Chris Metropulos' 57' Chevy 150 Utility Sedan

Featured Project #7

Chris Metropulos'
1957 Chevy 150 Utility Sedan
Engine Compartment Restoration and
Crate Engine Upgrade

Ravenswood Paint & Body
All work completed at Ravenswood in Dania Florida. Thanks to Mike, Chris, Johnny & Lucille.
Without all their help, this project would have never been completed.

Before
On the first day, the tired 427 was removed from the car. No surprise, the hole was a mess. Decisions were made after hours of staring at the dirty mess that would dictate the next 12 months.

Before Firewall
Here’s a great picture of what we started with. We decided to seal up all holes and reshape the original firewall. In addition, all parts would be sandblasted (or replaced) and given fresh paint to match the exterior color (Crimson Red) of the car.

Firewall Smooth
Mike Barile painstakingly welds up all the holes made throughout the years.

Sandblasting
The car was carefully bagged and everything was sandblasted to bare metal.

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Seal and Prime
The car was immediately moved to the booth so all bare metal could be prepped and painted with a fresh coat of PPG sealer and primer.

Fresh Paint
The exterior lacquer paint was expertly matched with a PPG 2 stage basecoat clear coat and the firewall was sprayed. The Frame and all suspension parts were painted a single stage gloss black.

Rebuild Suspension
A set of QA1 coilovers, graphite urethane bushings, freshly painted parts, and new hardware was laid out in preparation for the suspension assembly.

Rebuild Suspension
Suspension is coming together nicely.

Update Brakes
The brakes were updated with a Wilwood disc brake conversion kit.

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Stainless Steel Tank
The new fuel injected rat will need an in-tank pump, so an all stainless tank with a high volume pump was acquired from Rock Valley.

Crate Rat Arrives
The long awaited 502 Ramjet arrives from Street & Performance in Arkansas. The chrome work on the intake and plenum is superb. In addition, they polished the stock aluminum water pump and assembled a serpentine belt system with all their brackets and idlers. Going the extra mile on the engine compartment seems well worth the investment.

Engine Paint
The engine was disassembled, prepped, and wheeled into the spray booth for a fresh coat of paint. The project requires a “wrapped” look and the engine is no exception.

Hood Dip
The business side of the hood was completely stripped, carefully prepped and sprayed with a “dipped” mirror finish.
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Parts Everywhere
Many hours spent on the air inlet tubes. The body shop resembled a parts warehouse as 57 parts were hanging everywhere.

Trial Fit
A trial fit of the motor called for some minor modifications to the front motor mounts. The project was really beginning to come together at this point.

Spaghetti
A quick look at all the wiring harnesses further supported our decision to relocate all the looms inside the car under the dash.

Relocate Harness
A one inch hole was drilled and fitted with a grommet. The coil, wires, and engine fuses were re-routed to the inside of the car. Very clean.

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No Idea
The fun part. Enough said.

Master Cylinder
The aluminum Wilwood dual tandem master cylinder was mounted to the firewall and the proportioning valve and brake lines were finished off.

Attaching Parts
Freshly painted parts like the core support and inner fenders were re-assembled. The hood and hinges were mounted. Note the Master Lube prelube bottle was painted and mounted to the firewall with polished aluminum brackets. This motor will last a million miles according to the Master Lube guarantee!

Valve Covers
A last minute decision was made to match the color on the aluminum stock valve covers. All scratches were sanded out of the highpoints of the valve cover and they were buffed to a show quality shine. The rest of the valve covers were painted to match the engine.

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Engine Finished
Out in the sun you can really see the result of hundreds of hours of work. The Ramjet looks like the Hope Diamond in it’s new home. Note the aluminum Griffin radiator. The top tank was treated to about 5 hours of sanding and polishing. An electric puller fan from Spal was also installed.

Back at Home
The owner took this picture back at his house. Here you can see the chromed coolant overflow tank, also from Street and Performance.

Quarter Rear
The outside of the car also looks clean and straight. The car will be back to Ravenswood in the near future for some interior dash and trim paint work.

Dialing it In – Dad
The car owners Dad, Nick of Nick’s Central Auto in Chicago Illinois, helps with some last minute tuning before the cars first show.

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Well Received
The newly restored engine compartment “restification” debuted at the 2003 All Chevy Show at Moroso Speedway. Judging by the many dropped jaws and positive comments both the owner and spectators were equally satisfied.

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Last updated 3/29/03