My '55 Belair 2 Door Hardtop Build (sort of

[bigblock]

Sounds like a plan, Good luck.

[Troy]

Well, I sold my home and we're living in our motor home at my sister-in-laws house!!! We haven't found a house yet but we're still looking!!! Anyway just to update my build of my '55 Bel Air I've taken it to a shop in Pleasanton Ca. called Fastlane Relics. They're going to replace the left (drivers) side quarter panel and the right fender, and fix all of the body work!!! When this is all done it's going to be painted Grabber Blue and White. Then I can put it all back together!!!!!

[Troy]

I also think I'm going to cut off some of the Double D shaft to move it down a bit. I have to install the speedo, the cap and the lower cap to make sure I don't cut off too much. Also I might machine a spacer for the shift arm to make it protrude farther from the firewall. When I figure it out I'll put a picture of the assy on this post!!!

[Troy]

Thanks Guys, I think I've maybe figured it out!!! I'm going to use the same lower mount that Doug used I think it'll work!! Thanks again!!

[markm]

I found a rag joint from a mid 90s 2wd S10 was easy to safely cut down to work with CPP column KIt.

[Belair-o]

Hello All,

I've been kind of off this site some of the time but I have a question. I've got my firewall painted "Grabber Blue", I have the frame up under the body, I've put the whole front and rear suspensions on! I have my '55 ready to take to the restoration shop to have some work done, like replacing the left rear quarter panel, have the dents all fixed and getting it ready for them to paint the car!!! My question is according to this site I purchased a 500 series power steering box and pump, I also bought a chrome tilt steering column for Woody's Hot Rods, to connect these two together I bought a rag joint, and a spherical support system for the bottom of the column! My problem is that the spherical support system will only mount on the inside of the firewall and the outside tube of the will not protrude out of the firewall so I can hook up the shirt lever to shift the automatic transmission. Does anyone know if the column and the steering box should work together???

Hi Troy,
Your car looks great, very sano! I can't answer if your specific setup will work, as my setup was different (used the same box as you, but shortened a stock column with the Eckler kit, with a splined shaft (not D-fit) that I had to shorten. I found that my setup required experimentation and adaptation to make it work. My original firewall to column support that I thought was going to be ideal wouldn't work. I ended up with a simple support with a tab, that utilized a bandclamp on the interior side of the firewall to bind the column to the support. I messed around with the holes in the dash to column support to get the column to extend enough. I found my rag joint was too long to fit, so searched around and found the shortest rag joint I could (and installed a jumper wire so the horn would work). I had to do some searching and experimentation to get an end of column automatic trans shift mechanism that would work. Was a total adaptation effort. You are in a better position that I was, since in my case, the fenders were on, so it was a lot tougher to get access for all the finagling and repeated install, uninstall, modify, install, ...
Regards, Doug

[Troy]

Hello All,

I've been kind of off this site some of the time but I have a question. I've got my firewall painted "Grabber Blue", I have the frame up under the body, I've put the whole front and rear suspensions on! I have my '55 ready to take to the restoration shop to have some work done, like replacing the left rear quarter panel, have the dents all fixed and getting it ready for them to paint the car!!! My question is according to this site I purchased a 500 series power steering box and pump, I also bought a chrome tilt steering column for Woody's Hot Rods, to connect these two together I bought a rag joint, and a spherical support system for the bottom of the column! My problem is that the spherical support system will only mount on the inside of the firewall and the outside tube of the will not protrude out of the firewall so I can hook up the shirt lever to shift the automatic transmission. Does anyone know if the column and the steering box should work together???

[Troy]

Thanks Guy's I appreciate your help!!!

[567chevys]

Look under

55, 56, 57 Chevy Document Library

There is a link for this

http://trifivechevys.com/docs/BodyAdjustmentsGuide.pdf

Thanks Sid

[chevynut]

No, I think you should re-shim it so the doors fit right. If you're using new body mounts things might change. I'd start with no shims and see how everything fits, then maybe shim the same places you took shims out if needed. I think there's some instructions somewhere as to how to shim to fix gaps.

[Troy]

Hello Everyone,

I'm going to put my frame up under my '55 soon. When I took it apart I kept track of how many shims were between the body and the frame mounts. Do you think I should put the same amount back in it or not? Thanks!!!

[Rick_L]

Sealer is not really needed depending on the type of primer and the condition of the primer prior to paint.

Not only that, but primer is often used as a sealer, usually with a bit of reducer so that it sprays smooth.

[Troy]

Well I finally got my 55's firewall Epoxy Primer'd, now I've got a bunch of body workin' to do!!! It's not very smooth. Somehow I'm unable to load a picture!!

[chevynut]

Remember the sealer after the primer and prior to paint.

Sealer is not really needed depending on the type of primer and the condition of the primer prior to paint. The main purpose of sealer is to provide a uniform color surface for the paint. Most primers can be coated with paint directly. We didn't use a sealer under my Nomad's topcoat. We sprayed white basecoat over the final urethane primer, then sprayed the orange base and clear.

[schovil69]

Well it's about to happen!!! I've finally got good weather so I can start painting my fire wall!! Yipee!!! 1st Epoxy primer, 2nd some body working, 3rd primer, 4th Grabber Blue, 5th Clear coat!!! Hope it's done soon!!!

Remember the sealer after the primer and prior to paint.