Thread: '57 Chevy Bel-Air questions.

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Greetings and thanks in advance to anyone willing to offer any advice they can. For the record, I'm a beginner to car stuff in general. Anyway, on with the questions. I have a 57 Chevrolet Bel-Air, as mentioned in the title, and I was wondering first of all, is there a way to find out which engine is in there? All I know for sure is that it's a V8, and I'm told that the only three it would probably be would be either a 283, 305, or a 348. Is there any way to know for sure by looking at it? Second question, what are some hot rodding/customization options for 57's, and roughly what would they cost? First of all, what would an entirely new engine roughly around 400+ HP cost, just in advance, that would fit in it? Second, since I would prefer to just modify the engine that I have, what could I do to it and, how much would said things speed up the existing engine? Exhaust systems, carbuerators, whatever. Also, finally, what's a decent amount to pay for a good paintjob? Thanks for any help/suggestions!

the engime in the 57 can be many different ci displacments .
to rule one of your possible sizes you were told , the 348 valve covers are very different looking than a small block , they look like a " w " shape to them they are the same a 409 engine .
if it is stock it is a 283 , the best way to tell is behind the rear of the drivers cyl head is a casting# on the block , or in front of the pass. head is a flat pad see if there is # stamped there and chase them in a website on engine # . that is a basic way to tell your engine .
to buy a 400 hp crate engine try jegs there are plenty of dealers selling crate motors .
paint jobs are you pay for what you get !!! i start on a paint job for a sand and spray 4500.00
hope that helps you

Can turbocharger(s) be put on a 283?

Can turbocharger(s) be put on a 283?

A turbo can be put on anything but in order to be safe and not blow the engine it has to be built bullet proof. If you really want to go with a blower or turbo I would start by rippping the engine out and rebuilding it with ARP bolts, nuts and studs I would then go with Drop forged pistons, rods, ect. then buy a set of heads that complement the turobs or blower, ect ect ect. what i'm getting at is if the engine is stock DONT DO A BLOWER OR TURBO.

Next how much do you know about cars??? What are your plans with the car?? Once we know this we can help get you going.


Otto

I have very little experience with cars. I wouldn't be doing the work myself for my lack of mechanical ability and knowledge. What I'm getting at is options to do for modifications to hot-rodify the car. I just would prefer to modify the engine over completely removing it for the sake of nostalgia. If changing the engine entirely is pretty much necessary, then that's fine with me, I just enjoy the sense of modification for some strange reason. I'd just like to know as to the options on what I can have done to it, whatever they are, to do to the car. As for my plans with the car, I'm thinking of repainting it and as already stated, turning it into a hot rod. Engines/engine modifications, pipes, wheels, etc. I want to drive it pretty regularly, as well. I'd appreciate any suggestions on both upgrade and changing engine options. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Mevyn,

It is really hard to make recommendations without knowing more about the car and the motor it has in it. It like saying I have a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath 1500 square foot house and saying I want to modify it, what should I do? I understand that you don't have much knowledge or experience to tell us what you have, but any recommendations we might make would be a shot in the dark without more info.

I suggest that you try to locate a car club in your area and join it with the idea of increasing your knowledge. Also there is a ton of information about the "Tri-5" (55-56-57) chevys on the web. I recommend that you do some searching, get a book or two and learn as much as you possibly can about your car, BEFORE you start modifying it, especially if you will be paying somene else to do it. Believe it or not there are some scoundrels out there that would take advatage of a person such as yourself.

If you have some more specific questions once you have done some reasearch, I am sure folks here would be much more able to answer them.

Good luck and congrats on your new/old car!

Pat

So all you want to do is "Hot Rod" It to easy, rebuild the engine, tranny. Paint her high gloss black with classic "California" Flames add a nice set of twice pipes, of the 3" Kind with flame throwers. voila a true classic "Hot Rod"

Get into the wicked mods in the engine and tranny only if you plan on doing some racing, (legal or not so).

As for what engine you have, Personal opinon, who cares rip it out and build a stacked 350CI, perfect for street, to much potential for later ideas in the race world.

Otto

One more thing, would a 57 Bel-Air be a small block or big block?

Mevyn,

If the car is orginal it would be a small block. On the other hand I have seen a lot of 57 Chevys that people have put big blocks into.

Pat

Thanks a lot.

Originally posted by Streets
The 348 Chevy didn't appear on the scene until 1958 (so the dummy that told you that, is stupid) and then usually in a larger truck and eventually was replaced with the 409's until early 1965... and the 305 wasn't even thought of in 1957..

Early (1956 production) 57 Chevy passenger car v-8's were 265's. The 283's replaced them in 1957.

As a reply to both of yours, it wasn't necessarily stock, which is why I didn't just say, 'what's stock?' Thanks for the info, though.

Look up your casting numbers

http://www.mortec.com/castnum.htm