Will a 57 chevy front clip bolt onto a 55' chevy body and frame? I am having an idea involving rare canadian pontiacs (as in so rare as might as well have been never produced) body styles. These pontiacs were built on chevrolet ch***is.
No. 57 has a slightly different body shell, i.e., no cowl vent. I once had a 56 with a 55 nose on it. Only a little bodywork to make the bottom of the front fender match the 56's rocker panel. 55 is flared, 56 is not.
However the gl*** is the same, so if you're doing a swap with a donor car you could swap the entire cowl out. The Pontiac version may also differ, but I'd have to get out pictures to compare. I can tell you all the differences of the US model, they have a goofy underseat heater with a seperate defroster, for instance, but I don't know if they did that on the Canada model too.
What exactly are you thinking? I just went through some research a couple months ago and found someone that actually has some canadian Poncho parts made of fibergl*** and access to molds......problem is he's from Canada and shipping+Customs/duty fees kinda killed the deal for me.
The 57 had a lower cowl than the 55-56. The 57 windshield, because the cowl is lower, is taller than the 55-57, and the shape along the bottom is different.
I saw a 55 or 56 with a 55 front sheetmetal, 56 side chrome and 57 rear tailights and related parts of the quarters and bumper. I'd have to look at my pictures to see which wheelwells it had. nice car... red and white. looks like a restoration except all the parts are mixed up.
What everyone so far has said. 55 to 56, or 56 to 55, but 57 is the odd ball with the different cowl, intake vents, and windshield. There's a shorty wagon on that auction site, that has a 55 front end, 56 cowl and doors, and 57 rear quarters, wheel wells, and fins. It's a project car, and from the looks of it will stay that way.
Don't forget that the Sedan/Wagon windshield is different from the Hardtop/nomad/convertible for both 55-56 and for 57
I can get a real rough 55' Chevy sedan delivery with no front clip and rough quaters, but the roof section is in pretty good shape. I already have a 57' Pontiac sedan parts car on its way (with a rotted out frame), and lots of spare parts from my 57' Hardtop. I thought this would be a cool way to ressurect a 55' sedan delivery that is too rough otherwise to come back. They actually did make 57' Pontiac Sedan Deliveries, but they are a canada only car, and they only made 682 of them in total. I know where there is one for sale but its a rusty, dented, project car that is very overpriced because of its rarity. The canadian pontiacs are mostly chevy with pontiac sheetmetal on a chevy floorpan, frame, and running gear. The shorter chevy wheelbase is made up in the front fenders. Gl*** and doors will physicaly interchange between like body styles, but the trim holes will be in the wrong places. Rockers are chevy also. Interior is pontiac dash, but chevy seats to fit the chevy floorpan. The firewall looks identical to my friends 57 chevy, which makes sense with the front frame mounts located there. I didn't check the cowls, but I could probably swap them between cars if I had to. Would the taller 57 gl*** from a sedan be the same as a sedan delivery? My 57 pontiac parts car is a sedan. I would have to use the chevy vin since that the one that has a ***le, and the body and frame I would be using!
The 57 Pont parts car, is it a Canadian Pontiac or a U.S.A. made car? If it's U.S.A., then it'll have the big 9.3" ring gear rear end, at least grab that, as it'll bolt directly into the 55 Delivery. Put a 55 Chevrolet front end back on it. And No, 57 windshield will not fit, too tall.
57 frame is different from the 5-6. From the front door forward. Rear is the same. Lots of the 5-6-7 sheet metal parts will interchange. Windshields will also.
Canadian Pontiac - its a laurentian 4 dr sedan with the frame rotted out in front of the rear wheels. I can splice the frames if I have too - the 57' parts car still has a good front frame section. Anyone know the difference between frames from a 55-56 and 57? If I pick up the 55' Chevy sedan delivery, its becoming a 57' Pontiac Sedan Delivery. Its too rough to really restore, so I have no problem cutting it up into something cool. Is the gl*** from a sedan, the same as sedan delivery? Year for year?
We did a bunch or research into the differences in frames when we started building ours. The P***enger bodies all will fit on the same ch***is 55-57. The converts have an x member and an extra body mount toward the rear. Deliveries and Nomads are just a little different 'cuz of the gas tank, but I'd be willing to bet you could make a p***enger one work.
