Featured Projects 1957 Chevy MEL-icious Intent Build

I also fought to get the crazy ass MEL exhaust manifolds that bolt in two different directions with brass nuts on studs that stay in the upper part of the manifold and bolts that hide underneath and may hold back oil? One nut had to be chiseled off as it was stuck and rounded itself off. Another nut was misshapen from heat and/or overtightening? That required some metric help to be removed. I held up the fender well headers and they should fit pretty well once my flanges come in and that spaces them out another inch or two. I will need to trim the inner fender well opening up higher as well. Also they leave ample room for steering shaft to live!!!!

 

Concurrently I was mocking up the Lares 18644 steering box and there appears currently to be ample room for steering shaft. I picked up a steering arm puller from Harbor Freight. I may still need a section of collapsible shaft and a joint but we will see.

 

Look past the ugly welds and lack of on the engine mounts, they are not final. The hole at the bottom of them is to get the socket up in them to tighten them. Not sure how the 60 year old engine mounts will hold up to drag strip launches but we will give them a try! I have some flathead biscuit style ones and I could do a saddle mount or something else down the line. Anyway they are doing their current job of holding the engine in the air which is the main thing.

 

Fresh, stock mounts should survive with a torque strap/chain.

 

An adapter nut plus a metric bolt ground down and welded together at least got the shifter ball mounted and adapted to the vintage floor shifter. Don't love it but it will make due for now. I need to trim the massive hole a little more and patch it back as well as connect the linkage to the transmission. The plan is to add a plate with some sort of detents so there is no funny business with accidentally shifting into Park or Reverse while taking it down the strip.

 

I really dig that shifter boot.

 

It was less mangled before the wrecking yard removed it but oh well.

 

Glad the dash isn't cut up, like so many were.

 

I would like to see if I can get the stock gauges to work with the different make running gear as much as possible. So no plans to cut up the dash. Eventually I may hang an under dash vintage AC unit but that may not ever happen. Also glad they make vintage looking radios that don't require chopping anything up!

 

I added a poll so people can guess how much the engine/trans combo weighs. It is a little more than a small block....

 

Got a few more things done. Trying to pick at it every other day even though it isn’t at my house. Started the process of pulling the window to replace it with the intact used one that came with the car. Mostly just so it isn’t sitting inside the car risking it will also get broke.

I also started pulling the front off the engine to put on the rebuilt water pump and kill the power steering pump. The MEL version of the timing cover without the pump on the Edsel engine went missing before I picked it up so I may just gut this pump as it is needed for spacing and sealing. I should pull the engine and trans back out for a good cleaning and install new gaskets as well.

If anyone has some extra Edsel “footballs” that hold down the ears of the intake I would be interested as they switched to smaller ones on these later Lincoln’s. Otherwise I will build up some weld and grind them smooth to give more surface area.

 

At least the oil filter, steering box and distributor are all still neighbors.

 

There is a little more room then you would expect and the steering box needs to push a little further forward on the frame rail. I was looking at FE remote oil filter kits if it comes to that. There is a Summit Racing Fox Body torque strut on its way that should also fit in this little area. Never fear! Things will get packed in once a super charger is added to the mix.

 

Blower! Superb.

 

Back in the 80’s I sported a ball cap saying “Injection is nice But I’d rather be blown”. Then one day out of the blue an elderly gal read my cap a giggled. Sorry, never found out if she had false teeth, I just gentle excused myself from the awkwardness.

 

Those are the kind of days that just make life worth living!
Save for the thought of false teeth.

 

Back in '58 in San Jose I used to go for evening coffee with all my buds (local rodders)
I got a '54 Corvette in a trade, frame was butchered (had a Buick Nail in it!) so I had to pull the engine anyway.
Before finishing welding on the frame, I lowered my '46 Merc flattie w/ '39 box into the 'Vette, nice 304" w/Weiand 4 jugger, Edelbrock heads.
Had the 'crew' over before going to coffee. Christ, it was like a wake! Dissident wailing, near crying, amid cries of, "Oh, Mike!... Don't do it!"
Took all night and to convince 'em I was kidding.
But imagine how much further the 'joke' could have gone if I had an F-1 rear open tailshaft and a suitable driveline...and DROVE it for coffee!

 

See, this is how it goes off the rails. One minute, we're cruising along, talkin' '57 Chevys ( a favorite subject). Next thing ya know, it's uh, kissing gals without teef! There's no place like HAMB...

 

Mike
That was 45 years ago, are you sure that was coffee!

 

Sound's like it may have been Bong water!!! LOL!!!

 

Correction
That was 65 years ago!

 

So I’m guessing you guys have never experienced a “ gummer”

 

I just want to tell you that the 430 has 2 oil passages that come up through the block to feed the rocker arms. I always take a holley .0100 jet and simply push it into the oil passage at the top of the head where the rocker shaft bolts are. wish I had a picture. then also use the high volume 390 oil pump. It bolts right on. i also shim the relief spring .

 

Can you further explain shimming the relief spring for me please? Thanks for the other information!

 

I'll bet if you removed the rear door handles 99% of onlookers would not realize its a four door hardtop. A la Coney Dog wagon.

EDIT: Chevy 215/235 six footballs should work. They are longer.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2940073317...CKJLJqOJLfilGg9XmOoP0G5qa86kR6PRoCjQkQAvD_BwE
Chevy six clamps

 

I will look into those! There is actually a 1965 GMC sharing shop space with a 292 and some un used 250s. Great idea.

 

Poorboy way of increasing oil pressure. Pull the pin or whatever is holding the pressure relief valve spring and add 1 or 2 washers, compress the spring and replace the pin.

 

but then you would get all the whiners claiming you are trying to fool someone