1957 CHEVY

[linus6948]

I have wanted one of these my whole life and my wife has always known this so I ran into a "project car" that is about 2/3`s of the way towards completion and it was only 3hrs away so I bought it. At least my wife didn`t cry when she saw it, she actually smiled.

 

 

 

 

[linus6948]

Model 210 Two Door Post Built in Norwood, OH Assembly Plant on Monday May 27, 1957
One of 162,090 Built

Chevy Small Block 350, Turbo 350 Automatic

 

 

 

 

Edited August 26, 2014 by linus6948

[Barabbas]

I was raised MOPAR,  my first 3 cars were Mopar but nothin' (bless me Father for I am about to sin) epitomizes the golden age of US autos like a '57 Chevy. 

[Niel Hoback]

   Well, you won't have any trouble finding parts.

[Don Coatney]

You will have trouble finding ORIGINAL parts

[1940plymouth]

My two younger sisters around 1958 or '59 with my Aunt Bernice's '57 in the back ground at my grandparent's farm.

 

Good luck with the '57

[Barabbas]

Here's what my Cousin picked up In Minneapolis last year

[DJ194950]

Linus- nothing to it. 10-12K in repo parts- like new!

 

My buddy spent 10k for a nice 55 Chev and now has 22k in it. A nice driver, but still needs new paint.

Interior OK, newer but not anything show!

If it's what you want no price that's affordable is to much! Just ask most Mopar owners. It's not the resale price.

 

Enjoy!

 

DJ

[Frank Elder]

Put a 360 and a torqueflite in it..........

[bobjob55]

Maybe just me ,,, but ,, they can be found all over the west coast ....55, 56, 57's .... 59 seems to be the hard ones to find ....

[linus6948]

I `ve had the family`s 210 project car for three weeks now and I`ve slowly been working towards getting her back on the road. It came with a recently installed late 80`s vintage 350 out of a camaro and rams-head exhaust manifolds with no exhaust.
This was a problem as every time the car was started it would upset the bride and our 4 dogs. One of them a little "trembler" who would shake for an hour like fireworks had gone off.
I approached my local muffler guy who wanted no part of the job, but after two days of begging, pleading and cajoling he finally agreed to make me some temporary downpipes.
When I got the car there he went from being about 65yrs old to 20yrs old, he couldn`t stop smiling at the darn car and put it right on the lift. He now started telling me the exhaust should go straight out the back (the original job he wanted no part of) so I just shut up and agreed that he knew best.
He did a nice job at a reasonable price, I went with Thrush Glass Packs as that is the sound I have loved since I was a teenager.
The important thing is the wife and the pooches are very happy...

 

 

 

[DJ194950]

A Happy Wife-----

[linus6948]

I had to improvise a transmission screw-jack, I used an electrician`s cable reel tripod and some concrete blocks and 6x6`s. I had to raise and reposition rear engine/transmission cross-brace member to correct the engine angle in relation to the firewall and allow some clearance for the hei distributor.

 

 

 

 

[linus6948]

I`ve been busy juggling things that need to be done around here before winter and still spend some time working on the 57 project. I`ve come to discover that the two previous custodians of this car threw quite a bit of money at this car but both were in over their heads as far as their mechanical abilities. Everything I have done so far is correct badly done work, an example 2 owners back the guy installed a new tubular front end, it was a complete kit that came with coil springs capable of holding up the engine of your choice.

The last owner put in a small block, but never cut the springs, so the "a" arms were fully deflected and the upper ball joints were rubbing on the frame, the dust covers were shredded. I had to cut a coil and a half from each spring and replace the dust covers. It was then I noticed that all these new pieces were only finger tight, nothing was wrench tightened. One of the lower ball joints had already lost a bolt altogether and the other three bolts were halfway loose.

I find this amazing as the last guy was starting to drive the car around the block, there were no front shocks and loose bolts, this guy could have sent a coil spring flying. I`m just glad I did not choose to tow-dolly this car by the rear wheels or I never would have made it home, that loose front end would have self destructed.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2014 by linus6948

[Don Coatney]

That is scary. One never knows what quality work was done in the past. Another good reason to buy an unmolested car but they are very hard to come by..

 

 

I`ve been busy juggling things that need to be done around here before winter and still spend some time working on the 57 project. I`ve come to discover that the two previous custodians of this car threw quite a bit of money at this car but both were in over their heads as far as their mechanical abilities. Everything I have done so far is correct badly done work, an example 2 owners back the guy installed a new tubular front end, it was a complete kit that came with coil springs capable of holding up the engine of your choice.

