55 Chevy BelAir revival: Sitting 18 years!

what's up guys got a different project for us today it's a different series i guess this car's got the engine in the wrong spot helping a friend out fixing up a car for his dad it is a 55 chevy bel-air two-door this thing's been sitting around since oh i don't know 2001-2002 so we're going to go through it get it running get it road worthy i went ahead and drained the gas tank and it was pretty rusty so yeah what else we got a radiator on order for it because the radiator is leaking a little bit got uh we got tune-up parts on order for it i gotta get a battery for it yeah i mean it's not a bad looking car oh we got tires coming for it so i figured i would this video fixing this thing and getting it running and yeah it's a fun little project like i said the engine's in the wrong place for this channel but never hurts to change it up so i'll put it up in the air and we can look at it from underneath and then i guess we'll get started working on it [Music] alright so we're up in the air lighting is horrible you can see it's not bad underneath it's got some work done to it it has a four speed on the floor uh it's got headers it's got a terrible exhaust so we'll be redoing the exhaust you can see it's got holes in it everywhere we have a tank gas tank on order so this will be getting replaced the fuel line here is kind of questionable it runs over to the frame rail and it goes around here it zip tied to the frame and then it goes into the frame and then up here ah you can't see it anyway up there it comes out of the frame and goes into the fuel pump so i've ordered some steel line for this i'm going to remake the uh remake the fuel line and it's going to run down the frame rail here away from the exhaust obviously so we got that um we're going with a wider tire a wider white wall tire um i'll check the the drum brakes on it i think we're going to put shocks on it front and rear because the bushings are pretty well worn out at engine mounts trans mounts look good we'll get a tune up all the fluids change belts radiator hoses radiator battery the battery's junk and yeah then it should be roadworthy and then we'll take it for a little drive and then return it to its owner so as soon as parts come in we'll get started on it all right so got some parts for the car got a new radiator new radiator hoses because the radiator in it is leaking we've got a new gas tank and some fuel line so we're going to redo the fuel line that goes from the tank up to the front because right now it's a rubber line that is running through the frame rail so i think we're going to use this solid line and run it down the frame rail we've got a set of new tires for it and we've got a universal exhaust kit for a 50s chevy so we can put our new exhaust together because this exhaust on this thing is swiss cheese you can see up here holes in it over here got some holes in it so there's one right there too so yeah that'll replace these cherry bombs with a actual two actual mufflers also i just got to figure out how i'm supposed to lay this all out to do it got these tips for it too which should look a little bit better than these uh tubes just pointed towards the ground that are all rusted we'll have those come out so yeah so i guess our first order of business will be the gas tank which i've already uh sprayed down all the bolts on the straps with uh some wd-40 they don't look too bad anyway so we'll get this gas tank out and then we'll redo uh redo this fuel line all right tanks out the rubber fuel line that was running down the uh frame rails out the little bit of metal line is out the fuel that's in it is pretty nasty so it smells pretty lovely in here um so yeah we're gonna run that new fuel line down the frame rail and then probably up top of the frame rail and then we will meet this fuel line which you can't even see on this video up there so we gotta get that run and then uh we gotta get this uh sending unit out of this tank probably clean it up and put it in the new tank that is right over there so i'm gonna get going on that and then i will uh get the tank back up in the car and then i will make the solid fuel line go up to the front and connect everything so let's go [Music] well got the sending unit off let's see how nasty that is of course the new tank did not come with one so yay let me get in here and see i can show you how nasty the inside of this tank is and look at that it's pretty gross so not excited what i might do just for now so i'm gonna have to order one of these but i guarantee you that the uh the float for the level um for the gauge is probably garbage it's probably no good because this is about what the tank in my 84 furo looked like and i had to replace the tank and i had to replace the whole center on it but anyway what i might do with this here is sand it a little bit throw it over in the sand blaster sandblast it so it's kind of cleaned up clean the pickup line out put it in the new tank with the new tank in the car because it's something you can get to pretty easily inside the car i mean it's a 55 chevy you can get everything easily inside of it and that way i can get the fuel line mocked up and stuff and maybe i can get this thing running and today i can order a sending unit and when it comes in i can just like i said throw it in in the car i just want to make sure that i clean this up really really good if i'm going to do that because i don't want to get any rust in the new fuel lines that i'm putting together of course i do have a new fuel filter to go up by the carb too this makes me wonder what shape the carburetor is going to be in which is another hurdle i have to cross because not a carburetor guy so i guess let me see what i can do with this and sandblast it and we will go from there all right guys sandblasted it got it cleaned out looks pretty good good enough to use for now until we get a new one because the level sender's no good but at least i can get this in the tank today and hopefully get this thing running today this is pretty easy to swap out in the car i mean that's right on the side of the tank and get right to it it's going to be put in with some brand new bolts a brand new gasket so should come apart pretty easy so let's go ahead and we'll get this thing in the new tank up there and get the new tank in the car [Music] tanks in i was having a hard time getting the uh the filler neck back in right there i had to adjust where it mounts up there yeah it's in i just got to run the uh fuel line from up here and make our fuel line that goes along our frame rail so i think i'm going to get started on that now and then the fuel system will be done and then it'll be on to i can change the oil while it's up in the air and put it down put the radiator in put the battery in it we'll see if we can at least get it running before we do tires tires and exhausts are probably the last two things so let's get started on the fuel line all right fuel line is connected to the sending unit comes around goes down the frame rail and then it's right up here it's gonna hook up to a fuel line right up in there i gotta