Hot Rods 1957 Chevy 150 Gasser Build "Midnight Special"

I figured they were different (but think it would be a good way for Chevy to get rid of all the leftovers and save some some $$). If you don't mind spilling the beans, how are they different? Skinnier?

 

Yeah the 57 ones are skinnier and have a distinct peak on them. They also have less taper front to back.

 

A good stainless repair/polisher can take 2 front fender spears and weld the front and back sections together to make what you need.

 

Married the body with the new straight axle chassis last night. This body came as a parts car with some other 57's we bought a few years back. When we got the body it was not on a frame just sitting on the ground on the floor pans. It was deemed unbuildable by many, but a few hours patching toe boards, inner quarters, trunk floor and sidewalls, and a new one piece floor and the car is complete once again. I went with the theory that it doesn't have to be pretty, or even right, just as long as it's solid. Who knows how long it has been since it has sat on a frame or rolled?

 

I did a little mocking up last night to try and determine what wheel and tire size I need to go with as well as rear end size. I initially tried my 15x10 slot pictured earlier in this thread with a used 28x10.5x15 slick. It was obvious that to use those the wheel well would need to be radiused. Although that is the right thing for a gasser I cannot bring myself to cut mine. So the second thing I tried was my Dad's 15x7 slot with the same slick, that is the setup seen in the attached picture. I really like that look, very similar to the blue and white 210 pictured earlier in the thread. So I am currently looking for a set of 15x8 or 15x8.5 slots in good condition. If anyone here has any that they would like to get rid of let me know.

 

Good news and bad news. Good news is that I finished welding the floor in on Friday and started the engine and trans mockup. Fooled around with that a little until I was happy with it and welded the motor mount cradle and trans mount brackets in place. Monday night I pulled the motor and trans back out to finish all the welds on the mounts and I was going to clean and paint the engine and drop it back in. I starting draining the oil so I could pull the pan to paint it and install my new one piece oil pan gasket and what came out was not pretty. I have a magnetic drain plug and there was lots of metal on it, including some thin shiny slivers that I am not sure what they are. Basically at least looking at an engine freshening if not more. My budget that was stretched thin is now completely busted. I am thinking about putting my motorcycle up for sale and using those funds to fix the motor, but it depends on what I find when I get it apart.

 

Thin shiny slivers;
Don't know what oil pan your running but I do see Chrome V/C, have seen cheap Chrome on oil pans and V/C flake/roll off and end up in the bottom................................

 

Yeah the oil pan is a Miladon, but I am thinking that the slivers are coming off the valve covers, but alas that is the least of my problems. I have severe damage to my pistons I guess due to detonation which I cannot fathom because I always ran good fuel in it, watched the tune, and never heard any spark knock. I am at a loss of what to do right now, I need to get it to a machine shop and figure out what is usable and go from there.

 

Here's my old mans... good luck!


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Well After a very busy summer with no updates I need to catch everyone up with what has been going on with the gasser build. After finding the damage to the engine it really set me back, but I was able to build the motor the way I wanted. I decided to build a 496, I bought some rectangle port heads from my Dad that he had actually bought from @Deuced Up! off the Dragnasty Austin's first build. I also bought some new CP custom pistons thanks to @Panneton Bros. Racing. I had a 6 week wait on the pistons since they were custom order so it was mid July before I was able to pick up everything from the machine shop. I have not yet had the time to assemble the motor yet and I still have to purchase my new solid roller cam and lifters. The motor build took all of the money I had set back to buy a rear end and have the roll cage built. I could of came up with the money if I needed to, but I didn't hear from the chassis guy all summer and I didn't bug him since I really didn't have the money. I also mentioned in this thread selling my motorcycle to fund the car, well after advertising it all summer I finally sold it Saturday. The new purchaser was barely out of the driveway and I was dialing up the chassis shop, supposedly he will get to me in a month, but I have heard that before. the last update I have is I found and purchased a pair of 15x8.5 slots this past weekend which I am pretty happy with. Still undetermined what I will do with all the wheels, might put slicks on the 10s and use the 8.5s for street tires.

 

That piston is purdy

 

I recently dug out an old cell phone of mine to find these two pictures. I took these the day I first saw this car, December 2012. I am not sure how long it had been sitting here like this. When we lifted the body up part of the floor stayed on the ground. My dad and I debated back and forth for while what we were going to do with this car. In 2014 Dad bought a better black 57 150 2dr and we decided to part this one out and we sold the trim off of it. In 2016 I decided that I was brave enough to build it and began the process of collecting parts back for it.

