Building Up a Pair of Mustang Restomods—and a '57 Chevy Bel Air!

Project StinkBug: Headliners 'n Windlace! Part Four

2015-09-10T22:19:00.000-04:00

The final part of the interior "soft" parts installation was the post boards. I could have dropped them off at the local upholsterer, and he'd probably charge me $75 to glue the extra green vinyl that Ciadella included with the interior kit to the card board pieces. I figured I'd try it myself.

The first step is deciding which material to use on the boards. In factory trim, the boards are headliner material on the top half, and vinyl on the bottom half. I went with vinyl on the whole piece, since I figured it would be more durable -- and it would also visually "blend" the post better between the doors.

I already had some good glue products like Super 77, but they don't adhere well to vinyl.
This is the only adhesive that I could find that held the vinyl, and only if clamped and left to cure overnight.

After trimming the vinyl, glue the edges, and clamp them to the board using (lots of) clothes pins.
The paint stirrers help press down the vinyl.

At this point, the board looks like a salami sandwich with ants all over it!

Here's one of the finished post boards. The board has a curve when it's installed,
so it's a little baggy on the front where I did not glue it.

Project StinkBug: Headliners 'n Windlace! Part Three

2015-07-27T20:20:00.000-04:00

The Ciadella headliner video installation highlights the way to tug the headliner around the sides and push it behind the windlace toothed trim, as well as tacking the leading edge along the front windshield.

Here's the little money maker (buy at Harbor Freight) you can use for pushing the headliner fabric up behind the windlace trim. The tool is clean, small, smooth, and contoured - position so that it's pointing away from the trim teeth. If pointing toward them, it'll catch on the teeth and get stuck frequently. Notice the blue tape used to mark the holes for the coat hook, visors, and rear view mirror. I put screws in the holes and marked them with tape to carefully cut the headliner above them later.

Here's the cardboard sail panel with some headliner material glued on. I made sure both sail panels had the fabric match directionally, but did not feel the need to match them to the headliner itself. (It seems to match fine though.) This is a friction fit under the back glass gasket and the parcel shelf. Leave a fabric flap to let it slide under the parcel shelf.

Project StinkBug: Headliners 'n Windlace! Part Two

2015-07-25T08:17:00.002-04:00

Here I continue with the windlace installation and will focus on the vertical runs at the A pillar and at the C pillar.

Here's the windlace guide at the foot well. It attaches with a few screws. This should be painted body color, although I chose not to clearcoat mine, since it had some minor dings and dents. I installed the windlace while this was installed on the car, although some folks may do it the other way.

When the guide is installed, you need to make sure there's some room at the edge of the dashboard, so the vinyl flap can be pushed up and behind the dash. Bend the guide slightly to make room if needed.

Here's the second place there may be a fitment issue.

Any unneeded widening of the guide should be tightened slightly so the windlace welting fits snugly.

Here's a similar tool to what I used during the headliner installation. (More on that later.) Push the welting into the guide channel firmly and flatly. This can be time consuming to get it right.

With the welting installed, cut the vinyl flap so that it can be inserted behind the dash.

Here's the finished product. I also bought, painted, and installed a set of dash end caps, since mine were missing. I painted them with the green lacquer paint from a can (and brushed them), and sprayed enamel clear on top. It was a quick fix, but looks fine. (These were slightly rusty originals on eBay for $15 instead of the $20 new ones stamped in China last month.)

At the C pillar, there's a quarter board that is stapled to the windlace backer board along the door frame, after the windlace is stapled to it.

A quick flip of the board, and you have a nice installation. Make sure the install height is correct, and the flap fits flush when folded back.

Project StinkBug: Headliners 'n Windlace! Part One

2015-07-25T07:42:00.000-04:00

When I bought StinkBug, the only bit still installed in the interior was the headliner. The headliner was a remnant of an early 90s aftermarket interior redo at the local upholstery shop in Virginia by the previous owner. A receipt with the car showed that the interior cost $2000 for parts and labor. (The headliner in 2015 was a mouse metropolis with poop and pee everywhere. Nasty.) The windlace was missing.

