My 57 Chev Project

[Malichi91]

Well I wanted to rebuild 72 but one day I was standing in the front yard and saw an early 50's Chevy drive down the street and fell in love. I told my g/f's dad what I was looking for and he said well your in luck I know where one is. Turns out his brother had a 57 that he started and never finished. So I bought it for about half what he originally paid. I really lucked out cause he had already done most of the normal cab work and a ton of work on the chassis. Also any advice on smoothing the firewall would me awesome.

so here are some pics i got right now

[Kim57]

Looks like a nice find.
What are your plans for it?
Kim

[56hotrodred]

Looks real good. It has taken many of us years to get as far as yours is now.

Lots of options for firewall from welding holes shut to replacement. it depends just how smooth you want it. I am planning on welding mine up.

56hotrodred

[Malichi91]

yeah the guy i bought it from had already patched all the normal rust spots on the cab, sandblasted the cab doors and front and rear fenders. He also put a ton of work in to the chassis, its all painted a glossy black and been restored to a stock rolling chassis.

I still consider myself a kid so that part wants a hot rod but i'm old enough to just build a nice looking truck to go cruising in and drive to car shows with my g/f's dad (he has a 57 bel air).
With that said, I want to smooth everything I can doors, firewall, and vent below the window. I want to go lower but not dragging the ground, I was thinking air suspension, Utah has a lot of messed up roads so I would like to have adjustable suspension. Thats really about it nothing to crazy.

[ChuckDriver]

You've got a nice start with that one for sure! As far as the firewall it's really what look you are after and how much work you want to do. I like the look of the factory stamping so I just filled the existing holes. If you want a smooth one you can make a pattern, cut it from sheetmetal and weld it over the existing one. Best of luck!

[OrrieG]

Welcome, having the cab corners and major rust issues is big, would have saved me a year in my build. Here is what I did to smooth my firewall, I wanted to keep the stock recesses and ridges. Non car people will not notice, car guys will appreciate the work that went into it.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...8&postcount=16

[orgalmeister]

Welcome. I also welded my firewall up. I don't know to me it just seemed easier, but that's me. Plus I like welding.

Let's see if I can find some pics:

[Malichi91]

I'm really leaning to welding the firewall I to like the factory recesses.

[72BlckButy]

Great looking build, good luck with it!

[Malichi91]

now i only have 2 things standing in my way, i don't know how to weld and i'm waiting for gf's dads garage to be built that i'll be working on it in, just got the footings poured the other day.

[Malichi91]

This is the color green I want to paint the truck.

[Malichi91]

Anybody have any info on changing the front suspension to drop spindles? I was looking at just buying a weld in kit that has all the parts instead of trying to piece it together from a camero or mustang.

[jjjmm56]

Just look for a camaro clip it is by far the easiest to install. You cut the stock frame right in front of the front cab mount and stock frame will lay right on top of the sub frame ,it took me by myself 1 day to install and align,and one day to finish boxing and welding.

[Malichi91]

Any certain year to look for. Your talking about the front subframe from a camaro right? Might as well snag the rear axle while I'm at it. Wouldn't happen to know what year has rear disc brakes would ya?

[OrrieG]

dup

[OrrieG]

I think most guys use the generation from78 to mid 80's. If you can find one get a Z-28 or IROC and get the whole car so you have all the little pieces you will need later on. You can use the clip, engine, trans, rearend, maybe steering column, seats, brake booster and MC, pedels, etc. Might also be able to sell some of the Z and IROC trims parts to recoup your investment. All years had front discs, I think the Z and Irocs may have had rear discs too.

[hotrodrookie]

I think OrrieG meant the Gen 2 camaro's. 1970-1981. Im not exactly sure but I think its 76^ that have beefier suspension components, not sure. Theres alot of info on clipping these to task force trucks. i.e: very nice tech thread on the hamb.. The other parts OrrieG listed should all work from the same years of camaros as well. I dont know of the strength of the camaro rears but there are many other options too. Do some homework and look for rears in the ballpark of the axle width and check the wreckin yard. newer 4x4 blazers seem to be popular with posi and disk brakes. Im putting a fo** 8.8 out of a 98 explorer in my 59. Same axle width, 3.73 gears, limited slip, disk brakes, and they are pretty beefy, just need to change lug pattern.

[Malichi91]

Originally Posted by hotrodrookie

i.e: very nice tech thread on the hamb..

Please clarify, where can I get this info?

[hotrodrookie]

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...ht=camaro+clip

read the whole thing before you start, there are different ways of aproaching this.

[Laid_Out_50]

I like the color reminds me of my Lowrider bike I built when i was younger

[Malichi91]

Here is a pic of the garage that my gf's dad is building where I will luckily be keeping and working on the truck. Hard to tell from the pic but officially you can fit 8 cars but the most I think its gonna see is 4 max. The floor will be finished today, then it might be awhile before we can frame.

[hotrodrookie]

Talk about a build from the ground up...

[Malichi91]

Anybody have any input on what size rim should go on these trucks

[Malichi91]

Well it has been a long road and unfortunately I still haven't been able to work on the truck. The garage for the most part is almost done we are awaiting on final inspection and a garage door. Garage door being the most critical part.

Here is the last picture I took of the garage, it is a little farther along now.


Link to larger picture. http://i.imgur.com/6E9p6.jpg

My then gf now wife has started school which leaves me with a few days in the week to myself. So I went down to my storage unit and grabbed the front fenders to start working on them in my garage. I've also bought a mustang 2 weld in front suspension w/ 2 inch drop spindles from TCI.

I have a 383 chevy small block with lower rolling assembly on the engine stand waiting for some attention. I need help with finding cyl heads and a cam. Intake and exhaust valve sizes, cc size, and cam lobe lift size.

[dewey777]

Here is a thought for a smooth firewall, it is a fiberglass cover that glues on. I would weld the holes shut myself but with you not being a welder it is a viable option. There is an article on the how to install in Custom Classic Trucks, I don't know the month/year but I'm sure a google search would find it.

http://www.nolimit.net/prodinfo.asp?number=CFWC