July 28, 2010
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Proof Positive that I don't Drive a '57 Chevy, anymore!
I've owned a lot of Chevys in my life. Mostly during the 60s, 70s, and 80's, and they all had one thing in common. Cheap interchangable parts. Any small block V8 ( and most big blocks, with a little tweaking ) they ever made will bolt right in to any Chevy car or truck made since 1955. Rearends and transmissions are all pretty much an easy swap.
I've owned a '52 Coupe, a '56 210 two door sedan, a '57 BelAir, a '57 Nomad wagon, and a '69 Stepside pickup. I put new engines, transmission, and running gear from much newer Chevys in every one of them. I don't have pics of them all, but I have a few.
The '57 Nomad-
It came with a 283ci small block and automatic tranny. I swapped that out for a 375hp 396 big block and Muncie Rock Crusher 4 speed using all Chevy parts.
This 450hp 396 I built in '89 to put in my '69 pickup came from a '74 Chevelle.
The pickup came new with a 307 and 3 speed on the column shifter, which I replaced with the big block rat motor and a Turbo 400 auto tranny.
Anything was possible and cheap parts were everywhere. Junkyards were full of them.
And it's still that way, if you happen to be lucky enough to own any of that Bowtie rolling stock.
But I don't.
I'm modernized! I drive a Nissan 4WD pickup now. Parts are year and model specific now. Most of you may remember the engine had to be replaced last year. Had to be the exact same engine, too! Couldn't find a good junkyard engine, so went with the Jasper remanufactured model. Only set me back $5,002.
This week, I had to have the distributor replaced. But, it's not just a distributor. The ignition coil and the cam position sensor are built in to it. And it's not just year and model specific, it's VIN specific. You don't find one find one laying in a parts store. Had to order one from Nissan. Now, back when I built that yellow 396 big block, I bought the best high performance Accel distributor and coil on the market, the two cost me about $100, total.
Here she is, nestled in her new home.
Check out the price on this one hour distributor swap!
Yep, that's proof positive I don't drive a '57 chevy anymore!
On the plus side tho, with the new distributor that Jasper engine has really came to life! Runs smooth and strong, power curve seems to have no end!
Every cloud does have a silver lining, doesn't it?
Comments (37)
Good bye ,Chevy !!
@buddly47 - no, but I drove one of those too- but it was my mother's something M lotsa syllables I think. I think the only reason my parents saints that they are let me ride the thing so long was that otherwise it'd sit (the vespa here) and that I snapped the transmission cable and it was permanantly in second gear- thus....15 mph at best- sure, plenty enough to die horribly but not enough to get overly excited about. the moped came later, I needed to clean the carb... so i took that mikuni thingum apart and as I'm not mechanically inclined... it sat for the right 3 days past my mother's patience and she tossed it's mainspring...literally by the time I special ordered another carb- I'd have bought the thing again...but lack of cash solved that to be a free donation. (no, other carbs wouldn't do- that persnickity beast....but before it left my life and I never drove again- due a problem parking a vehicle into the house kinda close (into it - $80 combined damage but oh it was a HUGE deal- for some reason 10 mph and no depth perception has a bearing on parking badly) and that horribly expensive thing was? I grabbed my cane and when down to fill out paperwork for accessi-ride the little bus that pickes you up at your door and gets you there during the vagueries of bus scheduled service?- came home and the friendly driver just had to have a 45 minute chat with my mother and saw me leave....that bit of paperwork shuffled into the bin....well, no big deal about the door to door service I didn't always need that- but I lost half off cab service for the rest of my life.... that's cost me thousands so far. (and yes, legally I can carry a cane- and thus if I must I will....but nowadays there is no reasons to as i get worse service ad insulted for the effort.... things are kinda useful to avoid cliffs at midnight when I can't see anyways however hard I pretend)
@heart_beep - Friends and brothers and friends of brothers are always good things to have around, Jilly!
@murisopsis - They were called rock crushers because they were indestructable, and they were made at the plant your dad worked at in Muncie. Cool!
@mlbncsga - Your hubby has a '55? That's my favorite Nomad! Can you post some pics? Please?
@grannyinboxers - That Nomad is the one car I wish I had never gotten rid of!
@I_once_was - Was it a Vespa? They were cool! I'd like to have one today with gas at $3 a gallon.