 

OH GREAT ANOTHER GASSER BUILD FOR ME TO SUBSCRIBE TO AND FOLLOW
I AM LOOKING FOWARD TO SEEING THIS ONE COME TOGETHER

 

Thanks Enloe,
I apologize for the lack of updates lately, Hopefully I will be able to get back on this thing hot and heavy soon.

 

Cool

 

Engine build coming along? Or still fondling those purdy slugs?

 

No progress. Been doing some side jobs to pick up some money, but the unfortunate part is that it is taking all my time. Haven't even had the pistons out of the box to admire (fondle) them in a while.

 

Engine is finally coming together. I did some preliminary work Monday, checked clearances, checked ring gap, filed the rings. Last night I started assembling, I got 6 slugs installed before I ran out of steam. I am really happy with how everything is fitting and coming together. Can't wait to hear and feel this thing!

 

Well she is loaded up and hauled out of my shop, know what that means? Yes, the chassis guy finally called me! I dropped it off yesterday. Plans are for a 8 point cage. He is also going to set up a long ladder bar rear suspension for me. He only works some nights and weekends so it will be a while before I get her back, but when I do it will be a thrash to get her ready to race for next year. The engine build is coming along, I got all 8 pistons in now I need to get my cam and lifters purchased.

 

I have a few new updates to report. Today is my birthday and I got the best birthday news last night, the chassis guy sent me pictures of my roll cage all mocked up. The pictures were pretty dark but I was just excited to know that progress was being made.
Last week I got the final shipment in my rear end package that I had purchased back in late November. I ordered a nine inch with a round back housing for an old school look, Moser center section with 35 spline spool, heavy wall axle tubes, and 35 spline Moser axles. I have had the brakes and center section for a while but the housing/axles was somewhat delayed because I wasn't sure exactly what width I was going with. I am really happy with all of the components of the Quick Performance rear end. This weekend I will take the rear end to the chassis shop.
The engine build is finally nearing completion. I was waiting to buy the expensive solid roller lifters until after Christmas, and exactly the week after Christmas on a BBC Facebook group I am on someone had the exact lifters I planned on purchasing and I bought them for half of the cost. Last week I mocked them up in the block and measured pushrod length and piston to valve clearance. I ordered the pushrods and that should be the last piece of the puzzle and they are arriving today. I also painted the engine, I had decided I wanted to do something different than my usual Chevy Orange. I had some leftover bronze single stage enamel from some project so I shot the block in epoxy primer and put the bronze on it. I was hoping for a slightly lighter shade, but I like it better in person than the pictures look like.

It is really coming along and I am getting really juiced up to get it back and get this thing together.

 

Just came across this build and subscribed! I'm really excited to see how this turns out!

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I went to the chassis shop on Saturday to check on the old girl and deliver the rear end. The cage is all done except the rear down bars and it looks really good. He has the ladder bars made up and they are nice long old school looking bars. We made a parts list for the rest of the rear suspension parts needed and I am going to get them ordered this week. He told me he expects to have everything done be mid February. When he said that it really got my juices pumping.

 

The real deal if you are going to radius is to use front fender tire holes. It is a radius alone the same lines as a '55 Nomad. Looks finished and has some form. When I lived in SE Kansas in the '70s there were a couple of street beast type cars that had done the radius that way and one track car that I knew of back then too.

OK my opinion aside, like the build so far.

 

...what a great save and nice work all around,...hope to see it at the Meltdown...

 

Thank You, I hope you do too!

 

Well the chassis guy still has the car, but he has been making progress. I am hopeful that I will be able to pick it up this weekend or the following. All that is left is the rear shocks and pan hard bar.

 

It's Back!!!!
That is right, I got to pick it up this weekend. Roll cage and ladder bar rear suspension are finished and he did a great job. It feel great to have it back in my shop. I have lots to do to have it ready to race this summer, but I am ready to do it. First on the list is clearance the firewall and get the engine and trans installed. I am going to work on all of the things that can be done without making any big purchases, because my gasser fund is depleted for a while. I have some bodywork to finish up. I have everything I need for brakes so I will get them installed and plumbed, plumb the fuel system etc. It is sitting a little lower than I envisioned so one of the first things I am going to do is adjust the rear ride height some.

Back in the shop with its identical twin that belongs to my Dad.

 

Man oh man, I love 150s. Good luck on it!


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Front looks great, back a little low for the period BUT in pic's it is cinched down on trailer.

 

Good to see you got it back home and the kids like it as much as you do...lol