New to me 51 Chevy! New to the forum!

Hello to all. My name is John. My Dad has passed his 1951 Chevy Deluxe Coupe down to me. I really don't know a lot about the car and am hoping to get a little insight on the forum. All I know is the motor is a 350 with a blower and twin Holly's. It's on an after market frame, I believe he said Mustang II suspension. So disc brakes, Tubbed rear end shortened rear axle. Doors and fenders could use some help with alignment. Some chipping paint needs some love, Some trim pieces reinstalled properly. And complete the interior. But all in all I think it's a pretty tuff looking car. Also it's a little confusing knowing exactly what it is?? Would appreciate any insight. Attachment 71299Attachment 71300Attachment 71301Attachment 71302

Dos the hood open? Welcome aboard and nice pics---most can't post pics-----

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Originally Posted by jerry clayton

Dos the hood open? Welcome aboard and nice pics---most can't post pics-----

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Yes, but now I can't figure out how to attach a photo.

Welcome to the site. Everyone can post pics to the site. What you cannot do is use links in your posts until the moderators get to know you.
Use the "Go Advanced" button on the lower right and after you enter some text, scroll down to "manage attachments", from there you can upload your pictures and use them in your posts.

I think I figured it out.

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Welcome aboard. That's a lot o' blower for a 350...……..some might say, "just right".

Sweet ride. Now you and Shine got me wanting a fat body Chevy.

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Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Welcome aboard. That's a lot o' blower for a 350...……..some might say, "just right".

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I've only driven it once and for a very short distance and to tell you the truth it felt a little intimidating. But I'm sure I'll get used to it. Just a little different feel than the 3.8 in my Jeep.

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Originally Posted by JOATMON

Sweet ride. Now you and Shine got me wanting a fat body Chevy.

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Thanks!!!!

YEP, Just right!!
Great lookin' ride your Dad built. Nice that you to want to take care of it.
Take your time and learn what she wants/needs and then you'll want to make it "BETTER"! LOL

Welcome and nice car!

One thing to add to what 34 just said. If you've never driven anything with that much torque/horsepower, take it very easy to start with. The learning curve can be steep and very unforgiving. Wet or sandy roads can be treacherous.

Also, depending on how long it has sat up, get it up on a lift if you can and give it a thorough inspection. Anything with that much power can be considered exotic and requires a lot of maintenance and/or inspection. Everything has to be right. Your life literally depends on it.

Another thing that is often overlooked when someone acquires an old hot rod . Check the date codes on the tires. Any tire is only good for about 6 years no matter what they look like and the rubber compounds tend to harden with age. Hard rubber means loss of traction and you will need all you can get. I know of 2 people that have wrecked hot rods due to old tires coming apart simply cruising down the highway. One wrecked 2 different cars for the same reason! Believe me when I say it can happen.

The most important thing is to have fun with it and stay safe! I'm sure that's what your Dad would have wanted.

That looks like a whole lot of fun to drive.

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Originally Posted by Hotrod46

Welcome and nice car!

One thing to add to what 34 just said. If you've never driven anything with that much torque/horsepower, take it very easy to start with. The learning curve can be steep and very unforgiving. Wet or sandy roads can be treacherous.

Also, depending on how long it has sat up, get it up on a lift if you can and give it a thorough inspection. Anything with that much power can be considered exotic and requires a lot of maintenance and/or inspection. Everything has to be right. Your life literally depends on it.

Another thing that is often overlooked when someone acquires an old hot rod . Check the date codes on the tires. Any tire is only good for about 6 years no matter what they look like and the rubber compounds tend to harden with age. Hard rubber means loss of traction and you will need all you can get. I know of 2 people that have wrecked hot rods due to old tires coming apart simply cruising down the highway. One wrecked 2 different cars for the same reason! Believe me when I say it can happen.

The most important thing is to have fun with it and stay safe! I'm sure that's what your Dad would have wanted.

