ChevyWT '57 Bel Air 4 Door Rejuvination

ChevyWT · Oct 9, 2012

I've had my 1957 Bel Air 4 door sedan for well over a year now. It has been a great daily driver for me and believe it or not, has never once left me on the side of the road. Her name is Maybellene, though I have nicknamed her "Trusty Rusty"

. Reason being is that her floors are swiss cheese.

She looks great from 25 feet, but as you get closer, you start to see some serious imperfections. Her paint is oxidized and cracked, some idiot just "slapped" a hood vee right over the six cylinder script, and it is clear she isn't looking her best.

Since restoring my '56, it is safe to say I have become much more accustomed to details. I have wanted to do a frame off on my '57 for a while, but the thought of replacing a full floor pan and trunk pan seemed like more than I would like to bite off. So instead, I am going to attempt to simply "rejuvenate" ole' Maybelllene by giving her a simple facelift. Last year I restored her instrument cluster and noticed that just that helped the entire cars image. Current plans for her:

New smoothie wheels and whitewall tires
Eventual respray in Matador Red/India Ivory
Correct hood and trunk V8 emblems
Detail-out Engine Compartment
Front end rebuild (thoughts on 2" drop spindles..)
Rework brake system (Pass. rear brake cylinder barely works at all anymore. Maybe power brakes.. discs? Who knows!)
Replace faulty fuel sending unit
Re-polish stainless trim
Possibly new stainless quarter panel inserts
Rebuild vacuum wiper motor

Maybellene is mostly stock with the exception of her 1974 350/350 combo, Cragar S/S's, mid 70's AAMCO repaint, and a custom interior.

My plans are to tackle this project slowly and go little by little, in order to keep her off the road for as short of periods as possible. My thoughts are that just a little bit of time and money could really set the ole' girl off. I have ordered her new smoothies and am hoping to soon order some tires to begin her new life! My ultimate goal is to get her just a few steps closer to a "no apology" car.

Chrome Lugnut · Oct 9, 2012

:tu:tu Great! Let the show began!!
:anim_25:

joninomader · Oct 9, 2012

Alli I can say Will, is if you work your magic on her like you did on the 56, she will soon be the Belle of the Ball.

davidc · Oct 9, 2012

Will, you have nothing to apologize for with that car. It's a really nice driver, and dependable. You have a good plan to get her 'purdy' again. It's a plus to work on her for awhile, and then be able to RIDE for awhile. Good luck with Maybelene!

Daleo56 · Oct 9, 2012

You already have created an awesome stock trifive so have some fun with this one. Go 2" drop in front with disc brakes, add a couple sway bars, slightly tinted windows and maybe even try an electric wiper.

I am about to do the same to my 150!

mickeywestsr · Oct 9, 2012

Thats a fine looking 57 moredoor.....climb in and come on up to Chattanooga......coffee is on me....:congrats:
:gba:
bowtie-trifive

carls 56 · Oct 9, 2012

sounds like a plan will. :tu

ChevyWT · Oct 10, 2012

Thanks for the supportive words, gentlemen! Tim, I will look into sway bars for sure. I rode around in Jeff55's wagon with a front sway bar and it was clear that it made a world of a difference.

Daleo56 · Oct 10, 2012

ChevyWT said:
Thanks for the supportive words, gentlemen! Tim, I will look into sway bars for sure. I rode around in Jeff55's wagon with a front sway bar and it was clear that it made a world of a difference.

Yup.

ChevyWT · Oct 10, 2012

I've been doing some research and am seeing that my options for dropping the front end goes two ways - drop spindles or drop springs.

What are the pros and cons of the two? Hate to throw the old Eckler's bone, but they offer this kit that seems to be a nice setup with tubular A-arms. Of course if I went that direction I see I would still need to buy a new power master cylinder with a disc proportioning valve and a new power steering box and pump. Frankly I am not really seeing power steering as a necessity so I will continue to look at other solutions.

Daleo56 · Oct 10, 2012

Do you want a whole new steering set up? That kit seems a little odd to replace everything BUT the spindles. Why keep those if you are gonna go all in?

