New Acquisition

[Lynn]

Still have a couple of cars I am planning to sell, but in the meantime....

I have really had the bug lately to get a TriFive. In HS I drove a 57 210 two door sedan. 283 PG. Tropical Turquoise with a white top and white side panel. It was cherry when I bought it; but I quickly drove it into the ground. Not all the issues were my fault. I had plenty of idiot friends helping. I ended up losing my driving privileges, and had to sell the car. My next car was a 69 Z/28, but that’s another story.
I have always thought Turquoise was THE quintessential color for all the TriFives.
For years I kept thinking I would run across another one. Even back then, I really lusted after the two door hardtops. They just have the look. So, I always kept an eye out for either one. I would be fine with EITHER a Bel Air OR a 210. But, being the fickle, unstable person that I am, I really wanted a Nomad. As Steve mentioned a few months ago, they have the “it” factor. I have stated it before, my biggest problem is I want ALL of them, but don’t have the means or the room.
While I like the look of the 57 Nomad, I believe the 55 is the best looking of the three years. I know it isn’t smaller, but it looks a little smaller, and the radiused rear wheel wells really set it apart. Frankly, Chevy should have done that on ALL the 55s.
After looking at the 55 Nomad in Regal Turquoise owned by SpeedyB on this site (guessing it is the same color as Tropical Turquoise in 1957… just a different name), I was really jealous. Some pics on pages 8 & 9 here: https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthre...t=Nomad&page=8
Don’t think there is a chance he will sell that one.
I also love the look of the TriFives in stock form. I know everyone wants a restomod. I don’t. I wanted something that at least looked original. I can stand some upgrades, but 17 inch wheels on a TriFive just look wrong to me.
I seriously considered buying this Nomad: https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=176986
Sherri and I flew to Philly and drove 3 hours a few weeks ago to check it out. Warren and his family were wonderful. I really enjoyed spending time there. I spent a lot of time going over the car. Even though I was dressed for the cold, the 8 degree wind chill didn’t help. It is as represented. It is a fabulous car, and maybe the lowest mile Nomad on the planet. I left PA thinking I would be confirming the sale with Warren. But something bugged me about it. There are three car shows annually here in Guthrie. I knew I would be OK driving it those short distances; but if I wanted to show it anywhere else, I would have to trailer it. I would rather have something I am not afraid to drive.
Bottom line is that this arrived yesterday from California. Some guys would call it a pig with lipstick. I prefer to think of it as a diamond in the rough. V8 powerglide car. Has some mechanical issues. Factory PS leaks (now THAT’S a surprise!!!). Interior is filthy. Hoping I can clean it up; I will find out today. The 283 is gone, and a 275 horse 327 from a full size 68 Chevy is in its place; although some moron put power pack heads on it. Would have been a pretty common upgrade back in the 60s or 70s. It has a cast iron powerglide manufactured Jan of 57, but no way to know for certain if it is the original. I would assume so, BUT FOR THE FACT that there is a poorly patched hole in the floor for a four speed shifter. So, if it is the original, it was removed at some point. Bottom line for me is that I really don’t care. Unbelievably, the trans does not leak bad at all. Engine doesn’t leak.
I spent part of yesterday checking out brakes and tires. That’s why I posted the tire date code question. The rears are AT LEAST 30 years old. Not worn out. It just hasn’t been driven. The fronts are 22 years old and still have nubs on them and the parting line is visible!!! The wheels are American Racing Torque Thrust on back, and copies (really good copies) of the same on the front. I could not tell the difference other than the writing and “Japan” stamped into the front ones on the back side. RR tire was losing air around the bead. It took a while to get the tire busted loose from the rim. But, the rim surface cleaned up really well with a wire brush followed by 220 emery cloth. I like the look and will use them for now. Put the wheels on the balancer just to make sure none are bent. All are perfect.
Ordered a set of “driver” tires from TireRack last night.
Spent the rest of the day “cleaning” the underside. There was 68 years of gravel, sand and stone (and one recent mouse nest) inside the frame rails and on top of the body mount “tabs” (or whatever you call those things). Has about 30 pounds of undercoat. But, the floors are absolutely rust free. The rockers are all there, with no bondo. Even has the factory drain flaps. It started out innocently enough; I saw part of that mouse nest and decided to pull it out. Got the air gun and blew out the last remnants and man, did the dust start flying. Figured I already made a huge mess in my nice clean shop, so blew out everything I could from underneath. Car has been in CA and AZ its whole life, and I ended up with half the desert on my floor.
Spent the rest of the day cleaning my shop. Had I been smart, I would have taken I out in the parking lot, but it on jack stands and blown it out.
The body and paint is really nice. If I had to guess, I would guess it was painted in the 90s. Still holding up well. Not a dent or a big scratch anywhere. There is some minor rot in one of the body braces, but it will be an easy fix. I won’t fix the hole in the floor unless I end up removing the trans. Lots of little dings in the stainless. The driver’s side flapper works perfectly; the passenger side, not as well. The only pitted chrome pieces are the tail light housings. Bottom line is this: I won’t be afraid to drive this car anywhere.
Plan for now.
Clean the interior.
Take car outside and blow off the dust.
New tires (just temporary… see below).
Rebuild power steering control valve and replace all four PS hoses.
Rebuild the Qjet (had to use a can of starting fluid to get it started).
Original 57 Chevy wheels, hubcaps with reproduction wide white wall tires. I want it to look original.
Assess the engine. I don’t know if it was rebuilt when installed, but would assume so. It does have a 327 crank, so that wasn’t changed. Not sure why someone would put the PP head on it. Once it starts it runs reasonably smooth.