I had bought a "Ciadella" Bel Air interior kit in Black and Green from Eckler's when they were having a big sale last year. I got at least 20% off the cost of the kit, but with the extra seat belts, post boards, sail boards, and arm rests (pretty sure I bought those separately), the kit was close to $2000. Ouch.

There's a Ciadella video online that shows some of a headliner install in a 2-door, but it glosses over the windlace install and doesn't mention the similar but different 4-door sedan. Not sure why they don't do a more comprehensive video series showing how to install their kits.

Here's how I installed mine. (I'm going to highlight some areas that were not covered in the video.)


The old headliner bows need to be kept in order, so number them. You also need to clean and paint them with a glossy paint (to let the headliner slide freely on them and to stop rust).

At this point, you need to install all the windlace first -- as well as run any wiring into the dome light area and door jamb switches. I cleaned and painted the underside of the roof as well to remedy the evidence of mice and to stop surface rust over time. Mark the holes (top or bottom) where the headliner bows were previously installed, even if you are painting the roof. I painted over mine accidentally...

You can use an air stapler, but I had a manual one from 20 years ago in my tool box, so I used that. (Harbor Freight has a stapler with two-sizes of staples for only $10.) You need short staples and long ones. The short ones are for the leading edge of the headliner along the front windshield; the long ones are for the windlace.

Here's the painted roof along with some strips of leftover Dynamat. The rear tangs are ready to accept the headliner board. The headliner will be inserted under the back glass gasket and the tangs tapped with a dead blow hammer to flatten them, securing the headliner. Note the windlace's toothed trim, that I cleaned and painted gloss white. It's unpainted from the factory and prone to rust.

The toothed trim follows the contour of the door and is secured by screws. The windlace is held in place along the top by this trim. You need to staple the windlace along the corners -- and vertical runs at the front and back of the windlace only, not along the post boards.

In this photo, you'll notice two areas where I deviated from stock. First, it appeared that Ciadella had pre-punched the holes in my post boards about and inch off. The only way the windlace would line up around the B pillar corners was to punch new holes. Second, I used plastic interior fasteners to tap the post boards up there securely. The factory uses metal tangs that are sometimes missing and can break easily all these decades later. I used duct tape to protect the slot in the front and rear windlace trim.

The front windlace trim has a contour that needs to be fitted well around the opening. The front windshield trim will fit up against this piece and even attaches to it. The windlace trim screws are slotted to allow for lining up the trim.

Here's the dome light plate with fresh wiring. Make sure these wires are installed correctly along the roof line, and easy to find for later fitment of the dome light assembly.

Double check that the windlace will be lined up down near the dash and front foot well, and along the rear quarter. My next posts will highlight the vertical windlace runs.

Project StinkBug: Four Doors are Twice as Much Work as Two

2015-07-20T21:36:00.002-04:00

I've completed the two front doors on the Bel Air and will complete the two rear doors after I figure out why the rear locks don't work properly. With that said, I'm offering up the transformation of the front doors here.

The old windows had rotted rubber, tarnished trim, and window tint from the late 1980s on the original glass. The original glass wasn't safety glass and needed replacement.

All four window regulators just needed a thorough cleaning, painting, and lube to free stuck rollers. Here's the finished product. You install the regulators first (assuming your door lock systems are already installed.)

Spread out before installation on the passenger side are the window channel, vent window, and side window (both with new clear glass and new rubber.) That's also the order of assembly. Lastly, you install the whiskers on the inside and outside window trim.

Here's the fresh glass and rubber on the driver's door.

Once the glass was installed, I turned my attention to the interior door panels, handles, and interior window trim.

The factory manual lays out what waterproofing should be installed and where.

I cleaned and painted the silver access doors, cleaned up any hardware that needed it, and put strip caulk around the holes and openings.

I had some thick clear vinyl sheeting laying around, so I made some water shields. The black outlines are the strip caulk. In this photo there's a spring on the door glass regulator -- I did not use that spring, but did use the other two.

Here's the door panel installed with the original stainless accent. I used the original handles even though they were lightly pitted. (They looked vintage, which I liked.) That's a fresh armrest, since the old ones were broken. Lastly, I used the salvaged eBay window trim we had painted last year along with the original style screws. I found that replacement screws have a head that's too big to fit correctly.

