Hot Rods D̶a̶d̶’s̶ My '57 210 Sedan - pictures

Took it to work today and also got it inspected. Legal eagle tomorrow.

 

Took it out to the first show of the year on Wednesday and then to my folks place. Dad hadn’t seen the car since I had it back running and driving. He took it for a spin and approves! Just about 400 miles on the new configuration now but that will be going up. I have a driveline vibration at about 65 to sort out and a third member that leaks like a sieve.

 

Just has a great look to it, is it peppy ?

 

Thanks! It isn’t bad, just a stock ‘70’s 455 with 6X heads and a mild street cam. It isn’t as quick as I thought it would be, but I still have some tuning to do. I think my stock latemodel truck is quicker. When funds allow I’ll be putting a 5-Speed in and can put some lower gears out back.

 

It's so rad. We need to cruise somewhere one night

 

A lot of updates…

The pandemic created an excellent chunk of down time from car shows or cruises or anything else to get a lot more work done on this car. So between April and May of last year, a lot happened.
-dropped spindles and different front brakes that moved the wheels more inboard
-completely rebuilt and narrowed rear end with big bearing ends and new axles, changed to a 3.00:1 gear, and put some big drum brakes on
-rear spring setup changed to lower the back 2” more
-centered the gas tank between the framerails and built all new exhaust with the tailpipes running down either side of the tank
-Real Rodders wheels and fresh BFGs

Then last fall I lucked into a great deal on a “used” interior out of a ‘55 including original seats that was very fitting. And more recently it got a major cooling upgrade in the form of a U.S. Radiator. Also tried going back to a mechanical fan and shroud but it’s just not keeping up in traffic on these 95 degree days so going back to the biggest electric fan I could get in there pretty soon.

 

Hell yeah! Looks sharp

 

Thanks Tim!

 

Big bad Derale electric fan/shroud made everything worse. So back to the mechanical and had a bunch of holes punched in the hood.

 

Since it has been the storage facility for the roadster wheels a tires for a minute, I threw them on one side to check it out. The rears are way taller so it gets kinda stink bug, and they’re too far in with the narrowed axle. I also think it’s too much to ask for those tiny front tires to hold up the front of this thing with the hefty Pontiac in it, but it’s fun to look at at least.

 

Crazy how different a car can look/feel with a quick wheel/tire swap

 

In lieu of getting my roadster done for the Roc I’m doing some last minute work on the ‘57 to make the trip. Got tired of the Halibrand look and found a set of old rounded spoke Cragars. Put some new tires on them today. I think I’m going to lower the back of the car another inch. My end goal is to raise it up all around and get rid of the drop spindles and springs up front. But for now, this will look good.

I also got rid of the fuel atomizing contraption we shall not speak of and replaced it with a 750 double pumper. Stuck a small-cap HEI in it too. Will get it fired back up this week.

There’s a 5-speed swap coming too. FedEx destroyed the first one but another is on the way. I also need to replace the flywheel, a motor mount, the transmission crossmember, and get the driveshaft shortened.

 

Perfect! Always love the 2 dr. sedans much more than hardtops!

 

Looks great man ! Id be interested in those drop spindles if you decide to sell em.

 

Sinister looking street brawler! I like all the versions you've shown over the years.

 

I couldn't fathom why you'd get tired of the Halibrands, but then you hit us with wanting to raise the frontend up. Huh?

 

It has looked great in every version so far. The grille bar and the hood detail is just bitchin. And Pontiac power, oh man….
Did you figure out the cooling problem? That and/or a starting problem will keep me from driving a car as much as I want to.

 

On the wheels, I just get bored I guess. I always sorta wished I had gone with small windows up front but none were available when I bought wheels. I really like Cragars too but didn’t want the new flat ones and I finally came across this original set in decent shape, so here we are.

As for raising it, I’m really tired of driving low stuff. I’ve banged up the front crossmember and a control arm already. Front bumper is always getting scraped up. I’ve had my fill. So I’m planning on more of a Project-X vibe. But this will hold me over for a while, so I can have something on the road again while I finish the roadster, and then it still has to wait until I get my ‘64 El Camino to daily driver status. So maybe I’ll leave it nose down. The front tires are a little taller, and dropping the rear of the car should bring the front bumper up a little. We’ll see!