[Lynn]

Here is the mess I made yesterday.
That stone was lodged on top of one of the body tabs.
Looks like moon dust. You can see my footprints. The clean spot is from one sweep with the broom.
What a mess.

[John Brown]

Nice. Even has the one piece front bumper. 👍 👍

[Lynn]

Originally Posted by John Brown

Nice. Even has the one piece front bumper. 👍 👍

And no bumper guards. Those things just mess with the lines.

[Too Many Projects]

Originally Posted by John Brown

Nice. Even has the one piece front bumper. 👍 👍

California banned multi piece bumpers so any vehicles sold in the state were required to have 1 piece bumpers. They, also, didn't like the
C channel frames, introduced on the all new 1955 models and required the frames be made stronger, so they all have full perimeter frames too, hence the need for Lynn to blow the "stuff" out.

[scuncio]

Nice looking car! Should be an 'easy' project. Hope you make a full recovery with your back, not something you want to mess with at any age.

[dykstra]

Very cool Lynn! Congratulations

[Lynn]

Didn't do a whole lot today. Cleaned. Cleaned some more.
Found a receipt under the seat for a battery from Sears dated 1996.

I don't believe the car has been driven more than a mile since 2003. As I stated in my long winded first post, front tires still have nubs, and they are dated 2003.

I thought about putting the RR tire back on the rim, but decided why bother?

Would still like to take the car to the tag office in the next day or two. In OK, if you buy a car in state, you only need to take the title. But if it comes from out of state they have to inspect the vin plate. So, in case I can't wait until my new tires get here, I tried fitting the front tires and wheels that had been on the El Camino. They are a bit tall, but fit up into the wheel well without any possibility of rubbing. 215 70 R15. 15x7 wheel with about 4.5 inch backspacing.

Looks kind of odd with 15 inch Centerlines on the rear and the 14 inch Torq Thrust on front. Doesn't help that the front tires are undersized. 195 70 R14. But it is temporary.

Still haven't washed the car yet. Lots of little water spots. Tried a couple of test areas and they all polish off. Should be 60F here on Wed. so maybe then.

I had to take the floor mats to the car wash and treat them with some heavy duty degreaser. Would have been nice if the water was hot on the soap cycle like it is supposed to be. May need to find another car wash. Still not perfect, but a vast improvement.

Because I found a mouse nest in the frame, I wanted to make sure the little bastard didn't get nesting material out of the seats. Pulled the back seat and was pleased to see all is well. Springs still have the Jan of 57 assembly tag. I was surprised to see seat belt anchors. Not sure what the PO did with the seat belts. Apparently they were never installed on the assembly line, but could be ordered with the car and dealer installed.

AM radio works. Not that there is anything I want to listen to on AM. Horn did not honk with the horn ring. Ran a wire to each one. RS does not honk. Left side does. I assume there is an issue in the steering column or a horn relay.

I did confirm that the carb (7028212 DH) and the intake (3919803) are original to the 1968 HF code engine (275 horse 327). Still can't figure out why they would not have used the heads off that engine. Should have 291 heads with 1.94 intake valves. Did not pull a valve cover to check dates, but they could be the 1957 power pack heads. That would give it some extra compression (60cc chamber vs 63cc) but they use 1.72 intake valves, so really small. Just seem odd.

I have several extra sets of 186 heads, so will likely just use one of those sets if I decide to get into the motor. Way down the road. Just want to get it safe and comfortable, enjoy the ride for a while. Engine does idle very smoothly, so no reason to start ripping it apart. Besides, I need to get back on the LT-1 resto.

Did order a carb kit, points and plugs.

Tried to load pics. "Page not working". HTTP ERROR 500

[Lynn]

Well, at least one loaded.

[Xplantdad]

Congrats on the new purchase, Lynn!