I wanted to mention this issue I had with the rear door locks (that my girlfriend solved actually!) I swapped in four new door handles that had come with the car, since the originals were pretty heavily pitted. The front doors were no problem and the handles and locks worked fine. Well, I installed the two handles on the rear (where previously there hadn't been any when I bought the car) and then noticed that the rear doors were jammed and wouldn't open. Turns out that the lock plunger was a little too long and apparently needs to be cut down before installation. This is only on the rear doors. The photo shows the original rear handle on top, and the replacement handle on the bottom before I cut the plunger...

Up next is the windlace, postboards, and headliner...

Project StinkBug: Time Warp Original Interior

2015-07-20T21:06:00.001-04:00

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when it comes to restoring a classic car to original condition, it just makes good sense. A few months ago, I was visiting Long Island and happened upon a local car show. There was an "original survivor" 1955 sedan. With thoughts of my big interior restoration haunting my dreams, I took this opportunity to photograph the interior of this old '55.

Original headliner, windlace, and window trim.

Post board between the doors...

Quarter window trim, quarter trim panel, and sail panel.

Windlace at kick panel on right side.

Windlace at kick panel on left side.

Seeing this car was very helpful. My car was disassembled when I bought it, and wasn't complete either (missing lots of interior trim as well as some exterior pieces.) This encounter gives me a guide of what my interior should look like when I'm done...

Project StinkBug: Interior Floor Rejuvenation

2015-07-20T20:49:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I forget just how old this Bel Air actually is...

The floors looked great -- considering they were nearly 60 years old. But the fronts were drafty, so I enlisted a body man to replace them with some Canadian stamped floors I bought online.

Here's the top of the replacement floors with fresh red oxide primer on them.

The rears on the other hand were rust free, so I just had to clean up the top to match the clean bottom.

The rears were a poop-covered mess (the headliner had lots of mice living in it.)

A couple hours of sanding with my Harbor Freight electric grinder -- and neutralizing any slight surface rust -- and then painting with red oxide primer revealed some nice floors. I cut little strips of the final remnants of some sound deadener I had laying around, and applied it across the entire floor.

Here's the blank canvas before installing the entire interior.

Next up is the windlace and headliner install and on to the doors...

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Project StinkBug: Spraying Ancient Lacquer Paint After 25 Years

2014-09-05T21:23:00.000-04:00

I was mostly satisfied with the paintwork going on with the '57 this year, but the labor costs were adding up. And when there was a problem with the hood, and it would need to be repainted at my expense, I decided to try my hand at painting using the old acrylic lacquer paint cans that came with this car.

I bought a 21-gallon oiled Harbor Freight air compressor, and all the various bits like an air hose and fittings and paint filters from them too. I had already bought a gallon of Clear Lacquer Sunscreen and some Slow High Gloss Thinner LT-85 on Amazon. I bought a $42 spray gun from Amazon, which was kind of a splurge, when Harbor Freight guns are $10. But I liked the smaller 1.3mm tip size for lacquer. So in addition to the base coat and the clear and the thinner, which I already had left over, I spent about $275 on various things, most of which can be used again and again for years.

The challenge was trying to paint a hood to match a car that was painted 25 years ago (and I'd be using the remnants in a 25 year old paint can!) And the old paint job on the rest of the car is still great, previously wet-sanded and polished to a mirror shine. To me, the rest of the car looks like a great $10,000 paint job. So the hood had to be great, not just good. I wasn't sure I should even attempt it, but in the end I'm very happy with my results and am already planning to redo the driver's side rocker, driver's side door jambs, and rear door that my painter did earlier this year.

The painting process was straightforward, and lacquer paint was easy to deal with. I think a stunning lacquer paint job can be attained by the average hobbyist in their backyard.

The hood is all prepped, and I'm ready to lay down the green lacquer and clearcoat lacquer in my backyard. My neighbors must love me... ;)

At this point, done with the final coat of clear over the green, I really wasn't sure what to think. I thought it would have much more shine. There's 5 or 6 coats of green and 5 or 6 coats of clear. The coats were pretty thin though, so it built up slowly. The outside temperature was over 90 degrees, so the paint was drying quickly, even with 1:1 of 85 degree reducer.

