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The 1957 Chevrolet fuel injection system consisted of three components: fuel meter, manifold assembly and air meter. Instead of fuel and air being pre-mixed in the carburetor, then being forced through the intake manifold to each cylinder, the air supply is taken in separately through a manifold. The fuel is injected directly and constantly into each intake port where the two then mix.
The Ramjet was reported to have several advantages: increased power, instant accelerator response, faster cold starts, smoother engine warm-ups, elimination of carburetor icing and better overall fuel economy. One of the keys to the success of this system was the design of the fuel nozzles.
The basic operation of the system is as follows: For starting, a solenoid connected to the starter circuit operates to unseat the fuel valve. Air is fed to the air meter and is metered past a throttle valve, controlled by the position of the accelerator, into the manifold passages which feed each cylinder. As the air flows through the air meter, a signal is transmitted to the fuel meter, which determines the proper amount of fuel to be fed to the cylinders. The fuel is pumped to eight nozzles, one each in the manifold passage just above the intake valve. There the fuel and air mix and enter the cylinder when the intake valve opens.
Never before has an automobile manufacturer made such sweeping changes two years in a row. The 1958 Chevrolet was a pleasing design with rounded corners.
While the 1959 Chevrolet was shaped lean, with crisp new contours and beautifully restrained accents. Designed for greater roominess and comfort, engineered for greater safety, economy, ease of handling and smoothness of ride.
The 1959 Chevrolet was the last design by the famous designer Harley Earl, who helped pioneer General Motor's styling and design studio.
1959 Chevrolet Impala 4 Door Hard Top Sport Sedan All New All Over Again indicated one 1959 Chevy ad. Nothing's New Like Chevy's New said another. However, what was new? Chevrolet's new Slimline Design was fresh, fine and fashionable. The Roomier Body by Fisher was sound, solid and stylish. Sweeping new overhead curved windshield and bigger windows made of safety plate glass. Full coil suspension further refined for a smoother and steadier ride. Easy ratio steering reduced wheel turning efforts. Magic Mirror finish kept its shine for up to three years. Safer stopping with bigger brakes and deeper drums. And then there were the engines!
Here is how Chevrolet changed the styling of the 1959 Chevy. The dual headlights, which in 1958 were mounted above the front grille and bumper, have been lowered quite a few inches and were placed at either end of the grille. Above the grille are narrow slits that look like air intakes, but are directional lights that have been tucked into the outside corners of these slits. One outstanding feature is the enormous area of glass, front and rear. The windshield curves way up and into the roof and provides tremendous visibility.
Out back the 1959 Chevy has a spread wing treatment and cat's eye taillights. The rear license plate swivels down to reveal the gas tank filler cap.
1959 Chevrolet Impala The new '59 Chevrolet, is nearly two inches longer and wider than the '58, has picked up almost 200 more pounds of weight in the body alone. With one of the big engines and transmissions and all the accessories including air conditioning it would be no trick at all to come up with a 1959 Chevy weighing well over 4,000 lbs.
1959 Chevrolet Impala Convertible The 1959 Chevy line up was in Chevrolet dealer showrooms in October 1958. Customers rushed in to see the 1959 Chevrolet Convertible. Production figures for 1959 included 525,461 four door sedans, 281,924 two door sedans, 188,623 four door station wagons, 20,760 two door station wagons, 182,520 sport sedans, 164,901 sport coupe and 72,765 convertibles. The Del Ray and Yeoman name was dropped in 1959. See many pictures of a 1959 Chevrolet on this website.
1959 Chevrolet Models The Impala Series Impala Convertible Impala Sport Coupe 2 Door Hard Top Impala Sport Sedan 4 Door Hard Top Impala 4 Door Sedan The 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air Series Bel Air Sport Sedan 4 Door Hard Top Bel Air 2 Door Sedan Bel Air 4 Door Sedan
The 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne Series Biscayne 2 Door Sedan Biscayne 4 Door Sedan Biscayne 2 Door Utility Sedan
1959 Chevrolet Station Wagons Nomad 4 Door 6 Passenger Kingswood 4 Door 9 Passenger Parkwood 4 Door 6 Passenger Brookwood 2 Door 6 Passenger Brookwood 4 Door 6 Passenger
Today was a pretty tough and frustrating. Starting yesterday, it was my goal to get the 55 Chevy running and broke in so we can take her for a spin.
