[Cpt_mouse_5150]

Heyo, First post. My name is Adam, but I go by Mouse, and sometimes Captain. My dad has given me a 56' Bel Air to restore. He was going to do it himself, but he was recently diagnosed with Cancer, so he wanted me to have it. I'll probably be asking a lot of questions. May need some help finding parts at reasonable prices, as I'm trying to juggle life, and restoring this beautiful machine.

 

[Cpt_mouse_5150]

Howdy!!!

Best wishes for your Dad's quick and full recovery!

Thank you. He's going in for some work shortly, and he's in high spirits, I'm hoping to get it back up and show worthy, so I can take it for a cruise with him in his Studebaker hotrod.

 

[Cpt_mouse_5150]

Hello there Captain-Adam-Mouse! Welcome to the forum and you will find lots of supportive and super helpful folks here.

Give your Dad lots of hugs and moral support while you can, and I hope he makes a full and complete recovery. I lost my Dad in 2013 (prostate cancer, discovered too late because he was healthy all his life and therefore avoided docs). I ended up partnering with my older sister to build a 55 restomod as a tribute to him because Dad and I were always gonna build a car together...and then he was gone.

Looks like you have a really nice starting point there! Tell us more about it...what are your hopes and dreams...what's under the hood?

Hopes are easy, get it drivable, and nice looking. Dreams, are to have it win some shows, and have a truly unique ride that blends my dad, and myself into the car. Right now we've got a LT1 (i believe) for under the hood. We are going to replace the manifold to swap it to a carburated system. If it doesn't hold out I have a friend who has a small block 355 I can pick up off him. Would love to have a nice mix of power and show to the car.

 

[Cpt_mouse_5150]

I'm actually spending the weekend down there this weekend. I'm hoping to get a lot done to it. 1 day on the front end, another on the motor

 

[Cpt_mouse_5150]

The car looks pretty complete. Piece of unsolicited advice? Get it running and driving before deciding on blowing it apart. So many cars get disassembled to the point reassembly takes years or never gets done.
Make it run. Make it safe. Make it run how you want (fast, stock, quiet- whatever it is you like). Then make it pretty.
Blowing the car into a million pieces in order to do everything at once is tempting, but the scope of the project can easily spiral out of control. It can get expensive, and it’s easy to get over your head.
Just my $.02, and hope it doesn’t sound pessimistic or patronizing.

It was running and driving. It's motor was yanked for something else to be put in. So now we are pulling it apart to prep, and strip it all for a new coat of paint. Other than that. I'll look into Interior as I go.

 

[Cpt_mouse_5150]

I don't get what you mean? We had done what you said, before you even said it. It's being disassembled now to be made pretty.