My stepdad picked up a cherry 57 Chevy Wagon the other day. A guy told us it had a "California ch***is". We noticed the front part of the frame tubing is one piece and around the firewall back is two halves welded. Someone fill me in on what this was all about.
Normal 55-7 frame is welded 2 piece front to rear. California or Nascar or whatever you want to call the special frame is tube front to rear. Sections are welded around the frame. They were under all body styles and years and were supposedly lighter and used for racing. They had to be a production frame to qualify for racing, hence the low numbers. They weren't a California item only as we had them here in Canada too. Pat.
The 1pc frames were box tubing, with the kick-up over the rear end also being bent box tubing, welded to the frame rails. 2pc frames were essentially pieces of C-channel, one slight smaller than the other, welded together to form a boxed frame rail. 1pc frames are not unique to California--as noted above, they showed up in Canada, and I've seen several Atlanta-built cars with them as well; 4drs, 2drs, etc. They aren't particularly rare, just desirable. They were lighter than the C-channel frames, making them desirable for drag and roundy-round racers. They also look "cleaner" under a show car. Hence the "on the street" desirablility. Brad
Actually, I think Oklahoma cars had that frame too. Maybe new Mexico or somewhere else as well. Does it have the one piece bumpers too? It should also have a small econo heater.
I have a one piece bumper 2 door post California frame project...........................................want to buy it?
The Jalopy Journal