lower the car down to do that so let's do that next [Music] all right guys there's the end of the fuel line the rubber line is right by that blue uh battery cable right there so i'm gonna get those two ends hooked up and clamped and then fuel system will be pretty good but then we're going to come up here we're going to replace this fuel filter on the engine and then uh yeah maybe get the radiator in it because it's that's leak as you can see right there and then get a battery in it change the oil and see if we can get it running all right new lines up connected right there got the battery in it just gotta get this radiator in it and change the oil and then get some gas and see what happens so i guess i will drain this radiator of whatever is in it see anything in it oh no there's cooling in it all right so i will drain it here and see what we end up with drain bucket i'm sure i'll still make a mess it's not a very good setup get the drain pan holy crap we are amazing [Applause] maybe i won't make too much of a mess it's like a thousand degrees in the shop well not really it's i guess it's not that bad it's still hot i need a big fan in here that would probably help a lot now missing a little bit not too bad i wonder now if these radiator hoses are going to be the correct thing it's a big old radiator too guess what we'll have to do is test fit these and see if they are the right size indeed or if they're wrong see i guess i can make that one work so [Music] [Music] right radiators in fuel system's done battery is in oil has changed i think now it's time to go get some gas put a couple gallons of gas in the gas tank maybe put a little bit uh in the carburetor see if we can get it running so i will go to the gas station and then i will be back to try to start this all right well it's got gas in it put a little bit of gas in the carburetor i guess we'll try to start it and see what happens so [Music] finally drawing fuel from the gas tank there you have it sounds like it runs pretty good got fuel in the fuel filter nice so all that's left to do now is obviously get another fuel center but uh do the exhaust and put some tires on it and then we'll be good to go [Music] oh until you kill it well see if it starts on its own without pouring gas [Music] all right [Music] see this is where we find out there's an issue with the carburetor and then i gotta phone a friend i really don't know anything about carburetors i really don't want to learn anything about carburetors so [Music] so well it's the next day got an assistant got it running found out the fuel pump leaks so i'd order one of those got a sending unit only the right front brake works oh more assistance i'm trying to figure out this hi youtubers oh my goodness try to figure out this uh exhaust aftermarket exhaust it's supposed to work with factory headers and this does not have factory headers so why are you guys so noisy we're trying to practice for youtube you're a youtube hello hello hello are you gonna post this on youtube [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] me uh [Music] [Music] all right so the exhaust is done you can see the new tips goes up over the axle on either side into the mufflers let me go down this way i had to trim some of this stuff to get it to meet the aftermarket header collectors but overall turned out pretty good just put it down and see how it sounds all right got it down see if it starts up great well other than the header leaks i would say it sounds a lot better than what it did now we just got to do the tires and go through the brakes and put the fuel pump on it steel pump leaks and then we'll be done so as soon as parts come in for that stuff we'll be doing that [Music] what's up guys we're back on the 55. i have the remainder of the parts got the fuel pump oil cylinders mass cylinder sending unit for the tank we have this stuff to install and then over there there's a stack of new tires for it and then this thing will be done i can return it to its owner so i think it is time to get started and i'm going to start by doing the fuel pump which is down there and get the mast cylinder on it get the master cylinder blood and the lines on it because then i can do the wheel cylinders and i can do the tires and then i will be done with this car i'm gonna take it for a drive so i'm gonna get that stuff done and then i will be back with you what's up guys we are back apparently the battery on my gopro died the other day when i was working on the fuel pump and i didn't notice it so i got the fuel pump off i found out the new pump which is right here was newer or different i'm sorry than the old pump i had to get a couple fittings for the end of it to make it work got some new fuel line i mounted the tires and i'm going through doing the brake stuff right now see i got the rear wheel cylinders in i'm getting the front wheel cylinders done right now and then once that's done we can get the new master cylinder on and bled and then we can bleed all the brakes and then uh then what oh and then we'll get the pump on fuel pump on and then uh we should be good then we can go on a test drive and i can give this car back to its owner um so yeah i'm going to try to get these front wheel cylinders on and then i can put the car down get the mass cylinder on and get the brakes bled out so i will get to it and see you when i'm done all right it's back running new master cylinders on gotta get somebody to help me bleed the brakes out the new fuel pumps on down there new fuel lines fires right up it runs pretty darn good so yeah got to bleed the brakes get the wheels back on it and then we can take it for a drive and then we're done it's been a fun project but i'm ready to get my hoist back so let me get somebody help me believe the brakes and once i have the wheels and everything on we will take it for a drive all right we're back together let's go take it for a [Music] other than voyage it sounds pretty good huh well brakes are good runs good cruises down the road good i'm happy with it obviously this is not a highway cruiser with a three speed on the floor it's more of a cruising down the country road just enjoying your classic car kind of cruiser i think the carb needs a little adjusting overall not bad there even the turn signal works so so so all right so car is complete runs pretty good i'm not uh 100 sure that it's not going to end up needing a carburetor but i've driven it runs all right stops good rolls good you can get in it hit the key and drive right off so that's the end of this video if you guys like it let me know and i'll do some more videos like this other than just the furo stuff but now that this is done i think it's time to get started on the pace car so until i get going on that i will uh see you guys later if you like this video leave a comment subscribe like this video yeah whatever appreciate you guys watching see you later

Channel: Rear Engine Shop

Views: 3,150

Rating: 4.8139534 out of 5

Keywords: 55 Chevy, TriFive, Chevrolet, BelAir, Project, Fix it

Id: w8Wel96DvVQ

Length: 46min 3sec (2763 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 03 2020