1955 Chevy
1955 Chevy Restoration - This 1955 Chevy came to us after being stored for decades, we are very excited to get it back on the road so that the owner can cruise it around like he has always dreamed!
The first step in a major project like this one is getting the car back on the road to see what can be saved and what will need to be replaced. We are not a shop that thinks the customer should get rid of everything and buy all new parts. We pride ourselves on pinpointing the problems and fixing them, instead of throwing parts at it and hoping it all works in the end.
Right away on this project we had a huge success of being able to flush out/clean/reuse the original gas tank (which was full of gravel), saving the customer from having to buy a new tank.
Watch the videos below to see the low compression the engine came to us with, and the gravel that came out of the fuel tank!
The first step in a major project like this one is getting the car back on the road to see what can be saved and what will need to be replaced. We are not a shop that thinks the customer should get rid of everything and buy all new parts. We pride ourselves on pinpointing the problems and fixing them, instead of throwing parts at it and hoping it all works in the end.
Right away on this project we had a huge success of being able to flush out/clean/reuse the original gas tank (which was full of gravel), saving the customer from having to buy a new tank.
Watch the videos below to see the low compression the engine came to us with, and the gravel that came out of the fuel tank!
After getting the existing 327 engine running, it appeared at first glance to be an okay engine for the customer to run. However, it quickly began to reveal its flaws after a couple of test drives. To make a long story short, a flat camshaft led us down the road of dissembling the engine far enough to find a lot of major issues that we were glad to have discovered. Now, with all the necessary corrections made, this balanced steel crank 327 is really going to be an engine to be proud of! (See the video below to watch the original flat camshaft at work, you'll notice one of the rockers barely moving up and down compared to the ones around it.)
Here is a quick break down of the the major improvements made to the Small Block Chevy 327.
SBC 327 BEFORE
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SBC 327 AFTER
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So what does all of this mean?
The owner of this awesome '55 Chevy now has a very special and rare engine! The reason this seasoned 327 was worth saving (every 327 is worth saving in our book) is that once we tore into it we discovered it has a balanced steel crank, something that most hot-rodders only dream of! We knew we had to give this engine our best effort to bring it back to its full potential. We believe the owner made a great decision in keeping the original engine on the road! You cannot go out and buy a "crate 327" they are too rare and just don't exist, and the already built 'hot 327's' bring anywhere from 5-7 thousand dollars. The owner really hit a home run on this engine, he now has a valuable engine that will run on the street all day long and still "launch" from a few stoplights if he should get the urge.