1954 Chevy Dead Sled

Dang Steve, to quote some of these punks around here "you got some mad skills dude". i think I need to take some lessons from you sir.

Mad maybe . Not sure about the skill part.   

Sad part is I had some great art teachers. If I would have listened I may be building some crazy ugly sculpture for rich cats making a great living. Instead I just want to build something I like and I can sell for 5 bucks but have 10 bucks in it.   

Sorry for the bad pictures guys. It's been raining like crazy so I can't push it out to get pics. Too much bare metal. I took what I could but my garage is so small where this one is you can't see much.

I yanked the Nova 8.2 rear end out of the 54 a few days back. Rear end I'm using is out of a 56 Chevy Truck. It's suppose to have 411 gears. I need to figure out how to get a posi in it. I know nothing about these rear ends. Anyone make a posi carrier or a spool for one of these?


Pay no mind to the rough cuts. The car was sitting on the tires. The opening will be cut out to fit bigger tires. Like said in an earlier post I'm altering the wheelbase. After I got to looking one of the body mounts is in the way of going more than 3 1/2" forward. The mock up tires are 29" tall. I may run 31" pie crust on the back. Giving a couple inches for swell and suspension movement all I can do is move the rear forward 3 1/2 " Hard to tell from the pictures but the wheel opening is cut way forward of stock. A lot of reshaping the wheels and inners by the time I'm done. I didn't want to get into frame cutting and moving body mounts. I think this will work well.


I hung new springs and hanger on the back. They are really stiff. I may take a leaf out and drop it a few inches in the rear.

dang stew, looking good man you are doing GREAT work and thats a mean looking gasser you got going there! glad you saved it.  

That's pretty sweet work, Steve!

Later,

Lee

A little more work done between old man naps.

A lot going on with the front end sheet metal. I moved the front axle forward for a more radical look. At first I was going to leave the wheel opening alone but could get past the look.

Used some tape to mark out where I want my cuts.




The long cut was place 1/8" under the bottom part of the chrome.

I lined everything up and got it as close as I could before letting my 16 year old daughter, Sami spot weld the hood to the fenders.

Clamp in place.


I figured it would be easier to shape the bottom section in a smaller piece since it has a funky contour to it. So just the upper piece is welded in this time around.


More slice and dice.

The bottom of the fender is welded to the car body. The chrome is just stuck on to show how it will hide most of the split in the fenders. The small cut section is all that will show when the hood is closed.








I don't have the stops on the hood yet so a bucket was used.

Surely not hot rodding 101. Strange mix of hot rodding. One thing I can say is I don't think there will be another one just like it at the Friday night cruise ins.

You can also see how far forward I pulled the rear axle. Not crazy but it is altered.

Im diging your 54 steve its a little bit custom a little bit hot rod and gasser in other words by the time your done it will need to be painted with some real metal flake with scallops or lace work and youll have all the bases covered !!! im enjoying watching this one. Cause lets face it only you would bring it back from the dead and actuley make something out of it keep up the good work guy my hats off to ya!!!     

Im diging your 54 steve its a little bit custom a little bit hot rod and gasser in other words by the time your done it will need to be painted with some real metal flake with scallops or lace work and youll have all the bases covered !!! im enjoying watching this one. Cause lets face it only you would bring it back from the dead and actuley  make something out of it keep up the good work  guy my hats off to ya!!!    

That is really cool looking, Steve! I like it...the flip-nose just seals the deal!  

Later,

Lee

Have to agree with the Dog Steve, you are the man. I'll ne shipping a certain 55 you way soon.

steve give me a call at work I think I know of a posi available from a buddy just got a couple quick questions

Sure is looking a lot different then when you got it. A lot lighter with the pounds of bondo being removed. Also great fab work.

Wow, looking really good.

Back to work on the Dead Sled. 6 banger is out and the big motor is being mocked up for placement.


Kenny had this with his stuff. I almost flipped when I seen it. He ended up giving it to me. This is not going to be a rat rod but I have to use this in the car some place.

Earl and I place the big block in the bay a few times before making up my mind where I wanted it. It's going to sit high in the bay to get the engine up where I want it. Not my first choice when it comes to the racing side of me but this car is a little cartoonish to me. I'm looking for a wild look when I'm done this should fit the bill. It also helped with steering issues. I marked the firewall and Earl didn't blink about cutting into the ol' gal.

Lookin good Mr. Stewart, sure wish I had your drive.

I wish I had the drive I had years ago. I can't get anything done now a days. Slip some work in between old man naps.