Unfortunately, it did not happen. Saturday was spent chasing issues. We found one issue after another. A bad break line that will have to be re-bent and custom fit. A small leak in the oil pan gasket, Leaky fuel lines, leaky carburators, loose and leaky water necks, valves that needed adjustment, distributor issues and brittle wiring that kept falling apart. Sunday, ended up raining pretty hard. Luckily it cut out before noon came around. It was really interesting!
Some of the lessons learned were;
~If you can afford the tool, double flare your custom brake lines. Saves for extra work, and extra painting on that freshly painted frame. (Frown)
~Never use those stupid Specter chrome round fuel regulators. They are always on the 'Chrome' Aisle in your local large commercial auto parts house. I spent an hour chasing this 'generic' part. I really wanted an adjustable Holly unit, but since it was Sunday; ordering of a part was not an option. So I went with it. Long story short, the darn part was broke before I took it out of the package. Ugh!
~When dropping the distributor in place, make sure your on top dead center, #1 piston. Note location of rotor to start firing order.
~Check your wiring, and ensure its in good condition and not showing bare spots for possible shorts.
All I can say is this week will focus on all the issues at hand to better prepare for that 30 min breaking!
Fingers Crossed! - Motor On!
I want to give thanks to my friends: D.Mitchell, Cowboy, George, Walt and Fish. Thanks for donating a few hours of your Sunday time to troubleshoot the problems I was having.
Im in the process of adjusting my valves on my 55 Gasser project to get it ready to fire for the initial break-in. Being a sheetmetal fabricator, I dont normally work on engines, I have a partner who does this for me. Since I am on my own this weekend, I figured I "take the bull by the horns" and take care of it myself.
I was reading in the 1955 Chevy service manual to figure out what I needed to do; but I was overcome with confusion with the simple process.
I did a little research on the internet and found a great article that helped put everything in perspective.
Hopefully it will help you as much as it helped me, and lay to rest any confusion for future projects.
Let's read on:
How to adjust valves on a chevy smallblock
There are a several methods for a valve adjustment on a chevy small block engine. Everyone seems to have a valve adjustment method they are most comfortable with and some of them will work well, but some are an inaccurate valve adjustment method. Even GM recommends doing the valve adjustment while the engine is running, which I won't teach you because it makes a tremendous mess.
You are going to learn how to do the valve adjustment, or more appropriately, adjust the lash or clearance between the rocker arms and the head of the valve stems using a method that will work for all 4 stroke internal combustion engines. The only difference between engine makes and models would be the details such as the number of turns after you have reached a zero lash, or in the case of solid lifters, the lash setting.
First consider that there is a relationship between the high position on each cam lobe for each cylinder respective of which stroke the cylinder happens to be in. We are going to adjust each valve at a time relative to the position of its peer valve ( or cam lobe ), either the intake or exhaust. This method insures the cam lobe for the valve you are adjusting is directly opposite the valve lifter and there is no measure of lift acting on the valve train components .
To do the valve adjustment you will need to crank the engine over in the same direction it would turn if it were running. If the engine is not in the vehicle you can turn the flywheel, or if it is in the vehicle you can use a remote starter button.
You will do the intake valve adjustment as the exhaust valve is just opening and you do the exhaust valve adjustment as the intake valve is almost closed. You might need to say that quite a few times to memorize it.
Here are step by step instructions:
Remove the valve cover.
Identify the number one cylinder. See the page on Firing Order on the menu to the right if you are not sure which cylinder is number one.
Turn the engine over until you see the number one cylinder exhaust valve rocker arm JUST START to move from the closed position to open. You may need to turn the motor over a couple of times to reach this point, but do not turn any further.
Locate the intake valve.
Loosen the rocker arm adjustment nut until you feel some obvious lash or clearance in the adjustment.
Using the thumb and index finger of one hand, grasp the intake push rod below the rocker arm, and rotate it back and forth (clock-wise and counter clock-wise successively to be sure there is no remaining pressure on the push rod from the rocker arm as you loosen the rocker arm adjusting nut.
Using the other hand, while continuously performing step 6, with a 5/8 socket and ratchet, tighten the rocker arm adjustment nut slowly until you feel a resistance of motion on the push rod.
This will be the zero lash adjustment point. For hydraulic lifters, tighten the rocker arm adjustment nut 3/4 of a turn. For solid lifters, back off the rocker arm adjustment nut until your feeler gauge just fits under the contact point between the valve stem and the rocker arm. Fine tune the adjustment by checking it with a feeler gauge just slightly thicker than the preferred clearance to be sure the clearance is not greater than it should be. If the larger feeler gauge will fit, it needs to be re-adjusted. A lash tolerance of 1-2 thousandths of an inch in the valve adjustment for solid lifters would be acceptable since it may be difficult for someone who is in-experienced to be more precise than that.
