While installing the Cutlass...
While installing the Cutlass frame, Ron positioned it as high up in the chassis as possible to lower the ride height while retaining full suspension travel. The front springs are stock replacement units for a V-6 Cutlass.
Upon putting the wraps on the project, Ron wasted no time throwing it into service. You can't really call the Bel Air a daily driver, but he enjoys long road trips in it and makes sure to take it out on cruise nights. Looking back at the finished product, Ron takes great pride in the fact that he built the entire car himself along with the help of his buddies. That makes the Bel Air's year-and-a-half gestation period, and parts total of $30,000, even more impressive. Being older and wiser than the typical muscle car enthusiast, Ron hails from a period in time before big name restoration shops existed, and when building hot rods meant you had to turn your own wrenches and make your own parts. So, cheap jokes aside, maybe things really were better back in his day. After all, what good is youth when older and wiser gentlemen like Ron have to show the young punks how things are supposed to get done?
The stunningly opulent interior...
The stunningly opulent interior was stitched up by Ron's friend, Therrell Judd. The factory bucket seats were pulled from a '62 Impala SS and covered in a mix of leather and fabric. Ron made the dash panel out of aluminum, and fitted them with Haneline gauges. Factory switches operate the Vintage Air A/C system, and the steering wheel is from a '70 Chevelle. The side glass and vent windows are both power operated.
Ron makes no bones about his disdain for carbs and adoration of EFI. In fact, he's currently working on a Nomad project and a '66 Chevy pickup, and both will be powered by fuel-injected LS-series small-blocks. Many people are willing to forego the benefits of EFI due to the intimidation factor, but Ron insists that there's nothing to fear. "People think that you have to be a programming expert to run fuel injection, but as long as you know the right people, that doesn't have to be the case. There are plenty of extremely knowledgeable tuners out there who can write you a program for whatever you want," he says. "For wiring everything up, I've had great luck with Superior Harness in Mena, Arkansas. All I did was tell them I was installing an LS2 in a '62 Chevy, and they built me a custom harness that fits perfectly. Next I sent my computer to my friend, Tony Duncan, who reprogrammed it by removing the vehicle antitheft system, speed limiter, and O2 sensor provisions, and also remapped the fuel and spark curves for more power. After plugging everything in, the motor fired up right away, and the car drives perfectly."
It sure looks like a Ford...
It sure looks like a Ford 9-inch, but from '55-64 GM installed 8.2-inch 10-bolt rearends with dropout center sections in its fullsize cars. The unique X-frame design of the Bel Air's chassis makes it very difficult to install a crossover pipe in the exhaust. Ron's trick hybrid chassis uses the rear two thirds of a Bel Air frame, and the front third of an '80 Cutlass frame. The car retains the stock Bel Air from the firewall rearward, and a factory Cutlass frame from the firewall forward.