Yeah I ended up having a couple moments of crisis family stuff and the whole world descended on the area where I live so there is a housing crisis going on as well...but I decided to downsize a bunch sold the 4 dr to 2 dr project, gave away/scrapped some stuff and lower my perfectionist expectations and just settle for getting it together and running
The "power steering" pitman arm is the one with more "curve" to it, and usually clears headers better than the manual steering pitman arm. It's a little confusing, because the power steering pitman arm can be used with the manual steering box. The power steering is just a hydraulic ram on the cross link. You'll just have to see if you need a different pitman arm; some do, some don't, just like headers are different. It's hard to see any curve to your pitman arm. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I have a friend who deals in 55-57 Chevrolet cars AND parts; I'm sure he could help you out with a different pitman arm. I also have a NEW pair of mid-length headers; they don't really hang down and under the chassis, but they are far from block hugger headers. I'll never use them either. I'm just down here in Everett, Wa. Bring MONEY and spend the afternoon digging through my stuff; bring a sack lunch. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Ha ha ha you're kidding right? I guess you missed the part about the baby lol! Nope unfortunately this car was a picked over carcass when i found and I paid waaayy too much for it...I've spent all i'm gonna spend except some wheel cylinders, ignition switch and light switch it's beg, borrow and trade all the way.....
Well, I have been known to give away parts I have no use for; a few HAMBERS have benefited from my doing that. I do need to know what to look for in my stash, or my 55-57 Chevrolet friend's stash. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Thanks a lot Butch! I'm sorry I haven't responded before this but I haven't done anything on the car for awhile...baby is keeping me busy! right now the major things are: windsheild, both rear side windows, and a steering wheel....smalls are headlight, porcelain ign. block, 1 "scoop" for hood bullet, wiper arms, jack, back arm rest/interior panels....new stuff I need ignition and headlight switch and that's just off the top of my head ha ha i'm sure there's lots more lol! Now its finding time for a trip down there
Finally had a bit of time while Mom and baby are visiting the in-laws...I picked up some ugly but not rusted rad support side panels and a lower hood latch but of course I got distracted by the totally mangled front lip on my valance I shoulda grabbed a before shot it looked like waves on the ocean....not bad for being unfamiliar with hammer and dolly also had to beat a big wow out of the latch support ...you'd have to look real close to notice it's actually fun when you get over the intimidation and installed new battery tray! the biggest headache of working with a car that was completely stripped is that all the correct nuts and bolts are missing and usually don't come with the parts you buy figuring out the right size, length, thread pitch etc. etc. takes ages THEN you have to go find them! Home Depot? fuggedaboudit! so I literally spent hours combing through old coffee cans full of my left over Falcon/Mustang shit...waste of a day? probably but it beats running all over hells 1/2 acre trying to describe what you need or worse spending $2-3 per bolt at a specialty shop!! yeah it's like that....
Damn I see almost every thing I need there! I managed to get a hardware "kit" for the front bumper for $35. but there was only one kit so with the 6 9/16 fine thread bumper bolts, the chrome capped carriage bolts, and 6 7/16 bolts holding the ends on i'll probably have $50. in hardware plus hours in time searching hardware stores into the back bumper ...and they're bent and rusty oh well @chevy57dude @56sedandelivery * do you know where these hexagonal lock washers go in the sequence?
Yeah, no help on the electrical switches. Also be informed that the rocket scoops are specific to left/right. Get em wrong and the rockets point to the outside
Wow thanks 57dude! Butch has also generously offered to help too ...you stateside guys are awful nice...but I do have to consider things like shipping and travel time cuz I'm on a shoestring lol! on the other hand early on I got took real bad by our main local '57 guy on a front seat I ended up having to throw away so he's not getting another penny from me if I cant find it elsewhere and need it bad enough I'd carve it outta wood before I gave him another dime...
Ha ha good to know! i'll have to figure out which I have or buy a pair....the switches I want to buy new just because i'll be using mostly original wiring...and I had no keys so i'll get a key with it and I've heard you can take apart the door/trunk lock tumblers to fit any key
I've gotten to the point that I can't really start a project if their isn't snow going down the back of my neck.
