A friend just bought this 57 Chevy out of Baltimore MD and was wondering if anyone may know the history of it...Supposedly in storage for over many years... These are the only pics he has right now but more will be coming...
Of Utopia or Armageddon? I will give credit for the attempt as the '57 Chev is one of those body styles that's tough to work with. It looks like the clear coat failed and has mostly peeled off giving it a bit of a 'burned' appearance.
What the hell, dudes do all kind of radical chops and body mods to other cars. Why not a '57? Is it in Littlestown ? Love to see it in person.
I can appreciate the amount of work it took to make that car what it is now. Every panel except the trunk, and maybe the doors, had major work. A car that wild, someone will remember it.
Cool find, agree someone spent a lot of time, kinda funky, Im sure your friend can turn it around. Any evidence of multiple paint jobs?
My friend lives in Baltimore and that is where the car will be stored... He does have plans to get it running... brakes... new tires but not right now he has other cars he is working on
This was out of Minnesota in the early 80`s. I took the pictures in Springfield Onio in 83 at the leadsleds. The first pic, had a jack underneath it. They were working on it. @Moriarity
Roll it back in storage. Hard to improve a 57 by customizing it a lot. 57 Buick grille is all they really need, imo. 57 Fords, on the other hand make fantastic customs.
Yes this car has been talked about here before, It was owned by a guy named Jim Davis from Minnesota in the early eighties. I believe it had hydraulic suspension. He brought it to the KKOA shows in 82 and 84 and caravanned with a bunch of us from the Kustom Kemps of Mn car club. I had heard today that it was sold to someone from Europe.
I saw this for sale recently (as in, this past week recent) and I really hope someone got it who likes customs and will at the very least take off all of the stick-on plastic sculls and junk.
Alot of bad sentiment in this thread about customizing a '57 Chevy. I admit that some customizing isn't very well thought out, but in this day and age of "restomods" and restoration due to the "value" of cars, a customized '57 would be a breath of fresh air. It seems like NO ONE customizes tri-fives anymore. I'd drive a custom '57 with edgy styling any day over a stocker, but that's just me. This '57 was big on the scene in the early 80s, but faded away pretty quickly. Pictures of it are hard to come by, but I have a few. These are shots from Rikster's site in the @drdave collection. These were taken at the 1983 Mid Century Mercury Show in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Ah, the good ol' days..........E
One of the things I remember about the car, I saw it many times back in the eighties, Is that the side windows didn't seem to fit very well and didn't meet up well when rolled up
I always have a small chuckle when someone comes onto a custom thread and huffs and puffs about how this car or that car shouldn't be modified because it's 'perfect' the way it is. If it was perfect, GM wouldn't have changed the design after only one year would they? I'll agree that some designs are ill-advised, but that's what makes it interesting. And every once in a while somebody hits one out of the park.
I honestly kind of dig it overall. But, I’m also not much of a 57 Chevy fan. I’m thinking they actually improved on the looks in some areas.
I ran across someone on IG about a month ago who said a friend just bought it and was looking for the history...I presume I was messaging you @fatabone? Sent the pics I took of it that @OG lil E posted and a couple I took of it in the current black with flames version when I saw it for sale in the 90's. Hope it gets put back to in candy brandywine. I'd roll the heck out it. Loved it then, love it now.
I appreciate you guys helping with the history and pictures... One of my customers bought this car a while ago and it had been sitting in a parking lot for the past ten years.... He has a few nice cars and a few projects and knew he would never get to this one and was hoping someone would save it... The car is going to Norway and I believe it will be going back to how it was when Jim Davis owned it...
Somehow, knowing it's going to Norway makes me feel good, as I doubt anyone would pay to ship it if they didn't appreciate it for what it is (was).
WOW, lots of responses with photos from other HAMBER's; that's actually pretty impressive. And, all that really matters, is that the new owner likes it. If he tires of it, he'll have NO trouble selling it in Norway/Europe. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
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