Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

The twins that lived next door to us in Houston (our pretend grandkids) were here all week, so progress was hit and miss. Ryan and I worked on assembling a square body model truck kit. Between paint and glue drying, I patched the passenger side fender. I was impressed with the quality of the reproduction parts. They're a nice heavy gauge material AND they actually fit like they should. Pleasant surprise.

The fender had been lightly hit up front and after media blasting I used the hammer and dolly to clean it up a little better. Also used the shrinking tool to bring the flange where the front molding bolts on back to flat. It was good to be able to restore the original sheetmetal which I already know fits very well as opposed to spending more on a reproduction piece that may or may not fit.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Sucks about the headers but that fender looks great.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Great fender work!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks guys. I'm getting closer to squirting some epoxy primer on the fender pieces. Tomorrow looks like the weather will cooperate. Had 60mph winds and almost a half inch of rain this morning but it's well out of here now.

Haven't heard back from Holley's tech support about the headers so sending them a web contact is not the hot tip. Will call them instead. Shoulda known. ;)

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Welcome to not so great work of FItech. I hope you don't have any issues. You project is awesome by the way. I look forward to updates

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, Jay. I skimmed thru your build thread and man is it ever impressive! You and I share a lot when it comes to how we do stuff. I've had some of the same experiences when outsourcing work. I often think I come across as being too particular, but like yourself, I know what I want.

As for the FITech setup, it came with the crate engine and at least has been tested by the engine builder / dyno shop. We'll see how it performs once I get on the road (next year sometime). The main reason I took a pass on the GM connect and cruise package I used in my last truck build was that GM is of little use if you have a problem. They tell you to take it to any dealer for issues, but when I tried that, they wouldn't even let me roll it off the trailer and told me to take it to an independent shop. This way, if I run into a hitch, I have someone I can call and talk to at least. I'll keep my fingers crossed and thanks for the heads up.

I got some of the parts in epoxy primer the other day. I had a gallon of red oxide left over from a previous build, so pardon the color. ;) The metal repair is coming along slowly. The doors (especially the passenger front door) will need a lot of love. No one sells door patch panels for four door wagons or sedans, so I bought a couple of skins for a two door and will split and modify them to fit mine. Meanwhile there's a lot of work to do on the inner structure before I can address the outsides. I had hoped to have the doors pretty well lined out by the time we go back to pick up the body in mid-August, but it's looking like my goal may have been too ambitious.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Been doing some metal work little by little. A couple of "after" shots below to go with the "before" shown above.

I've been on Craigslist and FB marketplace the last few days looking for a decent low buck truck. Hard to find. Most of the low priced stuff is eat up with tinworm and anything nice is beyond my budget. I finally ran across a 2003 Ford F150 XLT I picked up for $2500 that should work. It has a little rust but they covered most of it with wheel flares. Biggest issue is that the driver door is sprung from being whipped open in a 60mph wind. It folded all the way into the front fender and is now hard to close. The drivetrain (5.4L V8 / auto trans) is solid and the interior is nice. I can fix the damage for about $300 in parts. Already have a fender and hinges on the way.

Decided it was just too expensive to keep renting trucks to haul parts around the countryside. When the wagon is finished, I'll put the truck up for sale and maybe wind up ahead in the cost department. If I do, it will be a first, but hope springs eternal. ;)

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

I'll probably get strung up for saying this. But, the F150 looks very serviceable. You can't beat the price......

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

I agree, Dale, I think it will be a good work truck and it was the best I could do at that price point. This will be the fourth Ford I've owned and I've only had one "Found On Road Dead" experience previously, so statistically I'm ahead.

I went to Sedalia yesterday expecting to pick up my powder coating, but it wasn't quite done, so I brought home what was and will return for the rest next week. What I really wanted was to have my buddy Steve cut out the vinyl I bought to cover the FITech intake. Unfortunately, my measurements left a bit to be desired, so I revised the drawing and will have him re-do it next week.

Meanwhile here's some photos of what it looks like. The close up shows the pattern, but when you're several feet away, you don't really see it. Instead, it looks like a textured surface. I does hide all the ugly on the top of the intake, though. I'm on the fence about the 6.2 LS3 embossed emblem. Without an identifier, some folks at the cruise-ins ask what the engine is. But still, the emblem may be a bit too much.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

That looks great Vic..!!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, Greg.

The coil covers present a different problem. Seems like whenever you attempt to polish cast aluminum, it never goes well. The Holley covers are rippled and striated from the factory polishing process. The photos don't show it as well as in person, but for what they cost, they look like warmed over death. I picked these because they had the "Chevrolet" script cast into the cover in a way that resembled the early small block valve covers. The script looks great but everywhere else... not so much. Right now, I'm leaning toward glass beading just the covers and powder coating them silver. I hate to give up the polished look I paid extra for, but I hate how they look out of the box. Sure Coat offers a "chrome" coating, but you need to spray urethane clear over it to protect it. Otherwise, it deteriorates very quickly. You don't want to use clear powder over it as it changes the color too much. Decisions, decisions.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

im slowly losing faith in holley...lately near evrything ive bought holley has made in china on it....
sucks about the polish job...i bet theyd look good black or similar to the intake...