I waited only 24 hours for drying and started wet-sanding with 800, 1000, 1500, and then 2000 grit paper. I really just skimmed over it quickly. Then I used a wool bonnet with rubbing compound, and a foam bonnet with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. Most folks suggest waiting a week or longer to sand, which I'll try next time. I'll also start wet-sanding with 1000 grit or higher instead of 800.

Update: So, the clear coat on the hood was damaged two days after painting, when I placed the hood upside down (in the sun no less) to assess stripped hood bolt threads, and the heat melted the clear coat into the foam it was resting on. I ended up wet sanding all the clear coat with 600 grit, mostly where the damage had occurred, but not down to the green, and then re cleared the whole hood. It's important to not get down to the green layer or you'd have to re-shoot the green metallic. I then wet sanded with 1000 and then 2000 and then polished with a cheap wool bonnet and rubbing compound. Finished it up with a foam pad and 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. I'm surprised, but this re-do looks even better than the first attempt, and I'm comfortable with the process of fewer wet-sanding grits.

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Project StinkBug: '57 Plate for a '57 Chevy

2014-05-04T21:41:00.000-04:00

North Carolina is clearly a car-friendly state. It's the home of NASCAR after all.

Here in NC, we don't need to display a front license plate. In fact, the DMV only gives us one plate per car to display on the rear.

There are no unsightly inpsection and county stickers required to be stuck to the front windshield either.

And interestingly, for classic cars, NC allows owners to display a NC license plate from the year of manufacture (YOM) of the car. As long as the "real"plate is somewhere inside the vehicle, if the driver is pulled over.

So I set out to find a nice '57 plate from NC. (I had considered finding a plate from Alabama, having learned that my car was sold new there back in '57. Those plates are also black with yellowish text like a NC plate. But I couldn't find a decent plate at a good price.)

Weeks ago I was able to find a nice original paint NC plate at the local Autofest here in Raleigh. I had seen similar plates going for about $125 on eBay, so I was happy to pay the asking price of $80 for this one.

A little wax and polishing and the plate looks even better then it did. I studied the plate and little bit of paint loss closely, and I'm convinced it's original paint.

Project StinkBug: More Green Bits

2014-05-04T21:26:00.002-04:00

The '57 came with a couple cans of old acrylic lacquer paint mixed back in 1989. I wasn't sure this exterior paint would still be good, and various painters I questioned didn't think so either. And, the previous owner didn't mention which clearcoat he had used on top of this lacquer, but there was evidence of lots of buffing and polishing, which wouldn't have been possible on a metallic lacquer color coat. So, there was some uncertainty when it came to painting the remaining bits and pieces that were missing from the car when I bought it.

Here are many of the interior window trim pieces hanging in the paint shop, prepped for final paint.

The previous owner also has been unreliable at getting me the final parts he had promised, so I haven't bothered to include him in any of the project at this point (although oddly he texts looking for information and photos). I found a painter in my neck of the woods who has been willing to work with me to figure out the best process at duplicating the previously unfinished paint job.

After the final coat of acrylic lacquer green, the bits will be getting doused in multiple coats of urethane clear the next morning. I went with urethane clear on top of all the interior bits, because it gives a great shine and no need for wet sanding at all (saving lots of time and money).

For some reason, one of the cans of paint didn't even match the car, being too light by a couple shades. But the other one seems to match very close (for a car that was apparently painted back around 1990 and then stored inside under a cover.) After some experimentation, the best match is four coats of the acrylic lacquer metallic green mixed with a high gloss thinner, with at least four coats of a clear lacquer on top.

Here's a piece of interior trim with the fresh paint job, laying on the fender and dash with the old paint job. The hood here has been painted with the "wrong" can of green paint that came with the car and will need to be redone; it's a couple shades lighter even with the very same clear urethane on top.

Hopefully, we'll have the remaining bits all green and shiny this month.

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Project StinkBug: Open Wide

2014-03-03T20:42:00.000-05:00

A milestone day last week as the new crate 350 dressed in '57 accessories was mated to a rebuilt turbo 350 transmission and a higher-performance torque converter. I painted the transmission cast gray, which if I read the detailing materials correctly, was one of a couple correct colors for the transmission (usually a two-speed Powerglide) that year.

