[Spanky]

Building a 55 Chevy has been a dream of mine for decades. I'm now 70 years old with the resources to make it a reality. With the help of several members on the forum, I think I have a solid plan.

I bought my 55 a year ago. This is an Arizona/California car. It had a frame-off restoration years ago. The body was media blasted and sealed with DP90. There's no rust or damage that requires attention. Creature comforts have already been added. The interior has been done and will work for now.

This build will include a Roadster Shop SPEC chassis and Blueprint 530 Hp LS3/4L70E combo. I'll be working the chassis and powertrain first. The plan is to get the car back to running condition before bodywork and paint. May seem a little backwards, but this is the plan.

Tomorrow the process begins. My new MaxJax lift arrives. I have a good-sized garage, but the ceiling is 8 feet. The MaxJax will give me enough height to replace the chassis and and paint the underbody. Over the next few months, I will split the body and chassis, remove the SBC and 700R4 and prepare the body for the new chassis. I'll be replacing wiring and re-routing A/C and heater hoses. I've got some fabrication to do to mount the ECU. Fortunately, none of these things are terribly difficult.

Here's some pictures of the BEFORE.

 

[angs1957]

Looks like you have a really solid car to start off with

 

[T0737dr]

nice car should be exiting keep us posted ill definately look forward to lots of pix

 

[Spanky]

Lift is installed. Check Step 1. 934 steps to go.

 

[Spanky]

I got back on the build today. My father passed away a couple weeks ago, so things stopped.

After today's work, the next step is to remove the body mount bolts and separate the body from the chassis. Then the engine and transmission will come out and the chassis will be gone.

 

[Bitchin'57]

I give you credit for starting a project at the age of 70. I'm 61, and I told myself that my currecnt project, which is pretty much finished, will be the last one! You are starting with a beautifully restored car, so that should make life a lot easier for you, with no rusted body bolts to deal with and so forth. Best of luck to you, and enjoy the process!

 

[Spanky]

I give you credit for starting a project at the age of 70. I'm 61, and I told myself that my currecnt project, which is pretty much finished, will be the last one! You are starting with a beautifully restored car, so that should make life a lot easier for you, with no rusted body bolts to deal with and so forth. Best of luck to you, and enjoy the process!

70 is the new 60. I've got several good years left.

 

[Ronnie@JB1957]

Beautiful car - your starting point in nicer than my driver/show work in progress. Keep us posted.

 

[Spanky]

Made a little progress today. This is the first of many milestones.

 

[Spanky]

Stock chassis is gone. A/C removed. Dash stripped down. Fuse panel and under dash wiring removed. Next step is to weld up holes in firewall and inner fenders. And reroute A/C and heater hoses.

 

[Bitchin'57]

May as well toss that stock gas pedal.

 

[Spanky]

May as well toss that stock gas pedal.

Yep. That's coming out too. There will be a new DBW pedal.

 

[Mister56]

that's a nice car to start with,
key us posted when you can,
thanks for sharing the pics!

 

[Spanky]

I've gotten a little work done. I'm working on the firewall and inner fenders. Holes are welded up on the fenders, sprayed with epoxy primer/sealer, body worked and primed with high build. They are ready for block sand and basecoat. The basecoat is called Secret Silver and it will be sprayed over the black primer. The clear will be matte. The outer part of the fenders will be coated with Wurth undercoating, sprayed with basecoat and matte clear. On the passenger side, I welded a debris shield/tray for the A/C and heater hoses. I'm doing my best to hide them.

 

[Spanky]

I ordered the Blueprint LS3/4L70 530 Hp package. There's a 10 month build time. But when it arrives, I drop it in, wire it and fire it.

 

[Spanky]

My plan was to keep the stock firewall. I'm having second thoughts. I'm not sure I can ever get it to look as good as a recessed firewall. I'm not a fabricator. My welding skills are limited. I'm afraid I'll bite off more than I can handle. I'm especially concerned about the front body mounts. Any advice from those who have taken the step?

 

[Spanky]

I pulled the trigger today and ordered a firewall. I will use the Direct Sheetmetal smooth firewall. I've already started cutting the stock one out. This should be fun.

 

[Spanky]

Firewall is out. The new one will be here this week.

 

[Bitchin'57]

I'm glad you took the plunge and went with a smoothie firewall. It will make a big difference in the appearance department, plus you can set the engine back a bit into the recess, for more clearance up front for high performance electric fans. I used CPP slider engine mounts to mount my LS3. They are great for putting the engine where you want it to be.

 

[Mister56]

Just asking, no way to recess the original firewall?
Those other than stock firewalls seem to be easy to spot and they seem to not really be formed quite right.
All that work for a firewall that really is not perfectly fit around what the new LS type motors shape looks like.
they tend to look squared off.
But that may be just me, those smoothed firewalls may be like that because of the way it has to fit the body?
An original style firewall recessed most would not even notice,
but real 5-6-7 enthusiasts would see it but we might not know what was really done.
Either way, seeing what you are doing is a lot more fun on this side of the computer.
Thanks for sharing your pics and your work.