How to build a 57 in 1000 easy steps

[Woodbutcher]

Hey, great thread, Bob. Checking in on your project is motivation as well as inspiration. I like all the detail and great pics. Give me a call if you need a hand.

[bobinbc]

Thanks Cal58GMC, I have the magazine with your truck on the cover. Your truck is super nice and man, can that guy take pictures.

Woodbutcher, nice to see you signed up! Take care of your back buddy, then we're going to get busy on both trucks, big time! (Wood is building a very nice 56 )

[bobinbc]

Got started on my rear notch tonight, boxing plates made and tacked in. It might look kinda funny but when it's fully boxed it will be strong and will give me enough room. I don't plan on dragging the truck on the ground just want enough travel for a smooooth ride.
The cross sills are from a 66 and sit about 1" higher, this will match up with the taller body mounts I'm using for the cab to help isolate it from chassis noise.

[57picupnewbie]

Looking good Bob.

[Woodbutcher]

Time for an update, Bob. I know more has been done to the frame. Time to show it off, eh?

[bobinbc]

Some things done, some undone- stay tuned, update soon

[bobinbc]

So I decided to give everyone(including me) a break from looking at my rusty old frame and took it down to get sandblasted. They did a great job and saved me a few hours work. I have a blaster but it's really only good for smaller stuff and sheetmetal. If your're near Prince George talk to Ryan or Jason at R.C.J. Powdercoating and they''ll treat you right.



I wasn't real happy with the mod I did to the rear kickup in the frame so I fixed it and put in a cute little c-notch instead. Doesn't look like much I know, but it took a while to get the frame fixed and then notch it, being careful not to pull it out of shape from the welding. I'm much happier with the little notch.

[ambryatim]

Any updates Bob?? Hope you are doing well.

[bobinbc]

Actually I just got back on it yesterday, thanks for asking. Ive been working 2 jobs and trying to get a bathroom done in the basement so time has been a little hard to come by, on top of that my health hasnt been the greatest...

I made a rotisserie from a pair of engine stands which worked great. really made it a lot easier to get at the frame from different angles. Gave it a coat of epoxy primer and a couple coats of black urethane. Im happy with it and it should never rust again. Heres a couple lousy phone pics to show how I did it. Shouldve used my engine hoist to lift the frame up to the rotisserie but I did it the hard (read stupid) way.

Anybody planning on spraying this type of paint should invest in or rent one of these supplied air respirators. Isocyanates in the paint are no fun for your lungs. Ive been using this for years now and Ill never go back, I found mine on Epay for a good deal but in my opinion they are worth whatever you have to pay. By the way, you cant see it in the pics but I have a large furnace fan that pushess out all my paint fumes and draws fresh air in from the other end of the shop. The compressor for the respirator sits outside the fresh air end of the shop and is connected to the mask with a 50 ft hose, just in case anybody was wondering...

Anyway, enough of the soapbox, I hope to find time to start assembling the chassis soon. I cant wait, mmmm clean parts !!

[Kim57]

Looking good. I think I'll have to use your idea of the two engine stands when I paint my frame.
Kim

[bobinbc]

Wow, has it been 2 years?!

Went out to the garage today to try to work off some jet lag and decided I needed to make some progress on the 57. Last time I'd looked at it was when I assembled the driver's side front suspension. Here's what things looked like when I walked in....

[bobinbc]

A few minutes spent cleaning up and the some time rounding up and painting parts, and before you know it I had the front suspension, brakes and steering all slammed together. Stuck the front wheels on and set her down...

[bobinbc]

Next was the rearend. Put my rebuilt posi into the narrowed housing along with 3:73 gears, all new bearings and seals, and Moser axles. Then I slid the assembly into place on the springs with my new axle pads and u-bolts, centered it to the frame and snugged it down. I will leave the axle pads unwelded for now so I can set pinion angle with the truck fully assembled and sitting at ride height. The rear spring perches have been flipped on top of the frame for better ride quality, a trick I got from No Limit Engineering. The gas tank is for a 70 Mustang, real nice tank made in Canada. So now it's sitting on all 4 wheels and I can roll it in and out to make room for the next step. Not bad for a half day (I spent a couple hours doing parts runs for wheel studs and ring gear bolts)

[Bubba54]

Nice work, frames looking good.

[Kim57]

Welcome back.
Looks good.
Kim

[sqrlnts]

Along for the ride. Keep up the awesome work!

[fabguy]

It is looking really good, like the engine stand idea for rotating the frame

[rusty76]

I'm digging this build.

[bobinbc]

Not much progress so far this week, a little stuck on trying to pick a cam for the 327. Having a hard time trying to pick one that's not "too big". My goal for this build is an old school look with good power but not to the point of being a pain to drive around town. Cleaned up some more parts and mocked them up to check fit, threw in some bling as well...

[bobinbc]

Thanks for the comments, you guys and your awesome builds are kicking me in the a$$ to get this thing done. Hope to have the engine finished and installed with the trans in the next few days...

[sqrlnts]

Your engine pic makes me miss my old 327 in my 72 Nova. I had so much fun in that car in high school, that engine would absolutely scream. All of your work looks so tidy and planned out, you can tell this is not your first rodeo. Good luck with the cam selection.

[Kim57]

Engine looks nice.
Kim

[bobinbc]

So I picked a cam and assembled the engine for real this time. Went with a "good idle, lots of vacuum, power from 1500-5000" type of cam. Should make it a little easier to tune the dual carters and still give lots of snap around town. Did all the calculations, static compression is 9.5-1 and my dynamic compression ratio with this cam worked out to 8.25-1, perfect for a street engine. Here's a link to this handy calculator http://www.kb-silvolite.com/calc.php?action=comp
Dropped the engine onto the mounts, test fit and shimmed the starter while it was easy to see the tooth engagement with the ring gear from behind, and then bolted up the rebuilt 700R4. The just for giggles I threw the headers on to check the fit. Also bolted up the power brake pedal and booster assembly and checked for interference with the headers and crossmember, everything was jake. So far so good, 971 steps to go...

[Kim57]

Looks real nice.
Kim

[Bubba54]

bobinbc, truck buid is looking nice. I too have a 327 motor, Its a small journal motor. While I have it out on the stand Im going to cam it down a bit. Just wondering what cam you selected.

Thanks Shawn