1957 Chrysler New Yorker "Ella"

[tswenson27]

Hey guys, I just picked up this ol gem a few months ago. Wondering if there is a registry out there for the 57 Chrysler new yorkers? curious to see how many are still out and survived. I bought this one from the original owner. 90,xxx miles on the clock. Original 392, Power steering, Power brakes, Power front seat. was missing a few trim parts that i tracked down. One torsion bar was broken. I have replaced the water pump, all hoses, plugs, wires, pertronix ignition and coil. Engine runs amazing and seems to go into gear fine. Radiator was leaking everywhere so i installed an aluminum radiator. Next i will be working on getting the brakes up to par. I imagine a lot of these old 4 doors were rotted out or wrecked and never fixed so i'm curious to see what kind of numbers are left of the 11,000 produced. Sorry for the 2 duplicate photos. i cant figure out how to get rid of them. Thanks for looking and i hope to learn some stuff here! Thanks in advance!

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

WOW!!! Beautiful, well done! Did you keep the original radiator? I only ask so that if you decide to return it to stock, you can try to have the original one rebuilt.

 

[tswenson27]

Yes, i have all the original parts i am keeping. Thought about getting it re-cored but just wasn't in the budget at the moment. aluminum was a much less expensive route to go and seems to work well so far. i haven't acually driven the car yet as the brakes are not working but i believe with the idle time i have on it i will be ok. I am thinking about also doing a disc brake conversion on it as i don't feel confident in the drum design they are running on these cars. Pretty excited for spring to get this girl on the road though. Her name is Ella after the original owners wife.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Lovely name (I love Ella Fitzgerald - the queen of jazz), and I'm glad you're keeping all the original parts. An aluminum radiator is an excellent driver choice, and can be easily replaced and serviced.

Yes, a disc brake conversion is the most important upgrade of all. Make sure please that you get the power booster rebuilt or new too, and definitely upgrade to a dual circuit master cylinder. I'm a reasonable (slightly imperfect) authority on disc brake conversions for 65-68 C bodies (using 69 - 73 C body stuff), but I know very little about the eras prior to that and it's my understanding that very little if anything interchanges from the 69 and up stuff. I know there are some companies offering kits that are garnering decent reviews. Being safe is all that matters.

 

[gyknot]

I've owned my 58 desoto for about 30 yrs now. Drove it quite a bit when I first got it and then it went into storage as life intervened. Went through most everything about 8 yrs ago and have been driving it sparingly ever since. I redid the brake system with all stock parts and it works just fine.
I guess there is some logic to putting disc brakes and a dual master cylinder on, if it all has to go, but there is nothing wrong with the stock system.
Remember if you can lock the tires up you have already achieved the maximum braking ability of the car which is actually at the moment just before the tires skid.
The car is a beauty. I like the color. Mine being a 58 has the 361 big block. Wish it was a 57 with the hemi.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

I've owned my 58 desoto for about 30 yrs now. Drove it quite a bit when I first got it and then it went into storage as life intervened. Went through most everything about 8 yrs ago and have been driving it sparingly ever since. I redid the brake system with all stock parts and it works just fine.
I guess there is some logic to putting disc brakes and a dual master cylinder on, if it all has to go, but there is nothing wrong with the stock system.
Remember if you can lock the tires up you have already achieved the maximum braking ability of the car which is actually at the moment just before the tires skid.
The car is a beauty. I like the color. Mine being a 58 has the 361 big block. Wish it was a 57 with the hemi.

I agree that if the car stops well and things are in good shape, the original braking system works fine. Disc brakes are better at highway speeds for reducing fade - they cool down much faster and provide more braking applications than drums. No question. In this day and age with high speed highways and ridiculous traffic density, you might need that. However, the logic regarding a dual circuit master cylinder is undeniably sound, and is based on one safety point a single pot system can't offer - safety in redundancy. I'll give you an example.

