Thread: 57 Chevy Cruizer

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Nope---no stacker for me---I want the axles to be the torsion flex dealie so trailer can set low, roof tall enough to stand up and the side door to be 4 ft wide and 6 ft tall so I don't hit my head and you can get a golf cart in cross ways thru the door. It also needs a vent system so any fumes are sucked out running down the road---Wells Cargo has some good side vent/covers---not the crank up kind

yeah, probably mid to late September. Got some land down there many years ago in the Baytown area.

Been in the planning stages, and postponed, for about the last 5 or 6 years....Ain't doing no more winters up here! One more winter here would put me back in the dreaded wheelchair, ain't gonna do that again if there's anyway to prevent it!!!! Lived there many years ago, looking forward to getting back to the land of the long racing season!!!!!

can you say HURRICANE?????

Hurricane??? just a few more letter than Tornado

Originally Posted by cffisher

Hurricane??? just a few more letter than Tornado

Neither of them very pleasant.

I was Ft Hood for a couple years we never had either , but being that far inland most likely helped a lot .

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

can you say HURRICANE?????

Yup, can you say tornado, blizzard, flood, low wages....Been through a few of the hurricanes, just keep the insurance paid up!

Dave, today I was going to our shop to pick up something and there was a car in front of me that you would like. It was a 55 Chevy BelAire done gasser style. I have seen it running around and the guy has a shop about a block from ours, but I have never had the chance to speak with him. Today he turned into his shop and I followed him in and we chatted for a while.

Super straight body, straight axle front end, tubbed in rear with wheelie bars, Nice silver paint job, no hood, and it has a 454 with a tunnel ram sitting up high. He has fenderwell headers and no inner fender panels, so the engine is totally open from the wheelwells. He has ET 10 spoke gasser wheels on the front and coke bottle ones on the rear. It also has a cage with swing out bars.

We talked about the car and he says the only thing he regrets is that he used a Speedway front axle setup and it is too narrow. It is 46 inches kingpin to kingpin, and when he called Blairs Speed Shop to ask what they used on theirs they told him 52 inches. He was surprised because he thought 50 would be about right. His front wheels did look a little tucked under, but still very nice.

He is running a M22 with 4:88's and he said that was something he also would change as it is a little deep. He's also running a spool. When I asked him how it handled, he said "It's a gasser, so it has it's quirks."

I'll try to take some pictures of it the next time he is at his shop. Overall, it is just a wicked looking car and animated as h***.


Don

Dave if your out this way for nostalgia stuff your welcome here. Glad to hear Texas will be keeping you a little warmer next winter. Still cold in Texas, but not like the Dakotas!

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

Dave, today I was going to our shop to pick up something and there was a car in front of me that you would like. It was a 55 Chevy BelAire done gasser style. I have seen it running around and the guy has a shop about a block from ours, but I have never had the chance to speak with him. Today he turned into his shop and I followed him in and we chatted for a while.

Super straight body, straight axle front end, tubbed in rear with wheelie bars, Nice silver paint job, no hood, and it has a 454 with a tunnel ram sitting up high. He has fenderwell headers and no inner fender panels, so the engine is totally open from the wheelwells. He has ET 10 spoke gasser wheels on the front and coke bottle ones on the rear. It also has a cage with swing out bars.

We talked about the car and he says the only thing he regrets is that he used a Speedway front axle setup and it is too narrow. It is 46 inches kingpin to kingpin, and when he called Blairs Speed Shop to ask what they used on theirs they told him 52 inches. He was surprised because he thought 50 would be about right. His front wheels did look a little tucked under, but still very nice.

He is running a M22 with 4:88's and he said that was something he also would change as it is a little deep. He's also running a spool. When I asked him how it handled, he said "It's a gasser, so it has it's quirks."

I'll try to take some pictures of it the next time he is at his shop. Overall, it is just a wicked looking car and animated as h***.


Don

Everybody sez that on the front axle, wider is better! I've got the moly tubing to build mine, gonna wait till the frame starts going back together but with some test fitting I came out at 51 1/2" at the kingpins using Chevy style spindles and the Wilwood brake set up. A lesson from my circle burner days, anything under 50" can get twitchy at speed.

As for all the comments on the weather, I lived in Houston for a few years many years back, so I'm not going into this thing blind. The hot and humid feels very good on this old crippled up body, kind of like an all day sauna!!! The city is a lot more miserable then where I'll be. Baytown area gets as hot, but also gets some very pleasant gulf breezes. The new shop will be big enough to work in, but small enough to keep the a/c going..

Mainly just got to get out of this dang miserable cold weather up here in the poverty belt and get back to an area where people still know how to live, not just roll over and play dead for 8 months of the year!!!

Dave,
You're right about the breezes, and the city of Houston being inland up the ship channel makes it the worst!! I spent about three years in Corpus Christi, and most days there we had an offshore breeze to keep things more tolerable. The thing I found I missed after a couple of years was the visible changing of the seasons. Having grown up Missouri it really messed with my body clock to not see the four distinct seasons, but I ran into a guy who had moved from Kansas to Corpus back in the 30's, and he said you couldn't pay him enough to go back to Kansas!! He loved the more constant temps.

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

can you say HURRICANE?????

Can you say HUMID?????

Not sure how a high plains guy is going to survive at 100%RH and 100+ temps!! That area around Houston is just plain BRUTAL from about May through September. They look for hurricane's for a breeze

Wow!!! Got a get me some of that Audi metal, what a time saver it is!!! I believe the technical name for it is unobtanium!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even I don't know if I can stretch it into shape with out help

Very nice, Dave! Is this going to be a keeper for you?