Barney

[okayfine]

Meet Barney .

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Barney is a 1950 Chevy two-door post. It's more blue than purple, but with the '90s-era billet wheels and shave job, the color, and the general shape, Barney seems like a perfect name.

Barney's got a lot of value in him. He's already got a SBC 350/Turbo400 combo installed, Mustang II front suspension with tubular arms and a power steering rack, a newer open axle (these cars originally came with a torque tube setup), new seat upholstery, new 12V wiring, and some other odds and ends.

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The seemingly bad news is that while the body's straight and there is no rust, whoever did the all shaving a few owners ago really screwed the pooch with the effort. The hood, for example, is a two-piece hood that, from the factory, is split and joined along the center and the seam is hidden by some stainless trim. Well, Barney's been nosed and decked, so the factory trim is gone. But there must be a good half inch of Bondo on the hood to hide the seam (and the Bondo puddle is more than 12" wide), and the whole blob has cracked and therefore cracked the paint.

There are other examples of this around the body...but I don't really care. I don't want a too-nice-to-drive car. I want to build this and use it all the time for everything. I'll probably never deal with the paint...and if I did I'd just buy another hood. I know enough about bodywork to know this hood is not worth the effort to fix.

So, now I get to make lists. There are a few things that need to be addressed immediately. There are things I need to order. And things to research. The lists will be long, but because of the body issues I got the car for $9,000. I could find a clean stock car for the same money, but then I'd be behind with the stock suspension and engine, and interiors that typically need replacing. The MII front suspension is ~$2K plus time/labor to install - and it's already done. The 350/400 combo will be more than fine in the short term and will give me a nice chunk of money once I'm ready to swap it out. Not sure anyone's going to want the billet wheels (and steering wheel), but I'll give it a shot.

What's the main plan? Well, I want to make a reliable driver that handles fairly well. An LS/T56 EFI swap is in the cards. So is aftermarket A/C. I want to put bigger discs on the front (standard MII rotors are 9", but there's an 11" upgrade for $250), I'll need to swap out the rear axle for something stronger with posi and discs and upgraded leafs, and work on finishing the interior (no upholstery on the door panels, no headliner, no seat belts).

Why did I pick this kind of car? I have a V8 itch that I've wanted to scratch for a while, and 510s aren't really the car to do that with. I went with Chevy in particular because of the aftermarket support - you can still get almost all the parts for these cars and the cost is very reasonable for almost all of it. I already have one 150 page catalog, and there are a handful of companies that put out comprehensive catalogs of parts for this generation of Chevy. That's a huge deal, as we 510 owners all know.

Barney's on the driveway, and the first thing is to figure out the timing. It pings bad. I need to find TDC and figure out how to mark the pulley, as it doesn't currently have a pointer or marking. Then see what the deal is. Might have thrown a weight or something in the HEI dizzy. All to be revealed...but while half the internet is porn, at least half of the rest is Chevy SBC information.

[defdes]

Cool, I was just looking at '51 Kaiser Manhattans today, kind of a similar vibe. (my ex-house mate in Santa Monica's dad wad Dutch Darrin, the designer)

[510rob]

Now you need a pinstripe suit and a violin case... ...for your 'violin'

Really cool car.

[RONSLYCHUK]

Nice car. I've always liked the early 50's Chevy.

[bertvorgon]

My Grandmother had a 1950 Chevy fast back ( she bought it new ), which I learned to drive on and took my test in. I drove it out from Winnipeg to Vancouver in 1965, when we moved her to the coast, a year before I got my licence. She drove it out here on the coast till she past away.

I have the glove box manual for it still! There is a fellow here in Vancouver with a really nice restored stock one.

[Mattndew76]

Nice chebby Julian.

Looks like a soft ride.

[qwik510]

You got a really cool one there Julian. I love the body style. I know you will do it justice. Can't wait to watch this one.

Nice score.

[510wizard]

Is a Pontiac of the same vintage, the same body? If so,my old neighbor has a stock hood in his garage rafters that he would probably sell.

[okayfine]

I believe they're the same, but I can't be sure. I'd have to research. These were the days of Chevy, and then CBOP. I think the CBOP specifics were more driveline-related.

[510wizard]

I believe they're the same, but I can't be sure. I'd have to research. These were the days of Chevy, and then CBOP. I think the CBOP specifics were more driveline-related.

After you research let me know, I have been meaning to go see him anyway, I could check it out for you. He sold his car that he owned for over 20 years and has lots of left over parts stashed in the his garage.

[Three B's Racing]

That is really sweet Julian I mean NICE!!!! My Mom had a `54 I closed on my left hand thumb and did a major crush to but I was 6 years old it's all good now at 59 8''>(

Now you talk about a boulevard cruiser,, That is it!!

[Byron510]

My father has always been into old iron. We rebuilt his 53 PU with a Chrysler B body front clip and a few other mods and then he DD the thing with a big block 390/C6 auto on a 2.5 hour daily commute in rush hour traffic that by all reports is some of the worst in North America for distance vs time traveled. This to his split shift job in Vancouver for 10 years when he drove transit bus. He loved every minute of the commute, though, and he nearly always drove it like he stole it when he could.

There were a few more mods along the way - it rains here...ALOT in the winter. This didn’t stop dad. But getting rid of the vacuum wipers for a two speed electric motor was a good upgrade. The seat got redone at some point, the aftermarket seat belts sucked the whole time, but he loved the truck. It’s now been under restoration for about 15 years, don’t like to think about that one, but hey a DD can certainly be done with old iron.

Byron

[two_68_510s]

Sweet ride, Julian. My first "real" car (after a 55 Hillman panel!) was a 50 Olds fastback, what a ride those car have! Fun stuff.

[okayfine]

Now you talk about a boulevard cruiser,, That is it!!

It is now. It hopefully won't be (just) that when I'm done.

[okayfine]

Is a Pontiac of the same vintage, the same body? If so,my old neighbor has a stock hood in his garage rafters that he would probably sell.

The Internet says:

Canadian Pontiac front fits Chevy, the others are longer wheelbase and it's all in the front end.