Tried to post this earlier but I'm pretty computer dumb. Yes Jim, I remember you and your sharp Vet. I agree, it was a great time and look forward to next year. Ted
Ted not only does your present car run great but you win hands down on the way you haul your car. The old Stude truck is the most period correct hauler there. I wanted to mention how much I liked Chicken Hawk but felt it was one of those topics hard to express. Glad to see your HAMB name is Chicken Hawk so apparently you can express yourself better than I-Jim
Thanks. It's not a really hot car but does ok for being stock with street tires. An automatic would probably do a little better by just getting a better 60' time but the four speed puts me back about 50 years ago. Ted
The "hot lick" for Pure Stock racing, locally in the mid-late-'60s, were recaps from a local dealer who used SNOW TIRE-compound caps cut with "some" tread. Soft and grippy...using your tread-worn cores to match, size-wise, the fronts.
There was a pair of new on steel wheels J.C.Penny slicks at Butler Parts-Arama in the Spring but the owner was not there and when I went back they were gone Keith
Junior Stock's post from 7/24 on page 496 shows the McMaster/ Gunning car there on the left side of the shot from York. That leaves the Jolly Green Giant 57 Wagon possibly out there somewhere, allegedly possibly in Arizona. While this may seem redundant to say, if you guys in the sunny southwest have seen it, know where it could possibly be or even have it, please let us know. If you don't want people bothering you to buy it that's totally understandable and your privacy will be respected. Just let us know it has survived even if you want in a PM. While I'm on a roll, if anyone else has seen any of the Junior stockers from the era, same deal applies. Your privacy will be respected. We are trying to get a count on what possibly has survived , Not violate your privacy. From what is showing up, we know their popularity never diminished...they are somewhere....thanks much guys.....
yup, always wondered what became of the CC 'ultimate jr stocker' '57 wagon. clean, well built, popular, it must've survived
That's funny. It reminds me of my first car, a '56 Ford with the 312 T-bird engine. It had bald snow tires on it that I called my "snow slicks". Verne
This wagon showed up in Classic Chevy, Ecklers, a few years ago, painted brown , with a blower scoop sticking thru the hood, what a waste.
The 4 door wagon of Marv Ripes is alive and well and raced here in Pittsburgh. I have been told that after Joe sold his wagon he lost track of it and did not care where it was.
Well, I guess that makes me nuttier than I thought was even possible. Did not care where it was after all the magazine coverage that thing got. heck, I followed the detail of that closely and the article on the real Hydrophobia to a T while constructing my Delivery. Keith, that's cool that you recognize Marv's wagon, and in Pittsburgh to boot!!! See, they're hiding in Plain Sight........
That may not have been all that difficult since, according to information floating around, the Ripes/Janes '57 wagon still sports the same paint job and some of the original lettering that it had when Tony delivered it to Pittsburgh back in about '73. Keith, is that legend accurate? c
I went to Joe's house about 20 years ago and asked if he had any old FI parts left over from his 57 wagon and he gave me a high pressure pump and some other stuff. I tried to pay him for the stuff but he insisted that it was just Chevy sh*t. He had moved on to Mopars. He used to build Hemis for the local hot shoes. Joe seemed to help almost anyone. He helped my buddy blueprint his heads on his 220hp 57 4door hardtop back in '66. Great guy. I wish he was still around. Tom
I bought the Ultimate Jr Stock 57 from Joe in either 72 or 73....It was after the big earthquake in Van Nuys. I gave him $1000 for it. I didnt have a way to haul it from LA to Dallas so I rented a garage for $15 a month and stored it for maybe a year. Then, I found a moving van driver who bootlegged it in his truck for me....I kept the car in Richardson TX for maybe a couple of years....I couldnt bring myself to remove even a decal...the car was fantastic and spotless. I bought it without the engine and tranny. During that period, I also bought new grille, emblems, etc from the Chev dealer to use as spares. I also bought a brand new 70 LT1 engine to go into the car but never installed it. I am not sure what my intention was.....street? Certainly not a drag racer since the motor was wrong. Anyway, I needed to go to China for work so I sold the car to some guy for $2000. A year to two later, I had heard that he painted it chocolate brown and put a blown BBC in it....shame.....post 9959 confirms what I heard long ago. The interesting thing I remember is that I made a choice between Joe's wagon for $1000 OR Marvin Ripes' 57 vette for the same amount.....why I chose the wagon, I dont remember. I was about 23 or 24 then so I was still learning about cars (I still am). The 57 wagon was originally purchased new by a florist in LA and it had the heater delete option. It was a real stripper car. The car was absolutely straight and looked perfect under the dash and under the carpet. Mike in Tucson
Chuck, FI 57 Chevy Nut, and Mike in Tucson: it doesn't take much to make my day but these 3 posts just spiked it for me personally today. Mike, I would've grabbed the Wagon too, good call......thanks Guys. Keith, IS the paint the same on the wagon???
