My 57 3.0....Rolene

[bobinbc]

Going down this road yet again! Built my yellow 57 almost 20 yrs ago (wow) and sold it far too soon. Tried tracking it down and actually found it thanks to Facebook. Unfortunately the new owner had fairly recently acquired it from the guy I sold it to and didn't want to sell.

I built a copy and nearly had it done but we went through a big move and an uncertain future so I sold that one too. There was no buying that one back as it was destroyed in a garage fire shortly after I sold it. Was a shame I think it was my best work so far....

Flash forward a couple years and I picked up the beautiful truck in my avatar, 99% stock, really nice frame off resto. 6 cyl 3 on the tree drum brakes etc Loved it but it was tough to go on the highway with the stock rear gears. Started planning mods but couldn't as it was soooo stock and nice.

That brings me to Rolene... I picked this old girl up a week or so ago from the second owner. He'd had the truck since 1971 and used it until just a few years ago. I have the info from where it was sold new and I bought the truck just down the road from the original dealer, never been more than a hundred miles from there in it's whole life! For now my big job is to get it into my garage, it was tough for two of us to push it DOWNHILL off the trailer, feels like a brake sticking. She's no beauty but she is a start, and a Canadian made truck to boot so a little info was available about her birth! Truck was originally Indian Turquoise / Bombay Ivory and born on November 1 1956! Not sure if I want to clone the yellow truck, stock colours or maybe something else, time will tell....Let the fun begin!

[joedoh]

bob I love your GMC, cant wait to see what you do with this one.

[bobinbc]

Thanks joedoh!

Well yesterday was our blind date, you see Rolene and I had never met before she showed up at my place. She came over with a highly recommended fellow named Brad who had escorted her all the way from Wakaw, Saskatchewan to my house on Vancouver Island BC. So today I thought it might make a good impression on her if I took her to the spa. After a nice long hot steam bath she was feeling much more like herself again. After we spent some time getting to know each other I invited her into her new home, you could say I even carried her over the threshold so to speak, as Rolene hasn't quite recovered enough from her long sleep to get around on her own quite yet. Now that she has started to adjust to her new surroundings I just know that she'll be up and around in no time! I think that is as close as she comes to a smile...

[MiraclePieCo]

Cool story. Keep us informed.

[Janky59]

That's amazing what a good bath and some elbow grease will do, love the back story, cheers.

[bobinbc]

Took her outside for some fresh air. She was able to move out and back in all on her own today. Fresh gas and a new battery was all it took.


Here's a video of her waking up...
https://youtu.be/7LgJg79QEuQ

1957 283 100-110 psi all around only down 10% after 60 years!

[1project2many]

Wait... possibly the original engine?? That's a very neat find imo.

If you happen to be cleaning the engine off at some point, could you check for paint color in an area where sunlight and rattlecan rebuilds may not have changed anything?

[bobinbc]

While it would be very cool if that were her original heart, it appears she has had a transplant. I believe this engine was originally installed in either a 1957 Canadian Pontiac car or 1957 Canadian built GMC pickup. Rolene originally came with a 6....

[1project2many]

Thanks anyway. Regardless of the engine it looks like a great starting point.

[mr57]

Nice truck!

[bobinbc]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

If you happen to be cleaning the engine off at some point, could you check for paint color in an area where sunlight and rattlecan rebuilds may not have changed anything?

I cleaned up one of the valve covers today and there was some dark green paint on it that looked original. I will try to find out more but probably different than a 57 Chevy engine? I think 57 Chevy 283 was red?
Posted via Mobile Device

[1project2many]

Originally Posted by bobinbc

I cleaned up one of the valve covers today and there was some dark green paint on it that looked original. I will try to find out more but probably different than a 57 Chevy engine? I think 57 Chevy 283 was red?
Posted via Mobile Device

Very interesting. That might be an original truck engine. According to some folks in the Vintage Chevy club, the 55-56 truck V8 engines were yellow or gray. In '57 they could have been a number of different colors including yellow, gray, green, black, or orange. Most folks use orange during a restoration but I've been trying find some photos showing an original shade of green, yellow, or gray.

Of course, none of this may apply to vehicles built or sold in Canada...

BTW, very cool that GM of Canada sent that information back. I received a generic "restoration packet" from Chevrolet in the US. It's the same information available for download from the GM Heritage Center.

