Building Hot Rods -- 1963 Style
What do a 1955 Pontiac, a 1950 Chevrolet and a Pontiac 287 cubic inch have in common? Well in my case it was one of the really fun cars of the mid sixties. I know there are a lot of 60’s muscle car stories. This was our attempt, my best friend and me, to build a bit of a hot rod, muscle car, or late model modified, all before the real muscle cars became affordable. At least not affordable to a couple of fresh out of high school guys.
My cousin Dale wrecked his 1955 Pontiac. It was the basic four door with a 287 cubic inch V8 and automatic transmission. It was cheap enough so we bought the whole thing. My best friend had a ’50 Chevy. Out came the six cylinder, stick transmission, closed driveshaft and rear end. In went the Pontiac rear end, open driveline, engine and transmission. Well, maybe it wasn’t quite that easy but it was fun and it all went together pretty well. Several items caused some grief, not the least of which was the oil filter. In those engines there was always a canister rather than a spin on element. Cutting the canister down wasn’t the problem, finding a short filter element was. Also, switching to 12 volt was an issue, but old timers might remember the 6 to 12 switches that allowed two 6 volts, wired to run the engine on 12 volts and the rest of the car on 6 volts. Of course another trick was to tap ½ of a 12 volt. Older 12 volt batteries had obvious cell connectors covered with the hard rubber covers. A screw in the middle connector would allow a 6 volt tap to run the accessories while reserving the 12 volt cranking and engine connection.
I had to return to the good “ole” US Army, I was on a short leave, so I didn’t get to go for a ride. But, a few months later I was home before going overseas, and I got to have a real ride. We met up with a 1958 Ford with an obvious big V8 who challenged us at a light. The little Chevy pretty well blew his doors off. Later the Ford driver stopped at a drive inn and we had a chance to discuss cars. His was a ’58 Fairlane with the 352 Interceptor, one of Ford’s hot combinations for 1958.
My next stop was overseas and the next couple of years saw a couple of cars while stationed in Europe. But that is another story. So back to work, got a flathead to build and a ’51 Mercury to finish, and I hope your New Year is off to a good start. If you see anything you like or have anything you need, give a call or e-mail. I’d enjoy hearing from you. ----- Al