1957 Chevy truck re-rebuild

[RockinKees]

Lots of great plans!
You'll be busy this winter

[ptc]

Jim.... wow ! WOW! what more can be said that hasn't already been? AMAZING and INCREDIBLE.... I will add to the mix of comments about yours (and your Dads) '57.

I havent been here long and try to keep up with the '57 builds as best I can, but can't believe I missed this one. Well Im all caught up now with the 30 some odd pages... and will refer to this as a "handbook on '57 Chevy building"

Enjoyed reading all your stories and process' on building each and every item. I can totally relate to the 4.5" grinder being your favorite tool!!! I have an old makita 4.5" that I use all the time switching between hard wheels and soft wheels, flappers, cutting etc... and think to myself "I should just get a few more.... NA.... I love this old one, and believe me its had a few flying lessons on bad days too, but it just keeps going and going!

Thank You also for your motivational 'ministry' on how the good Lord helps us builders through all the times that we need help, support, guidance and patience during these times. I am forever thankful for his grace in giving all that to whomever chooses to want it.

Congrats on the wins! well deserved!

Paul

[Stepside Jim]

RockinKees, so true. I actually figured I wasn't gonna do much to it this winter, then I figured " what the heck" my other projects will have to wait til this one done and over the top.

Thanks ptc, my build thread has slowly moved back about 6 pages. Actually that's a good thing, it means there are a lot of people turning to this site and participating in keeping it active.

I was kind of excited about getting home to see if a box got delivered today, sure enough it did.

When I first got involved in this truck about 5 years ago I noticed the hood really went up high and stayed there in it's design. I had no problem with it, just something I noticed.

I finally realized that back in the early to mid 50's someone said " you know, some gear head is gonna want to put a big block with a blower under the hood, let's keep it high". Then one other person raised his hand and asked "Boss,,,,, what's a big block?".

Anyway, with all my measuring, this should fit after I build the "X" brace under the hood to go up over the air filter when I close the hood. Basically, if I had to put a hole in the hood I wouldn't do this change.


The carb I have sitting on it is only for size reference.

As I mentioned, I'm new to blowers, put plan on becoming very familiar with them soon.

[Advanced Design]

Jim, I look forward to this update and more examples on how to do things right. Think I've mentioned it before, your work motivates me to do better work.

And a blower! Have wanted one since I heard one at the Street Machine Nationals in Indianapolis in 1980.

Kudo's to you for doing more to an already great truck.

[Stepside Jim]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Jim, I look forward to this update and more examples on how to do things right. Think I've mentioned it before, your work motivates me to do better work.

And a blower! Have wanted one since I heard one at the Street Machine Nationals in Indianapolis in 1980.

Kudo's to you for doing more to an already great truck.

What got me going was an episode of....ohhh what's the show that kicked off from Fast and Loud???? Ummmmm, Misfit garage, they built a car with a small block with a blower. It hazed the tires at will. That's what I want.

Burn out from a standing start, I could do that in the gravel with my Schwinn bicycle, laying down rubber after I gone through an intersection, that's what I want. Time will tell if I get it this spring.

[bowt1ed]

Jim, don't we all?

Cheers, Jim

[Kim57]

Nice blower.
Kim

[RockinKees]

Yes, agree with Kim!!
That should look very nice in the enginebay!!

[tune_1]

Great to see it back at the top. Will be enjoying the changes that you are making and any insight as to how that you provide.

Dwight

[Stepside Jim]

Thanks everybody, I see there is excitement and support for this phase of this truck build.

Last year at this time I was assembling the front fenders and starting to think about getting the weather stripping ready for around the vent windows and such.

Let me say, it is all a work in progress, one project at a time, can't move forward til each area is finished in it's proper order.

Now that I've paid the price of time and patience to get where I am now I am so excited for spring time again.

I finally got back into the shop. I have many concerns about fitment concerning accerator cable, transmission kick down cable, HEI distributor, upper radiator hose and front belts and pullys and the space for the blower belt.

One item that also needs modification is the hood cross brace. My plan is to tie the four brace rods to the under hood support I made some time back.

Off came the old manifold and on went the blower manifold and the blower itself. I have a few items to modify but nothing major. I will address all the fitment issues in the next couple of weeks, once everything is properly fitted, the engine comes out for forged pistons, new heads and camshaft.

Here's how a 1957 Chevy Truck with a Big Block and a Weiand 177 series blower fits in the engine bay.

[RockinKees]

Plenty of room

[Stepside Jim]

Just a quick update...... I did get the blower to fit. My original intent was to do a mock-up check for pulley alignment and anything else needed to be modified before I removed the engine for upgrades to handle the new power.

