Nice looking vette Brian my dad had a 57 his was a fuelie 4speed car granted he had it long before I was around he always said it was the one car he wished he had never sold but back then he made $750 when he sold it and that was the down payment on the house I grew up in so it was a necessary sale and back then that was a big pile of money
The starter looks like either a 55 or 56 starter. The 55 starters had solenoids that were open on the plunger end and the linkage was exposed. The 56 starters had a rubber boot that covered the solenoid plunger, with the linkage exposed. The 57 starters were the first to have an enclosed solenoid and linkage. However, I'm not sure if the very early 57's would have exposed linkage, or enclosed linkage. As Squirrel mentioned, if the starter still has it's Delco tag, the tag should have a date code on it.
Im looking into the starter. I found the generator. Somehow some of the parts off the 60 got onto the 57. I just received the restoration book today and some of the parts. I will get it all straightened out soon. If the radiator gets done this week im going for a ride.
My buddie in town put a blown 396 in his car back in the early 70s. It was very wild for the time. It was pro street before there was such a thing. My 427/435 hp engine would look great in there. If it wasnt so original it would be tempting. I dont want to ruin a survivor. A pic of my friends daily driver. He sold the car to a guy that couldnt stand to see it unrestored. My buddy kept the drive train and wheels. They are going into a newer vette he is building.
"My buddie in town put a blown 396 in his car back in the early 70s. It was very wild for the time. It was pro street before there was such a thing. My 427/435 hp engine would look great in there. If it wasnt so original it would be tempting. I dont want to ruin a survivor. A pic of my friends daily driver. He sold the car to a guy that couldnt stand to see it unrestored. My buddy kept the drive train and wheels. They are going into a newer vette he is building." Someone restored this car back to stock? Unfortunate. I suppose it made sense to the buyer. But not to me. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
I rode in that Vette a couple of times. It had a clutch turbo trans and a Pontiac rear end, you can guess where the weak link was. I remember one night we were cruising in Tulsa during the Street Machine Nationals, on a dare from some spectators he lit it up by side stepping the clutch at a high RPM, it didn’t take long for red lights to show up in the rear view mirror. Believe it or not we did not spend that night in the pokey.
@racer-x I recently sold a 69 350hp convertible because it was too original for me to hot rod. I much prefer a hot rod vette to a stock one, but if they’ve made it this far and are still stock I say leave ‘em that way. Check out my thread “ getting something done” for my 57
The old guy thinks it would be cool to put my hemi in it. He is a long time nitro fan. The car is so cool as is i just cant do it.
Im going over to Howards tonight to cut some dome off the 427 pistons. If i remember i will get some pics of the original engine and wheels.
Straps are taking place of the shocks which should have had shortened travel. I'm guessing Chevy didn't want to pay for a unique body shock for the early Vettes, when they were only anticipating ~5K units vs the 1.5+million sedans being made in '57. And the last of the sedans the Vette was based off was over a million made for the 1954 model year. It was most likely just cheaper/easier to slap on a strap rather than have some custom made shocks. I would install them. If you've ever been in a vehicle that has just a bit too much shock travel it can feel as the bottom of the car is falling out from underneath you. Which can be quite unsettling. It does affect roll since the jacking of the inside wheel is limited but this affects under/oversteer more-so than roll.
The straps are generally referred to as rebound straps. But @noboD is correct. The straps are to limit the downward travel of the rear end housing. Limiting it's travel prevented the front drive shaft yoke from pulling out too far from the transmission tail shaft housing in cases where the car loses contact with the ground. Getting some air is something that can happen in road course racing. Something Zora was heavily, maybe even obsessed with. Example. This is a totally different type of car and suspension. But it's an example of an SCCA race with a car getting some "air". I found that '65 coupe in a barn. It was a clapped out derelict. It has since been restored to it's earlier racing days configuration. As for GM not wanting to spend the money on shocks for what was actually a down sized and adapted '49-'53 Chevrolet chassis. The rear springs, shocks and axel housing differed from the '54 and earlier passenger car and were unique to Corvette. Just check the trim height between a stock '53 passenger car and a stock solid axle Corvette. By '57 there was a racing suspension available to the public as an RPO (Regular Production Option). Available to those with connections in '56. So respectfully I seriously doubt Chevy had a reluctance to have a suspension engineer spend a few minutes to spec out a shock when we knw they did produce those parts in spite of the production numbers. It was a necessity. Sort of in for penny in for a pound. Besides limiting differential housing travel isn't a shocks absorber's prime function.
I asked about the other vette. Its a complete running car. Unfortunately its not for sale. He was very firm about that.
I had to take some time off for family things. Im back on it hard. The cars engine harness was changed. The tail pipes were removed. The old ones were a combination of flex tubing and water pipe. You gotta like a farmer that keeps it running no matter the cost. The remains of the axle straps were cut off. I have new ones ordered. They need to be riveted. Any ideas on what works for that job would be appreciated. The old and new gas tanks were put side by side. The areas were the straps go were modified to match the original. The steering wheel was pulled so the cover for the column can be painted. Its completely rusted. After the new seat covers and carpet go in it would really stand out in a bad way. The area under the gas tank is finally cleaned out. I should still have some time to drive it this year. Im just waiting on the seat covers and carpet to arrive. It should go back together fast.
Brian, some guys make a tool up to crush the rivet and maybe there is a tool that is sold through one of the supply houses. The last time I did it I used a pneumatic rivet gun with a bucking bar that I had a friend hold. Even then it was kind of clumsy. You may be able to modify a spare C clamp you have that may work well. Here is something I found on the internet that may help.
Did a butt load of rivets with my dad once, he picked up a bit for the air chisel that was concave on the end, I think I recall using a block of steel on the other side, but it’s been 20+ years. I’ll see if I find the bit later and post a pic of it for you.
This is a little misleading, you want the head of the rivet tight against the material before you start driving the rivet and the tool is called a rivet set
Old hot rods are pretty cool - this is mine. Rare wheels and original 4 speed. Got it from the 2nd owner, he bought it in 1968. Painted long time ago. New crate motor.
I agree with Doug on the wheels/hubs (and the rest of the car is quite nice too). Knockoffs are the way they should have come from the factory IMO.
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