project 55 planned out...opinions on my ideas

[BlindSideCustoms]

okay today i went and priced the floor pan and trunk pan/doors/trunk for the bel air since their all no good. then found a 56 today for 1k so im going to use the interchangable parts from it. but for my pro touring plan i need some suggestions on all of my parts and ideas i have.

engine-ls1/t56, headers, built head/cam to start with, amount of chrome depends on car color, if i go black on black with black wheels i will keep it simple to a few touches, if i go red on red with tons of chrome the engine bay will follow.

suspension-a.r tech shockwave w/ strong arms for front and airbar/ shockwave rear

brakes-11" disks all around, brand depends on rear end choice

wheels- 18x8 front 20x10 rear "maybe wider depending on tub size" wheel color and style also depends upon the exterior color.

dash-digital gauges, alpine in dash dvd with 6 disk changer and dvd player hidden

interior-front low rise buckets with custom console, custom door/side panels, if i do black interior "depending on color" i might do alcatara or a recaro fabric not sure how much" if i do red then i will use a small amount of perforated leather and red alcatara with mainly red non perforated leather. not thought too much on the rear seats, was actually thinking of cutting/chopping a 98 up s10 60/40 and making it a 50-50 with low rise rear and the folding center console "different console though still with the center dip in between the seats.

trunk- i would like to kind of square it off, have the compressor/tank and such hidden with a subtile subwoofer enclosure probably 2 12" subwoofers alpine or jl audio in the rear.

i want this car to have looks, go fast, ride good and get decent gas mileage..i want to do the right mix of things not too outrageous but not near stock. as for colors i love black, always have wanted a black 55 but red/white 2 tones have caught my eye alot lately with the right wheels, then again you cant go wrong with a red car.

this will be my first project as a shop owner "20 years old", construction has begun of the shop and i will have a nice place to work on it, and get business from this build i hope. i will be funding this via the sell of a few of my cars, im getting out of the euro business saying bye bye to my volkswagen "337 ed. rarest vw made in north america", my dd honda and a s10 to fund this. but in the end it will be worth it and ill still have half a dozen cars left lol.

all opinions welcome, thanks guys.

[ZL-1]

Black.

[jaybee]

Black would be great but you still need the side trim. That's a lot of basically flat sheet metal to not highlight with something.

[BA.]

I think it's a nice selection of parts and ideas there.

Two things stuck out for me.
1. I like 20/18 rims on the tri-fives
2. I think 2 12" woofers is overkill. 2x10" would be plenty.

Good luck with it, it's gonna be one sweet ride!

[MrQuick]

Nice project,

go with black on black
bigger on the brakes, fill in them rim holes
speakers...no comment
20x13....10 will look small
heres 335 18's on my Nomad look tiny IMO
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[ProdigyCustoms]

Sounds very cool, sounds like you will be visiting the GPSuperStore a lot, I sawa few things on your list we can help with!

I have been planing out my next project for myself, and really thinking hard about a 55. Did one a couple years ago and just LOVED it! And what a car to put a banging stereo in!

[BlindSideCustoms]

well i know some arent about speakers, but running a shop and having that in my show car could swing some business my way, im not much for db drags or anything crazy loud, ive got a bad ear drum lol.

and yes i will be using the side chrome thats a definate, for right now im going to get the car blasted and start filling in panels until i sell one of my cars to get further into this. might even pro-tour my 82 vette and sell it to fund some of the parts since ive got all the parts to finish it just needs a good coat of paint and a black on black vette with big wheels could make me some cash to start with, invest 2k more into it counting paint and then make 8 or 9 off of it. i dont mind spending 20k in this project the least bit, well 25 since im going nasty with the engine. haha i thought about buying 2 wrecked 04 up gto's since i keep finding them for around 7k. find one with a front collision one with a rear, fix the better one and throw the engine/trans in the 55 and have me a goat to drive every day haha.

