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View Full Version : Setting 57 4 door post on later model frame



Mountain Man
03-11-2016, 10:38 PM
I hope i'm not run off over adulterating a classic car. If this should go under a different subject,feel free to move over or just let me know and I'll repost. While searching for a replacement for my recently sold 56,I came across a 57 4 door post missing 90% of mechanicals and almost absent a belly pan from trunk to firewall. Body panels aren't good enough to use on a restore but all are in one piece and reasonablly straight with lots of patches and body work. I've never grafted a body and don't have equipment other than hand tools, torch,mig & stick welder. If I find there's one or more frames that lend themselves to grafting the 57 I'd like to have a go at it. I'm still persueing a restorable car but this sound's like a fun project.
I was all set with a 4 post 56 I bought last month until I was offered far more than fair price and swmbo insisted I sell it.

Rick_L
03-12-2016, 06:45 AM
If you were to try to mount 55-57 body on a later model frame like a Caprice or Impala, you'll find that if you use the original floor or something like it, the body will sit too high on the frame, and you'll be able to see the frame rails from the side of the car. So if you were determined to do this, what you'd need is a custom floor that would allow the body to drop down far enough. That custom floor would also have the seat mounting area lowered way below the door sills and frame. A lot of sheet metal work requiring lots of cutting, forming, and welding. The amount of sheet metal tools required could vary, but the more the better.

It will be a lot of work to do right, and if not done right, you're wasting all of the time you'd put in it.

chevynut
03-12-2016, 07:22 AM
There's not a lot of rabid "keep it stock" members on this site who look down on anything that's modified. The fact is, a stock original car is not very safe on today's roads and imo belongs in parades and museums. ;)

I'm not sure what you think you'll gain by using a different frame but any non-stock frame you use is going to require a custom floor with bracing which will require a lot of fab work. IMO your least expensive and probably the best and fastest solution is to buy a complete assembled replacement floor (~$800) and use the original frame. You can upgrade the original suspension with bolt-on parts and make it handle quite a bit better or change it out do a more extensive modification to it like a 4-link in the rear, C4 IRS, or even a C4 front clip. I think the consensus here is that other clips like the Camaro/Nova conversions that were done a few years ago don't buy you much over bolt-ons and are a lot more work.

If you like doing fab work but lack some of the tools needed, you might want to stick with fabbing frame parts and keeping it simple on the body.

Let us know what you find and what you decide to do. It can be a lot of fun if you don't get yourself in over your head. ;)

Mountain Man
03-12-2016, 08:27 AM
I suspected as much which is the reason I said"lend's themselves to grafting". I'll string swmbo along about this costing more to fix than I got for the 56. Thanks for the feedback,I grew up wrenching mostly GM but never did much body work.

markm
03-13-2016, 08:40 AM
There's not a lot of rabid "keep it stock" members on this site who look down on anything that's modified. The fact is, a stock original car is not very safe on today's roads and imo belongs in parades and museums.


Really, name one of those guys.

chevynut
03-13-2016, 08:58 AM
Mark, maybe you ought to re-read what I said. ;)