I’m not exactly ready for all the exterior chrome at this point in the project but a couple of my friends suggested that I take advantage of a unique opportunity. The guy that had been doing their metal polishing and chrome had to lay off all his employees after 9/11 and he was hungry for business. I took most of the exterior pieces to him (20 pieces including both bumpers) and he did them for $1100. Sorry, no pictures of the chrome, it's all wrapped up for protection.

At first I was considering swapping the rear axle out for a later one. 78 - 84 Cadillac rear axles are the same width as the 57’s but the have a rear suspension like Chevelle’s so all the brackets would have to be removed to swap it into the 57. I removed the 57’s rear axle and disassembled it for inspection. Everything looked good so, I decided to go ahead and use this rear end.