[rocketman]

Sounds good, My thoughts

1. Raise the rear wheel openings more to match the front
2. Black, Black, Black
3. No Black wheels, polished or Grey centers only
4. factory trim would good on a Black car
5. Red interior and black cars almost a must, or maybe a tan of some sort


Just some suggestions

[bigvegan]

My Suggestions (mine alone, this is your car, you get to do with it as you wish (obviously), so take it all with a grain of salt.

Here's what I'd do:

12"-13" brakes up front, 11"s in the rear.

Wheels - 5 spokes, with the possible exception of the classic Torq-Thrusts, have pretty much been done to death, so come up with something different.

Go with analog gauges. The digital ones looked dated in the '90s, and haven't improved much since. Analog gauges with black numbers on a white background are hard to beat.

That said, if you can find a wrecked Aston Martin, their gauges are about the coolest ever...
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/02/coupe_gauges-1.jpg

Paint - Both your choices are good, but how about a flat charcoal grey / high-gloss black two tone? (I swear I've seen this done on an exotic, and it looked incredible, but i can't find the example.):pics2: :help!:

DVD Player? Do people really use these? The nav screen I get, but usually a car DVD anywhere but the back of a minivan looks kind of cheesy. (If you can point me to cool installs, I'll be happy to stand corrected.)

Interior - add shoulder belts all the way around. In terms of safety per dollar, this is one of the best investments you can make. Every time I see a high dollar restored car without shoulder belts, I think of this story - http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/News/Michigan-Firefighter--Family-Killed-in-Crash/46$43696 (tl:dr - Man spends 3 years restoring an old Deusenberg (convertible, no seat belts), takes it for a drive with his wife and family, Volvo runs a stop sign, Mom/Dad/son killed, daughters seriously injured.)

Drivetrain - Can't go wrong with the LSX/T56 combo / Air Ride suspension, but it would be cool to see more IRS builds.

Speakers - More audiophile style. Hide subwoofers under the rear seats, use lots of small mid-range/tweeter speakers around the interior. The "trunk full of speakers" look is a bit ghetto (IMHO), as who listens to their car stereo with their trunk open in real life?

Anyway, those are my thoughts. It sounds like you've got something cool in the works, and are lining up all the right stuff, so put pics up as you go.

Best of Luck!

[BlindSideCustoms]

who ever said i wasnt going to hide them?;) but i was going to do it in the trunk somewhere, the rear suspension will probably be thought over several times before completion. i do like the red interior idea if i go black with the car. for some reason i hadnt thought about it. and the wheels, 14" wouldnt look bad but i would probably have a matching set of 10" for the back so i could afford tires i have a habit of blowing the rear tires off of anything i have haha.

[jy211]

do a 19" front rim min...I regret not doing a 20" on my 56'...and now with my 55' build started, at the bare min I'd do a 19" front wheel...more so I think I will just do 20's all the way around...

[BlindSideCustoms]

i dont know about 20s all the way around, for some reason i cant go for that look on a muscle or classic car. to me it goes back to back in the day when tires/wheels were always bigger out back. unless you had a small lip in the front and a 4+ inch lip on the back i wouldnt say go 20s all around. i love the look of 18s/20s on a 55 for some reason, it seems to fill out really good with the right drop. and after looking at 20x14s i think im sold on it!

also as a update we have been doing all the clearing for the new shop i will get to drive the big ho here soon "our backhoe" and start leveling it all out. we are looking at 45 wide and around 30 ft long, should be enough room to have 6 cars in progress at once, not counting one in the booth or store around 10 cars not counting one up on the lift.

it has been my dream to have my own shop and i just got some help on it, turned 20 years old on the 4th and i guess im going to make this year count! this will be my main project besides customer cars, for right now doing mostly collisions, color changes and resprays but after i get the rest of my equipment ill begin doing restorations and marketing it full time. this bel air and my dads will be my first restorations ive done on my own, done alot for other shops but i can say this is MY work!

ill keep you guys posted on this project from the day i start media blasting it! thanks for your opinions and also does anyone have any suggestions on the best handling rear suspension? i am either going with air ride or at least 4 linking it but if their is anything that would improve the ride id love to hear your opinions, pictures are a plus.