In retrospect, I should have been more cautious about who I sold it to.....now the car is lost as a racing relic. Back then, I was a young engineer and probably made $2,000 a month tops....so when I sold it, the sale price was a month's wages. Man, the car was nice, the tail gate worked, all was there. The doors were tinny when you slammed them because there was no sound deadener anywhere in the car. mike in tucson
Biscayne, he must have sold the motor/trans because it was gone before I was told it was for sale for the $1000 price.....the price seems so low today but it was a lot back then.....I bought an entire 57 front clip for $10 at a wrecking yard....undented hood, fenders, grille, inner fenders. Thought I was cool when I sold it for $25. Back then, the 57 was only 15 years old....and I was buying 67-68 camaros for $300-500 to resell. Gee, if only I could have kept a few.
If I remember right the 57 wagon was in Florida, brown paint and all, when it was in classic Chevy mag.
I have a pair of 283 #4520 casting number heads. I was "told" when I bought them, they came off of the Mr ZIP Sedan Delivery Junior Stock Class car. On one pad/pyramid is stamped RIGHT-FT; the other is stamped LEFT-FT. On the opposite ends of both heads is stamped J. Franks; one also is stamped 22 and has two punch marks, the other has one punch mark; these punch marks are in the pyramid. These heads also have screw-in studs, the type without shoulders, and don't require milling of the stands. I've had them rebuilt with all new valves/springs/retainers, had the intakes enlarge to 1.84's, and had the heads surfaced. Can anyone provide any history on these heads, or know of J. Franks? They came to me out of New Jersey, I believe it was. Butch/56sedandelivery.
I am 99.9% sure you have the heads that belonged to Jim Franks from Trenton, NJ that were prepared by Jenkins Competition. He and his brother Ed ran matching '57 Chevy wagons in the late 60's. Jim's was a 245 hp called Cherokawa and Ed's was a 270hp called Cherokee. They were and still are good friends of mine. The reason I am so sure about the heads is because my brother and I just brought back to life the McMaster & Gunning '57 4 dr hard top after a 42 year sleep. This car has the original Jenkins Competition engine that I completely disassembled cleaned and reassembled. The front of the 520 heads on this engine are stamped McMaster on the rectangle with a single punch mark on the pyramid of #1 cylinder. In 1967 Alan McMaster had this complete engine built by the "Grump". "Grump built ours in 1966.
Well now, very good. Some accurate information was told to me, and some of it was "creative" I guess. Thank you for responding. I'm actually the guy that bought Kyle Marshalls 57 Sedan Delivery, then sold it to Tim when I located/bought another 56 Sedan Delivery (already had one, and then the 57), and was running out of room. Tim has sent me many pics of the 57 Delivery, and some of your McMaster and Gunning 57, 210, 4 dr hardtop. I'm happy Tim wound up with the 57, and I know he is. I guess tell your friends Jim and Ed hello for me, and I've got their heads. I was also told they came of an NHRA record holder Junior Stocker; any truth to that. Thanks again, Butch/56sedandelivery.
I know what your saying Verne. I did the same thing when I was a kid. Black steel rims with standard tires in the front, Painted the rear wheels white and 'tire blacked' snow tires on the rear. I thought I was hot stuff! Dick
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