No Reserve 57 Chevy Delray 2 Dr Fresh Mechanical Resto Rat Rod Restore Barn Find on 2040-cars

WOW…What a rare find…This car has just undergone a mechanical restoration and is road worthy.. New engine and much much  more!  It does have the awesome patina look. I just did not have the heart to change it based upon the story. I bought it high up in the Colorado Rockies from the prior owner’s son. The prior owner parked it nestled in between his home and barn leaving it well protected from vandals in 1967. That is correct! The plates expired in 1967… He had parked the car and removed and sold the engine and transmission as he really needed money one hard winter. He held onto the car for the rest of his life with the hope that he could get his baby back on the road again. About 10 years after he passed away his son decided to find the car a good home. That is where I came in. The car is being sold with the 1967 tags still attached.

NO RESERVE!

Since the mechanical restoration I have registered the car, have clear title etc. In fact the car recently took home a people’s  choice award at a local car show that drew in 5,000 people! The prior owner had put on the Belair emblems sometime in the mid 1960’s. As I ran the trim tag it appears to be a real deal DelRAy! The car even retains the original seats and seat covers. As you can see a little tape has been added over the years. The car has working exterior lights, turn signals, brake lights etc. Totally legal to drive at night. Now that you really want to bid on this NO RESERVE car….here are the rest of the details:

ENGINE: When I found the car it had no engine. The prior owner had some hot rod engine he removed about the time that he parked it. I found a early 1960’s 283 CID small block. It has been bored .060, has flat top cast pistons, crank has been turned. All new rings, bearings, gaskets and seals. Has a 350HP Corvette Cam and some good old 461 Camel back heads. The heads were freshened and have 1.50 exhaust / 1.94 Intake valves. They were just lapped as I had the heads on something else and the guides still checked fine. It has an Edelbrock performer intake and 600 Edelbrock carb. I often hear the comment “Sounds GREAT” as the exhaust exits the ram horn manifolds into the Cherry Bomb mufflers. It runs strong and does not leak a drop. Only has 200 miles on it. It will need a little choke work as it can be cold blooded to start when cold.  I started it today for the first time in a week. A half pump on the throttle and she starts right up. When you change oil, add zinc. It has a hydraulic flat tappet camshaft. These old cars need the extra oil additive if you want them to live.

TRANSMISSION: I purchased the cast iron powerglide as a rebuilt unit. It did not come with any warranty as a local builder had built it, sold it to a guy that never used it and then sold it to me. It is a period correct  1955 – 1957 transmission. All new engine and transmission mounts were installed. It seems to work just fine. It does drip some  fluid after sitting for several days in a row. Looks to have a little drip off of the speedo cable seal and has the typical converter drain back after sitting like most old cars do.

SUSPENSION: Upper and lower control arm bushings are all new. Upper and lower ball joints are all new. The rubber on the tires is good. Fresh alignment. There is some front end frame damage that you can see in the pics. It did not prevent the front end alignment from coming into spec. Let the wheel go at highway speeds and she goes straight! The damage looks like the car went over a parking block or maybe a ditch at some point.

BRAKES: All drums re surfaced. New brake hardware. New brake shoes front and back. New brake hoses and wheel cylinders. New master cylinder. ALL NEW and GOOD!

ELECTRICAL: Has been converted to A/C Generator / Alternator. Has a new chrome one wire with a fusible link. All exterior lighting works. The interior lighting, radio, blower motor, wiper motor,  gauges, etc. needs some work. The speedometer works fine and the temp gauge works but reads much higher than it should. Thus I disconnected it at the sending unit.  After a 45 min. drive I shot the water pump and thermostat housing with a thermal heat gun. Came in at 190 degrees.

OTHER MECHANICAL: The radiator is out of a 1956 Chevy. I have tried my best in every way to keep the original patina. My goal was to make it safe and reliable. The radiator does seep some. Water pump and hoses are all new. New flex fan. The fuel tank has been flushed and is very clean inside. All fuel lines from the fuel tank filler neck forward have been replaced. The rear diff. seems to be an average high gear, maybe 3.08. It has fresh fluid seems to work just fine.

BODY:

The body and chrome are amazing for the age of the car. The Colorado mountains are a very dry place. Some of the chrome still looks new. Some will need to be straightened and polished to be mint. It appears that the car was born black. The prior owner must have painted the car turquoise sometime in the early to mid 1960’s. He did hang on the Belair trim, cut a hole in the floor for the 4 speed and removed the shift indicator from the dash. I have put the column shift back in place but no shift indicator. (Reverse is all the way down) There is some rust in the bottom of the front fenders, small hole in roof (as pictured), a small soft spot in front of the rear bumper and some holes in the floors. The floor overall is not that bad but some patch panels would be required to make her mint. I have covered the damages areas with some tin on the floor for now. It is not really noticeable. Besides the piece of tin covering the old hole where the floor shifter came through there is probably another 6 or 7 small patches. One on each corner under the rear seat (not very big). Then one for sure around the gas pedal area. The Left Front fender does have some minor damage (as pictured). The Right rear quarter panel / wheel well opening has a light crease across it. (Not very noticeable, hard to see photo).

INTERIOR:  The inside has the original seats / seat covers. The headliner has been removed due to the fact that it was falling down. To be nice it will need a kit. I have just enjoyed the car the way it sits. I installed seat belts in the back seat in case the kids wanted to go for a ride.

GLASS: Both rear windows are cracked. I did not have the heart to change them as you can see the cool old 1960’s Colorado State University Sticker in the window. The front windshield is ok but has a rust stain on it. Left rear window regulator will need some work. The other windows roll just fine.

TRIM TAG: The tag is also in the pictures.

Body Style 57-1011A

Body # K 788

Trim 657 1A B

Paint 807C

ACC

WHAT THE CAR NEEDS: It is your call. Love it and drive it….Restore it to a $100,000 jewel. Add your personal touches?? I have included another steering gear box and steering wheel in the trunk. The top of the steering column shaft had been repaired at some time. It holds the wheel tight, etc. I just picked it up to make it 100% correct. Drives just fine at this time.

WHY AM I SELLING: I love the car. I just do not have room. I recently had to  put the car outside and received a nasty letter from the HOA . So it is, what it is. The proceeds will help to finish another project.

TERMS: Cash or Money wire transfer. $500 deposit via PayPal as soon as the auction ends. Full payment must be received prior to taking the car that I love. Clear title will be given once full payment has been received. You will have to arrange shipping and make payment accordingly. 

Tough to find them on a NO RESERVE AUCTION!