A Fun ’57 Project!

Story By Ron Wolf

It isn’t often that I hear about a car project that was actually fun to build. Most of the time owners talk about the trials and tribulations and many headaches encountered in their car building experiences in addition to the enjoyment upon seeing it completed. However, Ed Zimmerman, Jr. of New Market, MD is my case in point because Ed says bringing his ’57 back to life was pure fun! He said, “I did this car for fun because I’ve done way too many serious car projects in the past.”

Ed bought the ’57 from his friend Tommy Geiman in 1985. Tommy was about to relocate from Pennsylvania to California and he didn’t want to transport his ’57 Bel Air convertible across the country.
 
The car had gone through four owners up until 1985 and yet none of them thought enough about the car to actually title it or put tags/license plates on it to make it street legal. Apparently these previous owners just kept the car in their garages. How this car could have changed hands four times without title changes is beyond my comprehension, but that’s what Ed claims happened.
 
Part of the reason this was a fun project for Ed is due to the short build time; four to five weeks! Any car project that can be completed that fast gets my vote for fun. Ed just added a tri-power small block motor from his ’55 race Chevy (a 13-second drag car), cured the rust areas (he said he hid some, too), painted the car with satin-black paint, cleaned the car in and out and the car was done and ready to cruise. There are some spiffs he could have added and maybe he has since sending in his story information, like a new top and repainting the dash, but he did add a few custom items. The toothy grille is made from 1971-73 Vega rear bumperettes. Taillights are from a ’59 Cadillac and side mirrors are ’58 Chevy Halos. The continental kit adds length and stateliness while the cruiser skirts evoke the lowered look.
 
Ed’s car may not be built-out to the ultimate level of detail found in other cars in our magazine, but he says it still turns heads everywhere he and Marsha travel with it...and that makes them both very happy! Isn’t that the result we all want?
 
Photo captions:
 
The ‘55 Nomad Ed bought when he was 15 at the Hershey PA Flea Market for $550.00. He restored it and drove it as his everyday car for several years.
 
Marsha, Ed’s wife, owns this beautifully restored blue ’57 2-door hardtop.
 
Ed’s ’55 gasser race car. It has a 350ci engine, a Muncie 4-speed, a 12-bolt 4.11 rear end and additional power from a NOS. This car was featured in our April 2008 issue.
This ‘56 has been Ed’s car since 1985. It was a Texas car that had very little rust and a 6 cylinder, 3-speed restored original drivetrain. Ed pulled the car apart back in 1988 after he blew the engine in South Carolina coming home from the CCI Convention in Florida. He put the car back together for its 50th anniversary in 2006 (he said it took that long to reassemble because he just couldn't get into restoring an original 6 cylinder car).