Once I got everything fitted, well, it wasn't much more work to hook everything up and give it a try. If I had 2 extra thumbs I'd give it 4 thumbs up. I put about 100 miles on it and probably burned off 1000 miles of rubber. Every intersection I hoped the light would turn red before I got there. The fun part wasn't starting the burnout while taking off, it was getting on the other side of the intersection then begin the burnout.

After I had my fun it is time for the upgrades, pistons are now Speed Pro forged pistons, the cam is new and designed for a boost vs naturally aspirated engine. The cast iron heads are upgraded to higher flowing Aluminum heads, and a new main body for the carb to flow more air.

Having a taste of what the blower did makes me very excited to see what I'll have with the up grades.

Sometimes the fun wasn't driving the truck, it was seeing the reaction of the unexpected appearance of a blower when I opened the hood for someone to see.

Hard to believe all this acually fits under the hood. Nearly ready to go back into the truck.


In the above picture the transmission has also been torn apart for up grades. Two changes having to do with sprag cluthes being able to over 500 horse power. Another change is to change the first gear ratio from 2.52 ratio to 2.75. The numeric value as I understand will get me a 4.10 final ratio as compared to my 3.73 that I have had. Did someone say burnouts??? lol

If I have this figured right, my 3.73 will be 4.10 in first gear, second and third will be 3.73, til I engage the Gear vendors overdrive which takes me to a 2.91 rear ratio.

One cool benefit of the Gear vendors is you can turn on the overdrive while sitting still, then gas it moderatly agressively, it will automatically engage at 20 miles an hour. What's this mean, without doing anything it'll bark the rear tires at 20 miles an hour. Yes, I like my toys and switches.

I never had a picture of the overdrive attached to the transmision, I have it all out now so a good time for a picture.


There we are, all summer I figured I'd be taking care of a few odds and ends and it would be an inexpensive winter, ha, that didn't happen. Although, I must say, I'm just as excited about getting it this year as I was last year. Gotta love these old truck projects.

[oldman3]

Wow Jim, sounds like you will have a great engine set-up. Engine looks good, keep us updated...Jim

[Kim57]

Looks sweet.
Kim

[Dean Vanacker]

Hey man, i admire your work, really!!! So damn good.
My dad has bought me a 57 apache for my 18 birthday, and now i want to start my own build.

Witch chassis did you use for your build?

Thanks , Dean

[Stepside Jim]

Originally Posted by Dean Vanacker

Hey man, i admire your work, really!!! So damn good.
My dad has bought me a 57 apache for my 18 birthday, and now i want to start my own build.

Witch chassis did you use for your build?

Thanks , Dean

Thanks for checking in Dean, there isn't much special about the chassis.

It's the original '57 frame. It has a 1980 Camaro front clip.

One difference from mine to many others is mine has the original frame attached to the Camaro frame basically even on height.



Different to most conversion where the original frame is layed on top of the Camaro frame rear extensions. This design drops the ride height another 3 or 4 inches.

I know, I know, everybody likes them real low, I, on the other hand like the front top of the wheel well even with the top of the tire.

I now have about 3500 miles on the truck, it drives with absolute confidence at any speed.

One thing that I believe helps is it has a 1 1/4" front sway bar and I believe a 1" sway bar in the rear, it handles very very nice also.

Hope this helps. Jim

[Stepside Jim]

It's been 6 years since an update on my 57. I've always thought it would be nice for those who we have followed on a build thread to check in after a few years and give us an update on how the truck is doing, what parts have lasted and which ones have failed.

Perhaps peoples response's to your truck or people you've met.

I have one to mention...This past Saturday I met a very nice couple at a car show, I'm sorry I don't recall their names (sorry) but I do remember very well the conversation. They followed my build thread for the couple of years as I posted my progress. I remember I was floored by the kind words of my craftsmanship and their remembrance to the work I did to my truck. I also recall them mentioning inspiration, attention to detail ect.

Point is, we just never know who we inspire by having a build thread for others to see. As a side note...if you are doing a build thread, I've found the best comments I get are the way I show the progress as I work along, not just the beginning and the end with no pics on how it was done.

I've just reached a milestone on mine. I've thought it would be a good time at 10,000 miles to do an update. Not a good pic of the speedometer, sun glare was an issue. I was 150 miles from home and I had to pull over on Route 65 north of Branson to catch the 10,000 on the speedometer.

to be continued...

[greystoke]

Great to hear from you again Jim, yes this was one of my favorite builds...such quality and a beautiful end result. Please keep us updated!!

