Ryan's 57 4 door Belair Hardtop Project

[hurddawg]

Hello All,

Here is my project...

Vehicle: 1957
Trim: Belair
Body: 4 door Hardtop
Factory Installed Options: A/C, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Power Windows, Power Seat, EZ-Eye, Powerglide and Powerpak 283

I still have a Powerglide, and it is still in the car. I have the original in a bucket. I have suspicion that it was thrown in reverse while at speed. The Original motor is long gone replaced by a 1958 truck 283 with a 2bbl based on Suffix code (but has double humps installed). How do I figure it was a Powerpak car? Well the exhaust hanger is there for the dual exhaust and both the brake lines and fuel lines are routed outside the frame. I think it is a good possibility anyway. Not that I am going to keep it that way, just a cool fact for myself. A/C parts under the hood had been sold or just plain taken out years ago it seems. I still have the A/C control inside and the A/C idle cable, along with the vents. VintageAir here I come!

I originally intended on using my 210 as my project...I saved it from the wrecking yard. It's relatively rust free, fairly complete, but has had some radio "modifications" done in the dash, interior is well in poor shape and wiring was shot. Although I did do repairs to fix the wiring to an operational state.

The 4DHT on the other hand is a complete driver....just drove it last Sunday. The 283 purrs, runs on all cylinders, great sounding motor.....the powerglide on the other hand....sorry powerglide lovers....it is not my cup of tea. I just had the 58 valve covers powdercoated Chevy orange, the covers looked great, but made everything else well old....

Plans:

I didnt intend on doing an all out, frame off restore but upgrade things here and there as a driver. I planned on attending a Car show in August which is the NW Trifive club, but Chevynut convinced me otherwise....

In the current stage, I intend to get the frame modified, coated and reinstalled and get the vehicle back on the road. I hope to do this in a year or so. But that depends on my free time (I work 6 days a week).

Current modifications on the table.

- Classic Edge Design's C4 full conversion.
- Brakes, in conjunction with C4 brake parts from CED
- Steering
- New Dual Exhaust
- SBC 350 Engine from 69 Chevelle
- TH400 Transmission
- Swapping chrome bumpers with the 210 (The 210 has a "California" style bumper and its chrome is in better shape)

Its a pretty major step.

This is the first stage and its goal is to get frame & Body back together and on the road again as soon as I can. We'll see how I do...

[hurddawg]

What I am working with

Day I bought the car.







Here's a video of it on Youtube. This is just before I parked it in the garage for teardown. Its my first youtube video, so sorry it isnt so great. The first part of the video was supposed to capture the exhaust note, but instead I just got gassed out. :P

http://youtu.be/6S5okye1x4c

[hurddawg]

Start of teardown...

Day one, Sunday, 7/28/13. This is the day I decided to have Chevynut modify my frame. I wasted no time in getting started.




Only got a couple hours in. Only broken two bolts so far. Although not obvious, part of the radiator support is undone. I was trying to remove the Passenger side fender, but stopped since I did not have the proper bits to remove the headlight cups (clutch head type). Tried to use a common screwdriver, but only managed one to break loose. The hood is a lot heavier than I was thinking! Managed by myself though.

Day two, Monday 7/29/13. I removed the front light bar & grille and the radiator support is close to coming loose. I need to remove the radiator.
I forgot to bring home some bits for the clutch head screws. Which reminds me right now....

[chevynut]

Wow Ryan, that's a nice-looking 57. We'll make it a nice-driving 57!!

I'm looking forward to meeting you in a few weeks to pick up your frame. You mentioned you lived in Auburn...do you know Hotroddder (Dick)? I am going to try to stop by and see him while I'm in your area. Maybe we could all get together and have a beer.

I will do everything I can to help you get the car back on the road with the new frame. It's a major step, but one that other customers were glad they did!!

[chevynut]

Ryan, did you know you can take off the whole front clip in one unit? That's the way they put them on at the factory. You don't have to disassemble the clip to take it off.

[chevynut]

[carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)]

good looking 57 to start with, have fun with it.

[WagonCrazy]

Thats a great looking 4 door no-post to start from. With a C4 frame swap, you'll find this project to be a bit more work than you might have thought, but well
Worth it in the end as far as handling improvements.

Im in the middle of one of Laszlo's frame builds on my Nomad and struggling with the long build time its taking due to lifes inevitable time committments.

My advice to you is not to be discouraged when you get this all torn apart and then hit a snag or delay that leaves the car torn apart in your garage for periods of time. Keep the attitude that "I got to finish this thing by..." And give yourself a date to have it done by. Life has a way of getting in the way of our projects sometimes, but keep the faith.

That will be one great driving 4 door when its finished.

