Lets see some Kustom Tri-5 Chevys

Gotta friend that just got a tri 5 chevy from his uncle it is a 4 door but it was free.
H
e wants to Kustomize it (no flat black with red wheels). I looked for kustoms but only found gasser and a real sweet 60's belfower cruiser. He wants a mild Kustom layed out and suede paint. I have a hard time visualizing a 57 Chevy like that.

 

Here's a "full" kustom I did back in the early 90's...not really the style you're looking for but it mite give you a few ideas as to what can be done.

R-






And here's my "gasser" for the street, shot in 1969!

 

here is Bill's chevy 56 towing roofers toy chevy57 pro mod on the drag strip

 

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WHICH is it?
55?
56?
or
57?

Is it a 4 door sedan with too many window posts or is it a really cool and collectible to restorer type 4 door hardtop with no window posts?

If it's the hardtop, and complete now, lower it, paint it and drive it.

If it's the other, there's a lot of fun things you can do to it!!!

 

AWWW DAMN........mine's a sedan.
Guess I better junk it.

 

mine was free to and i would have to say that is the best price for 57's.

 

Saw this last Sunday, it started out as a '56 4 door.

 

not a KUSTOM,,but a mild custom..

 

This started out as a 4-door

 

thanks man! for some reason i get that alot,,when i was younger i thought EVERYBODY loved tri-fives! hahaha i guess to many RED & WHITE billet tri-fives have ruined the whole thing! hahaha

 

If thats the same car i am thinkin of, it either was built in sasktoon sask up here in canada, or it was owned by a guy up here. Do you know if its got a 6 carb set up under the hood too and all chromed out?

 

Jimbob - more pics of the brown '55 please. that thing is understated and bitchin'!

 

I know the old guy who owns this 57....

 

Wow, testy....

What I meant was, in answer to the original question that said he wanted to know Kustonizing tricks, not just the "gasser" look, which is sorta what that slick looking yaller sedan is, at least it's not a lowered custom...
That there are a lot of fun Kustomizing tricks that can be done to a four door, including making it into a two door, or not, I meant... guess I shoulda typed more the first time...
The way-short
green car is one way to go but they end up too short in most peoples eye if you take the entire front door out.
A kinder gentler way is to just shorten them to about a 102" wheel base, same as a '57 T bird and Corvette, keep the front door, and then weld the rear door skin on to the 1/4 panel. Easy way would be to make it a roadster at that point, or chop and shorten the roof.
Or you could keep the roof long and shorten the deck lid and make a "GT", or differently styled Nomad idea looking car.
To then make it really swoopy looking a 4" section would bring it down to '57 Tbird profile. Then do those Kustom tricks like on the green car.

Another idea would be do like someone in Japan did to a '60 fourdoor, and chop the top radically, until that extra 1/4 window dissapeared and keep it a fourdoor, shaving ALL the handles of course. No "real Kustom" has visible door handles! Then there wouldn't be any "extra" door pillars showing in the profile.

Or keep it full length and cut the top and pillars off, fill the windows so it's a windowless roadster, then mold in the cowl to the dash and make a Duval or speedboat style windshield and a removable carson top, or just make sufficient drain holes in the floor and upholser it with boat vinyl and ok to get wet marine carpet. (I have marine carpet in my truck and MGB GT, in case I forget to close the windows and water the lawn....)

 

Here are a couple.

 

Yep, you do, Rocky!!!

That Kustom (with a Kapital K) is a jen-u-whine sixties survivor...built in Milwaukee in 1965...I've been the proud owner/driver for a lot of years! Of course, it didn't look this good when I got it!

And it gets driven...and no, it does not have airbags or hydraulics...it sets that low ALL THE TIME...that's the ONLY way they did it back then!!!

R-

Here's the rear of it!

 

The blue and white convertible '55 is a copy of a Sam Barris car built by none other then Bo Huff. I never have been a fan of Huff's personal styling cues, but the talent is there and the car is on the money. The name of the car escapes me, I think Sam Barris built it for his wife.

The shortened 4 door into 2 door midget has an interesting story behind it, if it's true. I spoke to the owner at length at Lead East regarding the car, and the story is as follows. The car started as a 4 door sedan, that was a full kustom show car built by a no-name do-it-yourselfer in the early 60's. The car was at a show with it's doors open, when a spectator on a minibike/motorcycle lost control while cruising around the show and collided with the rear door, severely damaging the B pillar. Instead of scrapping the show car, the owner took it and turned it into the car you see today, by removing the damaged area. Motivation comes from a 327, which must be a blast in such a small car.

 

Butt, im not partial to Tri-fives...but I have always loved yours....Bad ass car...Love it.!!!

 

These from Louisville, KY - Rod & Custom Show November 26-29, 1959 that I found at http://www.wirthscustomauto.com/slides.htm are cool, especially those skirts on that 56!

 

Sectioned and chopped 55









so cooooool

 

Early version with different grille








And the back side of that red convertible



An oldy from the late 50's

 

what is the length of a 57 4 door bumper to bumper?

 

cool almost looks like something dr.j described in his reply

 

btt, Im getting some good ideas from this post.....

 

Here is a pic of that Green shortened Chevy, does anyone know the guy that owns it now as the Majestics Car Club had shown it in the 60's in their car show up here in canada and this next (06) year they are celebrating their 40th anniversary and would like to track down some of the wild cars from decades past for this show, so i thought I would add a post on here to see if anyone has any info to help track down some of the rides they are searching for.

At this following link, you can see the other cars they are seeking out from days gone by.

http://www.majesticscarclub.com/car_show.htm