The transmission has a polished and finned pan on it, which probably isn't correct, but it looks good and seems high quality and leak-free. All the other bits and pieces, such as the dipstick tube, kickdown cable, etc. will be replaced for new.

Hopefully, I don't see this sight again for many, many years...

I found a stock-appearing flywheel cover (in black with no vents), and we will bolt that on shortly, along with some new linkage pieces to get the turbo 350 to work in this car.

With the radiator core support removed, the engine and transmission pretty much go right in, but the firewall area is a tight fit.

I'm hoping to have another evening or two to work on the car before shipping it back to my house from Josh's garage.

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Rise and Shine

2014-03-03T20:27:00.000-05:00

I had a chance to pull out the '66 Mustang yesterday from its many-months hibernation. I had been chasing a few minor coolant leaks with it early last year, and with the Bel Air taking up my time more and more, I just let the Mustang sit. And sit.

So yesterday, I finished repairing the leaks. I installed new heater hoses at the heater box, charged the flat battery, changed the oil and filter, siphoned some year-old gas, poured in a couple gallons of fresh gas, and it started up after just a few seconds of cranking. I was surprised it started so quickly, but the EZ EFI fuel injection really works awesome.

Well, I also bolted on the original California black license plate that had been on the car since, most likely, Day One. I've had the original front plate on the car as long as I've owned the car, but just decided to clean up the rear plate, and replace my modern North Carolina plate with it. (North Carolina allows classic cars to wear NC plates from the year of manufacture, in this case '66. I'm going with the CA plate, since it's original and similarly styled -- black and yellow.)

The incredible part is that after I peeled off stacks of registration stickers from the plate (and saved them in a baggie!), I found the original 1967 registration sticker underneath in nearly mint condition. It blows my mind that the original owner put that sticker there -- nearly half a century ago.

I'd be driving it again today, but after being in the 70s and sunny yesterday, we are in the 20s and snowing and will hit the mid-teens tonight. A sixty-degree swing in just over 24 hours...

Wearing the black and yellow plate again...

Project StinkBug: Grime Time

2013-12-28T22:24:00.000-05:00

In my spare time the past few weeks, I've been completing a pretty nasty task: cleaning and refinishing the undercarriage. By the looks of things, the undercarriage was completely original, and with a (pre-PCV system) draft tube venting engine oil vapor below the car, it was a grimy mess.

I had started cleaning things by the time this photo was taken, but the frame and floors were caked with dirt and grime.

After hours of work with a simple paint scraper and a Harbor Freight angle grinder using two wire wheel attachments, I could see bare steel with remnants of the original red oxide primer (by now a chocolate color). In the upper left, you can see the floor before I removed the grime.

Fast forward at least 20 hours of filthy work under the car, and three cans of Seymour red oxide primer, and I ended up with this...

and this...

and this. I used some simple Rustoleum Satin black spray paint on the frame, after cleaning thoroughly with 3M adhesive spray cleaner. (The front floors are a bit "drafty" — so some metal replacement is in the near future.) I also replaced the rotted body mount cushions with some black Energy Suspension pieces. And coated certain areas with 3M undercoating as original.

I used the opportunity to clean up the rear axle and rear suspension pieces. I used cast coat grey and satin and semi-gloss black where called for in the manuals for an original-style restoration.

I'm mostly done with the rear axle here, except for the rear brake cable, which is in the tumbler.

Here's the brake cable in the Harbor Freight tumbler before I poured in the glass beads and liquid degreaser. (Took a couple years before I found out that you add water or degreaser to the tumbler basin or it won't clean anything...) It comes out clean, and then I hose off and spray can clear it when dry.

And ready to go under the car. I was exhausted at this point and didn't realize it wouldn't roll under the car, which was on jackstands sitting too low... lol

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Project StinkBug: Motorvation!

2013-12-03T22:25:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple months I've been focusing on Project StinkBug, trying to move forward on three fronts: powertrain, underside, and prep/paint of recently acquired body pieces (hood, trunklid, etc.)

This update will explain the engine portion of the powertrain upgrade.

The original 283 looked like the heads were rebuilt before putting the car away 20 years ago. But I could see the short block was old and tired with mirrored cylinder walls and .060 over pistons already, limiting my rebuild options.

