Thread: 57 Chevy Cruizer

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Dave good luck finding a past for your car. I tried for over a year on mine and got know where. All I knew was it was a drag car (not gasser). Bought it in Indiana down by Owensboro KY. The guy I bought it from bought it to restore so it sat out side for years. He couldn't remember who he got it from.

Originally Posted by cffisher

Dave good luck finding a past for your car. I tried for over a year on mine and got know where. All I knew was it was a drag car (not gasser). Bought it in Indiana down by Owensboro KY. The guy I bought it from bought it to restore so it sat out side for years. He couldn't remember who he got it from.

So far, I've made it back thru two previous owners, neither of which really did anything with the car.... Trying to track down the guy who had it before them with the help of some friends....

Dave,
Here's a website you might want to look at: http://gassersinc.com/pictures.htm

Click on Tri-Five Chevys and there are dozens of pics of 55 - 57 Chevy gassers. Some are vintage pics, some are not. You can always tell when some modern builder missed the point - they've got the car jacked way up to avoid cutting the rear wheelwells. Definitely not period correct!

I believe you are correct on the 24 inch maximum crankshaft height. The altered class had the same height rule, but engine setback was 25%.

Thanks for the link Jim! Had to add that one to my references, and even found some more shots of the Shake, Rattle, and Run '57 gasser!

Jim, that link is a good one................burned a big hole in my early morning.

Dave, did you read the build links? Those guys are saying 10 degrees caster at minimum, saw you were asking about that on your axle thread.

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Jim, that link is a good one................burned a big hole in my early morning.

Dave, did you read the build links? Those guys are saying 10 degrees caster at minimum, saw you were asking about that on your axle thread.

Yup, saw that...sure does make the steering hi-effort... But the guys running the cars know what it takes to go straight so that's what I'll go for....

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Jim, that link is a good one................burned a big hole in my early morning.

Sure brings back fond memories, doesn't it? When you guys get done with that site, here's another one to help waste the rest of your morning: www.gassermadness.com

Whenever I've tried setting caster at more than about 7 degrees on a beam axle (on my coupe, on 2 previous C-Cabs, and a T-bucket) the front end always shook uncontrolably, so I always shoot for 5 or 6 degrees. Yet, old rail dragsters had caster angles of 20 degrees or more... Can anybody explain how/ why that works on some cars and not others?

Originally Posted by J. Robinson

Can anybody explain how/ why that works on some cars and not others?

Might have something to do with the weight on the front axle. I too have seen some really extreme caster angles on lightweight diggers.

Here is another angle. Now if you just had someone who could give you a half dozen measurements.... :-)

BTW... Summit carries many Cal Custom parts. Maybe you could inquire about the possibility of their future plans... and if they include this scoop?

[QUOTE=HOTRODPAINT;407586]Here is another angle. Now if you just had someone who could give you a half dozen measurements.... :-)
QUOTE]

I've been playing with the old drafting scale and some pictures of Tri-five's with the Cal Custom scoop and some measurements off my stock hood, should get it figured out easy enough, nothing but a bit of math, right????

Jay, I was sanding a bit on the hood today...Looks like it's had a repaint on the hood at one time, some black primer underneath it;.....Man, the paint and primer is like sanding a piece of granite!!!! 80 grit cuts it for awhile then quit, tried some 220, same thing!!! Seem to have to switch back and forth on grits to get the paint and primer off!!! Any idea what this would be?

They were obviously done in recent times. PPG makes a black primer. I think it's DP40... but I can't swear to it.

I thought some about colors. In the '60s race cars and rods tended to use the basic colors... red-yellow-blue-black and white.

On the other hand, using a '50s color might be typical of a '50s bodied car. The pale blue on the '57s was nice. The aqua was also highly popular on them. That was the time that metallics were being intrduced, like the Aztec Copper on the '57... but metallics are more common today than solids.

Whatever you use... I would try to go for something that would look nostalgic... and not be a color used a lot today.

If you decide to use a car name... maybe one of those colors would be a natural. :-) Song titles often make great names... and you could pick one form that time to give it more personality. Now lets see... Motown was big then... the British invasion was just starting... but we all were still singing '50s songs. Lotsa choices. {:-)

Its all about what your using the car for, the 20 degree users are mostly race cars and its done for stability but they quite often get the death wobble when coming out of the burnout.
On a street car i like 7 degrees, gives good straightline stability and the steering won't be to heavy.

Originally Posted by J. Robinson

Whenever I've tried setting caster at more than about 7 degrees on a beam axle (on my coupe, on 2 previous C-Cabs, and a T-bucket) the front end always shook uncontrolably, so I always shoot for 5 or 6 degrees. Yet, old rail dragsters had caster angles of 20 degrees or more... Can anybody explain how/ why that works on some cars and not others?

When you said "make one" I thought you meant from scratch. A mold would be easy... if you can find someone who will loan theirs out.

Maybe you can offer them a copy. That might get 'em interested. :-)

Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

When you said "make one" I thought you meant from scratch. A mold would be easy... if you can find someone who will loan theirs out.

Maybe you can offer them a copy. That might get 'em interested. :-)

With a few good pics, think I could make a plug out of wood, plastic or something, then make a mold out of it.