My Project...1968 Bel Air Wagon

Oh....that is sweet!

 

Wow, very nice!

 

wallawallabob, no turboes yet. But the swap has wet my appetite for more power again. I'm hoping to be twin turboed within the next 2 years max.

Have some other improvements to make before I get to the turbos. Better weather stripping/seals, brakes, bushings all around, springs, etc. Normal driving she's great, but at 100mph she is less than perfectly stable and well behaved.

Thanks for the props, guys. I'm trying to keep steady progress but not goo so fast as to get burnt out. After all I am currently doing all of this in an open carport. So far I've only had the wagon for a year and a half but I think she's come a long way.

 

Boy, I'll say she has come a long way. It is great to see some talent doing some really interesting things! I would not have the guts, let alone the will power, knowledge, or money to tackle a major swap like this.......

 

Thanks for the compliments. I really appreciate that.
As far as the money...while it is definitely not cheap, I am on a budget.
I am learning as I go but have done quite a bit of car stuff(engine building, custom turbo, fab/welding) in the past. I am doing all the work myself with the exception of tinting the windows.

I paid $5500 for the car. Sounds like a high price, but I wanted a pretty clean starting point and one that with little extra could be a driver. This is something I see way too many of my friends get in over their head. Buying a rust bucket for $500 or worse $6000 and spending the next 2-10 years just getting the body to the point where its not falling apart. I have a friend that bought a '68 camaro for $6000. After having it for two years, the body was sandblasted and still a bare shell. There was still plenty of body work to do. He lacked the skills and knowhow to tackle such a project. His father in law and myself did all the welding/fab on the body. He sold it and made a little money even, but he never had a drivable camaro to enjoy. Anyway my point is I have learned from watching other people's projects. The other thing is when people try to do too much at one time. engine, turbo, body, brakes, etc all at once. Two years later its running and has bug after bug to work out. Then you get tired of it and sell it.

I knew I would get burnt out on the body work and nor did I have the proper shop for that extensive of a resto. So for $5500, I was driving it to work for couple of months before I turned the first wrench.

I have had to replace the pass side front floor pan and there is still some rust in other areas of the car, but the more and more i look at the car the more I am overall happy with the condition.
After wheels, tires, sway bars, floor pans, carpet, and the complete engine/tranny swap I am up to about $14000 or so. I imagine I will have somewhere near $30K in it over 5 or 6 years before its all over.

I am not rich by any means, in fact I'm just now in a place financially where I could even think about having a project like this.
But after the death of my little girl 2 years ago, I made a commitment to myself to not wait on the things that make me happy. And cars are one of my few obsessions.

And creating things like this is what makes me happy. I should add that this is my only hobby that requires monetary investment. My other three kids are young, jobs going good, so there may not be a better time to have a project like this.

Man, this really turned into a longer reply than I intended.
But again, thanks for the compliments.

 

New pics and pics of the whole process....
http://s951.photobucket.com/albums/ad351/stang5479/1968 Bel Air Wagon/

A couple of videos from the track on Youtube...channel wicked5479
http://www.youtube.com/user/wicked5479?feature=mhee

And a rougher one from someone elses phone...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ2QZ6inGls&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

holy

 

Very well done. I like it