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Thanks, Yes my Dad has already mentioned the tire age, Fronts are old and will be changed out. Rear will be okay for awhile. (He also reminded me that the rears cost about $600 each. LOL) We were coming back from a car show in Parker AZ to Havasu City AZ on 95 and blew a rear tire. That woke us both up.. Was about 110 out that day so needless to say it was a long wait for that flatbed. Lots of folks from the show stopped to offer help and WATER which was nice. It was painful listing to it drag as we pulled over to the shoulder.

This car has eyeball. Everywhere I look at it, it is built like I would have done it and I'm pretty damned particular.There is only one thing I would change and that's the air cleaners. In my opinion, they're too small to be able to pass enough air when you've got the loud pedal matted.
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Originally Posted by techinspector1

This car has eyeball. Everywhere I look at it, it is built like I would have done it and I'm pretty damned particular.There is only one thing I would change and that's the air cleaners. In my opinion, they're too small to be able to pass enough air when you've got the loud pedal matted.
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Thank you Sir !! Have any specific air cleaner you could suggest? I'm not sure at the moment how much clearance I have to the hood. My Dad had the hood raised a little.(Didn't want a big hood scoop) but in the end he said it would have been ok stock. I really like what he did with the hood.

Question about long term storage. I work overseas so I'm only home every 3 to 4 months for 2 weeks. Any suggestions of what I should do about fuel in the tank and carbs. I love my kids but they're all in their 20's and I don't really want to leave the keys with them.:eek: I was 20 awhile back..:LOL:

Around here a guy can get Ethanol Free Gasoline from newer QuickTrip's and Casey's stores. For me the QuickTrip sells 87 octane no corn, and the Casey's sells 92 no corn. If you purge all of the Ethanol blend and run no corn fuel you should be OK with your times away, especially if you add some Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer to the last fill before you take off. And leave with a full tank, minimal air space. Putting some jack stands under the 4 corners unloads the suspension, and prevents flat spots on the tires. My $0.02 and you may get other opinions.

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Originally Posted by rspears

Around here a guy can get Ethanol Free Gasoline from newer QuickTrip's and Casey's stores. For me the QuickTrip sells 87 octane no corn, and the Casey's sells 92 no corn. If you purge all of the Ethanol blend and run no corn fuel you should be OK with your times away, especially if you add some Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer to the last fill before you take off. And leave with a full tank, minimal air space. Putting some jack stands under the 4 corners unloads the suspension, and prevents flat spots on the tires. My $0.02 and you may get other opinions.

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Thanks, I was thinking of using the fuel stabilizer just wasn't sure. Getting it up on jack stands every time I leave may be more than I want to take on. I'll see if I can get it up on blocks just enough to clear. Thought I was done with the low profile jacks, looks like I need to pick one up. Also thought I was going to have the flat spot problem with the 37's on my jeep but didn't.

Over here on the east coast we can only get E-10, I add Sta-bil at every fuel up and drive it just like any other car. It's had a quarter tank in it all winter and it'll start /run with no effort at any time, even sitting months at a time. I use sta-bil in my mowers, chain saws etc. etc.. and never have carb issues.

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Originally Posted by 34_40

Over here on the east coast we can only get E-10, I add Sta-bil at every fuel up and drive it just like any other car. It's had a quarter tank in it all winter and it'll start /run with no effort at any time, even sitting months at a time. I use sta-bil in my mowers, chain saws etc. etc.. and never have carb issues.

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Thanks this is good to know.

Low profile jacks---3 ton models are on sale at Harbor Freight for $89 til end of May----------I bought one for my son Corey's new house? and liked it so much that when I saw them on cover of the cataloque they mailed out went and got me one---my more regular two won't go under the cobra or front axle Robins 33 ford

Eastwood makes tire cradles which you just drive up on, supposed to prevent flat spots.

Nice new to you hot rod! Your dad sure did a great job on it!

Thank you. He will appreciate hearing that.