Finally, 57 body onto Morrison chassis

[57 Bel Air LS7]

After several trial mountings of the body onto the frame for fitting things together, we have mounted the body onto my Morrison chassis for the final time (I hope :o ). Now some serious final assembly can start. I'm hoping to get it ready for the Power Tour.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r306/tqgb/57%20Bel%20Air%20LS7/th_IMG_0518_1_1.jpg (http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r306/tqgb/57%20Bel%20Air%20LS7/IMG_0518_1_1.jpg) http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r306/tqgb/57%20Bel%20Air%20LS7/th_IMG_0521_1_1.jpg (http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r306/tqgb/57%20Bel%20Air%20LS7/IMG_0521_1_1.jpg)

[Shua57]

Sweet, I bet that put a smile on your face. I can't wait to get mine back on. Looks good, congrats.
Josh

[12pack]

Looks great

[BatterdBull]

Congradulations! I recall when mine went back on frame. I felt like I had a new lease on life! Does not look like yours. I reallly enjoy watching this kind of build. Thanks for the shots.

I would give my neighbors milk cow to ride on a custom frame .Can you post a short explanation why you selected the Morrison frame? Several are available out there. My limited knowledge keeps me from getting a grip on all the advantages. Most are obvious even at my level of understanding but I often wonder how the final overall performance is received.

Don
Houston, TX

[bumpybigblok]

57 Bel Air Ls7,
Looks like we 're on the same wave length,your alittle ahead though.I'm doin'
an all black 56 . Getting ready to drop in mtr, & trans. and I'll be where Your at. I chose the Morrison chassis for a number of reasons. Name & reputation,
R&D is done, Track tested With good results,and it's a GIANT headstart to Your Project and the most important Piece. later, Jimmy

[Chevynut]

Looking great.....but I still think that's "cheating". LOL!! :D :D :D

It's going to be a really nice car when finished, I'm sure.

[Chevynut]

Looks like we 're on the same wave length,your alittle ahead though.I'm doin' an all black 56 . Getting ready to drop in mtr, & trans. and I'll be where Your at. I chose the Morrison chassis for a number of reasons. Name & reputation, R&D is done, Track tested With good results,and it's a GIANT headstart to Your Project and the most important Piece. later, Jimmy

I'm continually amazed at how many guys are willing or able to drop $13-15K or more on an aftermarket chassis. I was at Morisson's factory a few months ago, and Art told me he was totally surprised at the demand too. He said the whole Tri-5 venture was Craig's idea, and it seems to be working out well for them. They've sold hundreds of these chassis. Art has gone on to design bolt-on aftermarket chassis for Corvettes and other cars now. Great guys, great product, and great quality.....but I still built my own. :D :D

[Tom$lick]

I've thought of doing that myself when the wallet permits... so it's official, I hate you!:) Kidding aside, was it very hard to do? It looks pretty straight forward in pictures, have you run into any issues yet?

[57 Bel Air LS7]

Can you post a short explanation why you selected the Morrison frame?

When I first decided to build this car, I made a list of what I wanted it to be capable of. The list basically included performance equal to many of today's sports cars, exceptional handling and stopping, ride, comfort and convenience but still retaining the classic looks of the 57. I started by determining what had to be done to stock components to accomplish those goals and tried to determine the cost of that. Since just about everything on the stock chassis needed to be rebuilt, replaced or modified to accomplish my goal, the estimated cost vs. the end result lead me to look at an aftermarket chassis. After visiting Morrison's factory, I was very impressed with their product design and quality. The cost comparison showed that their chassis would be more money but the difference at the time I ordered mine was minimal. The final deciding factor for me was that the chassis was designed to make the LS7 engine/T56 tranny I decided to use a drop-in, bolt down affair. Saved so much time and money that could be better used elsewhere on the car. For me, that made sense :tu

[57 Bel Air LS7]

Great guys, great product, and great quality.....but I still built my own. :D :D

I completely agree about the Morrisons and their operations....class act all the way....and if I had your fabrication skills and enough time, I might have tried it myself too but I don't :( so I didn't. I am envious of your project however and can't wait to see it finished. ;)

[57 Bel Air LS7]

so it's official, I hate you!:) Kidding aside, was it very hard to do? It looks pretty straight forward in pictures, have you run into any issues yet?

The body fit with absolutely no problems. I did recess the firewall about 3" when I smoothed it but it didn't have to be done for the engine to fit. I used Morrison's engine mount plates and tranny crossmember and everything fit fine. Lots of clearance for headers, steering and the LS7 dry sump plumbing.

[57 Bel Air LS7]

I'm doin' an all black 56 . Getting ready to drop in mtr, & trans. and I'll be where Your at. I chose the Morrison chassis for a number of reasons. Name & reputation, R&D is done, Track tested With good results,and it's a GIANT headstart to Your Project and the most important Piece. later, Jimmy

Jimmy, post some pics of your project and good luck with it. Maybe we can meet at "Back to the Fifties" in Mpls one of these years and compare notes. :D

[bumpybigblok]

57 bel air Ls7, I make the 50's show quite regular. I can always stand some
new friends. I should make it clear,the 56 I'm building is not mine. I'm a Freelance auto builder restorer. I've got too many projects started. It makes
progress slow. The 56 is my Friday Job. The prefab parts ,(chassis,engine, trans,etc.) will make this build go much quicker, and the client can afford it.
I do it all with little help,so I'll probably die trying to get'em all done. working
on-37 chev.2dr 68 camaro (close) 33 Ford cpe. 69 CobraJet Mustang 71 Buick Vert. Cycles,GasPmps,PedlCars. 42 YRS. at it and I get a little more
behind each day.

this is close www.lateral-g.net/members/jjohnson/

[bumpybigblok]

I got some pics. up today. Go to garage and see.

