'81 Chevy Project Goes Away

[udallcustombikes]

Some pics from this morning.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Nice touches. Adds a little flavor without overdoing it.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looking awesome! Love the aged scallops, looks great...

Luke.

 

[udallcustombikes]

I spent the last two days hitting the whole body with rubbing compound to cover the swirl marks. I have the truck ready to haul my bikes to Bug-0-Rama tomorrow.

I redid my Kansas tag on the front to better match the colors of the truck. From red and gold to blue and silver.

My hot rods- '34 Colson Flyer and my Chevy.

Weathered scallops

Now if only I had a legimate reason to pull the engine so I could Z the frame up front.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Just drive over some railroad tracks really fast and low put a hole in the oil pan then drive it home. Then you have an excuse to pull the motor and Z the frame up front and an excuse to put a big block in it. Kill 2 birds with one stone! :mrgreen:

 

[Vintagebikelover24]

Did you put like a matte clear or any clear over the paint?

 

[udallcustombikes]

It has been a while since I've updated the progress on the truck. Well because until a few weeks ago I hadn't done anything. Here is what has transpired. I was driving home from taking my daughters to dance class when my temp went into the red and the exhaust was blowing a smoke screen that would make James Bond jealous. I had the truck towed home and began tearing the motor down to find the cause. When I got the heads off I found a catastrophic crack in the block.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Ouch! Well I guess now would be the time to Z the frame up front!

Luke.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Ouch! That sucks. New motor is looking great though. Glad to see some more progress on it.

 

[udallcustombikes]

I have decided to save my pennies and buy a porterbuilt crossmember rather than Z the frame.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Awesome build. I would weld the c-notch though. Nice and simple build up without extravagant crap, good show, sir.

 

[Gdcast]

Love your truck man!

 

[udallcustombikes]

Well I am done messing with the truck. The "new" motor that I was told ran good when pulled has a bad knock down deep. Three days after installing the motor the wiring harness fried and I had to rewire the entire truck. Rather than pouring more money into the pit I decided to cut my losses and put it up for sale.

Surfing Craigslist for something new brought me to this 1953 Willys Aero Falcon (Who knew Willys made cars???) It is a one year only car with a mere 3016 rolling off the line in Toledo, OH. She is all original, all the trim is there, the Supersonic flathead 6 stills runs and the three-on the-tree with overdrive still keeps her moving. I have wanted a real Rat Rod for quite a while and this little girl really fits the bill.

I went to look at it and quickly fell in love. The owner looked over my Chevy and we agreed on an even trade. She will be home later this week and will fill the roll of my daily driver.

I need to install seat belts and maybe drop it a few inches to improve the stance but she should be a fun cruiser.

 

[udallcustombikes]

Some more pics

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Cool little beast! Plenty of rat/custom options for the shoebox styled cars...

Luke.

 

[mikeeebikey]

Far be it for me to tell you what to do, but this once entertain me.....paint that like an old checker cab!
Cool old car, and I wish you much luck.

 

[udallcustombikes]

They did offer these in as a taxi. Been doing some research and found that at some point it has been repainted. Original color was Raven Black.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

that willys is a awesome car
willy's had a coupe in the 30's and their pretty saught after in the Gasser/drag world.
i like the taxi paint job and maybe lower it and chrome the wheels with wide whitewalls.
kinda like the taxi from the cool side of town or the taxi from fresh prince of belair
it looks to be relatively solid and decent for it's age
the car gods have shined down on you my friend they realized you lost a loved one so they replaced her with something you would enjoy almost more if not as much.
good luck with the build
Sean

 

[udallcustombikes]

Thanks. I had forgotten about the old coupes! She has some rust on the rockers, hood, and on the panel under the trunk lid, but the floors are solid as is the trunk floor. I plan on doing the bare minimum to the body. I have a heavy duty upholstery sewing machine I have been itching to take for a spin so we will see what happens there. Other than that just the routine maintenance to keep her chugging along.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

i like you're thinking keep it simple.
that's the best way to do it.
if the rust isn't all the way thru you might get away with just grinding the rust off and painting over it.
sounds like the interiors gonna be awesome.
keep the patina but make it comfortable
i like the idea.
Sean