Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

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sycklash
Posts: 55
Joined: 30 Jun 2014 17:34
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by sycklash »

Well, I guess I'll start a new thread for my latest project so you guys know I'm not dead, and this is what I'm doing while I'm neglecting the Datsuns(I also picked up a '72 1200 :P)
Ever since I've been little, I've been growing up around 55-57 chevys, and a '55 has always been my dream car. A little while ago, I ended up buying a four door belair and planned on restoring it. While all my panels that were necessary were on backorder, I found a 2 door for sale that cost less than what I was ordering for panels, so I cancelled the order and brought the 2door home!

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Buying the 2 door saved me so much work(was going to replace basically everything on the four door on top of converting it to a two door).
This shell already had new floors, new trunkpan, tailpan, quarters, inner-quarters, rocker panels + inner rockers replaced. It's just been sitting around for a while so it had a bit of surface rust.
What I've been doing since I've gotten it is just stripping it down to bare metal, and repairing sketchy repairs done in the past. I'm currently getting the firewall, A-pillars + dash ready for a coat of epoxy.

So my friends went up to Quebec a bit ago for the sole purpose of hitting up JDM shops to bring back parts. They ended bringing me back my motor for my car. (which came with a bit of cosmetic damage, along with a busted motor mount ;D)

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Gotta ditch that twin set-up!, I'm going with a massive single.

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That's right. This is going to be a 2JZ swap. I just figured I'd throw it in there to see how well it fits, and honestly it fits better than I thought.
I need to modify the front crossmember a bit, build a couple motor mounts, and modify the firewall, but that's all in the name of fun!
I need to pick up a transmission right away too. I'm thinking about going with the CD009 350z 6-speed. It's too hard to find a T56, or R154 around where I live.

The other week I got a little bit of free time and I ended up taking the frame out from under the car, as it's going to be replaced with the frame from under my 4-door.
I'm trying to set up the rotisserie my father managed to pick up, to work for the car. It's originally off a chevelle. The front won't be so bad but the back is going to be troublesome.

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I ended up getting bored tonight and cut out the firewall. I figured I misawell get all that metalwork done before I epoxy everything.
I ended up not having cardboard so I gave up for the night as I couldn't even make any templates haha.

The plan for the car is essentially for it to look like this.(modelkits not finished in this pic haha)

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It's going Roulette green, with white two-tone.


The biggest things I need to get on the go right now, is figuring out rear suspension(I'm really debating on doing an IRS set-up, but unsure of what to base it from.possibly a MK4 Supra or C4 Corvette??), order a transmission so I can mockup the motor+trans with the suspension when it's done, and get a rollcage on the go.
The body is not going to be a problem as it's what I do for a living, but it's going to be sooo time-consuming...
It's really early in the game, but you gotta try and get what you can figured out as early on as possible.


Here's another picture from before I tore down the four-door + got it blasted/sealed, with my fathers '55 and my 510!

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Instagram: @Sycklash
RONSLYCHUK
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Joined: 12 Sep 2004 19:42
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Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by RONSLYCHUK »

Verrrrry interesting! That 55 looks really good. I like what you are doing there. Can't wait to see the finished product.
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McShagger510
Posts: 1821
Joined: 26 Mar 2004 20:55
Location: East Van, Canada

Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by McShagger510 »

I personally LOVE unusual combinations like this. Won't be making any friends in the purist camps at car shows.

STOKED!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

James
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The person with the sun in their eyes has the right of way. - my brother

'72 2dr. 510 Turbo
'73 240Z all stock
'71 2dr. 510 stock......for now
'91 Nissan truck *SOLD*
'02 TOYOTA Tacoma
'78 Kawasaki Z1-R
'84 Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo
'99 Kawasaki ZRX1100
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Heinrich
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Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by Heinrich »

i like this "marriage" between Japanese and american very much.

loved the look of the chevy's but never liked american V8's.
Progress is slow, but it is progress non the less.
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Byron510
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Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by Byron510 »

The J2Z has a seriously good reputation, and I have seen it installed in a lot of American iron including first gen Mustangs, Chevy II's and Chrysler products of the 60's and 70's. I love it! Like James said, you won't make friends. But you can really keep them scratching their heads by removing anything that says Toyota off the motor, or really throw them for a loop and put a bow tie emblem on the valve cover....

My fathers Datsun powered chopped and channeled 32 is still coming along as well...

Great to see you posting again, keep up the photo reports - love it!

