# Dutch's New Ride



## Dutch (Jul 6, 2006)

Those that have been on this forum as long as I have know of my love for old cars and also know of the fact that I was willing to trade my oldest daughter away for her fiance's '67 Ford Mustang  :twisted: He got my daughter and still kept his car. 8)  This past weekend my dream of Classy car ownership came true as Sam and I went to the Cache Valley Cruise-in. The Bride and I are now proud new owners of a 1955 Chevy Bel Air.
The car is in remarkably great shape. Needs a new master cylinder and a couple of brake cylinders and some trim pieces but she's driveable. The boy's and I plan on entering our first car show in August.  WooHoo :D


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## jamesb (Jul 6, 2006)

Sweet ride!


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## monty (Jul 6, 2006)

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

Here's wishing you unlimited Miles O' Smiles!

Cheers!
Monty


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## vulcan75001 (Jul 6, 2006)

NICE..REAL....NICE

Lots of luck with Her...

Richard


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## cajunsmoker (Jul 6, 2006)

Nice ride Dutch.  Need a little trailer to haul the GOSM and the car shows will never be the same.


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## icemn62 (Jul 6, 2006)

SCORE, that IS a nice ride.


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## brianj517 (Jul 6, 2006)

VERY NICE!!!!!!! Congrats on the licky find!

Cheers,
Brian


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## willkat98 (Jul 6, 2006)

Just don't fix her up toooo nice Dutch, paint her red, and name her Christine

(Now I have to go rent the Stephen King movie)

Great find!


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## Dutch (Jul 9, 2006)

Going to keep her Cream over Black and we named her "Lucile" in memory of my mom.


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## dave11 (Jul 9, 2006)

Very nice ride Dutch! Ill bet that Chevy turns a lot of heads! I would like to have a classic car myself! I would kiss it...and rub it ...and hold it... :D LOL! Congrads! Its a fine looking automobile!


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## nmayeux (Jul 9, 2006)

Nice looking car Dutch!  What's her condition, and what are your plans?


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## Dutch (Jul 11, 2006)

Noah, Lucile is in good condition. She needs a new windshield, a couple of wheel cylinders and a new master cylinder and she is road ready.  She is missing a couple of trim pieces on the body but in my research, they were optional pieces anyway.
We are looking at changing over to power brakes with disks up front and drums in the back. This winter we are planning to switch over to power steering and redoing some body work on the front fenders. Lucile came equiped with a factory straight 6 cyl. engine but the boy's are trying to get me to drop a 350 V8 in it's place-maybe in a couple of years-we'll see.


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## nmayeux (Jul 16, 2006)

Sounds like a real solid platform for a great car!  If you are having to replace that many brake parts, then it would be smart to go ahead with the front disk conversion.  You will really appreciate it!  What kind of condition is the frame and body in?  I have the impression that you live in a dry climate, but do they salt the roads?


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## Dutch (Jul 16, 2006)

Noah-I found a power brake conversion kit for about $700 bucks. If I were to locate the individual componants locally, it would run close to $1200.

The car was built in Canada and was in California up until last May when it was loaded on a trailer and hauled to Utah (high Desert country). They salt the roads here in winter but Lucile will be a fair weather driver.

My son has access to a medium blaster, so we might pull the body off the frame and blast and powder coat the frame this winter just for something to do. :P


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## salbaje gato (Aug 9, 2006)

very nice ride dutch  a 55 bel air was my first car,  now im inspired to finish my 66 buick wildcat.  i think ill start on after this fridays smoke
happy cruzin for you and your lady. salbaja gato  aka wildcat


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## Dutch (Aug 9, 2006)

Thanks, Wildcat. Ordered my brake convertion kit last week (found one for $550.00) should be here in another week or so. Now I just need to locate a front windshield. Can you say "kaching, kaching"? :shock:  :shock:


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## sean (Aug 10, 2006)

Hey Dutch, try:

John Chambers Vintage Chevrolet
only 55 * 56 * 57's
PO BOX 35068, Dept. WS
Phoenix, AZ 85069
Phone (623) 934-CHEV(2438)
Fax (602)298-CHEV(2438)

If he doesn't have it, he'll tell ya where you can find it.

