I would say go for it if you are able. A guy here in towns got a 55 HT that was on a trailer, got rearend by a truck going 100 (trailer was prob going about 35mph) came off the trailer, rolled a few times, Looked damn near worse than that one... I MEAN I WINCED when I saw the "Before" pics. I'd never dream of touching it. But goddamn its comming along! put a straight axle under it (Car was fu*king flat on the front end ) straighend the roof with a back hoe.... Slapped in a 454, and its gonna be a damn fine street burner!!!. Guys just happy he's got a 55. And JESUS the before and after pics...what pride!!!
have you looked at going down hill?that thing will burn a good winch up.ask anybpody that skids logs.mainly stay safe,could be fun,or a disaster.good luck
If it it aint stolen, and there is enough metal left to weld to, make it happen. If i had a want for a 57 and that was the one I had i would hit it hard and make it mine.
I would go for it if i could do it safely. By all means,make a video. The worst that could happen is that it won't be usable,but would still donate a lot of parts.It may not be the last 57,but it is a 57.
Thats what Im talkin bout.....and from the man himself This quote would make a cool signature/tagline
I'd get it for lawn art/conversation piece if you can get it out of there cheaply and it's not stolen. If the guy you're talking to isn't the owner or title holder you might get that figured out before hand.
That's a VERY ambitious project, but if it's got a clean VIN, go for it. The roof (makes me cringe) and quarter will be the most work. If your buddy has a new front clip and you're able to re skin the doors... You said the floor is solid. Just hope the cowl and chassis are square. What the hell... it seems like every other muscle car build up (Chevelle, etc.) I see has them hanging new quarters, floors, etc. so why not a 57 Chevy?
Thinking about it, I don't think it would work. 2dr HT has more room between the trunk and the back glass. 4dr HT has a 'narrow' cat walk, like the 2dr/4dr sedans
When are you thinking about making an attempt? Im in if you need extra hands, i'll be moved back up to spokane the mid part of next month. I have a few cars in mind that are also in north idaho that are in a similar but much better situation (I can drag them further down the hillside to another access road), That I may attempt to get out before the snow starts falling again.
Fuck man.......when I was younger I would be draggin that thing up the hill.....now that I'm older.....I'd pay a younger man to drag it up...LMAO
I'd like to do it next month. I'm considering finding a towtruck owner with a big rig that wants to do it for the fact its an old car. Don't know if I could afford what it'd actually cost, on the clock. I need it to be a one day thing and as fast as possible. It is an hour and 45 minutes from me and the guy that is letting me in, isn't the owner, just helping out as the owner could care less. But, they won't let anybody in to the place without the middle man.
Sounds like fun...what town is it near? We have a cabin and land near calder Idaho up the St. Joe river, my grandpa built it back in the late 60's. There are still a lot of old cars hidding in the woods and on the back of fields around there.
Between St. Maries and Harrison. Right up there near Cataldo. Would love to go find more. The woods need cleaned out of old cars. Messes up the forest. I have a big empty field they'd look better in.
your roof skin will be 2 door hardtop only... the bonus is it will work off any 567 chev or pontiac 2 door hardtop... also they have just started reproducing the 2 door hardtop skin...so that is an option. 4door hardtop, and 2&4 door sedan are different.
Ha, i know that area very well, the cabin is up river from St. Maries, didn't think anyone around here would know the area that far up river. The few i am trying to grab are: 3 40'-50's chevy truck cabs '55 idaho state patrol car sitting upside down with the rear axle pulled, but otherwise complete....looks like a ford but hard to tell with the rocks and plants around it. 'Mid 30's plymouth...very rough from rocks falling down onto it, missing the front half of the frame but mostly there otherwise. Aluminum cab from a Big truck...maybe a peterbuilt in the 40's-50's Couple 60-61 chevy pickups and random parts. These are all in ONE dump site, was a county dump up till the late 60's. These are the one that went over the edge while the site was cleared, cleaned and leveled in the late 70's for a shooting range. you have to know they are there ot you'd never be able to find them. Only time any piece of the pile is visable is during the winter before the snow fall, the rest of the time everything is hidden and protected by the trees.
You'll probably need some help with that. I would love to help. I love saving old cars. If I were a metal magician I think I'd drag even more crap home to try to save.
I see this as being one of those projects you mess around with for a year or so and then the thought dawns on you..."man I wish I had never started this pos.."
Yeah, I already think that. Usually on the way home from loading it. Thats why I have lots of projects and not much money. Saving up between jobs helps me forget things. Then I get back to working on them and think that. Oh well, I am saving something that'll either run and drive someday, or be somebody else's project. Sometimes I think I'll just sell everything and use the money to go buy somebody else's finished project.
This sounds alot like one I helped on about 20 years ago. I helped my brother in law retrieve a 53 Ford ragtop that was pushed off a cliff. It was his high school car and he pushed it off himself in 66! Wasn't worth anything then! I ran a tow service at the time but none of my trucks were big enough to chance going up the cliff so we ended up going down. Much easier winching down and there was a forest service road at the base of the cliff so it worked for us. Still was a lot of work but after getting it he restored it and has been driving it since. A month after we pulled it out of there a forest fire went thru the area, if we hadn't got it would be gone forever now. If you do go get it just be careful, even without a motor that car is a lot of weight hanging, it can break chains/ cables , pull tow trucks over the edge ( guess how i know that) ,things can go bad in a hurry.
The Jalopy Journal
