Thread: '58 2 door Biscayne

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Lets try this again. I am deployed overseas with the National Guard and I was on a local classifieds site from my home town and found this car. I owned a four door in high school and have been actively searching for the last 13 years to find either a 4 door or better yet a 2 door in my price range.
Well, this car popped up for $2500.00. I called the guy the minute I found it and talked to him. Then proceeded to call my wife to go look at it since she also knows a lot about cars (She built a 78 Chevy 4x4 in high school with a 454 and 6" lift). It has a 350/350 combo and runs but has some piston slap from what the guy said since he believes the other guy that owned it rebuilt it but did not have it bored. The floors need replaced but no major rust other then surface and some holes in the eye brows. It has wheels like were on the "General Lee".
I joined this site to get some feed back. I am also an automotive artist and have done some quick 10 min. sketches over the past couple days and checked every site that sells hot rod and restoration parts. I have a general idea where I want to go with the car but am stumped in a few places. I sketched up a side view and love American TT 5 spoke unpolished mags but when I drew them on the car they did not seem to look right. I am looking for a late 50s to early 60s theme but it does not bother me to deviate a little outside of this. I really like the Impala from American Graffiti but do not want to build a clone but am using some styling cues. I thought about the chrome reversed steeles but like I said I am not sure I want to much of the styling from that car where it looks cloned even if the paint is different. I plan to shave the handles and front emblems except I want to get the V8 "V"s and a front shield and for the front move them both into the grille area possibly. I am not sure if I want the dual areals on the rear fenders yet. The interior will get a full Cashmir blue, Ivory and Silver tuck n' roll treatment. The engine will stay 4 barrel for a little while but I would like a 3x2 or 6x2 set up with the new 9super7's. Later I would like a 671 supercharged 409. (I love blowers). I plan to get a radio delete cover and then make it motorized so I can but a cd player behind it. The existing speaker hole will have a 3 guage set up possibly or I want to incorporate two digital guages into the cluster where the dummy lights are and use the dummy lights as true warning lights.
I will keep the TH350 for a while so I want to get a Hurst extended Pro-matic Ratchet Shifter. Problem with this is I do not like the console it has and am wondering if the shifter could be used with a shift boot without looking retarded. It will get a piston shift knob and fuzzy dice of course. Later I want to change out the trans for a 4 or 5 speed manual. I am also thinking of building a center console that blends in to hold a tach but I am not sure I want it that low yet and am trying to find a 5" that will match the guages (May need to have the face changed out). I also plan to notch the front of the seat for the shifter. Adding accessory seatbelts.(anybody have pics of what style of seatbelts were accessories back then?) I also want to add AC with factory vents. (No offense to anyone but I hate stuff that looks like it is just hung from the dash or on the car) I am going to use 4" peep mirrors outside. I was also thinking since the 50s had the rocket themes of using B52 Tail gunner tailpipes with flame throwers. Gotta have flame throwers.... As seen at this link http://www.tailgunnerexhaust.com/jet...etail.php?id=8. Well, thats is a short list of all the mods that have been running through my head.