There is obviously paint and bodywork that HAS to happen, because of the hood, trunk, and the front of the rear quarters. This would be impossible to do right without fixing and painting these areas. If the original lettering can be saved/spared, that's a huge plus. Worse comes to worse, though, that can all be re-done professionally as it was back in the day. Sounds like the original racer took the body off the race frame and stuck it on another chassis, perhaps to build a streeter later on. Cool car, no matter what!
I agree..haul it out back to the area it raced out of, and I would bet ya the HISTORY will find YOU ! I have chased history on several old drag cars, and once the word gets out you have it,the history will find ya !! leave it as it was/is.. 1939fiat (rick)
I'm going to make a couple of contacts for you with some of my long time drag race friends from Ohio. I'll let you know if they have any information on the car.
Marsh slicks would be a perfect fit on that car. The body shop I worked at when I was younger had a set collecting dust, I'll never forget them. "Cam-snappin', Axle-twistin', gear-bustin'.." etc. was molded in right on the sidewalls. Can't find pics. Anyone else?
Good luck man. These things are not as easy to trace as you might think....I know. And vette stuff aint cheap. Hopefully you don't need much, I have some patch pannels . Send me pics of the damaged areas, I might be able to help! I have a yard full of busted 56/57 vette shit J
Thought I'd give everyone an update, unfortunately I haven't found any information regarding prior ownership or racing exploits of the Lil Twister '57 Corvette. It's not that I haven't been trying, I've sent emails to some Corvette clubs in Ohio (supposedly the car came from Ohio, but I have no proof), the NHRA Museum in Pamona, Hot Rod and Hot Rod Deluxe Magazines. So far, the only reply was from Rob Kinnan at Hot Rod congratulating me on my "barn find". But, I have not found a shred of information on the car's history. There have been many posts with suggestions regarding keeping the tired patina & such, but no history. Thanks & I'll keep looking for info and gathering parts. One of the parts I will be using in the build is a Klentz quick change rear differential that I scored on eBay last year. There have been several Klentz posts in the past, but no confirmed sightings. Apparently, there was a Klentz for sale at Louisville in 2007 as there was a photo of one from the Nats swap meet in Street Rodder Magazine. This was the first time I became aware of this type of differential. Further searching has revealed an article in the May 1960 issue of Hot Rod Magazine, featuring the inventor (Harley Klentz) installing one of his babies in a '57 Corvette! After almost 50 years, I'm going to follow his lead. The Klentz that I bought was loosely assembled for the auction, but was basically "all there", needing some minor repair and a complete rebuild. I have a buddy that is an excellent machinist, welder, builds rear ends for rock buggies and loves a challenge. He is the right guy for this job. Fortunately, Harley was using his head when he designed this piece as it uses a '48 Ford ring & pinion (3.78:1 ratio & still available for Speedway Motors) and Halibrand six spline, V8 quick change gears. I have been able to buy multiple sets of ratios on eBay and if required I can now go to Martinsville or Bonneville and have the appropriate gear ratio. Let me tell you, this Klentz is not a bolt in unit. The Chevy rear end housing requires some significant modifications to accept this piece. The first thing that becomes apparent is the ring gear is on the opposite side of the pinion, when compared to the Chevy, due to the rotation reversal offered through the quick change gears. This fact makes it necessary to remove the welded rear cover from the Chevy housing, flip it for clearance and weld it back in place. I've included a few photos of the modifications so far. I think the Ford ring gear is a slightly larger diameter than the Chevy, so the cover may also have to be spaced or "massaged" to fit the Ford ring gear. Fortunately, I had a spare rear axle to dedicate to the project from a '62 Corvette (that recently came out of my '36 Chevy) and is the correct width for the '57. That's about it for now. If anybody has any history on the Lil Twister, I'd sure like to hear about it. Stay tuned.