I found a buddy to help me out at this point in the StinkBug project. Josh has the knowledge and facilities that complement my own. He removed the engine in his home shop and found the block in need of cylinder sleeves. But the cost would be prohibitive...

Hmmm... A brand new GM motor for $1500 shipped. And with a three-year warranty. I figured it would perform better than a rebuilt 283, for almost half the price. (I won't achieve the 260hp/350tq rating with this combo running vintage parts.)

A week later, the new 350 shows up at Josh's home shop. In keeping with the "classic" theme of the car, I wanted this motor to look like a 283 from '57, even if I had to give up some performance.

A red 3M pad to scuff the black engine, and a can of orange engine paint, gets things rolling in the right direction quickly.

The '57 Power Pack intake with oil fill tube installed. New short water pump (painted orange) installed as well.

These '57 valve covers are way too neat to leave behind. I painted them orange and added a silver Chevrolet script over the raised letters with a stencil kit.

At this point, the rest of the new or refurbished items were added: the original rams horns exhaust manifolds, original generator with new brushes, new Blaster 2 coil painted black (with tilted coil stand for larger 4-barrel air cleaner), original distributor (with Pertronix conversion), original fan, water pump pulley, and fresh NOS Delco ignition components. That's the '57 Carter carb from Craigslist on top. We also added a slim 6" $60 PowerForce balancer and $30 steel crankshaft pulley, to replace the riveted stock pieces. These fit like stock while keeping the new fan belt in alignment.

I'm really happy with the progress so far. There are some bosses and casting stamps and a late-model timing tab on the new motor that look out of place for the 1950s of course, not to mention the side motor mount attachment points (which I won't be using). But overall I think this new engine will stay true to the look I was going for and with a sensible price tag. I really like reusing vintage parts where it makes sense too.

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Project StinkBug: Laying Down the Green

2013-09-15T20:07:00.002-04:00

It took a while, but I finally was able to learn the name of the light green color for the various dash bits including the instrument cluster, steering wheel and steering column collars. It's called Surf Green. I had thought it was Sea Foam Green, but after buying a spray can of lacquer I realized that SFG is more of a light turquoise. Surf Green is the right mint green for a 1957 Chevrolet.

A 12oz. can will easily do a full complement of dash pieces seen here if they were originally green and you are putting 2-3 light coats of new paint on top of prepped old paint. You can probably make do with one can if you are starting with primed pieces too.

At first I didn't want to repaint the instrument cluster because it had the original paint, but it had a number of chips and issues. I'm very happy with the results though. I also took this opportunity to use a silver chrome paint on the backs of the gauge faces and gauge housings for better gauge lighting.

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Project StinkBug: Put a Lid On It

2013-08-01T15:34:00.005-04:00

When I bought StinkBug, one of the missing pieces was the trunk lid. The trunk lid I needed was specific to the four-door sedan Bel Air. While I could buy a new one all day long online, I really wanted an original one, stamped in the 1950s here in America. I'm not adverse to using repro parts—used them where needed on the '66 Mustang—but IMHO classic cars should be mostly original pieces, or they really aren't classic...

Here's a local find... For 150 bucks, I figured I'd give it a shot.

I had used chelation rust removal fluid about 5 years ago on my '66 Mustang. I removed and soaked the doors in it, like you see the trunk lid here. This time I used a product I read about here—as well as 10mm plastic sheeting, which held the chelant safely for days.

After a couple days of soaking in 90 degree weather, I had complete rust removal. I haven't decided how to fix this area yet, but it's now primed and waiting...

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Bullitt v2.0 Gets New Heads, Stage II Cams, More

2013-08-01T12:23:00.002-04:00

Although the Bullitt put down good power, the recently-rebuilt engine needed some sorting. The engine had been detonating at high rpms, since I first bought the car. Changing the tune didn't fix the detonation, so the engine problem was likely internal.

Fortunately, Piedmont Custom Motorsports is just down the road from me. I hadn't had a chance to work with PCM previously, but I'm fortunate that they know Mustangs of all years and were eager to help me.

