chevy59.com--Big Daddy

Big Daddy, our black Biscayne, has achieved heirloom status in our household. It is the first classic car that my wife and I bought together, and is one of those cars that just makes a person feel good. It's beefy, beefy sounding, and beefy driving. It starts every day, it hits cruising speed in a flash, and causes a whole lotta rubberneckin'. Despite the attention it gets Big Daddy is by no means a perfect car!

We purchased this car in June, 1997. At that time it was in need of some help; the previous owner had given up on repairs and parked it in his mom's garage. His mom told him to get rid of it, so he did. After I drove it home, I logged the following repairs:

1. Both Axle Bearings
2. Both Axle Seals
3. Driveline carrier bearing
4. Three U-Joints

5. One front wheel bearing
6. Warped cylinder head (luckily not cracked)
7. Weak-charging electrical system
8. Tune up
9. Various fluid leaks

Despite the troubled demeanor of the car, it still was pretty solid and drove 30 miles home without trouble. Since that time I have attempted to keep the car roadworthy while improving many of the car's systems and mechanicals. I had the trunk floor replaced nearly two years ago, restored the gas tank, restored the dash, ran new exhaust, and improved the electrical (40 year old wiring doesn't do jack when it's been compromised by things like stereos, scanners, and trailer wiring--all of which were removed hastily prior to my purchase). Future plans include new floor pans, engine/trans freshening, quarter panels both sides, front & rear window seals, and a serious front end rebuild. There are other things I intend to do with the car, which puts it in a constant state of flux. But you know what? Doing the job is half the fun. Reaping the rewards of your work is the other half.

And no, I don't intend to install power steering!

Update: October 18, 2001 -- Big Daddy's in the driveway for some serious repair; the radiator gave out on my way to work one day, and I discovered that it was pretty doggone old. When I started taking things apart up front, I discovered a few areas that needed some rust repair (a typical problem up ahead of the front tires). In addition, taking things apart up front afforded me the luxury of getting at some areas that needed some paint work. I could have simply replaced the radiator and been back on the road, but I love this car and I want to fix it right. I have good intentions. Besides, I have a leaky axle seal that gets replaced after the radiator is done. It all adds up to Kurt spending some real quality time with his cool old car.

The only problem has been my `60 El Camino; it has also needed attention since the radiator went out on Big Daddy. The El Camino is my truck, and often my ride to work. So guess which one I've been repairing? That's right, Clifford The El Camino. That means Big Daddy has to sit a while. No worries...it's not going anywhere under the cover!

Update: August 9, 2002 -- The El Camino has been sold and I am finally able to put some time into Big Daddy! Of course attention given to the car is secondary to attention given to my son, born November 2001. It's been over a year since I've driven the car and I miss it much. My project has morphed a little here & there, and now the focus is to get it running again.

Currently I am converting the car from a Turbo 350 to a Turbo 400. The TH350 needed a rebuild, and I found it would cost about the same to install a low-mile TH400 that I had in my garage. This requires a modification to the transmission crossmember and to the driveline (the expensive part of this conversion -- Drivelines NW is also retrofitting a bullet-proof carrier bearing into the driveline while its out). Having the heavier duty trans in the car will allow me more freedom when it's time to massage the 402 for some extra power in the future. But for now it's just part of learning to do a proper conversion.

Update: June 27, 2003 -- Wow, it's been a long year. I spend a lot more time doing family stuff now, and my "driveway time" has suffered. I've also started a non-profit organization, building bicycles for kids whose families can't afford them, and this takes a good amount of time. So my life is very rewarding right now, but it means that repairs to Big Daddy have been very slow.

Over the winter, the TH400 was installed. I fabricated a new crossmember out of 3" channel steel and 1/8" steel plate. The mounting point is now 6 inches back from where it was on the TH350 so we had to make sure that it didn't interfere with the emergency brake or anything else. It required a lot of eyeballing, and when I wasn't certain of my abilities I brought in friends. The result is some pretty good engineering and some stronger friendships.

The driveline was shortened by a vendor other than Drivelines NW, one that was more local to me in Kirkland WA. He also replaced the center carrier and created a new yolk. His prices were reasonable and he made sure to call me before making any irreversible modifications to the driveline. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who is interested in that type of work.

But even with these milestones, I realized in early June that I had bitten off too much project. Instead of just replacing the radiator in May 2001, I chose to do a bunch of other stuff that I should have just left alone. Plus it didn't help that my `60 El Camino was breaking down a lot in 2001 and required much attention. Add to that a new son -- whom I love -- and I have a dead car for two years. In the end I couldn't put together enough well-lit time in the driveway to complete what I had started. I had even trimmed down my "fleet" of classic cars by selling off the `60 El Camino and `69 Chevelle, so I could focus on getting Big Daddy on the rode again.

Then a member of my car club, whose cylinder head shop business was a bit slow at the time, offered to complete the project for me as fill-in business -- so long as I gave him all the parts necessary to do the job. I accepted his offer and had the car trailered to his home 30 miles away on Sunday June 22nd. By Friday June 27th he had the car running and driving. He said on the phone, "That car has YOU written all over it." He knows me pretty well, that I love the big cars and stuff with character. Thank God for good friends with a mission!

I will be picking up the car next week, and photos will be posted of its successful return to our home under its own power.