The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Check this out.

Took some digital pix this morning of Christine, and put them on Picturetrail. Let me know what you guys think. More to come as I continue to work on her.

http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid1460894

Hope it works

chip

Clean, I like that.

PRW

That's a nice looking car, Chip. The detail work on the engine looks great as well.

Chip,
very nice car, really clean.
I wouldn't go anywhere underneath with it sitting on a cinder block. It can fracture all on it's own and that would be it.

Yep, fill those cinder blocks with concrete and rebar.

Thanks guys. I've got jackstands holding the rear axle up. I slid the cinderblocks under the drums as a back-up, in case she tried anything funny while I wasn't around.

I'll try to get some more pics up too.

chip

Looks sharp chiphead

Paint looks good. I need to do that. Here are some pics of my 235 I posted on the Inliners site

http://www.inliners.org./ubb/Forum1/HTML/000915.html

41ChevyTrucker,

Nice engine pics. How did you set up the throttle linkage? Did you use the stock pedal set-up (if you did, would you please post pictures)?

Are the carbs Holley-Webers?

Thanks,
Tim

Yes the carbs are Holley/Weber progressive type.

My stock pedal & linkage was pretty sloppy so I replaced it with a lokar hanging pedal and cable then made a little bracket off the carb to anchor the housing.

I think you could use the stock pedal with the same linkage I have though. you might try asking langdon's stovebolt. that is where I bought it.

Nice looking ride. That engine looks like it is painted OMC stearn-drive blue,nearly the same
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41ChevyTrucker,,, that engine loks really nice.I was wondering why it was not painted since you did so much for detail on the rest of it.
OH yeah,,, whats with the Champion plugs???? :p

Chip. looks great, by the way, is your e-mail correct on the site? thanks, Fred

Chiphead, it looks just like the 4 door 54 my parents had with one exception. Their 54 had a white top. It was a nice car. It had "three on the tree", AM radio, heater, outside mirror on the left, white-wall tires, safety glass (I think), and turn signals. But all cars made after July of 1954 had to have turn signals. I think I read about the law mandating turn signals in the owners manual of their 54. I didn't have a license yet but I used to "borrow" that car in the middle of the night and drive 30 miles to wake up a sweet thang. It's a wonder I didn't get shot on one end or the other. I would have deserved it either place. Late at night the big coast to coast 50K watt stations would usally be clear. WSM in Nashville, WLS in Chicago, WRVA in Richman, Virginia, a station out of St. Louis at 550 on the dial. Nice looking ride, you did a great job. Thanks for the memories. Mike

Mech, the paint is GM Blue engine paint by VHT. darn stuff is like 8 bucks a can. But is supposed to be close to the original. You decide.

Joker, I registered under an email account that doesn't work anymore. No telling how many emails to me have gotten lost cuz of it. Hit me up at [email protected]

Sloemoe, you are correct. All Bel-Airs came stock with a two-tone paint job. If your parent's car had a white roof, the side spear on the rear fenders should have been white too, I think. Turn signals were called a "stock factory option" in '54. And the only problem with driving a '54 in the later years is that the car is easily noticed by sweet thang's parents. *G*

heavy chevys forever,

chip

Cool lookin' car, chip. Glad to see someone enjoying a "many door." Thinking back, I can remember LOTS of old four doors in mint shape going "cheap" 'cause of the extra two doors.

Hey, man, if it's old, WHO CARES how many doors it's got. It's still cool!

KUTGW, sir.

Regards,
Wannabe

Mechainiac,
yeah I am kind of going about my truck in a weird order. I should have just painted it when I had it stripped down but I told myself this was just stage-one and that I wouldn't paint it until I pulled it and did it right.

I originally planned on just leaving the motor stock since it ran pretty good until I was ready to do a full rebuild and swap out the trans and rear-end at the same time. So I drove it around for awhile but the exhaust pipe was shot and the carb was leaking a little so I said well I will just replace the carb and pipe... thinking I would go w/ stock replacements. Next thing you know I am ordering dual carbs, mini-hei, headers, valve covers and building my own pipes.

Anyway I am planning on pulling the motor next summer.

In the meantime now that I have my truck running again I have started stripping the body to bare metal and will pull a few leafs to lower it. Then I have an aluminum fuel cell I am going to mount behind the cab instead of the stock tank.

Ok I will spare everyone all the details right now and post some progress in the future.

