Paul is a lover of Chevys. He has had too many to count, with the 1955-1957 being his favorite. Well, Paul took a big jump and decided in order to get the very best '57 he could, he would have one rebuilt from the ground up! Now that is a big step! So he called Ken, a fabulous rebuilder/painter, and gave him the specifics. Paul bought a '57 that he had been eying for the past six years, calling the owner every six months during that six years. Finally, a "yes!" so he bought it and took it to Ken, and, well....here is what is going on!
Now Paul, you can kick me for messing up the first batch of pictures. Seems there was a miss-communication between my wife and I and the earlier pics showing the first steps of restoration were cleared from the chip in my camera. Sorry 'bout that, Paul. But here are the most recent pics and I will post more when this beauty is closer to being done.
Front disc brakes and mostly all new front end parts is a must. One must be able to stop this high performance car once it crosses the finish line! Many original parts were blasted and used, whenever possible.
All aluminum radiator will help cool the LS1 engine. Besides, it looks really cool!
Lots of chrome sets off the look of the LS1 engine. Like the Navy always said, "if you can't paint it, chrome it". Well, it was something like that, anyway!
(For the purists, the Navy said "If it won't shine, paint it").
Check out the glass like finish of the paint. At over $800 per gallon, not the cheapest paint in the can...but if you are going to do it, do it right! This is "Red Hot Melt Down" by DuPont. The pictures show it a bit more orange than what is really is. It is really a HOT RED!
The blue tape keeps the chrome clean and free of scratches during restoration. The tags are new, gold coated, and standing tall!!
Custom made valve covers with the LS1 notation are not overly printed....just clean and very nicely painted. Good job!
The dash has all new wiring, fully insulated floors and sound proofed, too. Tilt wheel steering column comes from CJ's, and will have the original steering wheel. Air conditioning will be vintage, giving some cool air to make mom happy!
Great paint, Ken. No orange peel, no blemishes here! Looks like glass on that trunk! I would like to mention that Ken took great care in making sure the lines were straight and perfect for the doors, trunk and hood. The adjustments were painstaking and time consuming, but the gaps are as perfect as I have seen. Much concern for the small details will make this an award winner.
To be installed, a nicely appointed set of gauges, not relying on idiot lights for information, and a built in tach, too. This computerized unit comes from Classic Instruments.
Convertible top mechanism was rebuilt by Sam's Chevy in Moline, Ill. Most all parts are original.
This shows the headers and the chromed section on the firewall that holds the re-positioned trans fluid stick. Transmission is an L460E, pushing a 3:36 posi-trac rear end.
Disc/drum setup takes care of the braking on this car. The LS1 350 cu.in. Trans Am engine should really scream! Can't wait to hear it roar!
Stop back when more work is done. When we roll it outside, we can get a more accurate color to show you. Under natural light, it should look HOT!
Mike's Show-N-Shine loves comments. To leave a comment, simply click on the "comments" button below and let me know what you think of this '57 Chevy or anything else you might be thinking about.
Remember my motto: "If you don't like the show, leave". Hey! That's simple!!