The last owner put in a small block, but never cut the springs, so the "a" arms were fully deflected and the upper ball joints were rubbing on the frame, the dust covers were shredded. I had to cut a coil and a half from each spring and replace the dust covers. It was then I noticed that all these new pieces were only finger tight, nothing was wrench tightened. One of the lower ball joints had already lost a bolt altogether and the other three bolts were halfway loose.

I find this amazing as the last guy was starting to drive the car around the block, there were no front shocks and loose bolts, this guy could have sent a coil spring flying. I`m just glad I did not choose to tow-dolly this car by the rear wheels or I never would have made it home, that loose front end would have self destructed.

 

 

 

[BigDaddyO]

I had to improvise a transmission screw-jack, I used an electrician`s cable reel tripod and some concrete blocks and 6x6`s. I had to raise and reposition rear engine/transmission cross-brace member to correct the engine angle in relation to the firewall and allow some clearance for the hei distributor.

 

2014-09-23_13-30-50_532.jpg

 

jack.jpg

 

I try not to use cement blocks. They scare me because they can just crumble. If I do use them, I always use plywood or planks between them and whatever is resting on top.

[linus6948]

I`m lucky that my local napa store is only 4 miles away and the owner and I have been friendly for a few years now as I taken up a lot of his time at the counter hunting down parts for this project. Not knowing the pedigree of several major components of this car makes ordering parts somewhat problematic to say the least. Brake fluid started to flow from a rear wheel so it was time to look at the rear brakes. They were in need of a complete overhaul and the drums needed to be cut, I was able to get it all done thru napa including the drum work.

The rear end in this car turns out to be a 10 bolt out of a 1970 camaro, the engine is 20yrs newer and also out of a camaro.

 

 

 

 

[Uncle-Pekka]

Congratulations Linus!

You've got what you wanted, that's what counts.

Some people are pissed with the price tag on 3-five chevies, well, that only reflects the law of the business: When want is more than supply the price tends to go up.

Yes, it's true that they are not that superior as cars, but we have to admit they are smart looking sons of the beaches (=surfs up).

The pest is the way some people tend to cram a SBC to every other old car; You know; You spot a 1950 Hudson on a car meet, exited of it you go to chat with the owner. Then he opens the hood and instead of the big flathead six there lies a SBC under a chrome plated air cleaner. Conversation dies down and the moment ago warm wind feels now chilling...

 

Personally, I just love old cars. comma. all cars but russian and japanese cars. three period signs. some overpriced german cars may be also excluded from my fond likes.

 

However, I love GM cars as well, only not as much as MoPars. (You know I also have a 1960 Biscayne.) Thus I wish you well and best of luck.

Uncle-Pekka

[Don Coatney]

Congratulations Linus!

You spot a 1950 Hudson on a car meet, exited of it you go to chat with the owner. Then he opens the hood and instead of the big flathead six there lies a SBC under a chrome plated air cleaner. Conversation dies down and the moment ago warm wind feels now chilling...

 

 

Uncle-Pekka

Very well said.

[linus6948]

Thank you Uncle Pekka, as Don already stated, very well said. I wanted one of these cars for about 50 years, fell in love with them at around age 8 when the teenager who lived next door got one. I used to stare at that car ad nauseam and promised myself that I would someday get one. But everything that you, Don and others have said about these cars is very true, it is a different experience doing this project, everything whether repop or original is vastly overpriced, but you can buy almost every single piece of this car from one vendor or another if your pockets are deep enough.

[linus6948]

After raising the rear tranny support I gained enough clearance to turn the distributor and get the timing close, still running rough I replaced the incorrect ignition wires. Still running rough I pulled a spark plug, brand new plugs, but they were for a 6cly engine and gapped wrong,I also found two plugs only finger tight and one with cracked porcelain. I put in the correct plugs and it ran much better.  Now that the car is tagged and legal I ventured out for a short ride and found I still did not have enough firewall clearance for the large body HEI dist the last owner had installed.The cap was making contact with the firewall enough to loosen the cap clips when the motor flexed in it`s mounts under acceleration, happened repeatedly so I took it back home.

I did some research and found out absolutely this model big body internal coil dist will not work out in my car without altering the firewall or moving the engine forward. Neither of these options appeals to me so I ordered a small body HEI dist that requires an external coil and has no firewall clearance issues. So far just about everything about this project car has been a real project, but I`m not really complaining it keeps me outta the pool halls as the old saying goes.

 

 

Small Body HEI Dist.

 

 

Edited October 13, 2014 by linus6948