Welcome To Chris Pinto's 1953 Chevy Hot Rod Belair Wild Custom Site!

  • Garage
    • Cool Stories of my ’53 Chevy Hot Rod – The Blog
    • About Christopher Pinto, Designer/Author
    • Mystery Novels by Christopher Pinto
    • Privacy Policy
  • In the Beginning…
  • Why, Man? Why?
  • Body
    • 1990 Backyard Restoration
    • Second Restoration, and Changing the Body
    • The Fins
    • How I Did It
    • 2020 Pearl Paint Job
    • Driving Around 2000-2020
  • Interior
    • 1938 Digital Dash Cam
    • Trunk
    • Cabriolet Top
  • Power Plant
    • Brakes, Wheels, and Mechanical Mischief
  • Futurama
  • Photo Galleries
    • ’53 Chevy Belair Stardust Vintage Photos
    • ’53 Chevy Belair Stardust New Photos

The Engine

That’s the old beast over there… ORIGINAL 235 straight six with cast iron Fenton headers, Clifford cast aluminum intake, Holley 390 4bl Carb, 12 volt conversion. Pretty much set up the way someone with a little time and even less money would have done it in the 50’s. No internal mods (yet) except the top end was rebuilt and shaved a hair in 1991. Not sure what that horn is off of, but it’s noisy as hell and ain’t from a 53 Chevy, that’s the fact, jack!

Not really sure what the horses are on this plant. I think original specs showed it at around 120, but with the mods I’m sure it’s a little more than that, kat! Still have to get everything tuned right but she roars when you floor it!

Here’s a full list of mechanical updates and mods to the Original 235 Blue Flame Straight Six:

  • Head rebuilt & shaved, heavy duty head gasket
  • Clifford 6=8 Aluminum water-cooled intake
  • Fenton cast iron split six headers
  • Custom made dual exhaust with Cherry Bombs and chrome tips
  • Holley 4160 390 CMF 4-barrel carb
  • Customized original air breather to accommodate Holley carb
  • Custom made accelerator linkage
  • Holley Electric Fuel Pump and Fuel Regulator
  • All new gas lines and hoses
  • Re-corred original radiator
  • Custom hose and wire covers
  • Chrome valve cover with Blue Flame graphics
  • 12 volt conversion, dual battery system (isolated)
  • High-output coil
  • Chrome 110 volt alternator
  • 12 volt electric wiper motor, glass jar washer
  • Replaced water pump in 1991 (on the street in front of my home)
  • Blue under-hood lighting for shows
  • Brake system completely redone, new lines, master cylinder, brake cylinders, hoses, hardware, shoes all around
  • 3 on the tree converted to floor shifter
  • Clutch replaced 2016
  • RPM guage
  • Modern stereo (looking into getting a new retro-look stereo soon)
  • Dual original era-correct spotlights
  • Electric door poppers all around, with buttons inside and remote
  • Halogen headlights
  • Six-bulb tail lights
  • Neon purple rear license plate light
  • Various custom lights all around
  • Rear adjustable air shocks, rear dropped 3″ the old-fashioned way: The springs are shot.
  • Front suspension dropped 3″ (cut springs)
  • Rebuilt front king pins, tie rod ends, etc.

For more information on how to get V8 power out of your Straight 6, visit
Clifford Performance:
http://www.cliffordperformance.net/

Recent Posts

  • Gotta Replace 2nd Gear in the 1953 Chevy Belair Custom
  • New Photos of the 1953 Chevy Custom Belair
  • ’53 Chevy at the Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale February 2021
  • Living in Spotlight Hell with the 53 Chevy
  • New Door Striker So I Don’t Fall Out – 1953 Chevy

Recent Comments

  • Pat Lanspery aka TikiPaka on ’53 Chevy at the Mai Kai, Fort Lauderdale February 2021

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  • 53 Chevy Repairs & Mechanical

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Note: All photos and stories ©2020 Christopher Pinto. All rights reserved. Any duplication of any part of this site, text, or images for commercial use and/or without permission the owner is a violation of copyright laws. Please only share photos for non-commercial use (no selling). Please feel free to “Pin” photos or share on social media (non-commercial use only).

Pages

  • ’53 Chevy Belair Stardust New Photos
  • ’53 Chevy Belair Stardust Vintage Photos
  • 1938 Digital Dash Cam
  • 1990 Backyard Restoration
  • 2020 Pearl Paint Job
  • About Christopher Pinto, Designer/Author
  • Brakes, Wheels, and Mechanical Mischief
  • Cabriolet Top
  • Cool Stories of my ’53 Chevy Hot Rod
  • Driving Around 2000-2020
  • Futurama
  • How I Did It
  • In the Beginning…
  • Mystery Novels by Christopher Pinto
  • Photo Galleries
  • Privacy Policy
  • Second Restoration, and Changing the Body
  • Stardust…The Famous Finned ’53 Chevy Belair!
  • The Engine
  • The Fins
  • The Interior
  • The Trunk
  • Why, Man? Why???

Archives

  • November 2021
  • March 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020

Categories

  • 1953 Chevy Stories (6)
  • 53 Chevy Repairs & Mechanical (1)

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1953 Chevy Hotrod Wild Custom Belair ©2020 Christopher Pinto