hopefully have it blasted by the end of the week and get started on mocking up the suspension maybe the following week. But I`ll keep you guys update!!

5-28-09: Not much of an update really, just got some more goodies in today. We got the serpentine setup from March, it`s the style track version. For those of you not familiar with these kits they are clear powdercoated!! We got some of the goodies from Lokar, along with tail lenses and other little stuff. Also we are taking the frame home on Saturday to get the suspension installed and then send it off to be powdercoated. So this will probably be the last update for a little bit while we get the frame put together...

6-6-09: Well today we started setting the suspension in place. Got everything semi clamped in place, nothing final though. As you can see everything isn`t square, just more of a placement thing and eyeballing how everything goes together. Also some people were asking me for pics of the Heidt`s setup in the frame, so here it is...

6-12-09: We`ve got a little more of the mocking up done. We`ve got the dummy motor in with the trans behind it. We finished mocking up the rear end complete, and started on the front now. Also got the trans mount installed now, along with the Sanderson headers made for the Flaming River column. Frame should be welded up this week, then it`s off to blasting and powdercoat...

**03COBRA** · 07-13-2009, 11:28 PM

7-12-09 THE FRAME IS POWDERCOATED!!!!!!!! Now it`s getting exciting. We got the frame back on Friday from paint and powdercoat. The frame looks great, and

so does all of the suspension pieces. My father and I put about 12 hours into her yesterday to get the suspension and the motor/trans in. It was worth it. We got the suspension, motor/trans, rack and pinion, and the Wilwood brakes in. Just waiting for the front wheels and tires to come in. Then we have a rolling chassis!!!

7/25/09: Finally the rolling chassis is complete, and the exhaust is done. We took the chassis over to Marco Muffler here in the Sacramento area, I think they did a great job. By no means the way I had envisioned the mufflers sitting, but I like it. I`m really happy with the way the exhaust routed under the rear end. We had to go that route because of the Heidt`s 4-link setup. Not enough room above the axle with the sway bar and all. But I think it will look great in the end. Everything is stainless. We are gonna sand the exhaust, and then polish it. Not looking forward to doing that...

8-1-01: The 5 month point!!! Five months ago to the day we took the car over to the shop to get the work started, and look how far we`ve come in just a few short months!! Pretty amazing if you ask me. Anyway, the body and all of the panels are bolted on. We`ve gotta do some final fit and finish, but the bulk of the work is done. Everything went on nice and lined up great. He`s gonna do some final tweaks over the next week or so. Then it comes home so we can wire it up, run the lines, etc...

8-31-09: Well guys we finally got to bring her home from the shop. The overall shell of the car is finished. Now it`s on to the plumbing and wiring of the car, and of course the interior. Hard to believe it will be 6 months to the day tomorrow, 190 days ago we delivered the car to the shop and took the body off the frame. And now to see it like this is just amazing!! Anyways, let me know what you guys think...

12-6-09: Well guys it`s been a few months since my last update. We`ve got all the wiring done, fuel filler figured it out, and all the lines run. Pretty much she`s already to fire up. We just need to finish up a few things then we get to start it up thank god. It`s been a lot of work to get it this far, a lot of the things you won`t see in the pictures, but I thought I would post the update for you guys. Let me know what you think!!

12-17-08: Well guys we got some work done on the AC lines. Most the day involved mocking up lengths and all, so it`s not a finished product yet. I think it came out pretty cool. You can see we routed them through the wheel well, over to the bulk head, then to their final destination. Didn`t turn out exactly like we`d hoped, but looks better than a lot I`ve seen!! Also, we have a polished trim plate that will cover the opening where the AC lines come out of the firewall. You won`t see the ugly cut out in the firewall.

Our Christmas present to the car is to start it up on Christmas day!!

12-25-09: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! SHE`S ALIVE!!!! We finally fired her up today, and man she sounds good. After much anticipation we were able to finish up the AC & heater lines this morning so we could fire her up for the first time. Needless to say everything went well. She fired up and runs good, need to make some timing adjustments and possibly some carb adjustments, but none the less she running now. And with no leaks, or hickups. The high torque starter sounds gnarly when you`re trying to start her, sounds like a big block trying to fire up, I likes!! I finally see what the excitement is about the first start up of a project like this. And my Father was even happier...

And you may notice we had to swap out the Wilwood master cylinder also. Looks like we got a bad one from the factory. So we swapped it out for a CPP all in one master, and got shorter brackets for the booster to hug it closer to the firewall. Man what a difference, I`m much happier with the look of this setup.

I posted a couple of videos for you guys, they are with a camera phone as i couldn`t get a hold of an actual video camera before today. So when we get her running good, I`ll take some more videos for you guys. In the mean time this is what you get, let me know what you think...

1-10-10: Hello everyone. Well we got the motor dialed in today, she`s timed and carb adjusted. It went pretty smooth for the most part. Just had to move the distributor 1 tooth and she timed great. Fans came on, thermostat opened, gauge cluster read temp, had oil pressure, all the good stuff!! We also got the brake lines done for the new master, and we have a great pedal. So anyways now we`re on the downward slide. As you can see we`ve got all the lights in. Headlights, turn signals, and tails!! In the video you can see one of the wing windows are in the doors. That`s next on the list is getting the glass in the car, get the shifter installed, and then dare I say send it off to interior!!

So here are some update pics for you guys. The pics you see of the engine bay are the final look for it, every wire is run and hopefully out of site, tell me what you think...

Click for start up video

**auto_guy** · 07-13-2009, 11:46 PM

wow! wished i had a chance to work on a car like that, can`t wait for the finals, already getting me excited!!!!!!

**kaotikdt** · 07-14-2009, 12:58 AM

I know some people like to have their cars rebuilt to OEM standards, and while is very impressive I just love cars that are built with today`s technology and the OEM touch. You guys have a very nice vehicle.

Can`t wait to see the results. :thx for sharing!!!!

-Jerry

**David Fermani** · 07-14-2009, 06:04 AM

Very nice work in progress display....megasmegma kudos

**ohiostate** · 07-14-2009, 10:10 AM

Looks amazing, keep us updated!!!

**MarcHarris** · 07-14-2009, 01:49 PM

can`t wait for updates... BEAUTIFUL rides. Bel-air`s are some of the easiest to recognize classics

**OCDinPDX** · 07-15-2009, 02:52 AM

Wow!!! Cannot wait to see the finished product. Good luck to both of you. :2thumbs:

**DetailnByDustn** · 07-15-2009, 12:26 PM

Great job! Looking really good!

**LastDetail** · 07-21-2009, 04:20 PM

Holey freaking frame-off build Batman!

Damn thats a ton of work seriously. Nice job, your dad must be so stoked.

**jucaraman** · 07-21-2009, 05:53 PM

thanks for the very detailed posts, awesome seeing this thing come alive

**alexjn1** · 07-24-2009, 06:41 PM

I can`t wait to see this when it is finished. Love the progress pictures.

**Glossequation** · 07-31-2009, 06:23 PM

I love the 55 and 56 so much more than the 57

**03COBRA** · 08-01-2009, 02:21 AM

8-1-09: Alright guys, got the exhaust done and the body is bolted on. Tomorrow the fender and the hood go on, along with the trunk. I`ll post some pics of that in a few days. But here are some pics for now!!