Yea, he's my Uncle - Been in the biz for 30+ years.


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## gunslinger (Oct 17, 2006)

Hey Dutch,
Just found the post about your new shoebox. Nice to be a member of a forum that has people that share more interests than that of the forum platform. 
I am more into 60's and early 70's muscle, but then I'm 10 years younger. I do still have my first car though. My highschool sweetheart 54 Chevy Belair. I've owned her since I was 16. Only has only 67,000 miles on the clock. 
Among the classics I've owned are:
66 Nova SS 327
72 Nova SS 427
64 Impala SS 327 (my favorite of the bunch)
70 Chevelle SS 454
72 Formula Firebird 455 tri power
64 Chevy short wide bed big window C10 (my current project)
If I only knew then what I know now..............
Keep the 6 banger. I drove from Omaha Nebraska to Hollywood CA when I was 20 in a 60 Willys truck with an F-4. Had to rebuild the carb in a NAPA parking lot durring a windstorm in Colarado Springs. Had high hopes of becoming a rock star back then. Man, there ain't enough air way up there to get a motor with that much stroke and that little of a carb to go anywhere.
My current project has a bored 292-6, hybrid head and a 6-71 supercharger. Shootin' for 1000 hp. That's hard enough with a V-8. Takes a whole bunch of $ that I don't have to get it with a 6 with no laughing gas. But that's part of the fun. 
This is what I work on while smoking. I find that assembly lube enhances the flavor of a brisket.


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## Dutch (Oct 18, 2006)

Gunslinger-Them are some nice rides!! My first "vintage" vehicle was a 1960 Chevy 3/4 ton p/u that I picked up while in high school. Next was a '72 Vega (yeah, I know) that I picked up in '75. It came with a 4 banger, then the guy that became my BIL showed me an article were a guy dropped a 350 small block in his Vega and since the BIL had an extra 350 and tranny we said "why not?" Left folks smoking at the line and when they would catch up with us, we'd give 'em a peek at the 350 under the hood. :twisted: 

I'm going to keep "Lucile" as original as possible-the only major thing I've done so far is to switch out the front spindles and brakes (now running power disk brakes up front and factory drums in the rear, Tri-5 folks I've talked to made some strong recommendations about making the switch to power disk brakes- I still have the original spindles and stuff to switch it back to original if needs be.

Last Sat. I was at a car show where a guy had two '55 Bel Air 4 door sedans that were identical in everyway but under the hood. The first still had the original in-line 6 and the second one had a turbo charged Edelbrock 350. The guy show me the appraisal papers and the stock 55 appraised value was $8,000 greater than the one with the 350 engine in it.

The only way "Lucile" will get a 350 is if we can't rebuild the 6.


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## gunslinger (Oct 20, 2006)

Dutch,
I didn't mention my Vega. I had a 75 panel. No glass or rear seat. Very rare factory model. Mine had a narrowed Dana 60 and a 383. Ran 9.90s in the 1/4 on the rear tires.


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## starsfaninco (Jan 28, 2007)

Hey Dutch,
Have you been turning any wrenches since it got cold?  Just curious :)  
I had a 69 mustang notchback with a 302/c4 when I was in college.  Wasn't the prettiest car, but she ran good.  I was two weeks away from having her in the paint booth when my girlfriend at the time wrapped her around a light pole in a parking lot (I was working on her '65 stang's tranny).  Towed her home and joined the navy because my college career ran outta funds (couldn't get to work...)  Sent a bunch of money home during my stint in the Navy and when I got out, I rebuilt her.  However, resuming college and all the bills and expenses that it requires, I had to sell her.  Well, it's 14 yrs later and I'm starting to look for a project car again.  
Anyway, was just curious what you'd been up to and able to accomplish on yer project.  You mentioned that you were showing her,  how'd it go?

