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Classic Cars 54 Chevy Bel Air hartop
36 messages, Last post on Aug 16, 2009 at 6:20 PM
You are in the Classic Cars Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Aug 30, 2007 3:46 pm)
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Replying to: burdawg (Aug 31, 2007 5:58 am) Oh yeah, I'd put Dyna-mat down on the floors and inner firewall, too, to keep heat out. |
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Well, our much respected host and I disagree on this subject. The bottom line, do you want a cool 1954 Chevy to drive around in or do you want "something else"? Do you want it stock as it was designed or do you want it "Mickey Moused?" I can give you a strong argument either way. Just remember, they are only stock once. I had a 54 Chevy Bel Air and it was one sweet ride in it's stock condition. It steered well, stopped well and cruised the freeways of So. Calif at 70 MPH with no problems. I never felt any excess heat through the firewall although this can be a problem with some old cars. It did have a split manifold for that wonderful sound only a Chevy six can produce. The 235 engine is a strong workhorse, and if it has a Powerglide, it will hold up well. Usually, these arent daily drivers. They don't have to handle or stop like a BMW. Is it a hardtop or a sedan? You weren't clear. If it's a 2 door hardtop, then it would really be a shame ( I know, my jaded opinion) to make it something it never was intended to be. Sorry, Joe, I respect and even agree somewhat with you on this but to me, it's a shame to mes with an old Chevy! Now...if it were a Ford we were talking about.... |
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to add the stuff like power front disc brakes without actually butchering the car up? For instance, if all the old hardware was held onto and put into storage, would it be possible to just bolt it back on, if some future owner wanted to put the car back to original condition? Or would doing those mods require a bunch of cutting, welding, etc, to the point that the old stuff would never go back on?
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Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 02, 2007 7:01 am) However, if you give it some juice with nicer wheels and a good V8 rumble, well then the picture changes. Then you have a mild street rod. You have more fun. The spectator has more fun. Yes! You can modify to power steering and disk brakes without cutting or changing anything permanently. It's not that easy but you can return the car to originality--although again, with a sedan, I don't know why you would. Just look at the value of a Ford or Chevy sedan from 1927. In 80 years, they are still worth less than a used Hyundai---so with an early 50s sedan, you aren't sittin' on a gold mine here.
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 02, 2007 7:06 am) to answer Andre, yes, they can be converted to disk brakes without butchering the car but, WHY? It's almost like some people think the old drum brakes were dangerous or inferior. If they are adjusted properly and working well, they will quickly skid the car to a stop if necessary. Yes, disks won't heat up or fade as much, but, again, people shouldn't drive a 54 Chevy as they would a modern car and any sensible person wouldn't. Last night, at the local car show, thre was a 1953 Chevy convertable. At least it had been at one time. Undr the hood sat a small black Chevy engine of some kind. The Powerglide had been replaced with a floor mounted who knows what. The stock guages had been replaced with modern digital ones etc. It was a nice car to be sure but it sure wasn't a sweet, stock 53 Bel Air convertable. To each his own...
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Replying to: isellhondas (Sep 02, 2007 7:52 am)
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If you're going to drop a V-8 in there the car is pretty much doomed as an original so what the heck. I don't think once a V-8 has been installed that it would be possible to return the car to stock. Too many things have to be cut. One time I decided to see what the top speed of my 54 Bel Air was. I got to 92 MPH and it wouldn't go any faster. It wasn't TOO anemic for what it was. Another time I blasted through a tunnel at about 80MPH with my dual pipes blasting like mad only to discover a motorcycle cop hiding outside the tunnel. He was NOT amused nor was he a big fan of split manifolds and 18" glasspacks! |
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 02, 2007 7:56 am) How about this for a compromise? Instead of going with disc brakes, what if you just went with a more substantial drum brake setup from a later model car? Disc brakes are going to make a power assist mandatory, whereas simply putting bigger drums on the car, you could get away without the power assist. So there'd be less to change, less complexity, etc. I had a '67 Chrysler Newport hardtop with a 383-2bbl, and it just had drum brakes. I'd imagine they were 11" drums all around. It also had no power assist, so you'd think it would take plenty of leg muscle to stop a heavy, torquey behemoth like that. But I had no trouble at all. Even more telling, before I owned it, it belonged to a little old lady who'd owned it since around 1971. That's gotta be proof positive that, as long as your drums are big enough, you really don't need a power assist. Of course, a good disk setup with power assist will still be better, but that Newport was perfectly adequate in normal day-to-day driving. Of course, if you want to slam on the brakes multiple times in succession, hauling it down from highway speeds to a dead stop, you're going to fade them pretty quickly, but I can't imagine too many situations where you have a bunch of panic stops in a row like that. My '67 Catalina convertible has drums all around, with power assist. I dunno how much hp the thing has. Originally it had 290 gross with the 2-bbl, but it has a 4-bbl on it now, so I'd guess around 325? Other than being a bit grabby at first, I've never had any complaints about them. I'd imagine they're 11"? As for the domestics switching to disc brakes, I don't think it was high-hp engines that caused them to do that, but probably increased pressure from the public, foreign competition, or somebody else. Heck, in 1973, GM was still putting 9.5" drums (same size as a Corvair, I think) as standard equipment in 4000 lb musclecars with 454/455 big-blocks! Fortunately, a disc setup that also upgraded you to 11" drums in back was optional, and I think most of them were equipped this way. But they were still making you pay extra for the privelege, in a time when the power was coming down.
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Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 02, 2007 8:46 am) Now, if someone has turned the drums beyond minimum specs it could be a different story. Mine stopped just fine! |
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