PCM found that the power level was actually low—for the surprisingly high 19psi of boost. Reinstalling a stock larger blower pulley for a more reasonable 13psi resulted in a big drop in power. And a leak down test showed poor engine sealing. At this point, the motor came out to have a closer look.

The heads showed previous detonation damage/repair around the spark plug holes.

A new threaded insert on one spark plug hole could be introducing a hot spot into the combustion chamber.

In addition, not all the valves were sealing properly.

PCM dropped the engine/crossmember/trans out from below.

PCM hooked me up with a set of stock replacement heads in great shape for only $300. The machine shop properly cut the oversize valves from the original heads and installed them. At this point, I figured the upgrade to Stage II cams was worthwhile... :)

While the Bullitt was in surgery, I figured I'd clean up the intake. I spent a few hours disassembling, cleaning, and painting...

And I ended up with this. The end-of-day lighting is harsh in this photo...

Here's the intake on top of the motor at PCM. They also installed a Centerforce clutch and adjustable quadrant for me.

Here's a video of the dyno, showing 533hp at only 13psi.

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Project StinkBug: DentWorks of Raleigh

2013-07-31T22:32:00.001-04:00

I've been a fan of paintless dent removal for about 15 years now. Some jobs are perfect for PDR, and a pretty good ding on the '57 seemed like one. Old cars can be tough to fix this way, however, since long expanses of original sheetmetal is thick, and there aren't always access holes nearby

DentWorks of Raleigh fixed a good-size ding on the rear quarter of the '57. The access hole was conveniently located nearby, right where the quarter trim was attached. The ding was massaged out at my house for only $50 (in addition to the $150 to fix 5 or 6 dents on two other cars). I recommend DentWorks of Raleigh if you are in the Triangle area.

Project StinkBug: Craigslist Treasures

2013-07-31T22:20:00.001-04:00

Today, anything you want is just a few mouse clicks away. Acquiring various car parts for a restoration of a popular classic car is not the daunting task it used to be.

I knew that the hood, trunk lid, and steering wheel were missing from having the car painted decades earlier. I found a nice original hood (middle) on Craigslist. This parts seller also had an original orange steering wheel he threw in for no extra cost—left over from his restoration.

Probably my most amazing Craigslist find, and this happened days after I got the '57, was this original PowerPack intake manifold to replace the wheezy two-barrel on the car now. I think the original 4-barrel Carter carb (that I found locally days later) only flows about 400cfm on this manifold, but should be plenty for a 283. This intake was a smoking deal at only $50. :)

Project StinkBug: I Brake for Restomods

2013-07-31T22:08:00.002-04:00

I decided to leave the brakes as the stock non-power drums on all four corners along with the single pot master cylinder for a stock appearance. But I'm in the middle of replacing everything for safety.

The crusty original brake and suspension pieces needed an overhaul, but fortunately (non-chrome) parts are generally cheap for a '57 Chevy.

After replacing the brakes, cutting the stock springs, adding new shocks and more, plus cleaning and painting everything satin black, the job is looking better. The spare parts pile included aftermarket front and rear anti-sway bars from 20 years ago, so I installed them where there weren't any originally. I used brake shoe self adjusters (and some steering linkage pieces to replace bent idler arm and tie rod ends not shown) from another Craigslist score.

Project StinkBug: Instrument Cluster Rejuvenation

2013-07-31T21:59:00.000-04:00

One item that I really liked about this car was that it was owned by the same person since the late 1980s. And had another long-term owner before him. It was also sporting the original 283" engine. And it was a real Bel Air, not a 210 with Bel Air trim. There aren't many '57 Chevys around, and I really dig the potential.

I was fortunate that the original gauges were present, and the spare parts pile did include some replacement lenses.

I spent a few hours disassembling and cleaning/polishing the cluster and was left with this. The fresh lenses and new orange paint on the needles helped a lot. Extra fine steel wool on chrome works great.

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Introducing Project "StinkBug"

2013-07-31T21:49:00.001-04:00

A few months ago I decided to take the plunge on another classic car. I was looking for a project, and wanted something with a V8, an automatic transmission, and four doors. Basically a cruiser with some chrome and a dual exhaust...

I found a '57 Chevy Bel Air on Craigslist out-of-state and decided to take the plunge. This car was disassembled 20 years ago for paint and never reassembled afterwards. I didn't want to deal with having a car sitting in paint jail for any length of time, and never wanted to pay for a paint job again—so this deal was interesting.