What's wrong with Champion plugs? Langdon's stovebolt said they were "THE" plug to use. I don't know much more than that. They fired right up and they were only a buck a piece though.


Hey Chiphead what else are you going to do to your car now that your motor is set? Maybe chop the top?

Still a LOT to do to that car.
Brakes are pretty high on the list right now. After that, I've got to hook up the lines to the heater and hope the core doesn't leak. I need a good resistor for the 6V heater motor.

Car needs all new window channels, and front doors also need the glass replaced. Bla bla.... I had written a page of stuff the car needs, but you guys don't really want to know what shape my carpet is in.

Good thing about this car is that it has no bondo. Just a little rust below trunk and lower quarters. Solid floor & trunk pans. Nothing major. I figure Ill fix that when I get the bodywork done.

A little history: I'm the 3rd owner. 2nd owner let car sit in yard for 4 years. Dad bought car for me when I turned 16 in '92. Had 68K miles, and was bone stock except for redone interior and paint job. My dad offered a grand, and we drove it home the next day. I drove the car every day from '92 to '97, when she wore out. Everything broke at once. So I've been fixing the mechanical stuff since '97.

How the car got named: I was dating a girl named Carole in high school. The car never gave me problems until Carole. I'd take her out in the car, and we'd do the typical dinner & movie stuff. One night as we're cruising the local strip, she turns on the radio, and the radio blows up in the dash at her. Scares her to death. So I fix the radio and we go out a few weekends later. That night, as we're sitting at a red light, the heater core blows out and dumps a load of hot antifreeze on her legs. Didn't hurt her, but it scared her again. After that, she wouldn't ride in my "Stephen King car" as she started to call it.
Thus Christine was named.

Come to think of it, she ran off a few girlfriends.... Christine doesn't like other women around me.

later,

chip

Hey chip,
i have a question for you.
i was out on some back roads and ran across a 54 4 door that is for sale. -just rolled out of a barn on some land that is going up for sale.
green with white top, original engine. only rust i was able to find was a touch below the trunk. looks like the original paint, and the only dent is a small one on the chrome by the turnsignal. it looks remarkably straight.

so my question is this. - any other areas on these that are prone to rust? anything else i should be aware of if i purchase it?

in my opinion right now the asking price is steep ($3500), but if it is as solid as it looks, maybe i could talk them down some and it may be worth it. What's your opinion? It's not like i have the room right now, but i love those chevy sedans, and it would be a great way to travel in style with more than one other person.

anybody else have some suggestions/comments?

thanks

Chiphead,
Interested in the Jet sizes. It looks like a holley, which one? And is that a Clifford 4 barrel intake?

Bishop,

$3,500 sounds a little steep for a barn baby. Prolly full market value for the shape the car is in. Check the trunk, lid and quarters for rust, and especially the rear windshield channel. Check the front floor pans under the carpet, in case the front windshield was leaking. Also check the battery tray and the inner fender under the battery tray.

One thing to look for: The cast-iron PowerGlide is a pig. I'd deduct more $ if it has the PG.

52, that is a Holley 390 on a Clifford WH intake. I'm running 53 primary jets. I had jetted up and down with minimal effect, so I'm open to suggestions too. But I am happy with the carb/intake setup.

chip

Yeah. PowerSlide and PowerSlug are two nicknames I've heard....

Looks great!

That would be a very popular car here in Southern California.

Chip-
well, i went and looked at it, and thought, then drove it, then thought, then drove it again. and thought......
i even brought my coveralls to go under it and give it a good look on the 4th time. even pulled up the carpet in front and in the trunk. this was right at the end of december and the guy was starting to get anxious. i think that he needed to sell it. so i left him my number and told me to call when he would come down on the price.
well, i now have it sitting in the driveway. for what i considered a reasonable price.
speedo shows 27k and change, has fentons on it, 3-speed, and runs like a champ once i tuned it up. only rust is a touch below the trunk on one side, and some just starting to show above one wheelwell. and there is a small ding on one parklight. window channels looked good and the seat has one rip in it. and all the chrome is there. the guy said that it was his grandfather's car, and that his father started to 'hotrod' it when he started to drive, but moved onto muscle cars in the 60's. - the fentons are showing a lot of surface rust. one thing that i couldn't believe is how tight the front end was. minimal wander, nice and responsive, and easy to steer. (hence my question about the steering on my 55) and all of this with bias plys on it.
so, thanks for your reply, and i will get some pictures up as soon as i get them developed and figure out how to upload...