To start off with, i am a 16 year old high-school student who has been infatuated with the 57 Chevy all my life. When I was two years old, my dad bought a 57 Chevy Belair 2dr Hardtop that was set up as a gasser. I guess i am biased in the fact that I beleive the 57 is the most beautiful Chevy ever and the 58 is the ugliest. (sorry lovers of the 58 Chevy) Anyways, i was on summer break in Deming, New Mexico at my grandparents house. The day after i arrived, my grandpa and I were driving around and I spotted this 57 Chevy sitting in backyard. All I could see was the left tail-fin from the back, but I immediately knew it was the car I NEEDED. We stopped and BOUGHT THE CAR with the cash I had been saving up for such a project. I was like a little kid in a candy store when we brought it home. I started digging through the trunk, finding bits and pieces of this car that had been sitting for 20+ years. The tires even held air!!! We stripped the car of all its chrome and gutted the interior. It is currently awaiting paint the one of the local body shops. We got the engine to run, but we don't know what it is. I beleive it to be a 283 or a 327. I cannot see the numbers on the bellhousing, but the numbers on the front of the block ahead of the right head is F070TS. It is an original I6 car so who would know. It has power pack heads, but has 327 valve covers and a 2 barrel rochester carb. I will try to get to the numbers on the back of the block, but if anyone can tell me what it is based on the front number, I would greatly appreciate it.
Neat story, sounds like you got what it takes Probably an early 327, assuming that it is really just an S suffix. Look at the numbers more closely, see if that T is really a number such as a 1, which looks like a I the way chevy stamps them.
Squirrel, I have looked and It might be an I. I am not sure. The way it is stamped, it looks like a T. I am not sure. I will probably be rebuilding the engine this winter. Either in our shop or in power mechanics class. I will try to remember to go to the bodyshop tomorrow and see. mr 57, there is one quaarter-sized rust bubbling area on the right rocker. besides that and a quarter-sized spot on the fenders, thats it for rust.
The reason I think it might be a number, is because of how they numbered the blocks. Having a zero right after the F means it is a 4 digit date code, since you only have 6 characters total, that means the suffix can only be one letter. So the T has to really be a number, and the S is the suffix. S was used for the Powerglide equipped 327 from 1962-64. Should be 250 hp, with a 4bbl carb. But who knows what's been done over the years. also you can look for casting date codes on all the cast iron parts like heads, manifolds, block, transmission, rearend, etc. Letter followed by two to four numbers, like B 25 7. Letter is the month, A=Jan, B=Feb, etc. Next one or two numbers are the day of the month, 1 = first, 25=twenty fifth,etc. Last number is the year, it sometimes has two digits, 7 would be 1957 (or 1967 or 1977) but if it has something like A 23 57 then it would be from 1957.
I will take my magnifying glass and look to see if it's a 1. If it is a 1, does that mean it was made on june 7th of 61? I know its not a 57 block because it has the place to bolt on side mounts.
The stamped numbers do not have the year, only the month and date. 0701 is July 1st, and you need to find the casting date code on the back of the block to figure out if that was 62, 63, or 64. I doubt they were already making 327s on July 1st 1961, but I could be wrong. btw I was almost two months old on July 1st 1961.
Oh. Ok. My bad. I understand. Started 327s in 62. I will check it out tomorrow. I feel like an idiot now. At least i can't say I was around then to have needed to remember that. Do you know anything about the casting web on the front of the block above the waterpump on the right hand side? A friend told me a 283 was one way and a 327 was another. I don't remember which is which. But, he said only 283s and 327s had them.
I don't know that detail. Don't beat yourself up about not knowing this stuff, it's not something that anyone should know....
I will try to get the casting number on the back of the block tomorrow. Then we'll know for sure. I hope it's a 327 in any form. My dad has a 63 vette 327 with 375hp. I wish mine had one too. Oh well. It is what it is. I have another engine that comes with it that i have yet to pick up. Its also a 283 or a 327. I'll just have to wait and see.
