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Pacific NW '57 "Sleeper" ... says "HI!"

19K views 64 replies 36 participants last post by  Frisco 57 
#1 · (Edited)
A NW native, I've owned my '57 since May'72. Some of you NW folks may recognize this Chevy, especially if you frequent the drags. Since owning the car, it has always remained completely stock appearing with its whitewalls, full wheel covers, and column-shifted trans. The drivetrain is another story. In the summer of '73, it received an out-of-the-crate LT-1 (350ci, 11:1cr, 370hp) engine coupled to a built TH400. It ran mid-to-low 13's for quite awhile, but eventually improved to a best of 12.78 at 105+.

I was satisfied, but my two boys were not. :D They found a 400ci 4-bolt main small block and had Dale Green (DG Machine - Auburn, WA) build me a gorilla short block that ended up being a 408ci. Again, this was in June of 2000. The car immediately dipped into the 11's, going 11.78 at 114. Whoa! The track manager said "Cage it or else!" as the NHRA limit for no cage at the time was 12-flat. Had to short-shift and dialed 12-flat for my bracket racing until NHRA lowered the limit to 11.50. Ah ha! :cool:

I thought ... Hmmmm? Wouldn't it be nice to challenge that 11.50 limit? So, this past summer, on went some AFR "210 Comp. Pkg" heads to replace the AFR "Street 195's". I coupled those with some new Hooker SuperComp headers that tuck-up nicely and out of sight, plus a new 3" exhaust system with H-pipe. Go here for some install details and pics.

Did the new pieces help? YOU BET! ... as on 10/19/2008, the car recently clicked off an 11.433 at 117.59 mph! Again, the track manager said "Doug, you're gonna have to cage it!" ;) The car will never receive a cage, as it will always remain my '57 "Sleeper".

Here's a photo taken on that day ...


Leaping '57 11-second "Sleeper" - 10/19/2008

For more stats, go here. While there, drop me a vote!

Nice to be aboard the TriFive forum! :tu

UPDATE: On 10/10/09 with excellent air, my '57 went 11.385 sec @ 118.66 mph!
 
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#6 ·
Hi Doug.. I sure know your car! I lived on Whidbey Is for a few years (I work for the Navy) and my friend Neal West (also of Bellevue Wa) and I attended a "Hot Chevy Show" a few years back at SIR. Your 57 was our favorite car.. it was so stock looking but yet sooooooo fast.! I've also been to the Triple X Drive-in Trifive show a few times and your car was there..

If you check out my link you will see Neal's 55 and 57. I'm sure you will recognize them.

Welcome to the site.
 
#10 ·
Welcome Doug....Good to have you aboard....Your car certainly has a great history :tu
 
#12 · (Edited)
Daylight under whitewalls-that should be a song title!

Welcome Doug. GREAT looking sleeper. Love seeing daylight under whitewalls. Are you going to keep pushing it or is going to stay an 11.50 car? Love it:tu:tu
How are you hooking that good? No traction devices? Do the leaf springs still have stock rubber bushings? No wheel hop? Whatever you're doing, it looks like it works!

Jay
 
#15 · (Edited)
Thanks for your welcoming comments!

Welcome Doug. GREAT looking sleeper. Love seeing daylight under whitewalls. Are you going to keep pushing it or is going to stay an 11.50 car? Love it:tu:tu Jay
Gee, thanks everybody for the compliments and the warm welcome! Much appreciated.

It is fun car, as you can imagine. What's really nice is that it is so streetable, as I drive it approx. 800 to 1000 miles per year. A few years ago I drove it up to Mission, British Columbia, clicked off some high-11's, told to slow it down ... and ending up putting the street tires in the trunk and short-shifting to keep it above 12-flat. They couldn't believe that I drove it up from Bellevue, WA. With its 4.10 gears, it cruises nicely at 3K at 60. I think it got just under 13mpg doing so. I really am happy with the hydraulic-roller cam. It has a very ... let's say "healthy" ;) ... idle at 800 rpm. At the strip, I shift at a relatively low 5800 rpm. Nice, huh?

