Hello from northwest Missouri and my 1955 2 door 210 wagon project!

[ryguy013]

Hi my name is Ryan R. i am new to trifivechevys.com and new to trifive chevys at all. I am 20 years old and i got my first project. It is a 1955 Chevy 2 door handyman wagon 210. she has no engine or trans. the ol'girl has some rust issues (the usual fenders above headlights, floor, and quarters) im still trying to figure out my plan of attack on it and where to buy my parts from as well as trying to figure out exactly where i am gonna go with her. i wanna actually drive her and dont want a show car but i want something nice that looks and works good. any suggestions or thoughts would be awesome. as well as the wagon i got a parts car with it, its a 56 4 door bel-air and a set of 57 fenders and bumpers. i want to try to do as much as possible myself, even paint (ive painted small parts before but not a car)

my thought is a small block 350 (common and they make all kinds of parts) with EFI intake/throttle body (for mileage and reliability sake) matched with a 5 or 6 speed manual (no idea which one...not good with transmissions or diffs)
i wanna be able to driver it on the highway and take it on trips to shows and cruises and stuff. and i dont want a show car as to not worry about if every little thing isnt perfect.

Picture time!
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Parts Car

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and this is kinda what i want in color for paint and trim
2ivo8bd.jpg
although id like a hood and not soo hot rod-y

Thanks for looking! Let me know what ya think!!

[carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)]

hi Ryan and welcome. good to have you here. congrats, cool project. have fun with it.

[chevynut]

Hi Ryan and welcome to the site. Looks like a nice 55 project wagon. The 56 4door parts car isn't going to yield a lot of interchangeable parts for you, but I don't know what you need for the '55.

On the 5 or 6 speeds....the only 5-speed that I know of from a donor car would be a T5 from something like a third gen (I think) Camaro and they're not very strong. Aftermarket (Tremec or Richmond) 5-speeds are fairly expensive unless you can find a used one...I think the Richmond transmissions don't have overdrive until you get to a 6 speed. The Tremec T56 6-speeds can be had from 4th gen Camaros or Vipers and are also available aftermarket. They have an overdrive 5th and 6th gear and require an adapter or a special bellhousing. I would definitely look for something with an overdrive final gear if you plan to do some highway cruising.

Good luck with the car and keep us posted on progress.

.

[NickP]

Welcome aboard. Nice intro.

[ryguy013]

Thanks for the welcomes guys!

Chevynut, thanks for the advice on the tranny i was honestly thinkin of going with a T56 although like you said they are a bit pricey, would like to figure out a differential too, id like rear disk brakes but as long as i have fronts im happy. as for my 56 parts car i got all of it as a package deal. its all been rotting away in my grandpas barn for a few decades (look at that dust, you cant see through the windows!!!) i told him i thought the wagon was really cool and he is in his mid 80's and guess he decided he cant do anything with any of it. i did some chores around the house and then he surprised me by telling me i could have it all as long as i take care of her! sorry for the tangent i just like back story . buutttt any ways....i was in hopes that some stuff would be interchangeable between the 55 wagon and the 56 bel-air. if you look closely at some pictures you can see the 55 windshield and passenger glass are both cracked and the dash on the bel-air has factory air ducts. i was in hopes that these parts might be interchangeable so i don't have to worry about getting glass plus ill have factory air ducts maybe you can tell me if they are or aren't. and anything i cant use to fix the wagon i am planning to sell or swap to keep working on the wagon (want anything let me know). oh i almost forgot there is two 265 engines hanging around somewhere too (although i might have to do some more work to get those)

Picture time again!

here is one of the engines its almost complete, the other is somewhere disassembled...think thats a ford 6 cylinder next too it...oh if anyone needs corvair engines we have literal stacks of them hangin around
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Here is my grandpas done 56 (i have more pictures if anyone wants) the power steering broke (pump off the generator type) if anyone has parts for that let me know
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[smooth 56]

Welcome to the site, looks like a good project.