Turn the engine over until the intake valve opens and then is almost closed.
On the exhaust valve, repeat steps 5 through 8 for the exhaust valve adjustment.
Repeat this procedure for each cylinder. Be sure to do each cylinder sequentially, either following the firing order, following the cylinders numerically, or in the case of a V8 doing one side of the engine at a time. I prefer to do one side of the engine at a time.
Continue this procedure for each cylinder in its firing order, turing the crank by hand or with a starter switch.
There is another method to adjust the valves and I want to make sure I cover this in detail as well. Obtain a special set of valve covers with the top cut out to keep the oil from splashing everywhere or your local parts house has a set of rocker clips that you can put on that will deflect oil from the push rod and direct it back into the head to drain back into the motor/oil pan.
While the motor is running, you want to loosen the 5/8 nut on the rocker until you get a slight chatter from the rocker on the valve. Then slowly tighten the rocker nut until the chatter goes away and starts to tighten up.
When silenced, give the 5/8 nut a 1/2 to 3/4 turn for a final torque. I have done this process before and it can be a messy procedure.
Take a look at this short video.
If you have more to add to this, please comment and Ill post it up with this article for everyone to follow.
It only happens once in an engineer’s life time, when a company like Chevrolet hands you a blank sheet of paper and says: “Design us a car from scratch”. That’s the chance Edward Nicholas Cole was given with the 1955 Chevrolet in May of 1952. “We got a big kick out of designing this new Chevrolet, and you will get an even bigger one out of driving it”. Said Ed Cole, Chevrolet Chief Engineer, of the hot new Chevrolet. Chevrolet shed its old image in 1955, replacing it with all new “Motoramic” styling.
Cole started the design with a new frame, new bodies, 3 new engines, new front suspension, new rear springs and new brakes. “Don’t argue with this baby!” warned one Chevrolet ad in 1955. “Blue ribbon beauty that’s stealing the thunder from the high priced cars!” said another.
When Chevrolet introduced the 1955 Chevy in late 1954 it changed their history. What made the new Chevy so popular, then and now? It’s new 265 cubic inch V-8 was probably the most important feature in the motoring public’s eye. The 1955 Chevrolet also represented a completely new vehicle in styling and engineering. With its new styling and the option of a potent new “Turbo-Fire” V-8 it was the most changed Chevy and the most exciting car to ever wear the bowtie badge since WWII.
1955 Chevrolet Belair Sport Coupe
The development of a brand new wider tubular frame chassis and drive train was quite a departure for Chevrolet. With a 115 inch wheelbase the 1955 Chevrolet was 18 % lighter and 50% stiffer than the previous Chevy chassis. Engineers changed the rear end and heavy torque tube drive to an open drive shaft. Modern ball joint front suspension called “Glide Ride” was described as a “spherical joint design”.
A-arms acting on coil springs wound around hydraulic shock absorbers offered a smooth ride. Leaf springs were 9 inches longer, 2 inches wide and mounted outboard of the main frame. With the wider chassis 6.70 X 15 inch four-ply tubeless tires were used. Other mechanical highlights included switching from a six to 12 volt electrical system, new steering box with a 20:1 ratio, 11 inch diameter jumbo brake drums and under the dash swinging pedals.
Because Chevrolet was General Motors biggest seller, styling for the all new 1955 was carefully considered. Serious design work on the body style got under way in June of 1952, at the GM Styling Building. The 1955 body design was the results of Chevy studio head Clare Mackichan, staff designer Carl H. Renner and body engineer Charles A. Stebbins. Following GM’s styling chief Harley Earl instructions they produced a eye-catching package in the 1955 Chevrolet. A bit less radical than initially envisioned by Earl but uncommonly clean for the period. It was boxy, yet altogether sleeker and fresher than the unexciting 1953 and 1954 models. Longer lower and wider was General Motors new buzz words, so overall height was slashed by 6 inches on station wagons and up to 3 inches on other models. However, the 1955 Chevrolet was about one inch shorter and narrower. It just looked longer and wider because of the way the rear fenders were made and the fact that the hood was almost level with the front fenders. Hooded headlamps were also blended into the new flat top front fenders. Stebbins design the functional tail lamps which extend out slightly from the rear fenders. From the Ferrari like egg crate rectangular grille and eagle hood ornament to the stylish wrap around windshield, the 1955 Chevrolet was undeniably a Harley Earl design.
