After getting on solid financial ground, I convinced my new bride Naomi to let me kick-off Project '57. Although she has probably often regretted that fateful decision, her support of this project has not wavered from day one. Thanks honey!
I drove back to South Dakota and loaded the victim of ten hard winters onto a U-Haul trailer. With my loving parents riding shotgun, we towed the '57 to our North Carolina home. One of the first steps was a good inventory...
This is a sideview of the '57. Note the grille and front turn signal housing are missing in action!
This shot shows a rusty rockerpanel, Classic Chevys are prone to rust in this area.
The interior looked rough. Note the deteriorated windlace hanging from the door frame, faded doorpanel, and wires hanging from under the dash. The sheepskin seat covers sure look cheesey...
The trunk was filled with STUFF....like an extra speedo housing, hood pieces, and original radio - love the sound of that vacuum tube technology! This picture also shows how rusted out the rear bumper guards were and note the hole in the center of the bumper. I imagine someone had a tow ball mounted there at one time, eh?
--SHEESH--
Work began in earnest but a call from Headquarters Marine Corps brought the project to screeching halt. We had unexpectedly received orders to California!
So, we packed up all of our household goods, pushed the Chevy onto another U-Haul trailer and began our cross country trek. Project '57 was headed for southern California -- destination San Diego. After getting a new home, unpacking and getting settled into a new job, work began again on Project 57.