[Bihili]

Hi my name is Ryan R. i am new to trifivechevys.com and new to trifive chevys at all. I am 20 years old and i got my first project. It is a 1955 Chevy 2 door handyman wagon 210. she has no engine or trans. the ol'girl has some rust issues (the usual fenders above headlights, floor, and quarters) im still trying to figure out my plan of attack on it and where to buy my parts from

Hi Ryan. Welcome to the site. I am close to you at Smithville.
The best place for parts is Larry Miller at L& T reproductions.
http://www.landtreproductions.com/servlet/StoreFront
He is just north of you in Savannah.

In St. Joseph, Past Times Street Rods is in the south end of town and can help with metal fabrication.
816-261-3935

[Bihili]

Here is my grandpas done 56 (i have more pictures if anyone wants) the power steering broke (pump off the generator type) if anyone has parts for that let me know
IMG_0167.jpg

Tell Your Grandpa to contact this guy about repairing the factory power steering pump.

http://chevyps.com/

[chevynut]

Ryan, I believe the AC vents from the 56 will work, but they're not the same as a 55. As for glass, imo I wouldn't bother with old glass. New glass is fairly cheap and it seems like old glass always has bubbles and/or scratches in it. If it's nice glass I guess you could use it. The only glass that will interchange is the windshield and vent windows. The speedo will interchange, but again it's not "correct" as they have different colored numbers between 55 and 56...only matters on a "correct" resto.

BTW, my 56 Nomad came from the KCMO area. I went to aircraft mechanics school at the KC Municipal Airport years ago. MY 55 Chevy was also stolen there three days after I arrived, never to be seen again....so I found a Nomad to buy to replace it. Not real fond of the damned place.

[ryguy013]

Thanks Bihili for the contacts!! I will definitely have to tell him about that for the power steering.
chevynut that really sucks about your 55 but at least you got the chance to play with the nomad. thanks for advice on the glass didnt realize a new windshield is only like $200, after seeing some of the prices for fenders or patch panels and stuff on this thing i thought it was gonna be like $800 , i think ill just mount some reproduction a/c vents in the existing dash, my goal isnt a so to say 'correct' restoration, but i want it to be half way right but more or less what i want and how i want it to work. im not gonna go so crazy as to put a 57 front clip with like 56 taillights and 55 emblems with 150 trim and fuel injection and belair badges.......not gonna just hosh posh it i want it to look good, halfway look 'right', run strong, be fun to drive, be able to drive it all the time and not be afraid to, take it on trips, get o.k. MPG (no cam'ed 454 big block with a 4 speed and 4.10 gears) , be functional (a/c, power steering, decent stereo, comfy bucket seats,etc) and essentially i dont want to completely piss off the 'hot rod' guys or 'classic resto' guys or the 'show room' guys or anybody

although i had an idea.....i only have so much space where i live and i dont have room for the 56 and 55. so they are both still at my grandpas till i figure out what im gonna do. my thought was to strip the 56 (unless someone wanted to buy it) of all usuable parts and sell or swap everything i dont use for the 55 so i can get some project money flowing. i was thinking of cutting up the skin of the 56 (if its good still...havent checked) and use it to repair the rust in the quarters of the 55 since ive only been able to find patch panels of the entire side that cost like $650. then i was thinking of removing the body from the frame once the body is stripped and scraping it or putting it in our "car junk yard" on his farm (again if its not sold). then id be left with a empty roller frame....and so i could bring that to my house, strip the suspension and have the frame and A-arms sand blasted then paint it all and put new parts in the front suspension and steering so id have a complete chassis for my drivetrain and body to go on......soo my big question: is the 56 4 door belair frame the same as the 55 2 door wagon frame (i feel like it isnt the same frame...or is it just different suspension on the same frame?)??? and should i go about it this way or should i go a different route/different procedure, remember ive never restored anything so i dont know the standard operating procedures lol