KE


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## Dutch (Jan 28, 2007)

The boy's and I got together last weekend for a beer and wrench session-itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s wonderful having a HEATED garage!!. (Okay-they had the beer and we all turned wrenches with me mostly supervising.) We changed out the lifters and the push rods and we're still experiencing at ticking from the engine. Mommaâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not happy, but weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re are thinking about spending the bucks and dropping a crate 350ch into the olâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] girl (the car-not the wife :shock: :P). Mrs. Dutch would rather have us pull an old 350 from a wreaking yard and rebuild it. I'm thinking it will be less expensive in the long run to go with a new engine. and the boys agree.


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## starsfaninco (Jan 28, 2007)

hehe, that's the way it's supposed to be :)  Actually I enjoy doing the wrench turning with the exception of trying to stick a transmission back in without a real tranny jack.  Having a heated garage is very nice as well.  I'm jealous!  

Well, just like doin bbq, I enjoy looking at the 'car porn', so while you're supervisin', grab the camera :)

Oh and btw, I like the crate motor idea too.  It can be somewhat cheaper, and a heck of alot easier.


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## dgross (Feb 12, 2007)

Hi Dutch :) ! What a nice ride, an old boyfriend of mine had a 68 (?) Bel Air station wagon and loved it. My hubby and I have a '68 mustang that we just had the body work and paint finished 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  and are looking forward to finishing her interior up. She is a plain jane with a vinyl top but since we are the same age, she' was worth the work :grin: ! Hope to have he all finished by my 40th ( 2 yrs )so we can have some fun in our mature years ;) . Thanks for the pics and how did you do/did you enter any shows? Would love to know, thanks, Daun


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## longshot (Feb 13, 2007)

WOW Dutch I just stumbled on this thread.  THe 55 Bel Aire is my all time favorite.  A few years back a Canadian firm was making a 55 bel aire convertable kit to go on a 70 Caprice frame.  I almost went for it and I wish I had.  Those babies are really getting scarce and when you find em they is spensive!! the last one I looked at someone had chopped up for a gasser and they still wanted almost 7000 for it and that was in the mid 90's.  Great score pard, when ya taken me fer a ride?


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## Dutch (Feb 13, 2007)

Daun, if you go to the car shows, they usually will have a schedule of upcoming events and shows with information on how to enter your ride. I'm looking to enter my first show in April or May.


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## Dutch (Feb 13, 2007)

Long, I'm still trying to talk Mrs. Dutch into taking Lucile on one of our Idaho trips. If I can talk her into it, I'll let you know for sure. Not a bad score for only $4500.00!


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## longshot (Feb 13, 2007)

Man someone aught to call the cops cause you stole that car!!!  Great Score Dutch!!  Is the envy showing?? That is a once in a lifetime car Dutch congrats.


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## bigal (Feb 13, 2007)

Congrats Dutch!  I can just imagine the smile on your face when you bought it.  Would be just like my dads when he bought a car similar to what he had in college.  He drove it over to my place, mom was gonna drive it home, her not a good "clutch worker", killed it by the shed.  Hasn't ran since.  Dad's been busy, I've been busy, and too cold to work or drive a convertable.

If your look'n for more supervise'n while the boys turn wrenches, I've got a sweet '93 JD 9600 combine that could use some work before June.  :)  I'll even supply a bed and plenty of  beer! 

I'm real happy for ya Dutch, I hope you and the Mrs. enjoy it for many years.


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## Dutch (Sep 8, 2008)

Just when it seems that we're making progress some problem manages to rear it's ugly head.

We pulled the front clip off cuz we were having issues with the hood not closing properly-hood was coming down on top of the edge of the right fender. Once we got the hood and fenders out of the way we noticed that the left side of the front frame was bent up on an angle. No way were we going to try to straighten the frame. Let the pros do that.  Found an Autobody shop that would do the work and could garuntee a 1 week turn around time, so we loaded Lucile onto the trailer and took her to the shop. A week came and went and I didn't here from the shop, finally I heard from the shop owner.  He said that he had some good news, some bad news and some good news. The fist good news is that they straighten both front end frames (seems that the right side had some slight damage that we didn't notice), but (the bad news) somehow the guy running the frame straghtner managed to knock the voltage regulator off of the valve cover down in between the engine and the firewall.  When they attempted to start the car to drive it off of the rack, they shorted out the electical system. The other good news was he wasn't going to charge me for the frame work ($800.00 plus). He offered to replace the electrical system, but after talking to my boys, they decided that enough damage had been done and the boy said that they would replace the wiring etc. So with the parts from my son-in-laws 1956 Chev farm truck, and $10 worth of wire, they replaced the voltage regulator and the fuse box.