And she has bumpers in my minds eye I thought this was going to be easy but it turned out to be a real thrash...every single part and piece was bent cracked dented or rusty This is your typical B.C. '57 rear bumper end...I found some that werent rusted out but the left side was mangled there was a 1/4" deep gouge at the top and the curve was flattened, there was another same depth ding right in the center of the ring, and the side was bent and twisted, all the front brackets were bent, twisted and cracked and i'm still missing 5 of the 12 brackets but they're on... these are after a bit of massaging not sure where the before pic went but a little bonus happened while I was installing my front bumper I looked up into the fender well and there was a mystery piece of steel hanging there on top of the air duct when I pulled it down it turned out to be the left rear bumper bracket mine was swiss cheese, pitted and I had to weld part of it up this one is solid so that was cool
Do you know what year you sold it? When I got it she was completely gutted except the rear seat springs, door shells, fenders, hood and for some reason the Bel Air side trim... it came on a bent frame (rear corner where it was hit) which had the 14" 5 spoke mags and an 8.5 Nova 10 bolt ...in hindsight I was crazy to buy it but whadayagunnadoo? fuugedaboudit
So I know it has been great weather for a while and no updates... I kinda lost the wind in my sails after wrestling the passenger side header in and out of the car multiple times after realizing one of the tubes would be resting right on the starter. Big deal right? well I can only actually lift the car on blocks and jack stands so high before it gets scary A.F. so I have just enough room to wriggle in and out if I was 20 years old no problem but now...it sucks! So the problem is getting a 3' header in and out of a 1.5' space (if that) to test and refit over and over again. Did I mention that the starter also has to be removed to pull the header and vice versa? or the time I tried hammering it partially pulled under the car so I didnt have to unbolt everything again? jeezuz that would've made a hilarious video with my whole 2"s of swing room!! funny except at that angle nothing short of swim goggles can keep shit from falling in your eyes! I don't know how long the starter will last but I now have a thin gap around it at least...one tube's millimeters away from the p/g case and the centrelink seems to hit another tube at full turn so there's more fun to be had!
i have a "hammer" head and a blunt chisel for my air chisel that i use to persuade things in hard to reach areas. small "blips" can work magic with sheet metal.
Got everything hooked up here's my test fire... Does anyone know...when reinstalling the centrelink to pitman arm do you just turn the slotted piece until the spring bottoms out? or is there some specific tension it should be set at?...
that uses a ball still? on the ball style i go about half of the spring, bottoming it out makes it useless. it needs to be tight enough so there is no slop or play, yet loose enough that if the ball is out of round it will make up for it.
IT RUNS!! I had a nice MSD aftermarket HEI distributor (I actually traded it for a rare Nova aluminum bell housing) and was really stoked to have it until I found out it was too big to fit and required smashing in my firewall!...same with the stock big cap dist, so I located a used points unit threw it in and nothing....so I pulled it, cleaned the points and nothing...I hooked some wires up (there's no engine compartment wiring currently) tested the coil and it was fine. So what? new points/condenser right? easy peasy lol yeah right ... I call Lordco current list price on a set of Chevy points? $35.!!! condenser? $22.!!! 7 mm plug wires? $50-60.!!! wtf? when did this happen? I look around for a better deal another place has a "kit" for $25. wait a day for it to come from the warehouse...but the condenser is built in and the mounting is opposite?..weird ok try another place...they have what I want but it will take a WEEK to order in ok fine...finally get them, the condenser is fine BUT THE POINTS ARE THE BLOODY KIT AGAIN!! in the meantime I got the orig. ones working, modified the air filter housing for some more flow, took out the van air cleaner riser and made a shorter bolt, rerouted a vacuum line from the thermostat housing to the manifold vacuum F port (I think this ensures the secondaries don't open until the eng. is hot), capped all the extra vacuum ports, hooked the coil straight to 12V and got her to burp over! Then I routed the van engine wiring harness I had cut out and hooked up a dummy light to check the alternator and a starter button....voila!
Almost! I have some wheel bearing issues to sort out...i'll go to the '58 & up roller bearings later but hope to find an outer race in someones junk pile for now...clean up and bolt on the centrelink and finish installing the dual pot m/c and it will be a roller!
open headers man!...I've got pipes/mufflers just have to fab up a crossover/header collector connection...they came from a Cougar (or Galaxy) with a 289 but went right in to the Chevy slicker than snot on a door knob!
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