The Chief's Upgrade.

We have postponed purchasing tires for the Chief too long. The previous owner recommended buying a new set soon but that was four years ago. Our original plan was to drive the Chief to Banff, Alberta for our 4th anniversary but with the water pump failing and losing my job early this past summer... our plans ended up shifting.

Although I saw my dad work on the 57 Chevy many times while I was growing up, he never really explained how an engine really worked. To be honest, having to rebuild Traci's 48 Plymouth engine was a headache and a blessing as well because the way an engine work now makes sense. So it was with the confidence from working on a 64 year old car that I began replacing the water pump on the Chief. To my surprise, the Chief has 3 belts and fortunately for me, they all had to come out just to remove the water pump. The project would probably take a mechanic an afternoon but after a month of sitting in my mom's driveway, the Chief was back on the road. (My mom is too good to me.) Yes, I am pretty proud to have replace the water pump on my own.

I originally wanted to lower the Chief to stock height because it takes Traci quite a jump to get in the Chief sometimes and it would ride smoother down the road. However, with neither having the money or the space to make a suspension swap, I resorted to other alternatives. Personally, I enjoy the look of stock wheels on cars and since I had access to set in Montana, I decided it would be great to use them. We ordered a set of 33x10.5r15 BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO tires and had the rims sand blasted then powder coated at Electra Coat. With the tall skinny tires and stock rims, the Chief looks like it might have come from the factory the way it sits. In my humble opinion, the Chief look pretty nice.