project 55 belvedere gasser--"hell's bel"

[SuperBuickGuy]

you can do it the easy way and simply buy a hydraulic bellhousing and clutch assembly from a 88-97 Chevy truck, or you can do the hydraulic throw out or slave - in both those cases, you need to remember it takes less pedal throw (and less swing if you use a slave) to make it operate correctly. I spent a lot of time and effort getting a good clutch in my C3 and in my FJ40. Those were throwout and slave. I like slave better because when the hydraulic throwout dies it will take our your clutch disk too, but it is also most finicky to get the pedal stroke and swing ratios right..... a good rule of thumb - 3/4 the distance for the pedal stroke (meaning the rod is 3/4th the distance as the mechanical), 7/8 the distance for the swing arm.

[fatguyzinc]

i *might* have scored big today, gotta wait and see if amazon
ships it-- they claim the order has been processed, so we shall
see i guess...

the patriot fenderwell exit 2" primary 3.5" collector 55-57 chevy
header for 396-454 was $80.89....im thinking it was a misprint,
after i immediately ordered it ( $80 !!! ), they sent the order confirmation.

a check back a couple hours later shows the same part # as $241+....
but they havent rescinded the charge...yet....

heres hoping someone did an "oops" and forgot to put the 2 in front of the
80, and amazon said crepe its false advertising if we dont give it to him
for what we charged him for. normally i wouldnt be gleefull about it, but
on this project im going to have to beg/borrow/steal anything i can, hah hah.....

heres the order confirmation with the part #....got my fingers crossed !!!


Hello solomon c. abdul,

Thank you for shopping with us. You ordered "Patriot Exhaust H8035...". We’ll send a confirmation when your item ships.

Details

Order #113-4770526-8550650

Arriving:
Thursday, October 26 -
Wednesday, November 1
Your Orders

Ship to:
solomon c. abdul
1825 anapuni street...

Total Before Tax:
Estimated Tax:
Order Total:

$80.09
$3.77
$83.86

[Deaf Bob]

BBC fenderwell headers ARE cheaper than SBC..
more like $450 vs $150...
If you get those for $80... Lucky bastid!

[silver_bullet]

We have gotten lucky once or twice like that... never on performance parts tho....

[SuperBuickGuy]

reducing stock on items they no longer are going to carry. You can get some pretty amazing deals.

[fatguyzinc]

well a day later and they still didnt reverse the charges or say anything, so heres hoping they
come in AND they are listed correctly so i get the right parts...

paz picked up the 15x8.5 rear torque thrust II's friday, the reversed corvair box came in, the speedway
straight front axle is on its way, found the pitman arm i need, just collecting parts so when i get home
i can start messing with it. collecting/searching is sorta fun too, but not as satisfying as actually
getting to work on it. but still fun ! im now trying to figure out what ujoints/couplers i need to hook
the bottom of the cosworth vega column to the corvair box.....

[Deaf Bob]

Probably ASTRO VAN.. has 2 u-joints in their short shaft. (12-16 inches including the slider)
If they are strong enough to turn flat tires in mud, oughta be strong enuff for a rod on the street..
We always remove rag joints in EVERY derby car.. (64-older Fords have non sliding hooked to the box shafts that squish your lap when the car folds up)
70's GM's have 2-3 sliding sections slowed by plastic buttons. Forget the reason we do not use Moopars..
You likely can find lots mix n match parts using Astro van and 70's GM's. We do things to GMs so they slide but do not come apart..
One guy has two wheel/shaft assemblies (he is a Short guy we call "Midge" short for midget) longer one for fresh cars, shorter one for when the car folds up.. Can swap by yanking one out and put the other right in.. Getting shafted will be a piece of cake (wink wink, nudge nudge, induendo)

[fatguyzinc]

ok, ill look into that--although i think specifically vega & corvair use a
weird small 5/8-36 spline coupler, most 'normal' cars use 3/4-?? spline couplers...

[fatguyzinc]

OUCH....has anyone priced a new hurst shifter lately?
apparently they are now made out of solid gold or some
other unobtanium type material.

looked at the 'correct' one for bench seat 55-57 bel air,
hoping thats close enough to make work. but its $400.
even the 'universal' ( meaning--fits NOTHING...) is around
$350........

and then you need the bracket, rods, etc so the install pack
is another $200. now add tax and shipping to hawaii, and
its coming in d*mn close to a grand! just ridiculous.

but as a wiser man than me once said, "buy the used part to save money,
find out its garbage, then buy the new part anyway" gets real old after awhile.

lame !!!

[fatguyzinc]

wow! i made the "front page" again! last time was the white 454 vette, this time
the 55 plymouth. here is the write-up...

https://bangshift.com/general-news/project-cars/bangshift-project-files-1955-plymouth-vision-thin-budget/

[DanStokes]

Sure enough! Right there on the front page! Good for you - and the project rates it.

Dan

[fatguyzinc]

ok, maybe im crazy. actually id say the odds of that are better than average, but i digress...

so in the never ending quest to 'make something outta nothing', id like to bounce this idea
off the peanut gallery--radiusing rear fenders. old school dictates it, as well as lack-o-tire-clearance.

ive dont it before, and hooped a 3/8 brake line to shape then welded and finished. came out
great, but LOTS of work. how about trailer fenders for the finishing 'lip'? a local shop has these
in either 31" or 33" radius for $24 each. split and use just the last 1/8 plus lip and weld to the
quarter panel after cuttting out.(i would use the fender itself as the template for the cut first...)

do you guys think it would be worth a shot?

[DanStokes]

Seems reasonable. I'd say give it a shot. At one time guys were using the radaii (radiuses?) from early Beetle rear fenders in the same way and that worked.

Dan

[fatguyzinc]

YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH BUDDY !!!!!!!!!!
$155 is a metric @ssload cheaper. whoo hoo, a very
special thanks to fellow 'gasserhotrods' member sbauman2
for pointing me in the right direction !!!


Thanks for your order, Solomon!
Your order is confirmed and we'll let you know when it's on the way.


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1955 1956 1957 Chevy Nomad Competition 4 Speed...
Item ID: 152736727954
Quantity: 1
Estimated delivery: Tue. Oct. 24 - Fri. Oct. 27
Paid: $155.55 with PayPal

[silver_bullet]

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