Go for it kid!!! I picked up a 56 210 4dr in 1983 and with help from my Dad we got it running and painted and I drove it to high school. I still have the car and it is slated for a Convertible conversion soon. About 100 projects later we are still going strong. Talk to Mervs classic Chevy in Iowa falls if you need parts. A great guy to deal with. Cool ride!!!
I had a 57 210 4dr back about 1979 and I loved it and wish I had kept it . Good to see that your into the old cars . Good luck with your build. Rocky
Philroy...I, too, had a '57 Chevy in high school, only mine was three years old at the time...and I, too, grew up in Iowa...IF you want to read about car crazy days waaaa-aaaaay back in 1961 with a near new '57 Chevy, pick up my first two books- "Bangin' Gears & Bustin' Heads" and "Fast Cars, 4-speeds and Fist- fights." still available on Amazon.com. FWIW, 10 years later, I owned 30 of 'em all at once... Good luck on the rebuild... R-
Good luck with your project. I have a 57 Chevy that I purchased in 1978. In 1990 my nephew who was 16 at the time decided we should redo the car. We had fun doing it.
Why you are nothing but a young babe. The '62 Chev would not have hit the show room before October, I do not think it would have neen real likely that they were assembling engines in july of '61. I have a neighbor that worked at the Fairfax plant that may know but he is getting a little slow with age. Its a more door but it is still a pretty cool car. With the updated engine it may have been another kids first car. Be pretty cool to know the history on it. How cool would that be if the new kids first car was another new kids first car at one time. I know that when I was in high school I dropped a lot of small blocks in mid tri five chevys for the other kids who wanted to go faster in mom's hand me down. First cars are always the best cars, maybe less refined but always the best.
Thank you to everybody for the words of encouragement. I have yet to get to the bodyshop to try to get the casting numbers. This is my first car, but it isn't my first vehicle. I have an 89 Dodge Ram with a Cummins with 328k miles that i pull a trailer with and a 93 Fullsize Blazer I plow snow with. I only drive the blazer in the winter because the Dodge is from Tombstone, AZ and has no rust. I will now have to either build a small building for the 57 or rent a storage unit for the winter as there is little room in the shed with the other 3 hot rods. (57 Chevy Belair 2dr HT, 50 Ford, and 59 Corvette. All three of these should be at the 2012 HAMB Drag Nationals in Joplin!!! And i get tho drive dads 57 2dr.)
Have you seen the post below about converting a 4dr post into a 2dr post? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=350312 While not "easy" it might be worth looking into. Also, I have a heavy duty (2.5" diameter tubing) car sized canopy with ends for winter storage. It has new canvas for the top. I would make you a great deal on it if you want to pick it up (I'm about 2 1/2 hr to the northeast. Carmak
I went to the bodyshop and scraped the crud off of the casting numbers. Squirrel was right on the money. The number is 3782870 which indicates, according to the neighbor's sbc book, that it's a 62-65 327. And, that is a 1, not a T on the front number. Carmak, how much would you be looking to get out of your canopy?
If you have some more time to look at it, see if you can find the casting date code on the back of the block. Should be in the same general area as the casting number you found, but possibly on the other side of the engine, and smaller. Then you will know what year it is.
Cool. I will see what I can do. The other side will be much easier to check. Then I won't have to be working around wiring, throttle linkage, shifter linkage, and the master cylinder. Will it be in roughly the same spot on the opposite side of the block?
I looked at a 1958 283 block, it's on the pass side, just to the side from the center, not far from the distributor base.
cool story I have had my 56 since 73 and I'am still taken it a part and putting together have fun and good luck.....
Dont let anything stop you! Build that sucker and show other kids what kool really is!!!! Spend more on the drivetrain than the sound system, PLEASE!
Finally found ya Philroy!! Your pictures look good. Looks like you found a rock solid 57 to start with. There sure are not many of those left to be sure. It will make you a classy cruiser. I am looking forward to seeing you soon & your pictures with fresh paint!
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=4612&pictureid=38621 Boy that brings back so many memories. I got my first 57 when i was 15 years old boy i loved that car i think it was in early 80s. have fun with it
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