Byron
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
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510wizard
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Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by 510wizard »

What did you pay for the 55, if you don't mind me asking? I have a 56 station wagon that was my Grandfather's, that been in storage for 50 years, that I am going to sell this summer.
sycklash
Posts: 55
Joined: 30 Jun 2014 17:34
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by sycklash »

Thanks guys for the kind words! It's nice to hear some kind words :P, most people aren't too fond of it as you can imagine hahaha.
and 510wizard, I picked up the absolutely bare shell for 6500, which is actually a pretty good price for around here whereas it has brand new(still e-coated) panels on the inside.

So I managed to get a little bit of work done in the past little while. It isn't much, but I'm trying to force myself out more since I know I'll be away with the military again from april - Sept ish. My main goal before that is epoxy it so I don't have to worry while I'm gone making money for car parts.

I've been spending my time finishing up welding the new panels in the car, strengthening everything, and building my friggin' firewall(more of a pain than I planned on it being hahaha).

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The car is now part volkswagen! As that is a leftover brand new inner-wheelhouse for one we did rust repair on at work.
Still a lot of finessing to do to finish it but I think it's going to work real nicely for the 2JZ. Who would of thought it would be that much longer than a V8 :P.
Once firewall is done, it's getting coated with epoxy and then I'm moving on to the inner quarter panels. I found a template/guide online on how to mini-tub the car while having it remain looking stock so I figured I'd give that a go. Something else I've been looking into quite heavily lately is a roll-cage. Just having a hard time deciding what to go with.

I didn't take any pictures of it, but got the rest of the fill off the quarters and seen where they butchered them up to put partial panels in. It's basically pushed in about 1.5 inches on the driverside, and 1 inch on the pass side. That's going to be fun to fix :x

The frame is coming out from under the 4-door hopefully this weekend, so I'm planning on bringing it home so I can start cutting it up and modifying it as well. That'll give me a push to ordering my rear suspension asap too. Kinda need to see how it's going to sit so I can see if I need to modify my quarters a little bit. I don't want to cut out my wheel-wells, but I'm thinking about bulging them out a little bit for a bit of a "wide-body" kind of idea underneath where the stainless goes. If you're going to be pushing 6-700hp you have to make sure you're going to have a little bit of grip unfortunately.

We had some free time at work so I finally got around to fixing my original bel-air wheel!(which is now half panel-bond epoxy due to the cracks from being 61~ years old)
I think it turned out pretty nice. Little things like this get me excited to see the car in paint. Forgot to set on the chrome for the picture haha

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Instagram: @Sycklash
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McShagger510
Posts: 1821
Joined: 26 Mar 2004 20:55
Location: East Van, Canada

Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by McShagger510 »

Wheel came out great, nice work.

James
The person with the sun in their eyes has the right of way. - my brother

'72 2dr. 510 Turbo
'73 240Z all stock
'71 2dr. 510 stock......for now
'91 Nissan truck *SOLD*
'02 TOYOTA Tacoma
'78 Kawasaki Z1-R
'84 Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo
'99 Kawasaki ZRX1100
sycklash
Posts: 55
Joined: 30 Jun 2014 17:34
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by sycklash »

So, I managed to get some work done before I left!
Car was completely ground clean and sprayed with some epoxy. Firewall is done for the most part except for needing to block block block. Managed to get a coat of fill on the quarters, so that's a big step. My father said he might putt away on it while I'm gone, so at least that's some progress while I'm gone!
Starting to look better everytime I touch it. Everytime I look at his '55 in the garage I get excited for what this one's going to turn out like.
Big drawback now though is I still don't have something to mock up for a rear suspension, so I might have to unfortunately go four link with straight axle like a 9inch or something for now.

Anyways,
Here's a few photos just to show that SOME progress is happening.

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Instagram: @Sycklash
OUTthere
Posts: 88
Joined: 18 Aug 2014 15:57
Location: Coquille, Oregon

Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by OUTthere »

Cool dog!

Regarding the rear end for your car - ever consider (and are they available in your area) a 1970 - 1980's Jaguar xj6 or xj12 independent rear? Went and picked up a 1979 xj6 Jaguar front clip yesterday ($200) for my ford truck and he had the rear sitting there ($200). Would of got the rear if I could of got it to fit in my Subaru.
Anyway, the 70's & 80's jaguar irs setups using air bags, over sized inboard breaks, and not much else are in some really nice old fords.
sycklash
Posts: 55
Joined: 30 Jun 2014 17:34
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by sycklash »

I'm not really a fan of air bags at all haha, but i finally found a rear set-up, but thanks for the advice!

Progress update:
So, I've been really busy with being away from work and such. So I've been just slowly ordering parts and letting them arrive. I basically only get to work on this on the weekends so work is slow so I can only do what I can.
Basically I've got front splash pan on the way, poly body mounts + bolt kit, and a few other small odds and ends.
But one of the biggest things showed up once I got back from being in the field!

