`62 Bel Air (build pictures)
- Thread starter SasaMP
- Start date
CDNpontiac409guy
Banned
This is serious stuff
Great looking wheels too
Great looking wheels too
This is serious stuff
Great looking wheels too
I think Pat has the only two sets left in the world.
Morbec wheels. Made right here in Fort Worth!
Sigh......I love them!
Great looking cars!!!!
Kdurgin
Well Known Member
The ball joint spacers don't affect the ride height of the car. You can totally disconnect the upper a frame and the cars height won't change. They will raise the upper arm up to keep it from binding as the front of the frame lifts during take offs, the arm will lower towards the frame. Super nice cars.
John Autry
Well Known Member
Outstanding collection of cars. thanks for sharing.
The wheels are Morbecs and they are 14'' but not sure on tire size will have to look.
The front sits higher with ball join spacers.
Thanks. Yeah the rear tires (suspended frame pic) look taller? Earlier photos looks like you are using a slick. Maybe its just me.
The rear tires on the car definitely look like slicks in the finished photos
Thanks for all the very nice comments on the Bel Airs. A lot of hard work by Al on the cars. Sasa and several others have really helped make the Autorama in Dallas a great show.
On the tires the rear are M & H Racemaster 8.00/8.50 x14 and the fronts are BF Goodrich Silverstone 8.00x14. The same tires are on the black car with the Z11 top half as well as the FI red car. Both are on Morbec wheels that were only sold in the Ft Worth and a few in the Dallas area. The guy that made them designed them in high school mechanical drawing class, his dad had a machine shop and he was able to make 433 sets before closing shop.
The black car is equipped with one of the remaining 62 aluminum front ends including the inner fender skirts and a set of the "0" heads, intake, valley cover and water pump. Lots of fun building that car. On the mechanical fuel injection in the Red car I want to make sure everyone understands I am not, repeat not portraying this to be a factory car. I decided to build this car to only represent what might have been. I do not at this point have any proof what so ever that Chevrolet built this injection unit. What I do know comes from the son of the person that took it off of the 409 it was installed on. He was a mechanic for a Chevrolet dealership in the Detroit area and was asked by a Chevrolet Engineer in a white lab coat to remove the unit and install a single 4 bbl carb because Chev was scraping the project. There are electric pencil scribed dates of late 1961 and I think
the last date was Aug 1962. There is one part number cast into one part that is a Rochester number. In the restoration we found a part number and a manufacturer name on a rubber rolling diaphragm. I contacted them with the number and they said it was too old and not in their listing any more, but with the measurements they made me a couple. I was told by the son of the mechanic(his father has Alzheimer's) that he remembered his father talking about how Chev built only a handful of these units and also installed some on trucks because of the tremendous torque the engines produced. As best we can determine these units were
contracted by Chev through Borg-Warner, Borg-Warner owned a company that built fuel systems, Marvel-
Schebler and that is who designed the system. I have been able to research and located a retired Chev Engineer
that worked in the tech center. While he did not work on the project did remember hearing about it. What
does all this mean.... all I can tell you is Al and I have spent 2 1/2 years researching details and just how to get
the thing to run. I will tell you if another one of these exists it will take someone years to figure out how to
make it run, not at all how any reasonable thinking person would think it operates!!!
I would really like to hear from anyone who might have some info. This has really been a challenging project to complete. Thanks again to everyone for your great comments, Pat.
PS. Tom the 61 is in process, still a long way to go.
Mr.1961
Well Known Member
Have you ever contacted Curt Harvey in reference to this rare piece of history? I wonder if he could shed some light or any knowledge?
Incidentially, your Bel Airs are outstanding, Pat. A wonderful job executed by you and your team. The experimental red 62 is perhaps one of the most unique Chevrolets I've ever laid eyes on, this car is definitely an all time favorite in my book.
