Tracin' Tracin' Tracin'

(Sung to the tune of "Rawhide")
This evening I disassembled the old door panels from the silver Belair and salvaged the chrome trim.  All four panels are original and definitely showing their age.

Back Door Panel

Front Door Panel

The original cloud pattern cloth was sewn to the cardboard backing.

The silver insert has its own cardboard backing.

  I took plenty of pictures since I plan to recreate the original design with new/modern materials.

The chrome is the most expensive part and I am fortunate in that  all of it is in very good condition.  It should be easy to reuse.

My wife was kind enough to do the tracing of the inner cardboard while I kneeled on it to smooth out the bumps and wrinkles.

I am looking for some ABS plastic sheets to cut and trim to size.  Original pattern cloth and vinyl is available online.  I will need to figure out how to secure it to the door.

The adventure continues...

Reset! Well, sort of...

Sometimes you find a deal that is just impossible to pass up.  Yes, I bought another one.  Why?  Great price and everything short of a total frame-off restoration already completed.  It needs to have the chrome put back on and the interior redone.  

Consequently, I am selling my red '57 Belair ASAP (http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/3173821897.html) but I continue to tweak the basics on it.  This week I am replacing the battery cables, exhaust manifold gasket and oil pan gasket.  I may also do the rear main seal while the silver one is getting a good once over from Milestone Paint and Body.

I plan to pull the interior door panels from the red one and make some templates so that I can create new panels out of ABS plastic for the silver one.  My goal is to do most, if not all, of the interior myself.  Seatbelts  are already on order (three point for the front).  Looking forward to visiting my friend Jason who has offered to weld in the pillar anchors for me.

The best part of the red Belair has been the trip with my dad to buy it and joy rides with the neighbors.  Looking forward to focusing on the new Belair.

Belair Trivia 

Sedan? Post? Hardtop?   

I have been a bit confused about the terminology used to describe model types so I did a little research and came up with this from Custom Chevys, Inc.

I keep getting these questions about what a "Hardtop" really is. Well, in short words, a "Hardtop" is a Coupe, totally different from a Sedan, 2 Doors or 4 Doors. Moreover, many Classic Car Collectors try making a comparison between:

a) 2 Doors Post (2 Doors Sedan) And 2 Doors No Post (2 Doors Hardtop)

b) 4 Doors Post (4 Doors Sedan) And 4 Doors No Post (4 Doors Hardtop)

The truth is, there should be no comparison between a 2 Doors Post and a 2 Doors No Post. The first one is a SEDAN, while the second one is a COUPE, and there is a world of difference among the two. In fact it was called "HARDTOP", given its resemblance to a Convertible, with the exception that the TOP was not "SOFT", as in the Convertible.

By the same reasoning, there should be no comparison between a 4 Doors Post and a 4 Doors No Post. The first one is, again, a SEDAN, while the second one is a COUPE.

While 2 Doors Hardtops can be found anywhere within the so called "Tri-5's", Chevrolet built the first 4 Doors Hardtop in the second half of 1956, to fill the demand for a Sports vehicle with the convenience of 4 Doors. Hence, there is no "1955 4 Doors Hardtop".

The production run for the 1956 4 Doors Hardtop was limited by time, so there are not too many left, unlike the 1957, which had a full production run; so there are still alot them on the road.

HARDTOPS, -2 Doors or 4 Doors- are vehicles with a much lower Top profile. So much so that the windshield on Hardtops is about 1" lower than in Sedans. Sedans are easly identified by two obvious points: 1) They have a Post. 2) The top is much higher, and sort of "bubble-like".

Here are the facts; Let them be Bel Air, 210, or 150. (or perhaps any 50's car):

1. A 2 Doors Post is in fact, a SEDAN; it is identical to a 4 Doors Sedan with the exception that it has 2 Doors instead of 4. In reality, a 2 Doors Post is so much like a 4 Doors Post, that even the windshield and back glass are the same high. Remember, it's still a SEDAN.

2. A Hardtop or Coupe, is a totally different story, 2 Doors or 4 Doors; On a Hardtop the Top of the car is much more lower, lower than any Sedan, 2 or 4 Doors. The main characteristic of a Hardtop is the lack of that (annoying?) Post in the middle of the car.