With the $800 I didn't have to spend on the frame work I had the front and rear bumpers straightened and rechromed, I forgot to remove the bird from the hood and have that done but for what it would cost to chorme I can get a new one-but I'm leaning towards rechroming as the bird is original to the car.

Lucile is having a "Secret Audio System" installed by the boys so we can cruise with some tunes (doowop of course 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





).

Later-


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## grothe (Sep 8, 2008)

Thanks for the bump and update. Haven't seen this post. Gotta dig out dad's 55 T-Bird before cold weather. Classic are so much fun!!!


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## smokin nutz (Sep 8, 2008)

Hey Dutch, nice ride, I had a 55 Bel Air conv. years ago, now have a 60 Impala, that Ive had since 1991, and were doing a lot of underhood update on it, a 350/350 etc. can send you pics if you want, send email address.
Are you on www.chevytalk.com  they have many good forums.
glad to see other "Car Freaks" as well as BBQ Freaks...I once took my lil grill to the oct "Cruise to the Woods" up by Ft.Dodge,Ia,had a ball,a huge Oct.show.


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## Dutch (Sep 9, 2008)

Yeah, I'm on chevytalk, Trifive and the Danchuk Garage sites. I have more fun here though.


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## Dutch (Oct 1, 2008)

Well, it's been 2 years and 2 months and 26 days (but who's been counting) and the ol' gal is finally on the road-not done, but on the road.

I was off last week and one of the things on the "get'r done" list was to finish up Lucile. The other major task was putting Ma's sewing room together.

Friday the 19th, we trailered Lucile to the glass shop to be fitted for a new windshield and then back on the trailer to the alignment shop to get the camber and toe-in adjusted. Monday morning the 22nd (anniversary day to boot) we got the call from the shop and the alignment was done (turned out Lucile was finished Friday night at closing time and the shop don't work no weekends!!)

I drove Lucile back up to the daughters house and the son-in-law and one of our "adopted" sons spent nearly 30 hours during two days putting the finishing touches on her-reattaching the newly re-chromed bumpers, buffing out the paint and polishing her up. She's got a new side mirror, a new secret audio sound system and the daughter detailed the interior.

Lucile will be in her first car show Wednesday night and I'll post up some new pics.

In the meantime, enjoy some pics of our "mini" cruise-in that we did Saturday; we went to Woody's Drive-in for a celebratory dinner and yes they still use car hops and you can place your order from the front seat. 

The first three pics are of Lucile, the forth pic is the son-in-laws '32 Ford rat-rod and the last one is the "adopted" son's '51 Dodge Meadowbrook. The last time I saw a running Meadowbrook it was in the movie "Men of Honor"-the taxi cab used in the movie was a Meadowbrook.

Just as we where getting ready to leave, an other rat-rod and a '53 Mercury Cruiser pulled in. Ma had just put the camera away so I didn't get any pics.


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## grothe (Oct 1, 2008)

Sweet Dutch.....I can almost see the big grin on yer face!! Congrats on one FINE ride


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## bmudd14474 (Oct 1, 2008)

That is a thing of beauty Dutch


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## ronp (Oct 1, 2008)

Good for you, that thing looks sweet.


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## richoso1 (Oct 1, 2008)

Wow Dutch, congrats on getting her road worthy. Thanks for the pics, reminds me that I've got to go see some old bombs real soon.


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## mulepackin (Oct 1, 2008)

Sweet, sweet, sweet, is all I can say. I'm a huge tri 5 fan, but especially the 55s. Dad has a 55 DelRay that I would love to restore someday when money and time allow.


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## allen (Oct 1, 2008)

Hey Dutch, That sweet lookin 55, brings back memories, my dad had a sky blue 55. 4 door


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## travcoman45 (Oct 2, 2008)

That be a mighty fine buggy dutch!  Congrats on the new toy!


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## kookie (Oct 2, 2008)

Sweet rides.....Good job..........


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