Thread: 57 Chevy Cruizer

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Originally Posted by stovens

Maybe you could rig up a light weight lens cover that is fairly easy to attach to airstream the light while racing, but easily removeable for day to day driving to retain the classic look? Kind of like the jet engine intake covers they put on them when on the ground, to keep little crttiers out.

That was one of the first options to be considered, Steve.... Unfortunately my pal Tommy reminded me that a "real Hot Rodder" wouldn't take such a chicken poo-poo way out of an "engineering opportunity", so what could I do then???

Went to the store last week and got 10 new pieces of posterboard to make patterns out of, think I'll just keep messing with the headlight openings and maybe stumble over a plan that smooths things out and looks decent... But meanwhile I do have a piece of clear Lexan laying around to make covers out of.....

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

That was one of the first options to be considered, Steve.... Unfortunately my pal Tommy reminded me that a "real Hot Rodder" wouldn't take such a chicken poo-poo way out of an "engineering opportunity", so what could I do then??? .....

I've had this idea in my mind for a couple'a days but have hesitated sharing it. First because, I've never done it! And second because it isn't my car but... here goes nothing.

How about following the lead of Ford & Chrysler from "back in the day" and give it the "talledaga" treatment? A 1 inch pie wedge from just above the front tires / wheel opening to the front grille top...??..?? This would reduce the frontal area a bit and just drive the purists bonkers!

Originally Posted by 34_40

I've had this idea in my mind for a couple'a days but have hesitated sharing it. First because, I've never done it! And second because it isn't my car but... here goes nothing.

How about following the lead of Ford & Chrysler from "back in the day" and give it the "talledaga" treatment? A 1 inch pie wedge from just above the front tires / wheel opening to the front grille top...??..?? This would reduce the frontal area a bit and just drive the purists bonkers!

Had that all taped out on the car once.... decided it wouldn't look right without doing something to the roof (think Chezoom), so anyway, that's already been done! Main goal is still to get a ridiculously high top end on the car---and keep it "stock appearing"--which is always up to interpretation, I suppose!!!!! Also thought about sectioning the entire body a few inches, but saving that for a different project.

Tunnel the excess air thru the body-----Nascar is only using 6x12 inches for cooling at 200mph speeds!!!!!!!!!remember that any opening is only big enough at max speed----------(???highest speeds need smaller opening)

Can't say that it would "look" right, but apart from laying the headlights back ala Mercedes/'37 Ford, about the only way I can see to improve aero on the barn door front is to push the bumper out about a foot, lay the grille back 4-6", and get the air moving up & over as opposed to pushing. Coupled with below bumper "spoiler" it might cut the air better. Not sure if it can be done to get a look that would in any way "work" visually, but your goal is set pretty high for the stock profile you've got.

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

Tunnel the excess air thru the body-----Nascar is only using 6x12 inches for cooling at 200mph speeds!!!!!!!!!remember that any opening is only big enough at max speed----------(???highest speeds need smaller opening)

I think that is the solution, Jerry, narrowing up the grille opening will help, for sure! Have it mocked up at 33" now, down from 45" and will probably go smaller. Also took the height of the opening from 9" to 6"...., all this is just in the mockup stage now, still lots of adjustments to make!

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

I think that is the solution, Jerry, narrowing up the grille opening will help, for sure! Have it mocked up at 33" now, down from 45" and will probably go smaller. Also took the height of the opening from 9" to 6"...., all this is just in the mockup stage now, still lots of adjustments to make!

Thought about that, but then it would just get that Pro Mod look, a vague resemblance of stock... I think the key is going to be smoothing out the sharp angles, doing away with the massive OEM wide open front end, a bit of a belly pan extending up underneath the frame, and of course a spoiler or air dam below and behind the bumper to keep the air out from under the car and getting it air borne!! Blow overs are ugly!!!!!! Think it's time to build the 'glass bumper and start finalizing the fit on some of the new panels on the front end, then study the headlight area and do something with it. Problem right now could be just too many things to look at at once, finishing up some of the lower portion should help getting a good visual of what the headlight area will need.....

Narrow the whole car about a foot in the front(or more) and only about 6 inches at rear of roof then bring rear quarters in a foot at the rear bumper area. car will still look stock sideways and stock appearing front and rear

Dave if you stay on the same approach as so far, it will look stellar! Some things end up being tradeoffs! The lights are definately part of the original style to that era vehicle, so it would be nice not to lose too much of that look, just not sure what the trade off is one the track side, vs. the resale side?

Originally Posted by stovens

Dave if you stay on the same approach as so far, it will look stellar! Some things end up being tradeoffs! The lights are definately part of the original style to that era vehicle, so it would be nice not to lose too much of that look, just not sure what the trade off is one the track side, vs. the resale side?

Well, once I changed the opening size and radius on the fender, probably cut the number of interested buyers by 60% anyway!!!! Many people consider the sheet metal on a tri-five Chevy as some kind of shrine, and it's a sacrilege to alter it in anyway from stock!!!! Around here, some things are sacred, but a '57 Chevy sure isn't one of them!!!!! Heck, I never thought they were that good when they were brand new!

Heck, Dave; now that you can buy brand new tri-five bodies they shouldn't have any problems with modifying the old ones. It's a blank canvas; build it your way!

Originally Posted by falconvan

Heck, Dave; now that you can buy brand new tri-five bodies they shouldn't have any problems with modifying the old ones. It's a blank canvas; build it your way!

Yeah, that's pretty much the way I see it too Falcon! I've told a couple of the purists they could just pay me what the car cost me, plus the time and materials I've put in it, then take it to their garage and do it their way!!! That ends the conversation! I've never been one to follow the crowd or the current fad, I've always enjoyed the challenge of changing things around on cars. One more of the reasons I like CHR, nobody puts you down for what you do, but rather jump in with some very interesting and workable ideas and solutions! I think people miss out on a lot of the fun of building cars when they become overly concerned about other's approval of their project! I really enjoy getting input on my builds and it's really great getting so many good ideas on how to proceed when I get stumped how to proceed!

Messed around with the front end a bit more today, re-did the light bar (or whatever Chevy calls it) that attaches to the grille and holds the turn signals. After narrowing down the grille opening the light bar was way to long so I gave it a little trim. I cut the entire center section out of it (the part that had the bowtie) and riveted it back together! Now I'll get it smoothed out and use it to make a mold out of and replace that heavy pewter bar with a light piece of 'glass!!!

So I've kind of decided to include the light bar in the grille, maybe I should consider using some sort of mesh grille as opposed to a tube grille???? Just another option.

PS, yes I took pictures but I left the camera in the garage and already have my boots off!!!!

It's agood thing you don't care about other peoples approval!

Added a few more pieces to the front, the top and bottom for the grille opening. They are both made of 20 ga. with a 90 degree bend in them for strength. The bottom piece will be bolted to the 'glass bumper. To make a decent looking edge on the bottom piece, I welded in a piece of 1/8" rod, once the welding and grinding is done it will add a lot of strength to the top edge as well eliminate the sharp edge of the 20ga piece it's welded to. I have a piece of 3/4" aluminum thin wall (6061 T-6) square tubing behind the upper piece that is attached to braces on either side of the grille opening. The 20ga will be attached to it with adhesive, the square tubing will have braces to the front of the frame and used for attaching the hood hinges. Still just having fun with the car, and putting a little time in on it as opportunity permits.

I also did some modifying on the light bar to make it fit the opening. I'm thinking of a diamond pattern aluminum mesh grille, with the light bar (done in fiberglass) attached to it.....