Intro for my 1957 Chevrolet wagon - pics in progress

Hi everyone,
Here is my current project car. I acquired it this past January 2008. It was a long haul from MA to CA, little over 3000 mile trip, but she made it alright. This car had been stored by the two previous owners for the past 20 years so there was no frame or body rot. It's been years of searching to find the right car to restore. I am a musician by trade and this car has enough room for my band equipment and some. I named her "ELECTRIC MISTRESS", those of you that are musicians yourself may remember a company called ElectroHarmonix back in the day, they built a Flanger guitar efx pedal called the "Electric Mistress" Robin Trower used one in the 1970s. This name stuck, so here she is as the project started. My 8 year old daughter is fascinated by this car and she wants to help daddy work on the '57. I said sure, grab me that 9/16 wrench over there sweety, she's really shown an interest and seems to want to be a part of bringing this car back to life. It came without an engine or trans, so these parts have come together in the last few months. It's equipped now with a rebuilt 1957 Super Turbofire 283 V8 220HP with Carter WCFB 4BC, oil bath style air cleaner housing and a cast iron Powerglide 2 speed transmission. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Delivery






Here's what the engine bay looked like when I opened the hood.
before


after








Engine & Trans




Tires
BF Goodrich 750-14 bias 4ply polyester 2 1/4" WW




Thanks for the look.

 

Hey guys,

The '57's running great since I replaced that darn Rochester 4Jet 4bb carb that came with the rebulit 283 V8, the new rebuilt Carter WCFB 4bb is rockin and no freaking vacuum leaks anymore. Now the generator is a different story, think it needs new brushes, it's not charging the system, checked the wiring and it's ok, maybe the regular needs replacing too. This car reminds me so much of my 1961 Chevrolet Impala 2 dr coupe I had when I was 16, purchased it for $65 bucks back then in the early 70s, yes you heard it right, all it needed was a ring job. my brother-in-law let me borrow his old Glenns Manual, it covered the years 1950 through 1970, those old manuals were great, very detailed steps and plenty of pictures.
The '61 had a 283 V8 with a Carter 4bb, replaced it with a Holley 650 double-pumper, removed the 194 heads and installed a pair of double-bump 202 heads I got from a friend for $20 that came off of his seized 350 V8 out of his 1968 Camaro. The '61 came with "3 on the tree" and I blew up that trans starting off the line in a race, snapped the main shaft right in half, then replaced that trans with a Saganaw cast iron 4 spd out of a '73 Chevy vega, hooked up a Hurst 4spd set-up and he was good to go, go, go, still have the original Hurst shifter knob today, it remains with me and keeps the memories of my youth racing days. Man those were the days of finding out that many Chevy years and parts inter-changed and fit, the prices weren't too shabby either. I'm keeping the '57 stock for now and later down the road with be hot-rodding her out, it's truely brought me back to my roots of building up cars again. I know you guys like and specialze in the Hot Rods and Kustoms, that's what inspired me to join the H.A.M.B., seeing all your awesome cars is pure enjoyment. I looking foward to meeting a lot of you some day, maybe at Jim's Speed shop in Torrence, CA will be one of my future stops.

I also received my H.A.M.B. ID plate from Ryan today, it looks awesome and COOL.

Thanks again for the looks and for welcoming a green new dude to this site.

 

That really is a KooL ride man. Looks great! KooL that you're already a member too. Take advantage of the discounts offered for HAMB members. I've used mine for several purchases. I didn't know you had posted these pics when I PM'd you. Anyway, welcome again! We'll be talkin'.