3. A Hardtop, 2 Doors or 4 Doors, will have no Post and the windshield high would be about 1" less than Sedans, making the car's Top look much lower, without that "bubble" effect seen on Sedans.

4. Finally if we take 50's definitions:

   a) Sedans are 2 or 4 Doors, but they both got that "Post".

   b) Hardtops or Coupes are 2 or 4 Doors, but they lack that "Post"

   c) Sedans have that "high Top" with the Post in the middle (even if they have 2 Doors)

   d) Hardtops have that "low profile Top" without the Post, with a windshield high just as the Convertible, which makes cars so streamlined, given them that style that collectors love.

Some unwise collectors tend to look at these vehicles based on the number of doors, 2 Doors or 4 Doors, but...

Unfortunately, they find out (sometimes too late) that a 2 Doors Post car looks almost identical than a 4 Doors Sedan, with the "bubble" Top and that Post in the middle.

Bottom Line:
2 or 4 Doors doesn't make the difference. What makes the difference is POST or NO POST.

This tells me that what I have is a 4 door sedan (has the post).

The Work Continues...

A very nicely done home video that shows what it will look like when finished.  The Elvis sound track doesn't hurt.

The guys at Milestone are working on Saturday.  Wish the rest of my parts would arrive.

Father's Day Gifts!

I took the car to Jacob at Milestone Paint and Body (http://milestonepaint.com/) for a bullet bumper to tailfin inspection and diagnosis for safety and road worthiness.  The good news is that he is thorough.  That is also the expensive news.
I told my wife that it will look exactly the same after this round of restoration but will be safe, will run better, and will not smell like old gas and exhaust nearly as much.
Here is a partial list of what Jacob will be replacing:

Fuel Line, fuel tank, anti squeak bumpers for fuel tank, fuel tank hose kit, fuel line to carb, the original style glass bowl fuel filter, Front Hub Dust Cover, hub conversion kit, carrier gasket, pinion seal, u joint, shocks, brakes, valve cover gasket, original carburetor rebuild.
That oil leak turned out to be the valve cover gasket above the oil filter in a place I just could not see.
He also found an exhaust leak that, when fixed, will clean things up significantly.

I discovered that the auto rebuild specialty sites tend to be pretty much the same on prices for big ticket items but some really jack up the prices on small items that you might add to an order as an afterthought.  I can probably make some sort of comment on quality after the mechanic sees the parts.

The car is still at the mechanic's shop.  I expect to go over the results of the inspection on Friday.

Good News and Bad News...
The good news is that I was able to replace the oil filter adapter gasket today and it was visibly damaged.

The bad news is that I still have an oil leak and I also have a coolant leak.  A new thermostat cover gasket should take care of the coolant leak but I think I am going to let a mechanic take a crack at diagnosing the oil leak. It appears to be coming from above the oil filter but not from the adapter so I am stumped.
While I was at it today I fixed the lock on the right rear door, screwed the molding back onto the front seat, put some velcro on the old back seat to hold the seat cover and vacuumed the carpet for good measure.  The extra bumper that was in the back floor is now safely stored on the shelf in the garage freeing up some space for passengers in the back seat.  That came in handy this evening as our neighbors wanted to cruise around the neighborhood.
I guess the big victory today was that I got the windshield wipers working.  It turns out that there was just a wire that needed to be connected.  I will need to find a screw and washer to hold the control cable on but that should not be too hard.

Here are pics of the engine cowl identification plate and the VIN.

For those of you who are interested, here is the meaning of the VIN:
V = V8 engine
C = Belair (cheaper versions were the 150 and 210)
57 = Year manufactured
A = Built in Atlanta
13806 = This was the 3,806th car to come off the line.

Cowl information plate:
Style 1019D = 4 door sedan (kind of hard to see in the picture)
Body No 7892 = Sequence number of the body
Trim 665 = Med. Blue Vinyl w/ Black & Blue Pattern Cloth
Paint 810D = India Ivory/Larkspur Blue

http://www.oldride.com/library/1957_chevrolet_bel_air.html
Series 2403, Style 1019D, Body Type & Seating 4 dr Sedan - 6P, Factory Price $2,390, Weight 3,272 lbs, Total Production 254,331

Next up, having a mechanic diagnose the oil leak and getting the brakes checked.