With a single circuit system, if for some reason a brake line or hose fails, you have NO BRAKES whatsoever. It happened to me. I keep my parking brake in working order, so I was able to stop before I struck the driver's door of the little old lady who pulled out in front of me, but if I didn't have that parking brake, I would have killed her without a doubt. My brake line blew out. It was in good condition and had recently passed a visual inspection, but moisture inside allowed the line to rust from the inside, and the line gave out when I was in a panic situation.

Safety in redundancy means that if I had had a dual circuit system, I still would have had brakes from the other circuit, functioning enough to either stop my car in time or at least slow it down enough to reduce the impact to something survivable.

Brakes always will let you down when you need them the most. That's the unfortunate and alarming reality. Dual circuit systems were designed specifically to address the problem with of total brake system failure being caused by something at one wheel or axle when the failure could be reduced to that wheel or axle and still allow the car to stop.

 

[1978 NYB]

Very nice!

Nice score!

 

[mag162]

Great lookin ride!!

 

[live4theking]

Looks pretty nice, enjoy getting it ready for the road.

 

[Imperialist67]

I don't usually go for naming cars - but THIS is a worthy exception. I'd venture that '57 New Yorkers did not enjoy a high survival rate. In all my years at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals (and whatever else it was called earlier), I have seen precious few of these. Try the forward look network, they may have more info. on these.

This sure is a nice one, chrome, etc., sure look good, and you can't go wrong with that two-tone combination, with blue interior to boot. Looks like most of the "unobtainium" trim pieces, etc., are already there. THANKS for the dash photo - seems to be a nice wheel, gauges look good too, AND they light up. Be glad you don't have luminescent to deal with.

Don't be discouraged, etc., by it being a 4-door, after all you have the same styling/fins, etc. And having 4-doors DOES have its advantages, people (and stuff) are easier to get in/out of it. There are some nice articles/threads out there on rejuvenating old paint finishes. I bet that blue/white might clean up well, too.

Drum-to-disc conversion is amply addressed elsewhere, so I'll leave that alone. Definitely in agreement on the dual circuit master cylinder though, I'd make that a priority. Since it's a push-button, make REAL sure the parking brake is good too.

Good luck with getting it on the road. You'll be a BIG hit at car shows with this one...........

 

[MarPar]

What a peach! Congrats on a mighty fine NY'er!

 

[LeBaron1973]

There is a website celebrating New Yorker's in general which may be of interest.
Www.newyorkeronline.org
All the best with your beautiful car.

 

[bigmoparjeff]

I imagine a lot of these old 4 doors were rotted out or wrecked and never fixed so i'm curious to see what kind of numbers are left of the 11,000 produced.

You have a wonderful car there!

I suspect that there are fewer than a hundred 1957 NY'er 4dr HT's left, and half of those are likely to be in Europe these days. The '57-'58 Forward look cars just rusted so fast, that many were junk by the time they were five years old, and most were gone before they turned ten.

 

[tswenson27]

Wow, that is crazy. I would believe that the numbers are pretty low as well. thanks for the input!

 

[Rapidtrans777]

Love the vintage "fuzzbuster".

 

[Snotty]

Nice score!!

These cars were known to rust as they left the dealer. So, how is the trunk?

 

[tswenson27]

Love the vintage "fuzzbuster".View attachment 244549

Found that for $10 and had to have it!

 

[Davea Lux]

Love the car. You mentioned that you had to replace one torsion bar. The '57 Chrysler products had a metallurgy problem with the torsion bars. (They were redesigned for 1958) If you have a source for the other one, I would suggest you replace it also for safety reasons. "57 torsion bars broke often just forward of the rear capture point, the kind of cheap thrill you do not need when driving down the highway. Stock brakes for normal driving are adequate if properly maintained. Nice find as this car looks rust free, a rarity for '57 Mopars. Dual MC is always a good upgrade for safety reasons.

Dave

 

[LeBaron1973]

For information on what brakes may be suitable for your 57, try calling wilwood and discussing it, perhaps someone has built a rod from a 57, no harm to seek advice anyway.

805-388-1188.

 

[Snotty]

Interestingly, Kanter has new drums for your car!

https://www.kanter.com/productdetai...57&CategoryID=6&ProductCode=35&Router=Catalog