57 Canadian Pontiac frames are chevy. The Pontiacs also have shorter front fenders as the wheelbase of a chevy was shorter. My Pontiac sedan delivery isn't a rusty, dented overpriced project. Minimal rust, not many dents and pretty solid floor. You haven't seen it in person. This is quite a task you are taking on. It can be done though. Change the cowl, find a pair of wagon tailites, not Safari or p***enger car as they are different, changet he rear ends of the quarters, change the wheel wells to 56 chev, change the dash, and you have one. Again, not easy, but it can be done. There are maybe 10 of these 57 Pontiac sedan deliveries left, so that dictates the price. Pat.
here is stuff I know: 55-6 winshield- hard top(2&4), conv 55-6 winshield- 2&4 sedan & wagon/delivery 57 windshield hard top(2&4), conv 57 windshield- 2&4 sedan & wagon/delivery canadian pontiacs are basicaly chevys with pontiac sheet metal. they have the same frame and floorpan as a chevy. 567 frames are all 115 wheelbase. there are minor bodymount differences between hardtops, sedans, and wagons. If you have a 2/4 sedan frame it will work on all models, adding mounts for the hardtops,,nine p***emnger wagon and the X for the conv. the only other difference between the 55-6, & 57 frame is the front frame horns 55-6 have a rounded taper, and 57 is a square. they could be easily cut off and changed out. the doors on all similar models on all 567 american chev, american pontiac,and canadian chevy and pontiac all interchange. the trim holes are in different spots, and some lock holes are in different spots(56 belaire), but you could use any 567 chev or pontiac 2 dr sedan/wagon/delinvery door on another. this gets to my idea for your project. since you are tackling the task of switching 1/4 panels , this should be easy. cut the cowl and windshield posts off your 57 4dr parts car. there is a factory seam that runs across the floor from side to side, where the flat angles up. cut the two cars apart there. use your 57 windshield and whatever 2dr sedan doors you have to line every thing back up. cut the front frame horns off the 57 pontiac, and switch them out with the chev sedan delivery. that should be all you need to do to chang over, besides the 1/4ers. btw the tailgates on all 567 canadian and american chevys and pontiacs are the same as well, just the trim hole difference. however the sedandelivery and wagon have different gates, the deliverys had a one piece gate- the wagons a 2 piece. nomad is completely different. hope this helps!
Yours is nice, but too far, and too expensive for me for another project. I actually found yours on a internet search after lookingat the one local to me. The local one is a green one that has the sides caved in from cows rubbing on it and is rusted to pieces since its been sitting out behind a barn for who knows how long and the guy still wants $2500. This local one is a way overpriced, rusty POS and dented to hell. Its floors are pretty much completely gone, its sunk in the ground to the frame rails, the roof rail is rusted bad, and there is not a single usable body panel. I pretty much told the owner that is was only worth s**** value since its so far gone. I would love to have the one you have but just don't want to spend large amounts of cash on toys right now with how everything is going.
This actually helps a lot! thanks The 55' chevy sedan delivery actually still has all its doors, including the rear one piece gate. I am not too worried about cutting the two cars apart and putting them back together. Its a lot of work, but I would rather put time in than money. There is a 57 poncho wagon in a wrecking yard a few hours away from me, so I might see about getting that one for parts also. Its pretty much been picked ove though, so it might not be worth it.
You could use the quarters off the wagon in the wrecking yard. It would give you the correct wheel wells and tailite housings. If you changed your 57 Pontiac cowl, you would also be using the pontiac dash. I just changed a cowl on a 55 wagon and used the whole thing including dash. Pretty sure I am the only guy on this forum with a real 57 Pontiac sedan delivery. I parted out a window wagon sedan delivery a few years back that was rotten. Was a factory window add on package and had a serial tag that proved it was a delivery. Had the delivery gate, but looked like a 2-door wagon. Way rare. Pat.
The wagon in the yard was pretty rough, so I don't know oif the quarters are even salvagable. Where did you cut to change the cowl?
i know this thread is really old and the car would be done by now. i am trading my 34 2 door for a 56 chev 210 with 55 front clip, should i change it back?
Change back the trade...??? or ...??? Do you like it how the Chevy looks now...??? If the answer is you do, then don't...besides, you're going to get 2832 different opinions on why you should/shouldn't... R-
actualy the trade is a done deal verbally but physically happens this weekend had the 34 on ebay last week and for every bidder i had 10 watchers (130) and 9 trades proposed and three bids after it ended by non bidders
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