Thread: 57 Chevy Cruizer

Tweet

Sounds good Dave. More fun than busting up concrete. Did that and reloaded everything on the desktop for the last three days. Time to get things fixed before the rain starts. Also fixed a door with dry rot. Kept working around the truck thinking about my header issues, and getting all my fiberglass parts mounted on the truck!

Great looking frame there.

Got the inside of the quarter panel supports and mounts for the new skin done on the driver's side, rolled the car over and repeat the whole process on the passenger side!!!! Lots more hours of the "glamour and glory" part of a build, grinding, sanding, making tabs, and shootin' primer...........

Don't ya just love it. I think I finished the tail light conversion on the Nova..

Dave,
I've been thinking about your quandry - whether to build it gasser style or not. I'd like to see this baby go back together as a straight-axle gasser style car. Why? Well, I know this is going to sound dumb, but I feel sorry for this car. Somebody hacked and butchered it into some semblance of a gasser years ago, but it was so badly done it never really had a chance of being terribly successful. Now, in your capable hands it could become what it never was - a really well-built gasser. It doesn't have to sit nose-bleed high; Gene Moody's very successful record holding '55 Chevy didn't sit a lot higher than stock and it was pretty level (see pic). Not all straight axle cars handle badly, either. There was a red '55 Chevy gasser that went on one of the Street Rodder tours a couple years ago that did very well in the slalom. If you want low and nimble, build a Camaro or Corvette; this thing could be BAD and still be streetable...

Thought about all that stuff Jim, matter of fact it's the main reason I agreed to take the car in the first place. Had a gasser the first time around....I was a kid and hung out as the "shop boy" with all the local racers, who helped me put it together. I bought a blown up '56 Ford 2dr. sedan. One guy gave me a CAE (remember them?) straight axle and helped me install it right for taking care of his mom's yard all summer and shoveling snow in the winter. The guy who owned the gas station I worked at advanced me the money on my wages to buy a 406 tri-power and 4 speed out of the junkyard ($600.00, paid him back $50.00 a payday), my Dad, Lyle, and I did the rest of the work. Sat about 4" higher then stock, no front brakes (spindle mount wheels), and ran like Jack the Bear---this was in '65.....It was a great car for a 15 year old kid!!!!

For this car there's just not enough nostalgia racing around here to build it as an all out racer, and I'm old enough to like a lot of the "comfort things" in a cruiser, A/C, good seats, power windows etc.... So for me as a gasser style car it'd end up just sitting in the garage neglected til somebody came along with a big check book that wanted it more then me.

Done up with an LS engine w/EFI, 6 speed, loaded with options, lowered a bit from stock with a few custom touches, some sort of trick IFS, 2 tone paint and a set of grey centered Torq Thrust wheels it would be a very usable car for me! Lots of good power around town, and that long winded double OD tranny for down the highway!!!! Also had an acquaintance of mine, self proclaimed "expert" on how a car should be built and told me about all the things the car had to have to be "correct" as an old gasser..... I don't want to build a car to those standards again, nor would I want to put up with all the "could of, should of, would of" crap if I put all MY touches on it as a gasser. Think I'll be happier with it looking stock from the outside with good suspension, brakes, and horsepower along with the AC, power windows, power locks, power steering and brakes, keyless entry, etc, etc, etc. Then the gasser guys will leave me alone, the resto-freaks will continue to hate me, and as always I'll have a car built to no one's standards but my own and not fitting in anyone's catagory!!!!!

However, nothing is set in stone yet.... Everything I'm doing to the car now is stuff I would do no matter how it was built... I dunno, maybe I should get the body put back together and set back on the frame and just sell the dang thing.... Who knows what's right??? I know I would never build it as a "period correct" gasser, so maybe I should just sell it to someone who will----but then all you get for potential buyers is tire kickers or people who want to steal it!!!!!

Dave,remember the Yellow 57 that for yrs was a featured build in Popular Hot Rodding.It was god knows how many kinds of builds and changes.You could go threw the same evolutions with your car if you like.

Found it interesting your "shop boy" background.I too did the same thing as a kid working at Paul Weaver's garage.

At the end of the day,no matter who says what,it's your car to do what you want.Look at me.A Astro high top hot rod/tow van.HUH??.Well it's what I want and if anyone has something against that..........yeah,it's my project to do what I want.Heck if we where all alike,how boring would that be..........

Heck I still say put a Ford in it and piss them all off!. They do it to 32 Ford coupes all day long, time to get even!

Dave, this 57 was at the drags the other day, and man was it gorgeous. When I saw it I thought of your build.

Don

Yep, lots of options, Dave. And lots of 57s out there to look at to get some ideas. What you've done so far looks great; if you did sell I'm sure you'ld have no trouble moving it.

Don--Nice car, but way too much chrome on it for me!!!! All those carbs got to be way more work then they're worth!!!! The paint work and the color itself are fantastic, what a gorgeous blue!


Falcon--Yeah, lots of ideas out there, plus a whole bunch of my own.

Steve--For resale, probably best with a Chevy in it---if it were anything else it'd be one of the Arrington Hemi's with supercharger!!!!!


here's some before and after pics of the inside of the quarter panels.

All your points well taken, Dave, and I can't disagree. If I was building it I would go for the gasser look, but it would still have power steering and air conditioning. You can always pull the belts off if ya wanna race, eh? I don't care what the purists think - if they don't like it they could go poop in a sack. People think my coupe is from an earlier era until they get up close and see the disc front brakes and torsion bar front suspension. If they don't like it, too bad. It drives great!

Anyway, it's ultimately your choice to do with it as you please. With your experience I'm confident it will turn out great. I just hope we get to see this one finished before you sell it...

Dave point well taken. Just would be cool! A hemi would be really cool. But a comfy ride will attract a huge audience for resale.

Spent some time on the '57 today, did some "rearranging" on the interior structure to facilitate the type of headliner I want in the car. It will be glued to some foam, then the foam glued to the roof and areas above the doors and window, it's going to take a bit of work to get rid of all the rough edges smoothed and open areas filled in. Sometime in the cars past, kids must have decided to use the roof as a trampoline so it's in tough shape. I cut out one section that was the worst and will have to replace it--thinking probably with aluminum as it will be so much lighter then the original 18 ga. skin on the car....

Also considering some options on how best to flush mount the windshield and rear glass, never did like the factory big ugly seals with the trim piece stuck in the middle of it! Mostly just planning a lot of little things to smooth the car out but at the same time leave it stock appearing to the casual observer.

they make a windshield rubber for use without the stainless trim,