Projects 1957 Corvette M/SP Project

Baron do you know if your radio delete plate is corvette only, It looks a lot like the 57 "150" passenger plate I have in my 57 Belair.
No now that I see the back of it I notice it's flat.

Pat

 

Hi Phil. Looks like your friend has a good start. It's actually a 56 or 7 ,which I like better than the 61-2. But that is just my personal preference. Tell him to sing out if he needs any info, measurements, etc. Be more than happy to give him any info I can.

 

Hi Pat. Actually I bought it for a mid fifties GM passenger car. About 1/4 the price of what they wanted for a "Corvette" one. Works for me.

 

yeah its rough.. but its all mine!!! now to find some inner cowl supports and get to glassin!!

 

Thanks for the kind help, im sure i will have plenty of questions along the way, for right now, i need to stare at the pics of your car... sooo sweet!!!

 

There were some cowl supports on Ebay, good luck on your project. I am currently working on a 56 vette gasser and some parts are hard to find.

 

Finished the dash wiring a week ago, and have the wiring harness run out to the tail/brake lights and gas tank sending unit. Installed the radiator and shroud today. The Dewiits radiator is a real quality piece ( thanks to the fellow Corvette owners here on the HAMB for the heads up). Bolted the fuel pressure regulator on and started the fuel lines. Plan on hard-lining the pump to the regulator ( as long as I can get the right fittings). Trying to keep it looking like I would have done 45 years ago (other wise it'd have Aeroquip lines and fittings). Found a set of brake drums for the 57 Olds rear finally, so with any luck, I'll get it in the car next month. Spring is coming quick !

 

Looks great. But the gremlins on here will dislike the master cylinder cover. They hate everything.

 

Thanks, and welcome back. Hope your weekend turned was good. I plan on doing something with the cover along with the dust caps. Once flattened out and painted black, they will stand out so much.

 

See the result of my road trip in the corvette hot rod thread

 

Line loc is mounted and brake lines are just about finished. Should be able to wrap them up along with finishing the fuel lines this week. Getting close to to firing the 454 for the first time. Starting to get exciting now.


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Baron that looks really great. Not sure if you posted what tires (and wheel width and backspace) you are running on the rear. They look really great. I love it when you start a fresh motor. Like it has a heartbeat or something similar.

 

Hi Jim. The rear tires are General 31/10.50 –15’s on 15 x 8.5 D spokes with 3.75 back space. I also have a set of Cragar SS’s that I’ll be able to swap out the Americans to change it up a bit (slicks on the 15 x 8 Cragars).
One of my favorite parts of the build is firing the motor for the first time. Like breathing life into the project. Use to be one of the first things I did, but now I don’t run them until the car is pretty much ready to be driven. Hopefully it will be there by the end of this month.

 

Brake lines fuel lines are finally finished . The Line-loc is in and wired up. Also ran the battery cable from the starter to the trunk. Still not sure where I want to mount the battery /box yet but I'll make a decision this coming week. Here are few pics. Doesn't look like much, but time consuming work.

 

Pushed it outside today to take a couple of pictures. Almost looks like a real car.

 

Man, that is looking AWESOME.

 

^^^^^^^

 

wow

 

Looking good Baron!

Pat

 

Very nice job on the lines.

Ryan.

 

Super job bending your brake lines. They look like they were pre-bent from a major supplier. You have great talent. Looking at the shocks and snubber bars, I see potential future problems. You do not want to have the problems I had to work through. The picture is with 16 lbs in the tire. Jim

 

Thanks guys.
Jim. As you can see, I still have the stock rear end in the car right now, but the 57 Olds (4.11's/ spool) is almost ready to go together (still need to order the axles). I am all ears on any info you can share with me on your rear suspension mods, shocks, etc. Obviously you have it figured out and can save me a lot of time and money (and aggravation).

 

Glad to help, I will email you when I finish work later today. I do not want to off set this thread.
Jim

 

Thanks Jim.

 

Finished the battery box/hold down today. Using the American Rebel wire harness, this was the first time I have wired a car without installing a battery first to be able to check each circuit as I went. Doing a quick test today,looks like everything works as it should ( so far).
The padded dash panel only come in factory red or beige. Nothing a can of flat black Vinyl paint couldn't solve. Just set it in place today. Once bolted in, it should line up pretty good as I did the body work on the dash with this piece taped up and bolted in place. If everything goes smoothly, I hope to fire up the 454 next weekend. Finger's crossed

 

Beautiful build. I'm over in Rowley. Probably be able to hear it from here when it fires up. I'll have to bring my Austin-Healey V8 over some time and check it out.

 

Hi Rick. Thanks. Fridays and Saturdays I'm at my shop working on my own cars. Love to check out your Healy. I enjoyed the "YouTube Ride" to Cranes Beach.

 

Love it!

 

Looking great, next stop maiden voyage

 

Bolted the dash panel on today. Installed the oil pressure line to the oil gauge. Mounted the ignition coil and connected the black and orange wires from the MSD 6AL. Also bolted in the rear trunk panel for the final time and did a little carpentry work for the battery/spare tire cover. Still need to cover the battery and have a couple ideas I'm thinking about.