[hurddawg]

Tuesday, July 30th

Managed to pull the fender. I could not do a whole lot last night since I worked late, but was determined to get that fender off.
Once I figured out I needed to unbolt the "outside air" duct from inside the cab, out she came! Also I found the headlight cups do not need to be removed. FYI so anyone doing this....do not have your wheels turned like I have in the photo....it makes it doubly hard to remove the fender smoothly. at least, if you remove the inner fender at the same time.



I think I have it down as far how to remove the fender, so the driver side one should go easier. I should have a naked motor sitting there tonight with some luck!

[hurddawg]

Wow Ryan, that's a nice-looking 57. We'll make it a nice-driving 57!!

I'm looking forward to meeting you in a few weeks to pick up your frame. You mentioned you lived in Auburn...do you know Hotroddder (Dick)? I am going to try to stop by and see him while I'm in your area. Maybe we could all get together and have a beer.

I will do everything I can to help you get the car back on the road with the new frame. It's a major step, but one that other customers were glad they did!!

Yes I do live in Auburn, but I don't know Hotroddder though. If it works out, I wouldnt mind having a beer with y'all, I'm one of the young ones among the trifivers (31yrs). The car has me beat in age by a couple decades lol. Anyway Look forward to get this frame revitalized with your help! Appreciate your support...!

[hurddawg]

Ryan, did you know you can take off the whole front clip in one unit? That's the way they put them on at the factory. You don't have to disassemble the clip to take it off.

Yes and No. I found out after I unbolted the majority of the fender/core support/lightbar/grille. If I actually read the factory service manual that came with the car before this, I would have known that.... I guess the second issue is space. My garage is terribly small, if its in pieces I could haul the bits by pieces to storage. Otherwise it would have been an awesome time saver.....particularly for reassembly. Current plan is to leave the cab in my garage until I have the frame ready to roll back under it. When I have the frame separated from the cab, haul the frame on a trailer to Tacoma and finish disassembly there (suspension, etc). This weekend I hope to work on removing the drivetrain and put it in storage as well.

[hurddawg]

Thats a great looking 4 door no-post to start from. With a C4 frame swap, you'll find this project to be a bit more work than you might have thought, but well
Worth it in the end as far as handling improvements.

Im in the middle of one of Laszlo's frame builds on my Nomad and struggling with the long build time its taking due to lifes inevitable time committments.

My advice to you is not to be discouraged when you get this all torn apart and then hit a snag or delay that leaves the car torn apart in your garage for periods of time. Keep the attitude that "I got to finish this thing by..." And give yourself a date to have it done by. Life has a way of getting in the way of our projects sometimes, but keep the faith.

That will be one great driving 4 door when its finished.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. And I am sure it is more work than I envisioned and it may not be perfect, but hey, at least I can say I put it together.

[chevynut]

Ryan, it's not as bad as Paul makes it out to be...LOL! He has done a lot of custom work like making his own LS engine accessory brackets, etc. Most all the parts to make it go together are available. Mine is custom from top to bottom, so it's been a lot of work.

One thing you might want to think about if you plan to upgrade to an LS engine is the fuel system because you will need an in-tank pump and dual fuel lines for EFI. We can talk about that if you'd like...I have a solution for that. Also plan your exhaust out for the swap, as well as a plan for engine cooling (LS hoses both come out on passenger side).

As in any project like this, you will have to deal with the steering column and shaft, brake lines/booster/master cylinder, fuel lines, exhaust, driveshaft, e-brake, and a few other things. We already talked about most of those.

Paul, any other words of advice or areas to consider?

It should be an awesome car when finished.

[chevynut]

BTW, here's Paul's frame that we built for him.....

cropped.jpg

[hurddawg]

Ryan, it's not as bad as Paul makes it out to be...LOL! He has done a lot of custom work like making his own LS engine accessory brackets, etc. Most all the parts to make it go together are available. Mine is custom from top to bottom, so it's been a lot of work.

One thing you might want to think about if you plan to upgrade to an LS engine is the fuel system because you will need an in-tank pump and dual fuel lines for EFI. We can talk about that if you'd like...I have a solution for that. Also plan your exhaust out for the swap, as well as a plan for engine cooling (LS hoses both come out on passenger side).

As in any project like this, you will have to deal with the steering column and shaft, brake lines/booster/master cylinder, fuel lines, exhaust, driveshaft, e-brake, and a few other things. We already talked about most of those.

Paul, any other words of advice or areas to consider?

It should be an awesome car when finished.

I am not worried much. The fuel system issue when I do step up to an LS in the future is something I had not considered. I was planning replacing and relocating the tank to the frame anyway. I guess it would be just as easy to plumb a return line as well. What was your solution?

Tank wise I was really interested in the CPP Aluminum 25 gal tank. Its said to be capable of EFI with the in tank pump as well. Any thoughts? Is that a good choice?