My father bought this 58 Bel air as a turn key car but after the first weekend of putting it through the paces the original 350 decided to die.
The old 350 removed, painted engine compartment, new fuel line, fuel regulater, fuel pump, master cylinder, and brake lines installed. The 502 fresh off the trailer. Heres a tip for anyone about to install a motor with the master cylinder already in- DON'T!
Close up of the 502 badge and THE WORLDS MOST EXPENSIVE COAT RACK!
Reupholstered interior with matching painted dash, Autometer 5" tach and billet aluminum steering wheel and column. The original radio is going to be left alone and a cd player hidden in the glove box. The original dash clock still works too!
More of the interior. It doesnt show up in the pictures but all the white paint has a blue hue to it when the light hits it right or if you look at it from an angle. Still trying to find a good spot for the autometer 2 5/8 gauges without wrecking the look and paint of the dash.
Close up of the flaming river steering wheel and column. Were going to switch the column shifter for a B&M mega floor shifter. Brand new American racing Torque thrust rims 18"x8" wrapped in new BF goodrich tires. 245zr70-18 fronts and 275zr70-18 rears. The original brakes were swapped out for ssbc discs on all four wheels.
The original motor mounts had to be plasma cut shorter 1" and set back 1" to fit the motor in right. The tranny cross member had to be moved back an inch and the drive shaft shortened 4", and a milodon 8 quart oil pan was needed to fit the motor in properly too. On top of the motor sits an 850cfm holley carb. The transmission we used is a TH-700r4 automatic with overdrive hooked to a ford 9" rear. After 30-40 test fits the 502 is installed. FINALLY!
The next problem was fitting the headers. This required the cutting of the wheel wells.
The new chromed alternator and billet aluminum bracket. The new aluminum rad with a reversible push/pull electric fan which should of been easier to install than it was, BUT who has time for intruction sheets when youre opening a box all excited!
The H.I.D. install should have been alot easier than it was, due to the plug and play set-up we had. But the 50 year old wiring was cracking while we rewired the headlights, so the harness' were completly replaced with new ones.
With this 502 were hoping to get around 2-3mpg!
There is a ton of things left to do- stereo, tail lights, trunk, full set of autometer gauges, etc. Hopefully that will all be finished before 2058! I CAN NOT WAIT TO TAKE THIS CAR FOR ITS FIRST CRUISE!
Let me know what you guys think of the car so far and any ideas/suggestions you might have. Thanks for taking the time to check it out too.
VIDEO UPDATE!
I can't get our video to embed so here's a link from a trip to the local dragstrip last summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oTWF4rjAF8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
