Body shim question, 1957 Corvette

[Bruce B.]

My current 57 gasser project has had the body off the frame (now back on) and when the body was put back on the shims were not put back.
My question is how should I approach shimming the body?
I thought if I put 2 shims at each body mount I could add or subtract as needed.

Any suggestions.

[John H.]

Re: Body shim question, 1957 Corvette

My current 57 gasser project has had the body off the frame (now back on) and when the body was put back on the shims were not put back.
My question is how should I approach shimming the body?
I thought if I put 2 shims at each body mount I could add or subtract as needed.

Any suggestions.

Bruce -

When I did my 57's (many years ago), some mounts had one shim, some had two; the '57 body is pretty stiff. The one that mattered for me was the single front mount under the radiator support, to avoid any "droop" at the front end, which can introduce a "bulge" over the front wheel openings.

[Bruce B.]

Re: Body shim question, 1957 Corvette

John,
Thanks for the advice, I'll pay specific attention to core support mount.
It will be interesting since the car has a fabricated front crossmember and a dropped straight axle but still utilizes the third arm and tie rods..
Bruce B

[Bruce B.]

Re: Body shim question, 1957 Corvette

John,
Here are a few pictures of the straight axle in my 57 "gasser" project.
Different from most straight axles that use a single tie rod from steering arm to steering arm.
The original owner did a nice job and it Looks like it should work OK, I hope.




MVC-001S.JPGMVC-002S.JPGMVC-003S.JPGMVC-004S.JPG

[John H.]

Re: Body shim question, 1957 Corvette

John,
Here are a few pictures of the straight axle in my 57 "gasser" project.
Different from most straight axles that use a single tie rod from steering arm to steering arm.
The original owner did a nice job and it Looks like it should work OK, I hope.

Bruce -

Looks very sanitary! What calipers are those?

[Bruce B.]

Re: Body shim question, 1957 Corvette

John,

The calipers were made by Airheart and are around 1967 vintage according to the brake guys.
They are 4 puck and made of magnesium.
They never had brake fluid in them until I lubricated them with dot 4 and disassembled them.
The bores and pistons are perfect and the o-rings and scrapers are available from Speedway Motors.
I have reassembled them and did a test fit and everything looks good so far.
The only problem is that the bleeders are at the base of each caliper, but I think (I will) they can be bench bled then installed.
They are mirror images so switching them from side to side won't change anything.

Any thoughts on the bleeding situation?

The car has some very nice vintage parts and work, and will be a nice period gasser when assembled.
Thanks,
Bruce B

[John H.]

Re: Body shim question, 1957 Corvette

Any thoughts on the bleeding situation?

Bruce -

I'd try connecting the flex hoses to the calipers so everything is tight, then hang the calipers with the bleeders at the top (and a piece of wood substituting for the width of the rotor), bleed them, then bolt the calipers back on the spindles.