Hey there, my Dad told me about this contest so I thought I would write in about my 1953 Bel Air project.

My name is Tyler Meade, I am a 21 year old College Student at Philadelphia Biblical University. I bought a 1953 Chevy Bel Air Business coupe off E-bay when I was looking for a project car. The pictures I saw and the information I was given was no where close to what I received after I paid, and then I couldn’t get a hold of the guy and e-bay wasn’t much help either.

So I was stuck with a project much larger than I expected. The body panels were nice on the outside, minor dings and such but the inside is all rotted out.

The 350 V8 was held in by home made engine mounts and the crank pulley was scraping on the cross member for the front suspension enough to dig a 1/16 slit into the cross member. There was no interior, the seats were not even bolted in. Body mounts were all rusted, trunk floor was rusted, shock mounts were rusted. Just lots of rust. And the front windshield was duct taped in! Door handles, grill teeth, and a few other small pieces have deep corrosion marks all over. The front dash is welded in without any gauges, heater core, but was painted with the same brush paint that covered the rest of the car. It is going to be an exciting project! I am excited as I see it coming to life from the thing it once was.

The project has begun with pulling the Engine and trans out, so that my Dad and I could start to rebuild them. I also started pulling the fenders off, sanding them down to bare metal and then shooting them with some primer to keep the rust away. I just finished welding the hood down the middle to give it a smoother look.

Due to living at school I usually get to put a few hours in each weekend. We have a lot of plans for this, I would like to go cruising with my Dad and his friends while driving my own machine for once instead of trying to talk him into letting me drive one of his.

We plan to make this into a rat rod. Flat black, no shine on mine, chopped roof, loud pipes, shaved handles and slammed.

I hope to have this finished within a year or two at the most so I can go cruising with my Dad and his friends.

Tyler Meade