Jay - To answer your question ... "Yes, it will stay an 11.50 car." I don't foresee any updates in the near future to make the car any quicker. My oldest son thinks that I should try a 250hp shot of the juice to see if it would drop into the 10's ... I'll let him do that AFTER I'm gone. :) Besides, I do realize that running that quickly without a cage is taking a chance.

Regarding your questions about the rear suspension, I'm as amazed as everyone else that it launches so straight, considering all it has is 5-leaf wagon springs with stock bushings and good ol' Gabriel Hi-Jacker air-shocks with individual fill lines. As mentioned in another post, I pre-load the right rear with 90 psi and the left with 70 psi, to handle the torque-twist ... shown by the lifting of the left front tire. With the front drag shocks set at only 80/20, it's had a best of 1.59 60-foot with this set-up.
(Update: It's best short time is now 1.560 as of Oct'09.)

A related story: I also belong to the local BMW Club, owning a Z3 Mcoupe as my daily driver and also doing road course racing in a local conference. At our annual BMW banquet, we have a benefit auction; twice, I've offerred the '57 for someone to drive at the strip. One year, it brought $5K for the Medic One Foundation ... and another year it brought in $5200 for the Parkinsons Disease Foundation. Those who drove the car just left it in "D", so all they did was stab the gas. It again launched straight everytime. In fact, one of the driver's held the quickest ET for leaving it in "D", going 12.06 at 111! They all said they got their money's worth ... and it made me feel proud being able to contribute to a local charity this way. (BTW, with the recent mods I managed an 11.66 at 117.21 on Oct 26th leaving it in "D" ... perfect for next year's brackets.)


Staging lanes at dusk.

Again, thanks everyone for your nice comments. :tu
 
#21 ·
Found some video ...

Hello, Bienvenue, welcome to trifive, Doug. Nice Sleeper... by any luck, have you a youtube video for top pleasure, thanks & enjoy the fun.
Having never posted a video on YouTube, I found a couple that will at least show you the car in action. Note ... that the vids are not the best (sorry) 'cuz they were taken by a digital camera, not a camcorder. There are two videos; one of the burn-out and the other of the car making its victorious pass. ;) Here are the links:
* Burn-out
* Round win

Again, thanks for the nice comments! :eek:
 
#22 ·
Doug,
Welcome!
Are you running the juice on the engine?
Pete
No juice, Pete ... All motor. With the old AFR "Street 195" heads (not the Eliminators, either), on a Mustang dyno the 408ci small block put 432hp to the wheels (426 torque) and managed a best of 11.78 at 114+. With the new AFR "Comp. Pkg" 210's, the new SuperComp Hookers, and the 3" exhaust ... it clicked off that 11.43 at 117.59. The car weighs with driver at least 3850. I'm guessing the crank hp is approaching 600hp. If anyone have one of those formulas that guesstimates hp? Let me know.
 
#30 ·
Thanks again! ...

Thanks again to everyone for the warm welcome and nice comments.

55chevy292 - To answer your question, I'm running some (barely) DOT street-legal Mickey Thompson "ET Streets", bias-ply with tubes, size 11.50x15. Living fairly close to the track, I just put them on at home at head for the strip. Being only 26" tall, coupled with the 4.10 gears and the stock-geared TH400 ... that combo had the car to its first 1.59 sec. 60-foot last month. I'm pretty pleased with that number. :)

I'm tempted to try the M/T "ET Street Radial" next time. Anyone have any input using these? They're supposedly comparable to the bias-ply tire, some say better. I dunno (?). I may start a thread asking that question.

For a lot of the specs on my car, go out to its summary on DragTimes, located here.

Thanks again to all. :tu
 
#32 ·
Did I race at Mission, BC, you ask? ...

This photo should answer your question ...



That was my one and only trip to Mission, a 2-day event as I recall. Nice track. The track personnel were very lenient in letting me try to slow the car down, as it kept clicking off high-11's (NHRA roll-cage requirement was 12-flat then). I ended up putting the street tires in the trunk as ballast and also short-shifted. Car slowed to 12.10's. :rolleyes: They couldn't believe I drove the car all the way from Seattle. On the way home, a guy in a new (2002) Corvette must have saw the headers, 'cuz he wanted to have a "go". I pleased him by showing him the '57's taillights. :D
 
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