Thread: Rookie Looking for Help

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I just Got my hands on a '57 chevy Pickup... however i dont know know if it is the worth the huge amount of money needed to rebuild. Plus, this is my first time with a classic, so I would really like any input that anyone has on this car specifically, or anything else that would be informative to me..

I don't really have info on the 57 Chevy truck as such. Been around several and they can be really nicely done up.

What you need to do is ask yourself some serious questions. Do you like the design of the pickup? Is it really salvageable? Pratically anything is if you are willing to work on it. Do you have the time and skills to put into the project and how much work is it going to take? Answer these questions and you'll know what to do.

Always remember, you are building your rod or project for you, not to make anyone else happy. Follow your desires and you'll be happy.

57,

Welcome to the club. First, I agree with Oldf100fordman, only you can decide if it is worth the investment. I have a 55 (similar to your 57) that I restored when I was younger and I have really enjoyed the truck. There are a lot of places to find parts for 55-59 Chev/GMC pickups that weren't available when I was doing mine so you will benefit from lower prices on some things and on others, because trucks have gotten so popular in the last few years, it will cost you. Do a few web searches and you are bound to find places like:

www.gspp.com (Golden State Pickup Parts)
www.truckandcarshop.com
www.brotherstrucks.com
www.chevyduty.com
www.oldchevytrucks.com (Jim Carter Truck parts)
www.nolimit.net (No Limit Engineering: Brakes and Pwr Steering)

These are just a few but there are plenty more. Ebay also has a lot of stuff on there most of the time for these older trucks.

One thing I would suggest is go take a look at the catalogues on the sites above. This will give you feel for how much parts will cost you. A note of caution though, in a lot of cases you get what you pay for. That doesn't mean that buying a part that is less expensive is bad, it just means that the quality might not be as good.

I would also suggest you start hitting the local car shows and pay real close attention to how other people have restored them. Talk with them, find out how long it took them to do it. Ask them the specific questions you might have about the way they did things. If they are part of a car club that you can join, do it, and then attend meetings to learn things. This will give you some kind of idea as to what you may be getting yourself into. Besides that it can make you friends who are "in the know" and I have found over the years that having somebody who knows a bit about these projects and have the required skills to do the work is invaluable. I know for a fact that it has saved me thousands of $$$ because they were able to point me to good deals on parts that I never would have found otherwise. Over the years, I also ended up getting good deals on re-chroming a lot of my parts, louvers I had punched in my hood, wheels & tires, motors & trannys, fenders & doors, etc. Like I said, having a few friends in the biz will make a lot of difference.

In the end, what it really comes down to though is you. What do you want it to look and drive like when it's finished? ie. do you want it to be a reliable highway cruiser with A/C or do you want it to go light to light really quick, horsepower robbing A/C be damned? Are you willing to put in the time and money required to get it there? If so, condolences and congratulations, your hooked....

Cheers,
Firechicken

I agree with Old100fordman, you will have to decide whether YOU are willing to go the distance and spend the money to build it to YOUR satisfaction. Look over a prospective project closely, taking note and make a build plan from your notes. Your build plan will include your choice of drive train, the amount of body work you see up front and be ready to add in more work once the paint is off. Are you going custom or a driver/cruiser? How much of the build can you do yourself, that will SAVE you $money$ in the long run. The build plan is only a place to start your build from and put everything in black and white where you can look at the build plan and then make changes as necessary.


Tazz

57's are beautifull trucks. Be proud you own it & take your time rodding it. We are here to help.
Don

The 57 is a great choice for your first classic truck. What kinda shape is it in?