1955 Chevrolet Belair Convertible
Introduced under the “Motoramic” label Chevrolet’s 1955 lineup comprised of three basic models, the Bel air, Two-Ten and One-Fifty. The Belair Sport Coupe two door hardtop was by far the most popular. Bel-Airs were also manufactured as 2-door sedans, 4-door sedans, station wagons, Nomad station wagons and today’s highly sought after Convertible.
Two-Ten models selections were the 2-door sedans, 4-door sedans, 2-door Townsman station wagons, 4-door station wagons, the very rare Two-Ten Sport Coupe 2-door hard top and Delray Club Coupe 2-door sedan. One-Fifty models were limited to 2-door sedans, 4-door sedans, 2-door station wagons and 2-door utility sedans. 14 different solid colors were available for the 1955 Chevrolet.
Two-toning was very popular in the mid 1950s and Chevy had some of the best. They looked best on Bel-Airs and Two-Tens. Roof, rear deck and upper fenders were painted one shade and the body side color was painted another with chrome strip moldings separating the two toning. The One Tens did not have much side trim and their contrasting colors were limited to the roof. 23 different Two-tone color combinations were available for the 1955 Chevrolet.
Interior variation were just as extensive, they were plusher and more expensive, especially the Bel-Air Nomad. Instruments were symmetrically arranged directly ahead of the steering wheel in a simple fan shaped cluster that was matched on the right side by the radio speaker housing. An optional radio was mounted between the two fan shaped clusters. Heater and outside air controls were mounted on the dash within easy reach of the driver.
The mid of the line Two-Ten series was Chevy’s best seller in 1955 with 805,309 units built. The Bel-Air wasn’t far behind with 773,238 units produced. A grand total of 1,704,667 cars were produced in the 1955 production year. The 1955 Chevrolet was a spectacular achievement for General Motors. Seldom had a mass produced vehicle been so completely transformed in one year. The Chevrolet name once dull but durable had a bright new youthful look and sizzling performance despite stronger than ever competition. It was certainly a great year for Chevy buyers, who could now personalize their cars with over 50 accessories.
On November 23, 1954 the 50 millionth automobile produced by General Motors in the United States rolled off a Chevrolet assembly line in Flint, MI. The car taking the honors was a 1955 Chevy Bel Air gold Sport Coupe 2-door hard top. The one question that was often asked at the end of the 1955 production year - What would Chevy do for an encore? The answer was the 1956 and 1957 Chevrolet.
Check out this cool advertisement about the 'Motoramic' 1955 Chevrolet.
Quick Tip: If your building a 1955 Chevy and are going to run the stock drums; replace your master cylinder with a 1968 Chevelle drum/drum master cylinder. This will give you a dual output for independent control for front and rear drums. Adds a surety of safety to your Hot Rod.
If you have been waiting, well here it is. Part II to the drain 'tank' rust repair.
I left off with the removal of the existing rusty metal. This piece, which acts as a 'drip rail' to keep moisture from the fan and fresh air vents. It had to be removed to get access to the bad metal. Here it is removed on the VM welding bench.
Once the old rusty metal is removed, take a pattern off the existing piece(s) using cardbboard. If the old sheetmetal overlaps, try to drill out the spotwelds. When you install the new metal, [like you see here] it should be installed in the same way it was taken out.
After the new sheetmetal has been installed, the firewall had to be patterned and installed.
Here you can see the piece being installed. When welding, be sure to weld in short runs. This will limit the warping. You can see each run from each of the heat marks. Of Course, during the install, I did hammer and dolly the weld seams to keep the metal straight.
Now the piece is installed. I did not weld in the holes to show you. After welded in, it will give the effect of a spot-weld like original.
Install your old driprail if its usable. I opted to weld in the larger holes. Since you wont see the piece, asthetics wasnt a worry for me. When this piece is installed as you see it, each seam will need to be sealed so water/moisture wont pass through to the fan and fresh air vent. If done properly, it should work as new.
Now that all the pieces are back in place, coat the inside with POR-15 to seal it tightly from moisture and remove the thread of rust in the future. This will add another 10 - 15 years to your Chevy.
Let the POR-15 dry, then replace the outer tank skin. Good as new.
I did find a replacement skin from Danchuck, but each side was $175.00 each. Pricey. Total cost of this work; $20 worth of 18 ga. sheetmetal, and about 8 total hours to complete.