 

Thanks! Cooling issue was never really resolved. I have a little suspicion that the previous fuel delivery system and the way it was constantly adjusting timing never really worked well and might have been part of the problem. If it’s still a problem next spring/summer then I’m going to put a Vintage Air monster fan on it and be done. Then the starting issue has always been a really chewed up flywheel ring gear. Dad said it had already been flipped once, but it’s just gotten worse. And since it’s all coming apart to replace the flywheel and I have wanted to put a 5-speed in it from day one, I’m going for it now.

 

Great 210!
That sure brings back memories. My dad bought one used in ‘58, 6 cyl/3spd, and it served as a family car for us until the mid 60’s. It had a pukey green rear fender panel, but it got repainted black pretty soon. I loved that car. Polished it until the paint wore through on the hood.
My brother hit a VW in it and it got totaled about 1969. Bummer!

 

Great car!

 

I really like the Cragars so much better than the Halibrands on this car. I already liked the car but you get two thumbs up from me on that swap for sure.

 

Traded one thrash for another more manageable one I guess! Like I said the first transmission was busted up by fed ex. Refused the shipment at work, then FedEx patched up the box and tried to deliver it again on Monday! Pretty ballsy. The second one showed up yesterday thankfully, and was shipped via a freight company. I got the car up in the air tonight to start measuring things and found out the TKX output shaft requires a much larger yoke. I also mocked up the 3” blocks in the back. So now I have an order to pick up at Summit for a yoke, longer u-bolts, and pinion shims. But it’s looking pretty do-able still.

Also, a confession. I thought these rear wheels were 8” wide. They’re not, they’re 7”. Still, the reverse looks good with the 275/60 tire even if it is a little puny from the back.

 

The starter on this is a Pro Torque mini. Before I bought a new one I pulled this one off to inspect. Turns out the bolts holding the main body to the clockable billet mounting block had backed out. Doesn’t look like there was ever any loctite on them. But the gear looks ok so I’ll correct the issue and reinstall.

I didn’t realize the output shaft would be different so I got a yoke that fit the TKX last night and measured for the driveshaft. Will take it to the driveline shop today for shortening. I also didn’t know what the input splines on the Muncie were and the new TKX is 26. I pulled it last night and of course it’s a 10-spline so I’ll be picking up a new clutch disk in the morning too. Other than the driveshaft, should have it all wrapped up this weekend.

 

[QUOTE="As for raising it, I’m really tired of driving low stuff. I’ve banged up the front crossmember and a control arm already. Front bumper is always getting scraped up. I’ve had my fill. So I’m planning on more of a Project-X vibe…… We’ll see![/QUOTE]
When I bought my ‘56 210 from my buddy, he had it dropped so far that the driveshaft hit the floor and vibrated terribly at highway speeds. It had rubber band tires on 17” billet wheels. He sacrificed everything to have it “slammed” (hate that word). The first thing I did was raise it up and replace the wheels and tires with black steel wheels and 215-70 and 235-70 tires. That fixed just about everything. From there I added an extra long leaf in the rear, different lowering blocks and shimmed the pinion angle. Later I added sway bars. It was the best riding/driving car I’ve had in a long time.
If you do raise it a little, you probably will like driving it more.

 

Can't wait to see it at the Roc! Ready to have a good time.

personally I loved the deep dish big windows, but never cared for the sprints up front.

the cragars are a nice change.

Now keep movin!

 

Gorgeous car man. I still like the steel wheels and poverty caps

 

I didn't realize this '56 was yours, I have this picture saved on my computer. If I ever actually get around to repainting my '57, it'll be modeled after this car. It's just enough, without being too much.

 

Other than the driveshaft, it’s 90% back together. I made a mess of the floor because I didn’t want to pull the seat and carpet to cut the tunnel for the shifter. But you know what is great for road trips that will cover the old hole…cup holders! The shifter handle (which is a bench seat handle) is too far away now so I’m going to cut that up and put it where I want it. The speedo bullet from the Muncie doesn’t want to fit the TKX. And I haven’t gotten it to fire up yet for unknown reasons. So I’ve still got a bunch to wrap up this week, but it’s looking good. I really like the new rolling stock and slightly altered stance.