new guy ~ old project (53 chevy)
 

whats up everyone? my names chris and i live in miami area. ive been on this site once or twice but never knew there was a place for 47-53s. i have a project ive put some work into over the years and its time for me to get off my ass and start working on my 53 again. im tired of walking into my backyard and having to see it just sitting there being used for storage. it runs decent minus a recent coolant leak that i need to look into. i painted it a couple years ago with a friend who had worked in a body shop for a short period of time. it didnt turn out that bad but we cut some corners because of cost and it shows now. after the paint i was tired of seeing the old school camaro rally rims so i spent a couple bucks and got some 14 x 7 smoothies from jegs. bought some chrome parts like mirrors and chromed little **** but having to deal with 3 cars the weather eventually got the best of em and now they look like crap. the truck still has the stock guts, gauges, grill, and 235 inline 6. i need to clean up the motor and get rid of the nasty wiring and start fresh. i have my eyes on a dual intake manifold that will let me run 2 singles once things start to come together. i dont have insurance on it so there is no rush. im just gonna take my time and do it right. slam it... bigger wheels... shave... chop... maybe french... nothing too wild or extreme. id like to keep as many factory parts as i can. i see alot of people using s10 frames and mustang 2 front ends which goes to show i need to do alot more research. im on a major budget so the cheaper the better. got parts? feedback? advice? a helping hand? let me know... heres some pics i took today. ill post more as i make progress.

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Re: new guy ~ old project (53 chevy)
 

:welcome2: to the forum. It's good to have more AD's join us.

If your going to keep your 235 you really don't need to upgrade your suspension unless you really want to. You can keep with the straight axle and just upgrade to disk breaks, and you'll be good to go. If you want to put a SBC in though you might want to research your IFS's. Find one that you can afford and go from there. I'm guessing that there are hard things no matter which way you go. Weather it's the s10 or MII or clip, they all have their challenges. Still nothing wrong with a I6. You could find a bigger I6 to put in, like a 261, if you want some more power. I know a guy that is using a 261 with a 50's car trans and rear end, he said that he could blow the doors off my truck (I'm running a 200hp 307) I believe him, that's all he builds with, the I6's.

It looks like you have a nice solid truck though. What did you get your rear bumper off of? I'm looking for one and that looks good.

Re: new guy ~ old project (53 chevy)
 

thanks for the welcome. the bumper is off a nova. not sure what year. i think it looks good too. i plan on keeping the 235 and shopping for a couple goodies. i basically wanna get it as low as i can while keeping as many factory parts as possible. how should i go about this? im gonna take some more pictures tomorrow because i think it has some fab work done on it and would like to identify the parts. thnx for the help.

Re: new guy ~ old project (53 chevy)
 

There are a lot of old school tricks to getting in the weeds with stockish suspension. Nice to see another 53 saved from the cash for clunkers program. Back on 84 I put my 53 way downthere. Didn't have any money at the time so I know it can be done
GT

Re: new guy ~ old project (53 chevy)
 

i dont think i have a factory front end. how can i tell its orgin? are there numbers? if so where?

Re: new guy ~ old project (53 chevy)
 

?!no help?!

Re: new guy ~ old project (53 chevy)
 

Are you thinking that someone might have already changed out your original straight axle to a drop axle?

Re: new guy ~ old project (53 chevy)
 

Probably the best way is to post a pic of it so we can see it. I have a 53 sitting in the yard with a stock front end.
And, welcome to the forum.

Re: new guy ~ old project (53 chevy)
 

im trying to figure out if these are stock parts. from the pictures ive seen the front end looks like it has a drop axle. should i just take some leafs out to get it lower>? i want it slamed the cheapest way possible. i also want to be able to put the center caps on the front wheels. should i just get adapters? thnx for the help guys.

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