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Read through your project again, awesome. The chassis and wheels are nicely displayed, the engine is looking amazing. If not happy with the covers, like you said bead blast them except the script, maybe paint or powder coat charcoal to match the top cover. Orange or red over the script would look good too.....2 cents added..?Your Metal work is really nice...Makes my project look positively average.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Good lookin' stuff!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

May I make a suggestion on the headers? Send them back and order some CSLS1 shortie headers from Sanderson. I have them on my LS and had absolutely no fitment issues...10 years ago and they are still great!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Me too, Greg.
Thanks! The covers have been bead blasted and will get silver powder coat next week. Will post pics when I get them back.
Thanks, Chip. I need to get down your way to see the truck progress. Your dad showed me some pics on Instagram the other day and it's looking great.
I may have to go that route. Ship date for the replacements from Summit have been pushed back to 8/30. Still don't know if they will fit any better. If I were to go to with the Sanderson headers, I'll need to wait for a Black Friday sale, though. ;)

I haven't been posting thanks to my "work truck" fiasco. I took it in for inspection and the mechanic implied I should push it off a cliff and start over with something else. Never being one to shrink from a challenge, I proceeded to replace nearly all the front end components, shocks, the gutted parking brake assemblies, and assorted filters, belts and etc. At the same time I replaced the driver side door hinges and check strap along with the fender on that side. Beat the dents out of the door panel and painted it all. My color match sucks, but at least it works like new.

Once the truck was done and had tags, I got back on the '57. I'm rebuilding the lower part of the doors piece by homemade piece. In my spare time, I disassembled the Roadster Shop chassis and have it ready to go to Sure Coat this coming week.

I also got word the Performance Automatics 4L70E tranny will be delivered on Wednesday. That should be the final drivetrain component from Ohio Speed. The stainless trim is finished and the body shell is nearing completion. It should be finished with e-coating and ready for pickup in a week or so. Lots of things coming all together at once. Kathy has pretty well recovered from her final chemo treatment and is doing great. She starts four weeks of radiation on 9/3. We're ready to put all this in the rearview mirror.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Im curious to see what this dip and coat job is. Never heard of it before.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

It's a lot like the black EDP coating that comes on reproduction body parts. The folks at Restoration Specialists in WI oversaw the process. They do the chemical stripping and then bolt the body and or parts to a large metal frame after the final rinse. It is then transported to an outfit in MI that does the coating. Probably the best way to describe it is a "wet" powder coat. The parts bolted to the fixture are placed in a large tank. Water with paint suspended in it fills the tank. They apply an electric current to the metal and the paint is drawn to all the surfaces, inside and out. They drain the tank, rinse and then bake the parts in an oven. I think there's more to it than that, but in general, that's how it's done.

The finished product is quite nice. There is just enough gloss to be able to see every little hiccup in the body. Any area that needs body work can be sanded and recoated with self etching primer or epoxy. The rest of the panels can be scuffed with Scotch Brite or whatever you prefer prior to applying 2K primer and paint.

It's not 100% perfect. There are a few very small spots where it appears the coating was contaminated by something or other. They'll sand out easily though and a quick shot of self etch primer will make them good as new.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Sounds like an expensive process. But it probably helps with corrosion were we can't reach.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't but when I compare it to other methods, I'm desperately trying to convince myself I got my money's worth. I had them do the body shell and the hood and it was a little over $3K. Plus, I had the expense of transporting the parts to and from WI. But in the end, I know every bit of the tinworm is gone and the raw metal has a protective layer over it that should last forever.

The hood by itself was around $250 and looks like brand new. Danchuk gets $800 plus freight for a comparable piece made in the USA. While it's true I could have used aircraft stripper or a DA to remove much of the nasty, it would still not have been as thorough. There's a guy locally that can media blast parts without warping them, but he charges around $250/hr plus materials. So there's that.

It's no wonder so many rodders have fallen in love with "patina". ;)

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Seems like a good process. I always hear chemical dipping does a great job but there is a chance of chemical left in tiny nooks and crannies. This process sounds like it takes care of that possible problem and gets where you cant get with rust preventative surfacer.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Looks good Vic..

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Wow, that looks like a brand new body! Well, sort of... I bet you'll be happy you did it in the long run.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Looks Great, Vic! Sorry I didn't get to see you more on Saturday!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

This is either the third or fourth body I've had chemically stripped (going back over 40 years) but the first time for e-coating. I've heard the same cautionary tales about chemical immersion stripping but have never had an issue personally. That said, if the company doing the work takes shortcuts when rinsing and neutralizing, I can see where it could lead to that exact problem.
Thanks, Greg.
Hope so, Duane. I keep telling everyone this is my last build, so it needs to outlast me. ;)
Thanks, Chip, I wish we'd had more of a chance to visit but you were busy when we first stopped by and then later on our paths didn't cross again. We left shortly after they made our group take down a couple of the EZ Up canopies. Too many trucks and not enough space. Great weather though.