[Stepside Jim]

Here we are, how's the paint, 6 years and 10,000 miles, excellent. I have one barely noticeable chip on the hood where it tucks under to meet the grill, I have to look to know it's there.

I chose Summit Racing paint, I was extremely fussy on the silver and they had the silver I wanted exactly, so I used their paint. I am very pleased with the finish today, I would use their paint again. I rarely stop in a public place without someone mentioning the black is awesome, and black is the toughest to get right.

The exhaust coming out the side step is usually the first item to bring comments. They were a lot of work to fit right, but I have had no problems with the exhaust. The Jegs cut outs do get used fairly often, they open and close every time within 2 to 3 seconds.

The fender emblems, as nice as they turned out, often are over looked, they have the same basic shape as original emblems. Not til they ask what engine? I point to the 396 in the emblem, then they notice.

Sliding rear window... Rarely used, but very handy when I do use it. Only in cooler weather do I use it. If you open it and have any windows open it will draw outside air in, it doesn't help. Now, cool days, just want fresh air passing through the cab, closed windows, open rear window just a little bit, open fresh air vents in the kick panels, good cool breeze passing through and out the rear window.

The gills I put in where the front turn signals used to be are a hit. Always a plus when the Judges come around and find unique pieces that look like they could be factory.

to be continued....

[Stepside Jim]

Drivetrain---Cooling, I went with BeCool radiator for a 66-67 Big block Chevelle.
Jegs two electric fan shroud, along with Painless temp sensor fan switches that the sensors just need to rest on the radiator tank, I made brackets that hold them in place, each fan switch adjustable for different temps for each fan. With this setup, I've never gone over 200 degrees.

396, Edelbrock aluminum e-street heads, all works well, add the Weiand blower, all works spectacular. For the most part the blower was a bolt on. I've only run Holley carb on it, there are needed changes to the Holley to run on a blower, I had some learning to do, but I enjoy learning the working details of stuff, so I'm all the better.

I have the TH350c trans and I can say, it's not happy, I know, I know, it's not a strong trans to begin with but I had most of the parts for it so I used/abused it.

Remember, I still have the Gear vendors OD behind the TH350c.

in my shop I have acquired a 4l80e, when I get time I will go through it for the truck. Trans problem solved....Hmm what to do with the Gear Vendors OD. They make an adapter to bolt the Gear vendors OD to the 4l80e. Double overdrive I'm working for. Too low of gearing with both overdrives, yup, I will be changing the rear end to 4.10 gears. Better acceleration and still end up with a 2.50ish highway ratio.

Rear end with Yukon posi carrier ring and pinion along with Moser axles, all working great.

[Stepside Jim]

Lastly, some pictures have surfaced of this truck when my Dad bought it. I'd like to post these pictures to see if anybody recognizes it from back around 1985ish.

I thought it would be interesting to find out more of it's history and at the same time, whoever had anything to do with this truck in the past might like to know it's still alive and well.

He bought it in a town south of Dallas Texas called Duncanville. I've looked on Facebook but didn't find any car clubs in that town.

Anyway, thought it would be a neat adventure, thanks for any help.

[oldman3]

Jim, glad to see this update. As soon as I saw the truck I remembered the build. Beautiful truck. We aren't that far apart, maybe one day I will see it in the flesh...Jim

[Stepside Jim]

greystoke, thanks for checking in. I've been extremely busy, just not on the the ole 57. I am going to have to address the transmission issue soon, which means I've got to redo some of the exhaust system. . I will have some pics in the future.

oldman3, Cabool, I was almost there, rain? Some from the Current Rivers Car club came down though. Pictures, you were parked between a newer Dodge Challenger and a orangeish colored early 50s Chevy truck. I felt I missed a chance to meet you that day. I did make it to the Licking car show last Saturday, I was thinking there would be a chance of seeing you there. Our paths will cross someday.

[oldman3]

Originally Posted by Stepside Jim

greystoke, thanks for checking in. I've been extremely busy, just not on the the ole 57. I am going to have to address the transmission issue soon, which means I've got to redo some of the exhaust system. . I will have some pics in the future.

oldman3, Cabool, I was almost there, rain? Some from the Current Rivers Car club came down though. Pictures, you were parked between a newer Dodge Challenger and a orangeish colored early 50s Chevy truck. I felt I missed a chance to meet you that day. I did make it to the Licking car show last Saturday, I was thinking there would be a chance of seeing you there. Our paths will cross someday.

Jim, the orangeish colored truck belongs to my son Mark. I didn't know the Licking show was last week, if I had known I would have been there, friends of mine saw you truck and said it looked great. One day soon I hope we will meet. Jim

[57tailgater]

This may save some neck aches....