That "barn-find" HA! is awesome. That's why you get your kids involved in hot-rodding, so your wife can't sell your $hit after you die!
cool car ,i have a bm / corvette that i striped to repaint still not done once you start it does not end . but thats what its all about
That is beyond cool. I hope you save the old paint and try to spot in the rest. Done right, you could have something really special. Redone, it'll be just another Corvette that will take some explaining about how cool it is. Sam
Oh man... my heart went pitter patter when I read about the Kletz rear end. I remember seeing that old article in HRM... and have never seen one in pics or in person, so they are rare! Sam
Very cool. that will look right at home under that vette. I work in a restoration shop where these things roll in with cragars and leave all original... Its nice to see hot rod vette. I'd love to put one together... single stage black paint. original steel wheels, M&H "vintage" 7 wide slicks.. but with 6x2 327 tucked under the hood. the original paint is cool, but I'm thinking with the repair work involved it might be better to just repaint it. pretty much the whole lower half of that quarter will probably need to be worked to get it straight and to try to blend in the paint so it doesn't look patchy in any light.. I'm sure someone could do it since it isn't metallic, but I think I would have to lean towards documenting the original paint very well and re doing it with the same materials and in the same way. definitely not base clear congrats and good luck. I'm really optimistic that you will treat this car right and make a quality, tasteful hot rod of it.
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Ted/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <woNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style>[FONT="]Great find, Put a 327-w/4 speed and go nostalgia drag racing. [/FONT]
Hello all, Latham has passed the Lil Twister torch to me! My first choice is to restore the car as Lil Twister. However, bein' a Po' Boy, I have to be concerned about future resale value. IF I can find any significant history on the car, which Latham was unable to do, then I will restore it as Lil Twister. If I can't find anything, either, then this may mean that it is likely nothing more than nice vintage art possibly on a project that never got finished way back when, in which case it will be restored to NCRS standards as a 283/245 HP 2x4 car. Latham was unable to find any drag modifications on the chassis. I have the body off and find three chassis modifications as follow: The aluminum shims between the front crossmember and chassis are not there and there are three flat washers at each of the eight bolt locations instead. The front sway bar links are maybe 2-3 inches longer than regular ones and have allthread with nuts on each end holding them on instead of the long bolt. The rear springs have four leafs, the shortest three of which are cut off square at the ends. They are grooved like regular leaf springs, but the smallest leaf is also grooved unlike the regular smooth one. They are put together with the type of clip where the two prongs of a male one goes into the two slots in the female one and then folded over. Not sure if these are some sort of aftermarket or if they are modified stock springs. So, let's try another shot at some history and I thank you in advance for your interest and assistance! Po' Boy
Any chance this is the same car? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...-drag-racer-1976-picture-who-owned-it.862176/
Hi, Thanks for your help! I looked at the info on the car. Lil Twister didn't come with the original hood. The guy who had it from the 70s-2000s and died about 10 years ago, his wife let that go with another car. However, based on the lack of holes or repaired holes for FI emblems, it was not a fuelie. It came with a heater in it, but it was non-radio based on no hole or repair in the left rear fender and the outline on the dash where the block off plate was (see pic). It also had white seats. I will exhaust all possibilities before I go with a regular restoration. I'm an NCRS judge and got Duntov on my '60, but bringing back a race car to as-raced is a ton of fun. The pic in the avatar is my other car that did race and, when it's done, will look just like that. It got 1st in Class and 2nd Overall at the 1966 Riverside Six-Hour Enduro. And it helps that I have found both drivers! I like your John 3:16! Po' Boy
Hi all, Just checking back to see if anyone has anything else to say on Lil Twister? And a couple of questions for the experts: (1) I'd like to make it to 1967 NHRA requirements since BM/SP was 1961-67. I see old pics of BM/SP cars that look like the spacers were used between the frame and the front crossmember. But when I look at the '67 rulebook, it says, "Bodies and/or frames may not be raised to gain weight transfer to the rear wheels." So, if spacers weren't allowed, why do so many BM/SP cars look like they had them?? (2) I'd also like to restore Lil Twister so that it is NHRA legal on a modern dragway. I've sent notes to NHRA via their website and email about getting a set of rules for historic/vintage racing and have gotten no response. Any idea as to how to get this from them? How do other people find out how to prepare their cars if they can't get the rules?? Thanks, Bob
Unfortunately NHRA is often disappointing when asked for help. They are a production company. Have you found the Corvette hot rod thread yet? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/corvette-hot-rods-picture-thread.545759/ You might also ask about the rules over on Drag cars in motion - picture thread. Be sure and search this site for threads on modified sports.
rfraz, Thanks for the tip. I have put a post there and am looking over all the pics. 27 pages of a lot of great Corvettes! Bob
the s.c. Racemods where at the time basically bolt-ons so they might not left any clue if taken off, Caltracs, I-beams and a roll bar, how do I know ? I have some left (roll bar supports, Cal-Tracs, Cowl-induction scoop) that easily could be taken off and later down the road one wouldn't find a clue...
The Jalopy Journal
