Brian M's SL-C Turnkey Build Thread

Jim Albright

Supporter
As an interlude to the SLC- the 56 Chevy Bel Air was purchased in December via On-Line Auction. The Price was right but when I received it I realized that I wanted to modify it to make it more family drivable. The car had a 454 Big Block Chevy and a 3 Speed Automatic. It was a LOT of fun to drive from 0 to 55 but was horrible to drive at 55-70 on the highway. And the Cam in the 454 was not producing adequate vacuum to effectively operate the power brakes which made it a bit scary for highway driving or even sudden stop light stops with cars in front of you. The 454 was also blowing a little oil....

....So I decided to restomod it with:
  • Skip White Performance 572 crate engine ----> Check out the 40 second dyno video
  • Holley Sniper Electronic Fuel Injection
  • ATF 4L80E special built transmission with 750 ft/LB torque converter
  • New 25 gallon gas tank with 340 L/H EFI fuel pump.
  • Burning River Power Rack & Pinion Steering
  • Wilwood Hydraulic Power Disc Brakes to all 4 corners
  • Entropy Radiator with dual fans - This was a Piece of ART
  • Restomod A/C system
  • and New tilt Steering column, Steering Wheel, and Digital Dash

Here are a few pictures
View attachment 121667
View attachment 121668
View attachment 121669View attachment 121670
Your experience from the drivers seat couldn't be further apart than these two!
 
Your experience from the drivers seat couldn't be further apart than these two!
Yeah I know. I get some odd looks from people when I say that I am doing THESE two cars. Honestly, the 56 was my dream car at age ~8-10. But then as a early teen I started to love supercars as well. I have maintained a distinct love and appreciation for them both. And honestly, the SLC is really MY car and the 56 is a car I can take the family in.
 
BTW - the 56 is currently at the shop to get all that is listed above installed. The last 2 weeks they complete removed 100% of the engine compartment, the transmission, the exhaust and the fuel tank. This week, It is going next door to the body shop to have the engine compartment and the underside painted, then in Mid April it comes back to have everything put back into the car.

Surprisingly, I have only had two supply chain related back orders. I originally wanted the Edelbrok Pro Flow 4 XT which has been on backorder for well over a year. So I switched to the Holley Sniper EFI. So the only item backordered right now is the Air Conditioning system from RestoMod Air because their ECU is on backorder
 
I let Fran know that I was going to be in Detroit for a few days, so he invited me to stop by the shop to see the early progress they have made.

It is awesome to see it if finally coming together. I talked to Fran and he was confident that the car would be in go-cart complete stage by the end of April. Then I will have the body work completed by Brad who is doing the amazing body work that you saw on the previous posts. Brad will be doing the doors and rear vents as well as the entire rear facia.

Below are a few pictures that I took today. I told Fran that I will be visiting my client just about every week so I can check in on the progress and also do the seat and peddle fitting once they are at that point..

SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 2.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 3.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 4.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 2.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 3.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 4.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 6.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 7.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 9a.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 10.jpg
SLC Go-Cart Stage Build 11.jpg
 
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Looking good! Did you by chance see my green Lola in the shop during your visit?
Jim - I was only there for 30 minutes and was focused on my car. I just went back to your thread to see the pics of what Steve had painted on your Lola. I didn't really look around however, I didn't recall seeing your Green Lola there. However, I was only on one side of the shop and was in and then out pretty quickly
 

Joel K

Supporter
Brian,

Exciting update. The blue and gold accents look great.

Sort of curious if you have any further details. Looks like RCR re-profiled the A & B pillar roll bars from the previous design. I assume to get them closer to the A & B pillars of the body. They are definitely shaped differently than mine. A number of builders have modified the A pillar bars to fit them closer to the body.

Also, where do your seat belts attach to? Yours is the second recent roll cage I noticed there is no rear cross bar. Wondering if RCR is now mounting the belts differently than wrapping the shoulder belts around the cross bar…

AD5457F4-3147-432A-AB69-8CB2A80D4728.jpeg



vs. mine…
82DD5113-2562-4954-A1EF-7CFCB4F3BEA6.jpeg
 
Brian,

Exciting update. The blue and gold accents look great.

Sort of curious if you have any further details. Looks like RCR re-profiled the A & B pillar roll bars from the previous design. I assume to get them closer to the A & B pillars of the body. They are definitely shaped differently than mine. A number of builders have modified the A pillar bars to fit them closer to the body.

Also, where do your seat belts attach to? Yours is the second recent roll cage I noticed there is no rear cross bar. Wondering if RCR is now mounting the belts differently than wrapping the shoulder belts around the cross bar…

View attachment 122103


vs. mine…
View attachment 122104
If Fran reads this he can weigh in as I honestly don't know the answer to either of those questions

Fran-?
 

Scott

Lifetime Supporter
Jeff,

The old front hoop didn't fit the body well, but it wasn't horrible. I was able to cut and stretch it as shown in this post. The new front hoop profile is much worst and my approach wouldn't work. Superlite has done a lot to improve the car over the years, but this change is a step in the wrong direction. If you're planning on covering the A-pillars, I would take it to a chassis shop have and have them fabricate a new front hoop.
 

Joel K

Supporter
Jeff,

The old front hoop didn't fit the body well, but it wasn't horrible. I was able to cut and stretch it as shown in this post. The new front hoop profile is much worst and my approach wouldn't work. Superlite has done a lot to improve the car over the years, but this change is a step in the wrong direction. If you're planning on covering the A-pillars, I would take it to a chassis shop have and have them fabricate a new front hoop.

Scott,

My sense is Brian’s will fit the body much better without needing modification. It’s a new-new version.

The newer version I think you are referencing is the smaller diameter roll hoop that is the pic of my build.
 
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