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I'm going to be using a S14 rear subframe/suspension/rear diff set-up in the '55. It's a JDM one, so it's rust-free. With this, I now have 5x114 rear bolt pattern, so I figured I might do something about the front to to convert it ;D. The track width is even a couple inches narrower so it'll help in fitting in some wider wheels once I mini-tub this.
Should be fun though, There's tons of aftermarket support for S14s.
Since I got this, I'll be needing to mock in my motor/tranny here soon so I can get the proper angle and make sure my frame is going to be 100% okay once all the cutting and welding commences.

Bodywork is still in the works! However it's slowly coming down. If I get some free time in the next day or two(long weekend), I think I'm going to spray some evercoat high build primer on it to help straighten it out!. Getting excited to see this all in one(well, two), colors.
Brought the front fenders home and they're going to be needing some work, but it's better than spending 500-1000 USD ea for new fenders. The front caps have been replaced previously and already starting to rust out again, along with a couple holes along the lips.

Here's some other pictures of just what the garage/driveway currently looks like. The 510's acting as my DD during this beautiful weather.

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Instagram: @Sycklash
sycklash
Posts: 55
Joined: 30 Jun 2014 17:34
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by sycklash »

Well, it's been over a year since my last update, so I misawell make an update since I still lurk this site.
Life's been busy (deployed overseas), so I haven't been able to do too much work, other than stockpile parts ! (including for my 510!)
But here's a little update of the car so far.

Exterior:
Body is mostly straight. letting primer soak in until I'm back. Trying to find a carbon fiber trunklid but with no luck, probably going to resort to one of the old stock ones I have stockpiled. The car is still on a rotesserie and torn apart. Doors, hood + fenders ready to be mocked on once the frame is back. Underside is welded, panelbonded, seamsealed, and primered... It's awaiting paint so the frame can be slid underneath when it comes back(even though it's probably going to be torn apart again + repainted because I still don't know what I'm doing for fuel cell so I'll probably have to recut the floor + repaint.
It's going to be Roulette green + tri-stage white, two tone paint scheme.

Interior:
Since I'm overseas, I'll be paying the guy thats building my frame for me, to mini-tub the car, and build a rollcage for me. I made sure before I left that everything was cleaned, seam-sealed/panelbonded + primed. I have most parts collected up for the interior already, minus seats + fuel cell set-up. I'll also be re-locating the battery to the trunk.

Frame:
The original frame was hit sometime within the last 60 years, and it was thin from rust, so ended up ordering new rails to go with the new IFS + IRS.
The IFS is a mustang II set-up, which leads to the rear to a S14 set-up. It's going to be crossbraced for strength, and incorporating remnants of a s13 front crossmember with swap mounts to help make things easier for the 2JZ swap. I'm pretty excited to see how this frame turns out to be honest.
It's now converted to 5x114.3 all around, which will make way for some work wheels in the future ( currently using wedsports to roll it around on ), and since we're using S14 rear, theres tons of options for aftermarket goodies. I'm going to paint this a copper(similar to my 510). Something different to stand out from the green.

Motor:
Have yet to tear apart to freshen up, but I bought a new single turbo, and manifold to mock up for now until I really want to start making power. I already have the adapter plate for the CD009, but still have to order my clutch set-up, and yolk, so i can build a driveshaft. I've been talking to a lot of people running the 2JZ/CD009 set-up though, and they seem to love the set-up so I'm kind of excited.


That's it for now. My father's being kind enough to do a few small tasks for me to prep the car for when I get home too. but anyway, on to photos since they all seem to of gotten removed!

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Day I got it.

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That's it for now ! Looking forward to working on this, and my 510 !
I don't know if I mentioned this anywhere else on the forum too, but I think I'm going to end up keeping my '72 210 as well, and turn it into a track car. Just need to find a retarded swap for it.
Instagram: @Sycklash
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Heinrich
Posts: 281
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Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by Heinrich »

awesome work going into this.
Progress is slow, but it is progress non the less.
sycklash
Posts: 55
Joined: 30 Jun 2014 17:34
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Re: Project Sacrilege: '55 Chevy with Japanese twist.

Post by sycklash »

Little progress update.

Frame is mostly done! Few more bits and it's ready to go home and under the car, and brought back out. for the motor/tranny to get fitted in + welded.
Then rollcage'll be done + mini-tubbing.
Getting really excited to come home from tour and work on this(and my datsuns) Two more months.

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S14 IRS is in. Few more gussets, + coilovers mounted, and it'll be good to go :). Pretty exciting.

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I get my two week vacation starting tomorrow, so I'm heading to Japan. Going to try picking up some goodies for this and my 510. :)
Instagram: @Sycklash
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