57 Chevy BelAir Gasser Build

As far as the transmission goes I would look to see witch has the best parts availability, your probably going to need them.

 

Looks like good pricing. Never used rockauto before. Which of those options do you think would be the best option for my gasser project? Something above stock or stock height? I'm not cutting my rear wheel openings and not installing the radius quarter panels since these are in such nice shape and I love the factory lines on the 57 wheel openings. I am doing the spring relocation job, and installing mini tubs to match up with the extra width the spring movement provides. I'm going with pie crusts but haven't pinned down a diameter yet or thought much about a gear ratio.

 

Both look to be easy enough to get parts for from what I can tell. I think I like the idea of the top loader Dearborn box. Sounds like they're proven to be tough and I like the different vibe about it. 3-speed is definitely not expected and would be fun to try. I've had plenty of fun with muncies, might as well be different haha. Makes for fun conversation too, I honestly had never heard of that application before getting into that parts car and getting my hands on this one. Big head scratcher for me when I found the FoMoCo stamp on the case. What the....?? Hahaha, I would have liked to meet the guy that had fun with that post car back in the day. If cars could talk....

 

Woody’s/Danchuk and Rockauto do not make springs. Do some home work is all I’m saying.

 

Yeah I understand that, and I know there's times I can save a few bucks compared to what I pay. I enjoy the Woody's team, they're very helpful and supportive of the TriFive group and give back to the community in a lot of ways, and sponsor events so sometimes it's not always about cheapest parts. I have a local spring guy as well that I've done business with several times that's an ace in the industry that was my alternative option in this case. I'll probably buy my floor pans and most of my specific parts at Woody's. I know I'm backed up and have a product that will work well. Rock Auto seems like a good resource though for everyday parts and possibly a few things I'll need along the way. Thanks for the tip, I'll continue to check there.

 

Took the factory leaf springs loose today and got the rear end cleaned up. This unit will have to do for now until I decide what rear end and what width to go with later. I'll go through it, throw some new brakes at it and do what else is needed and get it painted up. Getting prepped for frame work doing the relocation of the rear springs with the Woody's pocket kit, move then from outboard to inline with the frame. Parts should arrive this next week.

 

Spring relocation frame mod is complete. Shackle angle is a little steep with the new arched 5-leaf springs and a bare frame but I played around with loading weight and I think all said and done with the car reassembled it'll settle out just right. I'm pretty happy with it overall.

 

Here's how it looks all together so far with tires on the ground. I'm not using these wheels and tires for the gasser build, just happened to have a set laying around from a swap I did on another car.

Next phase of work will probably be floor and trunk pan, with a set of mini tubs. I might decide to split the factory tire well and add a strip of material. We'll see after I look into products available a little more and cost.

I'm thinking I'll get floors and trunk pan installed, prep the underside and coat with something like Lizard Skin. POR-15 the frame and grab a new set of body mounts to reassemble body to frame before chopping the front end for the solid axle swap. Also still looking to source a 55-59 Chevy half ton front axle. I'd rather run one of these dropped beam axles if I can find one to source locally. View attachment 5635434

 

Fantastic job! Guessing you'll wait to weld the spring pads to the axle housing until later when the car is assembled? The next big move is this setup on mine. To get some ride quality, lose the coil overs and a wider housing/axles so I can hang those rear tires..

 

Thank you. Yea I'll wait until it's all loaded down and sitting at final ride height so I can dial in the pinion angle before welding the spring perches in place. But I'm also scouting around for a 9 inch or Dana 60 rear end so it also depends on what I settle on for a diff. Sounds like you're really coming along on your project!

 

Why are my pictures / posts getting edited or removed because of the wheels that are temp/rollers? I made a statement above that these wheels are not a part of the project, I just had them sitting around to temp up the chassis. Does that violate the H.A.M.B rules even though they are not part of the project? Just trying to remain in the green zone on posting.

Thanks.

 

Off topic wheels are not allowed. When I post pics of on topic vehicles with off topic wheels I always do it at an angle so that wheel’s do not show up as to what they are. Much like how your remaining pics are.

 

Ok, noted. I'll be mindful of that moving ahead. Seems a little excessive but I understand what they're trying to uphold.

 

Hang in there. Deletion’s happen to all of us so don’t thing it’s a new guy thing.

 

Nice work. Where are you located, I have a 55 to 59 truck front axle if you need.

 

I'm in Kitsap County, Port Orchard. PM me if you think it's something we can hook up on! Thanks!

 

You got it boss, all good here! Thanks for having me....