I just took my 2001 Jeep Cherokee to the junkyard to have the a.c. fixed. He put freon in it and a new something or other and didn't even charge me! (He's my brother's friend!) That junkyard was one of the busiest places I've ever seen!
The Muncie rock crusher... I grew up in Muncie and my dad worked at the chevrolet plant - they made transmissions. Is there a link?? We always bought Chevys after he started working there. He caught all sorts of grief since we bought a big white Ford stationwagon just a year before he started. hehe good times...
Turns her back on you and says, "how could you" I worhsip the groudn that the 57 chevies rool on.
"grinning"
Have a good week end coming up.
@trunthepaige - Us old guys are all alike, we'd rather fix them than trash them. And that's not a bad thing!
@buddly47 - NO it is good, he has been known to fix one of my cars.
Good hobbies do be expensive! But worth every penny.
@angi1972 - Yeah, I know. Hurt my feelings and my pocketbook!
@NVPhotography - That's a cool ride, but it's not a Nomad. It's a 4 door '57 wagon. Nomads were 2 door BelAir wagons.
My father talks like this $40 alternators and $350 rebuilt engines. I just buy another car when they start to wear out.
Nice! I dig the Nomad, saw a nice one not too long ago, green and slammed http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs550.snc3/30099_1294920014165_1265277612_30681378_300147_n.jpg
I owned some italian job moped
the most dicey equivalent to a vehicle this dare-devil blind guy has owned. kinda strict about that must have a liscense thing to be on public roads (so as to make certain you get the 10000 DUI not the crappy 1,000 public intoxication ticket) and no motorized vehicles "off road" in any suburbia I ever lived in accessable without "public roads.
Ouch.
I learned to drive on my mom's 57 Chevy 210 wagon. Copper (Aztec gold) and Cream color too. Had 3 other Chevy wagons later 64, 67, 71. They all had the small block V8.
i love those 57 Chevies!!! i've driven a Olds Dynamic 88, Chrysler Laser, Jeep, GMC, Dodge, Chev, now a Toy Tundra!! but don't ask me nuttin 'bout no engines!!
It happens, I got my rotors swapped after driving around 2 years with warped rotors, finally got my transmission flushed, and desperately needed oil change. But guess what, the car rides great, almost brand new, if i could only get the burger smell out.
I have an old chevy stepside pickup too ( I'm really not sure what year it is maybe 68) and my husband has a 55 Nomad that he's restoring - I'm leaving mine original, it's green and rusty and I love it - I call it WomPow
I also have a '74 260Z - you know back in the day they called them Nissans Datsuns - Now if I only had a 66 Chevelle 
- I would be in bow-tie heaven! I'm off to check the gas cap on the honda 
@buddly47 -
~sorry, I should know better.
@pinkmojomama - I used to do all my own repairs. Those days are long gone!
@buddly47 - It's been on steadily since January. It was on and off for several years before that. The code reader will pick it up even if the light is burned out, unfortunately, and that's how they do inspections now.
I miss the simple days of driving an old Chevy. Heck, even little 'ol me knew how to do simple repair work back then. *sigh*
@Roadkill_Spatula - Maybe it'll go off by then. Or burn out? lol
@WildWomanOfTheWest - Uhhhh, that last part.
@buddly47 - They have one of the best track records out there~ so it would have to be. Or did you drive it like a teenage boy?
I had to change an O2 sensor last December to pass inspection. The light came on again in January. The code reader suggests catalytic converter. I'm going to wait until December to get it taken care of.
@do_it_on_a_beach - If you dropped a dime under that hood, it would never hit the ground!
They sure don't make 'em like they used to !!!
You used to be able to crawl in under the hood and work on them. Now it is hard just to get your hand in under the hood.
@WildWomanOfTheWest - No worries, mine's 10 years old. The motor going out was just a fluke one in a million kind of thing.
Well I'm sure hoping so~ since I just bought a Nissan.
@Roadkill_Spatula - Did you know that if your gas cap isn't tightened til it clicks the check engine light comes on? Too finicky!
Both of my vehicles have the Check Engine light on. The van needs a catalytic converter, and the transmission squeals. The Nissan has a problem with number 3 cylinder. I'm going to try the injector next (changed plugs and cables already). I hate that part of owning cars...
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