I went two out of three falls last week with the 9" rearend. The long side axle was too long and wouldn't seat in the taper bearing race. Measurements indicated the center pin in the differential was offset toward the long side by about 3/16". After multiple calls to Roadster Shop, Speedway and Strange, I solved the problem by cutting 1/4" off the long axle. According to the tech at Strange, you only need 7/8" of spline engagement and I ended up with 1" on the short side and a little more on the long side. Apparently different styles of differentials can have widely varying pin locations. The tech at Roadster Shop said they only guarantee their setup will work with an Eaton Trutrac. It would have been nice if they indicated that on their website.

For those who are wondering what that e-coated body is gonna sit on, I've posted a few shots of the rolling chassis. I'm not sure whether I'll keep the 6.2 LS3 emblem on the FITech intake. I have another piece of the 3M vinyl wrap without the cutout for the emblem in case I change my mind. We towed the chassis to the upstairs garage yesterday and covered it up. Body work is in my immediate future.

.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Whoooo purdy!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

chassis looks awsome..!!!!!!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks guys, It's always nice to hit a milestone.

I've been doing a lot of cutting, welding and grinding. The humps below the original front bench seat interfered with the bucket seats I plan to use, so I cut them out on both sides and welded in some 14ga flat sheetmetal. Then drilled and tapped some spuds to weld into the floor and the underlying supports. Had to fab up a front support on both sides as the original didn't go all the way to the tunnel. Hell for stout now, which it needs to be as the safety belt mounts are built into the seat frames.

The rear door jamb down at the rocker panel was rotted out, so I used a repro patch to repair it. Also had to fix the underlying material as well and all it needs is some seam sealer to be ready for the road. I'm also well underway with the suicide door on the driver side. The hinge portion is welded in and I'm about to finish up the surrounding sheetmetal patches.

I have a lot of small repairs to do including mods to the firewall, so October may be devoted to metal work for the most part.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Interesting how similar the 57 floor is to the 54, and how they seemed to not get any better in the rust department in that rear door opening. How are the inner rockers?

Looks great!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Ow ow ow! Fortunately, mine wasn't nearly that bad. I've been there on other projects, though, so I know what a time killer it is to patch those spots. Looks like you're going at it the right way.

My inner rockers are perfect except for one spot all the way forward on the driver side. Should be easy to patch. My floorboards have some small pinholes but are structurally sound. I'm leaning toward leveling those areas with All Metal then coating with epoxy. Then the floor will get a layer of acoustic deadener on top and a heavy coat of 3M Body Schutz on the underside. That should prevent any moisture from ever creeping back in. Not that I plan to drive it in wet weather, but there's always the chance you could get caught out in something unexpected.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

The hinge and latch assemblies for the rear driver side suicide door are finally welded in and functional. So both sides are well on their way to being complete. I'll need to patch in some more sheet metal to smooth out the jambs and finish grinding a bunch of welds, but having working doors on both sides is a relief. Due to space constraints when I installed the hinges, the doors arc slightly upward when fully open, but you can't really see it. I measured the top corners of the doors and they rise about one inch when going from fully closed to fully open.

I also machined the pulley assemblies for the inside door handles. To retain the normal action of pulling upward on the handle to open the door, I had to do a 180 with the actuator. It's installed temporarily for now but it works great.

I gotta tell you, though, I'm pretty tired of welding and grinding. I'm sort of looking forward to body work. (Nah, just kidding - I hate body work!)

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Looks great, I like cable and pulley set up.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

well ,you may tired of it, but its looking good

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

So did I, Dale, for about 5 minutes... then I toggled the door lock. What happened next had me scratching my head for awhile. The cable went slack and the inside handle would no longer open the door. If I removed the latch and reinstalled it, the handle would work perfectly. But as soon as you did a lock/unlock, it failed. After several tries, I finally snapped to what was going on.

There is a long slender rod with a horseshoe shaped spring at one end that is connected to the lock mechanism. In the lock position, the rod is pushed down to a slot that disengages the lever from the latch release. When you unlock the latch, the horseshoe spring is supposed to retract the long slender rod to a position that engages the release lever. What was happening was that the cable was unable to assist with returning the lever fully. Kinda like trying to push a chain across the floor.

So, my fix was to add an extension spring to the lever to force it to retract fully. I'm guessing that in the original configuration, the weight of the handle along with a solid connecting rod were what forced the lever to retract enough. Naturally, I only had one spring in my junk box that was remotely close to what I needed. McMaster-Carr has some that may work, but I need to do some deeper digging. Springs tend to resist modification so I'd like to get as close as I can right off the bat.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, Greg. I'll be glad when it heads to paint, though.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Firewall mods, brake pedal overhaul and mock-up of the Ididit column. I must have misplaced the u-bracket the lower column cover bolts onto. Looked everywhere and couldn't find it, so I was forced to order a new one. I'm 100% certain that one of these days I'll stumble across the original and utter an appropriate expletive.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Looking good Vic!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, Scott.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

yep....the easiest way to find something I misplaced is to buy a new one...then the old one mysteriously appears outta nowhere...

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Nice smooth firewall. The column looks good too...I thought I was the only one that had that problem with lost parts.