 

I bought a front axle today from a guy locally. I paid $100 for what you see. I decided I wanted to run the 55-59 year range front axle for the wider dimensions than the earlier version. This one was pulled from a 56 Chevy half ton truck. Here's the specs I pulled from Sid's Dropped Axles website for these 55-59 axles (spoke with him on the phone also, very helpful and great to discuss with):

54" kingpin center to center
31-7/8” spring pad center to center
4-1/2” factory drop
0.866” dia. kingpin
2-1/8” or 2-1/2” kingpin boss

I have the Early Bird Puyallup swap meet coming up on Saturday the 18th in my area so I'll be on the lookout for whatever I can find for the project! Depending on how that goes (and how much money I spend ), I might decide to order up the front end parts, leaf springs, steering, etc. afterwards and think about ordering up floors, trunk floor, wheel tubs and body mounts soon. I'm looking forward to getting this car to be a roller with the under body fixed, painted and bolted back on the frame. Thinking about a few frame stiffening mods before probably hitting it with POR-15.

 

Looks like it will be a great match for the frame rail width.

 

Got a solid plan for the front frame section?

 

Somewhat, I'll be fabricating the rails out of tubing, I just need to get my front axle assembled, select springs, steering components and all that so I can mock it up and design a frame section around the parts.

 

Nice car, good plan, great execution. Keep us updated please

 

I think I've decided on the 15" Halibrand Sprint wheels in the anthracite finish for the rear of the car. Looking at something like Rocket "Launcher" spoke skinnies for the front. If anyone knows of these available, let me know!

Considering pie crust tire options, love that look! Pinning down size and measurements for wheel/tire combo. I'd like to get a package sorted out soon so I can buy a rear end and build it to fit the wheel/tire setup that I want to go with, Open to recommendations....

Also looking for a rear end for the car. I have the factory rear mocked up, but I would like to find a Ford 9", Dana 60, or 12-bolt for the car. I'll narrow it if necessary. I'd like to find a bare housing if at all possible so I can build it from scratch, unless it's all properly outfitted and known to be in good working condition. It's hard to fork out the cash for a "complete" rear end that needs a full overhaul, etc anyway. All comes down to price I guess!!

I'm also beginning research on paint patina/preservation processes and products. Those who are experienced, let me know your favorite methods! I want to clean up what's here down to the rock-chipped original onyx black paint. I can get all the spot/surface rust cleaned up pretty well. I'll scrub off the silver spray paint that someone applied up front down to the substrate whatever is looks like and do a nice preserve job on what's left. Down the road I may decide to body work and paint the car, but for now I love the raw old-school look and it lives in my budget. I'm going to probably run a raw cast blower housing (TBS 6V-71) and try to keep the polished look to a minimum for bolt-on parts. I just want the factory trim to be the star of the show on bright work.

Continually honing my plan but it looks pretty killer in my head so far.....haha! I'm already banging gears in my head, and smell tire smoke when I wake up in the morning!!! Is that normal.....?

 

So long as you didn’t wake in bed on the fast lane of the freeway with vehicles avoiding crashing into you, then yes it’s normal.

 

Tell you a story about a pair of '57 Chebbys.

A kid I went to school with had 2 '57 Chebbys. One was a beautiful metalic blue Belaire hard top. It was a 327 4 speed car. The other was a '57 post car, dressed to look like the hard top, same color, same trim. Both were lifted about 2", nothing major. The post car was a 350 4 speed car, probably the first 350 car in town. On Friday night, the young man would cruise the hard top looking for a race. After you won he would have a minor problem with the car and go home to fix it for a rematch. The rematch was the post car and without a doubt he would win the money race.

Post cars weigh a whole lot less that hard tops. They make better gassers.

Like the project by the way, I'll be watching.

 

@porknbeaner ,explain a bit more how the post car was made to look like a hard top? Or were the other guy’s that dumb?

 

The post car just ran fancy trim. Most Friday nights when I was a kid were spent intoxicated and no street lamps where we raced.

And yes the kids with money were generally not really bright. They didn't have to be they had daddy.

 

I have heard the post cars weight in less than the hard top cars. If I was building to run with the gasser club and be competitive it would matter, but I just like the gasser / street freak vibe and will only recreationally run the local track. Plus I have a hardtop which helps a lot haha!

How much is the weight difference between the two body models, and where is the weight savings coming from? Is it that the post cars don't have as much extra rigidity in the roof panel due to the side support piece?
What else contributes to the weight difference?

 

50 plus pounds.