In a post from last month, I introduced the newest add to the Vintage Metal corral.
I decided tonight to go work on the car and decided to start on the firewall. It had some 'crispy' areas on it. I opened the inspection cover on top of the cowl (under the front fender) and noticed some dirt and debris inside. I knew what caused the rust build up, this was a sad confirmation. Look at the build up of dirt and debris like old leaves, pine needles and cotton from little critters that I pushed out. Water gets trapped in this stuff and eats away the bare metal.
I started to scrape at the rust and it kept flaking off piece by piece. I started to Poke at it more to get it loose and noticed the inside had some major problems as well. So, I ground off the face of the firewall where the problem is at and I cut the outside of the drain tank ... well, take a look at what I found. Nasty, but typical (sigh). Time to get to work and get it fixed. Don't want to get water on my wifes feet.
If you look inside, there is a 'drip rail' that directs water around the vent openings and fan inlet. It was in rough shape as well, but still usable. In order to get to the rusty metal, it has to be removed. Look what I found behind it. EEK!
I cut out the firewall section next so I can get better access inside the drain area. This would have had to been replaced anyways; so...get it out of the way.
To make this process a little eaiser, I like to keep the factory curves or edges. Welding to these areas are much better than flat panel spots, which can cause 'oil canning'. In areas like this, you dont have the luxury to use a hammer and dolly to straighten it out.
Always try to cut your pieces out cleanly so you can use them to make your patterns. I make my patterns from thick 'chip board'. It can be picked up at your local upholstery supply store.
I wanted to share my new addition to the Vintage Metal Corral. A 1955 Chevrolet Sedan. 2-door; 210 model. This car has a rebuilt inline 6 with 3-speed on the column, which came original with the car. It runs very good since I gave it a 'strong' tune up.
It came with some goodies not original to the car. A Sears and Robuck underdash AC system. A side mounted Techumsa AC pump with custom brackets...a whole complete working system. It's a nice thought to have AC; and yes it worked. But, because it was bulky looking and 'out of place', I decided to remove it. It's for sale for any interested parties. $250 or best offer. I would like to see this get put to use instead of the trash bin.
There are some plans in the works...keep coming back to find out what may happen next.
Early Chevrolets; Lets touch on them for a minute. You don't hear or see them very often, but from time to time, one surfaces and it really catches your eye. Early Fords by far are everyones favorite amongst the other manufactures. It's my 'builders' opinion, it would mostly be due to the construction of the car; less wood, more metal (let us not forget the favorite V8 Engine too ). I'm not denying that the other makes have nice looking cars, common sense would tell me - Fords to be the favorite having less wood, more steel structure; less desireable Chevrolets and other makes, Wood Strucutres and steel panels. It's easier to make steel panels than it is to make curved wood structures.
Focusing on the car and not how they were built, Chevrolet's have some very distinctive lines and had a great potential for that 'Early Hot Rod' look. Early Fords had thier V8 Flatheads and Chevrolet's...V8 La Salle/Cadillac Engines, Hopped up Inline 6's, Beefed up Inline 8's. As I'm writing this, I laugh. Ford were simple and interchangeable; Motors and transmissions, Rear ends were relatively the same, the common Torque tube design.
The 1934 Chevrolet Master and Standard continued Chevrolet's year-old practice of building two distinct series of cars on different wheelbase lengths. The 1934 Chevrolet Master, in fact, now measured 112 inches, two inches longer than the 1933 model. The 1934 Chevrolet Standard model remained at 107 inches.
Both models retained six-cylinder power, but modifications to the Master's 206-cubic-inch engine boosted horsepower from 65 to 80. The Standard series repeated 1933's 181-cubic-inch 60-horsepower engine.
Chevrolet's big news this year was adoption of "Knee-Action," the sealed Dubonnet type of independent front suspension. Standard equipment on the Master series, it would not be offered on Standard models for a few more years.
Master models, while retaining the previous year's styling theme, looked heavier than their 1933 counterparts -- which they were, by some 225 pounds, about 60 pounds of which was due to the Dubonnet "knees." Three horizontal hood louvers replaced the doors used in 1932-33, and wheels were reduced in size to 17 inches. Free Wheeling was optional on Master models only.
The Standard line was expanded to five body styles. Prices were raised by $40 on Standard models and as much as $100 on the Master series. Production increased by 29 percent, with the Standard coach scoring the biggest gain.
Here is a short video on all of thier makes in 1934. Enjoy!