I would suggest getting the 2" drop disc spindle kit and piecing the rest together. Unless they are giving you trouble I would keep your lowers, leave your steering as is and do dropped 2" CPP kit ($729 includes spindles, disc brakes and master cylinder) with CPP uppers for $359 and springs/sway bar/shocks/ends/bushings for another $350. That puts you in at around $1,400 and your front end will handle great. You can always upgrade your steering later if you really want it.

angs1957 · Oct 10, 2012

Sounds like your plan is coming together :anim_25:

Original Pete · Oct 10, 2012

Will, that 56 of yours is B E A U T I F U L!!!! and I am guessing that slowly but surely the 57 will end up the same. You were 100% correct when you said about the instrument cluster taking on a whole new appearance. Makes you wish the rest of the 57 could look like it. And it will. Enjoy the build as much as we will all enjoy watching you do it.

jeffs55 · Oct 10, 2012

I like the kit Daleo showed, personally.
Do that, add the front and rear sway bars, (it's a little too difficult to me for my pocket kitted wagon to add rear sway bar)
I wouldn't recommend drop springs with the drop spindles. I have that, and while I love the look, it does scrub a little here and there.
Can't wait to see the pics with the new wheels. :tu

Daleo56 · Oct 10, 2012

jeffs55 said:
I like the kit Daleo showed, personally.
Do that, add the front and rear sway bars, (it's a little too difficult to me for my pocket kitted wagon to add rear sway bar)
I wouldn't recommend drop springs with the drop spindles. I have that, and while I love the look, it does scrub a little here and there.
Can't wait to see the pics with the new wheels. :tu

Will,

After you switched tires on the 57 earlier this year I wanted to try it. This is what the 150 looks like with stock spindles BUT with smaller tires up front. That may be an option for you if you want to avoid dropped spindles. It could give you the rake without the rub. Of course the Bel Air is dropped but does rub on hard left driveway turns.

Tim

55mania · Oct 11, 2012

Tim - love that look! Super:tu

ChevyWT · Oct 11, 2012

Tim - I am hoping to lower the car evenly on all four corners vs having a rake in the front. I am going with the same size tire all around and may end up doing 1" lowering blocks in the rear.

I just ordered the tires from Coker. I went with BF Goodrich 225/70R14s with a 2-3/4" whitewall. I will be anxious to see if my ride height will change at all off the bat. I will make further lowering decisions from there. I do like that kit you posted, Tim.

ChevyWT · Oct 11, 2012

WE HAVE SMOOTHIE! And it sure does taste good...

The smoothies just showed up on my door step and they look fantastic. The chrome is beautiful, but frankly a bit too much chrome for my taste. As I stated earlier I will be painting the wheels Matador Red and leaving the center cap chrome. Should have a really nice retro look with those whitewalls. And to answer anyone's question in advance, it would have cost me more to have bought primered smoothies and the chrome caps separately vs. buying a full chrome wheel and cap at once.

Lug spacing check - better safe than sorry!

bigdave R.I.P. · Oct 11, 2012

Looking good Will. Justa reminder that most 14 inch wheels are too small to work with disk brakes.

Daleo56 · Oct 11, 2012

bigdave said:
Looking good Will. Justa reminder that most 14 inch wheels are too small to work with disk brakes.

Yeah, be careful when ordering from a vendor. Danchuk has a decent set for 14" rims and stock spindles for about $450 but you will need to get a MC. I think you will be ok with the 14" smoothies but live Dave said you will have to verify before ordering.

We also have a company out here by Disneyland that carries a full line or brake upgrades for 14" wheels. I bought my fronts from them and they are the same quality as CPP.

http://abspowerbrake.com/pages/FINAL7.htm

Maybe you can get another visit out here and we can go shopping!

ChevyWT '57 Bel Air 4 Door Rejuvination

ChevyWT

Chrome Lugnut

joninomader

davidc

Daleo56

mickeywestsr

carls 56

ChevyWT

Daleo56

ChevyWT

Daleo56

angs1957

Original Pete

jeffs55

Daleo56

55mania

ChevyWT

ChevyWT

bigdave R.I.P.

Daleo56

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