Over the past few months since I've owned the car, the parts bill has climbed higher than I was led to believe as many parts have either turned up missing or are in poor condition and not useable. Not to mention finding the small pile of spare parts absolutely covered in stink bugs. With that said—enter Project StinkBug! :)

Here's StinkBug sitting on my driveway after I had a flatbed deliver it to my house—275 miles away! I really like the old school Cragars even though they are 15". I don't like the 21-year-old tires though.

Here she is as I started taking it apart to assess, fix, and replace various things. The radiator was first to go. It was the original Harrison unit, and I found a local shop to recore it. I want to keep this car pretty original if I can, but with a mild Restomod theme.

The interior was disassembled to paint the dash long ago. Fortunately most of the stainless and chrome was present, and I just needed 5 or 6 replacement pieces.

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NitroPlate: Another Great Experience

2013-01-18T19:30:00.004-05:00

The Bullitt has been a great car, and I've really enjoyed driving it. Probably the only area that needed a little aesthetic attention was the headers and h-pipe. When one of the headers and the h-pipe each developed a crack that needed welding off the car, I had a chance to enlist NitroPlate to refinish the headers. I tried to clean up and refinish the h-pipe myself.

Before: Yikes! Too ugly for the Bullitt. But they are JBA mid-lengths—so they are very good quality overall with a thick flange.

After: I'm digging the bling factor—not to mention the increased heat retention. The service to bead blast, bake-to-clean, and ceramic coat was $200. Shipping is tough at $80 round trip (and only NC to TN!), but NitroPlate can't help that.

The JBA h-pipe and SLP converters couldn't be NitroPlated (the extreme heat in the process would ruin the converters), so I cleaned the pipes by hand, and painted them with black exhaust paint. Not sure it will hold up, but they looked pretty good at that moment. :)

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Trunk Weatherstripping: Save a Few Bucks?

2013-01-18T19:15:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick post about another "re-do" that cost me some time and a little money.

There are some threads online about replacement weatherstripping not allowing the trunk lid to close fully. I also had bought the "cheaper" weatherstrip a few years ago when my car was coming back from the paint shop. After I installed the weatherstrip, the trunk lid never sat properly and no amount of fiddling with the trunk lid helped. Some folks suggested giving it some time to settle. Nope.

Years later I decided to buy the better weatherstrip and do the job right. I'm actually surprised the larger mail order places even sell the cheap weatherstrip. If it doesn't allow the trunk lid to lay down properly, the weatherstrip is not fit for its intended purpose. Don't sell it.

Here are the two weatherstrip offerings from NPD. The better one on the left. El cheapo on the right (aged on the car a few years). The price has continued to drop since I bought mine in 2008. My suggestion is to avoid the headache and buy the better weatherstripping.

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Back in Black

2013-01-18T19:02:00.000-05:00

Recently, I decided to change up the appearance of the '66. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it though. I wanted to do some side stripes and wanted to change the look of the wheels. Ultimately, I added vinyl black side stripes and painted the wheel centers gloss black.

For the stripes I went with side stripes for a '67-'68. I wanted taller stripes and not the thinner GT-style stripes from '65-'66. I bought these from one of the mail order places for only $20. When I installed them I didn't wrap them around the edges of the panels, trimming them about 1/8" away instead. On the front fenders, I trimmed the stripe at the beginning of the wheel arch rather than up to the edge of the wheelwell itself.

To paint the wheels I bought a can of Rustoleum gloss black paint (to supplement a partial can I had on hand.) My Vintage Wheel Works wheels have coarse aluminum centers, but I had already added some silver paint a few years ago, since they had taken on a gold-tone over the years.

Ready for paint: I bagged each wheel and covered each lug hole with a coin. When taping the wheels I simply trimmed the edges with the edge of a razor blade—and did not have to follow the circular edges with dozens of pieces of tape around the wheel.

Side 2: In addition to cleaning the wheel before paint, I used a red Scotchbrite pad to scuff the surface to allow the new paint to adhere properly.

Three coats later...

Ready for the car...

Black stripes and black wheels installed. :)

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