'57 Chevy Gasser Completed 5/30/2018

[david]

I am using the '57 Chevy Black Widow kit from Revell for this fictional gasser build. The first thing I am going to do it to remove the spare tire well from the gas tank area. I will simply cut it out and replace it with formed .020 styrene.


The next issue involves the rearend. The slicks I am going to use are not particularly wide and are pretty much period correct but in the current kit form, the rear axle is too wide and the tires will not fit under the body at all. I also want to raise the ride height some so the "fix" is to narrow the rearend so that it will mount on top of the frame rails instead of their kit position. After making a few reference marks to keep things lined up and drilling now rear spring mounting holes on top of the frame. I began to narrow the rearend. Here I have one side done and will duplicate it for the other side.




After that I taped it up for a quick mock up and the tires now fit nicely under the body but I still need a little more height. I added small blocks to the leaf spring ends to raise things up.


The new ride height is right where I want it after another mock up so I went ahead and got some paint on that back half. I lengthened the kit shocks to tie in with my raised rear axle and did a little dry brushing with silver to bring out some details. I will build some ladder bars and do much more detail painting later on this area but for now I've got the back end pretty much nailed down so the next phase will be building front leafs and a straight axle so I can get her up on her wheels. Stay tuned!

[Deleted]

Hey, David. Thanks for taking the time to walk us through what all you're doing. I know the old timer, modeling pros probably aren't nearly as interested as a "re-newbie" like me, but I really do appreciate the photos with the explanations. That being said, I have questions.

1) Why did you decide to remove the spare tire well? Was it purely cosmetic, or did it interfere with something else you intended to do?

2) I must be blind as a bat, but I'm not seeing the difference between sides in the second photo. I've read that explanation over about a dozen times while looking at the photo and I just don't see what you're talking about. Any chance of you pointing out what you're referring to in that photo?

3) You stated that you, "lengthened the kit shocks". I know I'm going to run into this fairly soon when I start building and I've wondered how to lengthen the shocks. Could you give a quick explanation as to how you did that?

[68383]

Mar 20, 2018 14:58:46 GMT -6 @smhardesty said:

2) I must be blind as a bat, but I'm not seeing the difference between sides in the second photo. I've read that explanation over about a dozen times while looking at the photo and I just don't see what you're talking about. Any chance of you pointing out what you're referring to in that photo?

3) You stated that you, "lengthened the kit shocks". I know I'm going to run into this fairly soon when I start building and I've wondered how to lengthen the shocks. Could you give a quick explanation as to how you did that?

Looks like he narrowed the right side of the rear end in the picture.

Regarding the shocks, I'm not sure what method he used, but I've lengthened some by using metal tubing.

Hope this might help.

[david]

First off, I am no expert by any stretch and I only try to show things I do in order for others to learn or for me to learn better ways of doing things from them. Anything that helps us all at our bench helps us all as a community of builders.

I removed the spare tire well just because it was unsightly and it may/may not interfere with some wheelie bars later on should I decide to include some.

I tried to highlight the narrowing of the rearend for you visually and hopefully now you can better see how the right side where I removed 3mm is much narrower than the stock side on the left.

ON the shocks, I took the kit shocks and added a small piece of styrene tubing to the bottom that was the same OD diameter as the shocks. I then stuck a piece of styrene rod into that extension. I left the rod extensions long and trimmed them off after I inserted them into the kit frame holes for the shock mounts. I did not take a picture of the kit shocks but maybe this instruction page will "sort of" show the difference in the stock shock and my lengthened one. With my rear axle raised from it's stock position the kit shocks were never going to reach, hence the lengthening. 


 

[41chevy]

Mar 20, 2018 14:58:46 GMT -6 @smhardesty said:

Hey, David. Thanks for taking the time to walk us through what all you're doing. I know the old timer, modeling pros probably aren't nearly as interested as a "re-newbie" like me, but I really do appreciate the photos with the explanations. That being said, I have questions.

1) Why did you decide to remove the spare tire well? Was it purely cosmetic, or did it interfere with something else you intended to do?

Most gassers from the day the gas tank was replaced with a Moon tank. The spare tire well allows the area of the trunk floor to be filled and a truck battery installed in that area. My 55 lost it's tank and spare tire well in 1962. Pretty much S.O.P. Also makes it easier to get under the back to work if needed.
Not such thing as not learning too much. I've been racing and building models for more than half a century and still learn new stuff every day. . .or else I'm just senile Can't pass on knowledge you have to those who want it than you might as well achieve room temperature.

[david]

Good knowledge Paul and I'll see if I can pop that tank out. I try to build satisfying shelf models and sometimes my technical "accuracy" is off either because I don;t know the particulars about something or I just get "lazy" . But that's the value of a forum like this; now I know that the spare tire well AND the tank usually went away!! Good stuff! 