[ETriggs]

Mighty nice! I need to build a rotissere in the worst way...

[CraigMorrison]

Wow your project looks great! Please feel free to send us a disc of as many images as you can and we will put this up on our website. We're always looking to post great pictures like these. Keep up the great work!

[57 Bel Air LS7]

Wow your project looks great! Please feel free to send us a disc of as many images as you can and we will put this up on our website. We're always looking to post great pictures like these. Keep up the great work!

Thank you Mr. Morrison....I'll do that. ;)

[Caps57]

When I first decided to build this car, I made a list of what I wanted it to be capable of. The list basically included performance equal to many of today's sports cars, exceptional handling and stopping, ride, comfort and convenience but still retaining the classic looks of the 57. I started by determining what had to be done to stock components to accomplish those goals and tried to determine the cost of that. Since just about everything on the stock chassis needed to be rebuilt, replaced or modified to accomplish my goal, the estimated cost vs. the end result lead me to look at an aftermarket chassis. After visiting Morrison's factory, I was very impressed with their product design and quality. The cost comparison showed that their chassis would be more money but the difference at the time I ordered mine was minimal. The final deciding factor for me was that the chassis was designed to make the LS7 engine/T56 tranny I decided to use a drop-in, bolt down affair. Saved so much time and money that could be better used elsewhere on the car. For me, that made sense :tu
I too had the above criteria for my 57! I looked at and studied all the Manufacturers: I even asked Chevynut if he would be interested in building another Chassis! My final decision was based on Geography, in that the "Roadster Shop" was much closer than AME. It was my opinion that they were very comparable. Check out the Photo Gallery, we are putting the Chassis together now. The frame, motor and F--d 9" are Chromalusion Purpleen Jade! What do ya think? By the way my Son works @ the Morton Steakhouse Minneapolis. Maybe I'll meet you there and buy you guys a Big Steak and tell a few lies!

Old Chevys Forever!
Cap ;)

[57 Bel Air LS7]

The frame, motor and F--d 9" are Chromalusion Purpleen Jade! What do ya think? By the way my Son works @ the Morton Steakhouse Minneapolis. Maybe I'll meet you there and buy you guys a Big Steak and tell a few lies!

Old Chevys Forever!
Cap ;)

Chromalusion Purpleen Jade?? :eek: :D

Cap, beautiful color....but I'm not sure I could paint my car a color I can't pronounce :o What color is the body going to be?

When we get a little closer to the "Fifties", we'll have to round up a bunch of us for some of those steaks ;)

[Caps57]

Chromalusion Purpleen Jade?? :eek: :D

Cap, beautiful color....but I'm not sure I could paint my car a color I can't pronounce :o What color is the body going to be?

When we get a little closer to the "Fifties", we'll have to round up a bunch of us for some of those steaks ;)

The body will be the same Color! The Goal is to offset the the changing visual properties with "Bling" i.e. polished suspension components, rack & pinion, Auto Rad Cooling, Aldan Coil Overs and a ZZ502 giving it Life!

Cap

[printer]

I've struggled with the chasis approach, and have settled on the AME as well. I'm encouraged to hear some great comments and was floored to see Craig M. posting! (my order is on the way). My 4 door HT has just been media blasted and we are about to begin panel replacement. I wonder if the G-Force has been used on a 4 door ht before? I look forword to sharing the challenges ahead.

[Rick_L]

I believe that "oldman" has posted photos of a 4 door ht with an AME frame either here or on Chevytalk. It is a very nice car - probably the nicest 4 door hardtop I've seen in photos. The appearance has a lot more to do with the rest of the effort in the car, but there's no question the AME frame is a very nice piece and it will get you the ride height and stance that most of us consider very good.

[ETriggs]

YES!!! Post pictures here of 4dr HT's!!!

[CraigMorrison]

I've struggled with the chasis approach, and have settled on the AME as well. I'm encouraged to hear some great comments and was floored to see Craig M. posting! (my order is on the way). My 4 door HT has just been media blasted and we are about to begin panel replacement. I wonder if the G-Force has been used on a 4 door ht before? I look forword to sharing the challenges ahead.

4dr HT huh? Very cool! You don;t see a lot of those around, but believe it or not, we have done a few of them! The roof line / rear window reminds me of the 50's Caddy's. A big thanks to Danchuck for helping us locate that 4dr HT body mount too, because it is slightly different than a 2dr ht. But we got it!

And, if you need any info or questions answered, please let me know!

[Rick_L]

Here's a link to the post I referred to.

http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/175219/post/1300717/hl//fromsearch/1/#1300717

Click on the link in the first post to see the 4 dr ht with the AME frame. Nice car.

[CraigMorrison]

Those guys build some nice cars!

[printer]

I am truely inspired. It's always tricky building something based on a vision. It's great to see one complete. We have a long way to go, and I'm already anxious to get behind the wheel!