[bobinbc]

Thanks mr57!

Here's a pic of the valve cover from the engine. From what I was able to find out so far Canadian 57 Pontiac cars used this color for their V8 engines for one year only, then switched to orange. It is quite rare to see this obviously being one year only and most 1957 engines have been rebuilt, repainted or retired long ago.

Changed the plugs and set all the valves tonight. Will change the cap and wires tomorrow and plumb in a fuel filter as there is none. Might also throw a kit in the carb as well.

Casting number on the head is 3731556LC which is "1957 283 truck MADE IN CANADA" according to Mortec.com, I believe the LC refers to casting date of 3rd week November please correct me if I'm wrong.

[1project2many]

I agree that it's an unusual find. It's actually curious to think about. If the engine was installed used, that means someone managed to find an original '57 truck engine, then did the work to pull the six and install the eight without painting or rebuilding it, then left it alone for years on end despite repainting the truck. The odds against finding an original v8 engine seem high enough without thinking about the work required to swap it for the six. It would make more sense that the swap was done years ago when the '57 283 was closer to new. But still...

The six cylinder front mount was attached directly to the frame while the V8 mount was attached to brackets that are riveted to the rear of the crossmember. Until a fairly recently the V8 mounts were not available as reproduction items so someone wanting to accurately swap in a V8 had to cut the mounts out of another frame. The V8 fan and waterpump sit further back in the chassis than the six so GM installed a separate radiator support to position the radiator closer to the fan. Attached to the top of the core supports is a flat plate which is primarily cosmetic. Like the V8 mounts, these parts were not available as reproduction items until fairly recently. The wiring harness for the V8 is also different. With the coil at the rear of the eight, the wiring to the coil is much shorter than the wiring to the six cylinder coil. The generator is on the top driver's side of the eight vs halfway up the side of the block on the six, resulting in shorter wiring. Of course all of the wiring can be adjusted but its usually easy to tell the difference between OEM wiring and repairs or modifications performed in the field. And then there's the foot pedal starter. AFAIK the V8 trucks were equipped with a full ignition switch while the six cylinders with manual trans still received the foot pedal starter. I believe the hole in the cab toe plate for the starter pushrod was a permanent modification, IOW V8 trucks did not get cut. There's also the issue of different throttle pedal linkage, different hand throttle and choke cable lengths, etc.

If your truck has riveted engine mounts, has all the correct parts for the v8 swap, has an apparently original harness, then I'd really be asking how this combination exists. What are the odds, do you think, that someone swapped the cab or VIN for some reason? It seems far easier to do than locate the V8 then swap it over. If there's no hole in the floor for the starter rod I'd really have to think hard about the constitution of the person who might have made the swap. Making so many changes look like they were never changed would require a *lot* of extra effort, and it's rare to find that level of work invested in a truck which is subsequently treated as only slightly above average.


There is an online version of the factory assembly manual here:
https://www.trifive.com/55-59Assy.pdf

If curious, you can use it to check originality of the engine installation.

[CountofMonteCarlo84]

The original color combo is gorgeous. I hope you do it like that again.

[bobinbc]

Thanks Count, I'm a big fan of it too. Paint is a long way off at this point, but that is certainly a possibility. I've see one or maybe two that were all black that I like a lot too....

[bobinbc]

Thanks for the link to the assembly manual 1project2many.

Here's a more recent picture from today, shined up shoes and a little bit of lipstick.

Collecting parts and getting a place ready to do some work on her...

[mongocanfly]

That black truck in post16 is gorgeous......

[bobinbc]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

That black truck in post16 is gorgeous......

That's for sure! CountofMonteCarlo84 owns it I believe

[mikebte]

I’m kind of a fan of the yellow one.

[dsraven]

it's too bad you had to start out with such a good truck, you'll have it done in no time. maybe you wanna just leave that one at my house, for 20 or so years, and find another one that will test your skills. you know, like need every part sold in the replacement panels section and some that are custom fabricated....

nice truck.

snowing in Calgary today, pete's sake!

[bobinbc]

You know as much as I don't have a problem with Rolene shacking up at your place, she really seems happier here in the banana belt lol. Please don't hold your breath on me getting it done quickly though, working two jobs and no shop to work in so it will be a while before anything interesting happens

By the way, what is snow ?? lol