[70sprostockfan]

All right buddy you are cookin' with gas now!! I like this one. This kit is almost impossible to get any rear tire under the body work (which is realistic because the actual car was that way too). Good job of catching it early and solving the problem.

[41chevy]

Mar 21, 2018 0:22:58 GMT -6 david said:

Good knowledge Paul and I'll see if I can pop that tank out. I try to build satisfying shelf models and sometimes my technical "accuracy" is off either because I don;t know the particulars about something or I just get "lazy" . But that's the value of a forum like this; now I know that the spare tire well AND the tank usually went away!! Good stuff! 

Look at this, see last photo. Same as my real car was done.

quartermilers.proboards.com/thread/4258/class-warfare-57-chevy

I build to make me smile, other people liking it is a bonus.
One FYI for the rivet counters accuracy The old rules do not allow the center of the wheels to be below the bottom of the rockers. Sky high is a no no

[Deleted]

OK. Thanks to all you guys for taking the time to answer my questions, and to also provide additional info. I've got it straightened out in my head now. All of your replies were helpful. I really appreciate you guys explaining stuff like this. It helps a bunch!

David, keep on posting up photos and offering details. It's invaluable to me, and probably a few more guys. And a '57 Chevy gasser to boot.

[david]

Thanks Paul. I am certainly not a rivet counter and much like you, I build as "my" hobby and not someone else's hobby. I was able to get that tank out and repair the area and it does look cleaner and leaner!


My first attempt at a straight axle so here goes. I started with some #223 Evergreen tubing. I sliced off a couple of little pieces and after fish mouthing the point, I glued them onto the tube. AT this point it won't mater if both ends are lined up perfectly nor will it matter if the tube is the correct length. I sanded the end pieces down so that they would fit snugly into some #253 Evergreen square tubing.



Next I cut off two small pieces of the square tubing and then opened up one side so that it would fit snugly over the ends of my straight axle. 




I then took my punch and knocked out a couple of circle plates and glued the pivot pieces to them. I drilled a hole in the center of each and pushed a piece of brass rod that I use for axles into the hole. It's a snug fit and a little superglue really locks it in. I then cut off the brass rod (leaving it plenty long for now) and I ended up with these axle ends.



Next, I drilled a small hole that let a large paper clip slide down through the wheel backs and down through the end tubes. Again, it's a nice snug fit. I snipped off the excess and used a dab of super glue on top and bottom to lock it down. A little sanding and shaping on those square swivel ends to round them off and it starting to come together!


I just stuck some old parts box wheel backs and tires on it for "eyeballing" and now I am ready to get my width. It was way too wide to being with so I cut the axle tube and used the rest of that old paperclip to slide into the tubing and give it some strength. I kept "sneaking up on it" until I got the right width I wanted that put the tires into the wheel wells where I want them. Once done, I lined every thing up, made a reference mark, and then superglued the paperclip piece into each side of the axle and locked it down.


I then cleaned up the front frame rails and added some solid .080 x .125 Evergreen, superglued it in and then sanded it back out. This should give me a much better surface to make some leaf springs later on. A little mock up to see how we're looking and it's getting where I want it so the next round will be leaf springs and shocks. 



DISCLAIMER- As with all these things I post, this is certainly not the only way to do something and it may not be the best way to do it; it's just the way I am doing it and it may help someone or it may spark responses that help us all with a better way of doing something. Thanks for watching and stay tuned as we scratch our way through this old '57 Chevy!

[70sprostockfan]

lookin good ! I've got a couple of projects I'm working on now that need front axles so this couldn't have come at a better time. I'm really looking forward to seeing how you do the leaf springs without raising the front end up way too high. Which has always been one of my problems on the shoe box chevys.

[david]

Yep ALlen, I'll be interested to see how I do that myself!   I may not be the best scratch builder but I am pretty fearless so over the next night or two I'll jump into it! I'm sensing that these will be pretty short and pretty "flat". I can also envision them running underneath the axle instead of on the top. Can I do that or were all of them on top of the axle? 

[41chevy]

Top or bottom is a builders choice both were used.

quartermilers.proboards.com/thread/4411/birth-gassers-suspension-parts-1

[david]

Well dang Paul! I followed your link and that's all I needed to know! I had no idea that this was on here or I would not have even bothered. Great stuff and I'll just pretty much work from your tutorial from here on out!! Great stuff!!! Thanks!!  

[41chevy]

Mar 21, 2018 19:50:29 GMT -6 david said:

Well dang Paul! I followed your link and that's all I needed to know! I had no idea that this was on here or I would not have even bothered. Great stuff and I'll just pretty much work from your tutorial from here on out!! Great stuff!!! Thanks!!  

You method is excellent also. IMO. I like the ability to shorten the axle easily. Paul