Paps’ Protégé – After Decades as an Understudy, Jim Zech Gets to Cruise His Mentor’s Fine 1957 Chevy
Growing up in the old car hobby usually involves inspiration and guidance from an older and wiser enthusiast, someone who nurtures your dreams. It could be your father, a brother, or an uncle. For Jim Zech, that mentor was Tri-Five Chevy specialist Bill “Duke” Durrette, who Jim affectionately calls “Paps.”
“He is like my ‘car dad,’” Jim says. “My dad didn’t like spending extra money on cars.”
Jim and Durette have developed a family-like bond through the decades and Jim says he’s learned a lot from his “Paps” – enough that he’s proficiently built his own series of hot rods and vintage cars through the years. But when Durrette decided to sell one of his tri-fives, a butternut yellow 210 sedan 1957 Chevy, Jim knew he had to have it. He couldn’t pass up the chance to own one of his mentor’s builds.
Durrette built many Tri-Five Chevys over the years, Jim says, eventually keeping one from each model year. When the time came to sell the ’57 and the ’56, that’s when Jim and his wife Connie decided to buy the 1957 sedan.
“We had money set aside for a pool,” Jim says, “but when we heard he was selling, we decided to buy the ’57 instead. I always wanted to have one of his cars; I have been seeing them since I was 14.”
Over the decades, 1957 Chevys have been modified and massaged in every style imaginable, from jacked-up Gassers on the drag strip to slammed boulevard cruisers. They are a blank canvas for builders. While many Tri-Five owners today take advantage of the high-tech assets available to create wildly innovative and contemporary versions of these iconic cars, Jim’s ’57 is an example of a more understated and classic Tri-Five build – a mostly stock exterior with an upgraded driveline and suspension.
The uncut body sits on a stock chassis that hosts basic bolt-on aftermarket suspension upgrades. Two-inch dropped spindles, dual-adjustable coil-over shocks, and a steering box from Classic Performance Products update the front, while de-arched stock leaf springs and a 9-inch Ford rearend with 3.73 gears sit in back. CPP disc brakes on all four corners handle the stopping chores. The car was given a sneaky sleeper-style appearance by combining the lowered stance with 15×6- and 15×8-inch Wheelsmith steel wheels capped with 210-model dog dish hubcaps and wrapped in BFGoodrich 205/60/15 and 255/60/15 rubber.
“The car’s stance and look are perfect as it sits, and I don’t want to do anything to take that away,” Jim says.
Reliable old-school power comes from a 400c.i. small-black V8 that includes a Comp Cams camshaft and a Holley Sniper EFI and HyperSpark ignition system. A polished aluminum Edelbrock intake sits between cast iron heads topped by finned aluminum valve covers. Ceramic-coated exhaust manifolds guide waste gasses through a 2.5-inch aluminized dual exhaust system that includes Flowmaster mufflers and an H-pipe. A 700R4 four-speed automatic transmission is controlled by the CPP column-shift tilt steering column.
Jim says he added the Sniper EFI package after buying the car. That’s the only substantial change he’s made from Durrette’s build, other than adding a new steering wheel. He’d like to install air conditioning sometime in the future.
The bodywork on the sedan was performed by Mr. Old Habits in La Habra, California, with the exception of the smoothed firewall that was handled by Durrette. The Mr. Old Habits team also applied the single-stage PPG paint. All bright work – bumpers, trim pieces – are original 1957 pieces straightened and re-polished by Durrette.
The interior was tastefully redone by Bill’s Upholstery in Brea, California, with tan and cream pleather stitched in traditional-style rolls and pleats over stock seats and side panels – including the trunk. The original dash features a restored original gauge cluster, with additional help from Stewart Warner instruments located under the dash. An EZ Wiring harness controls the electrical system.
Jim says he plans to continue putting regular miles on the 1957 210, especially when he has the opportunity to join Durrette on trips to car shows, where the Chevy is displayed next to the ’55 Chevy that “Paps” still drives. It’s a great way for Jim to honor his old car mentor while also enjoying time with him.
So, what does Jim’s father think now about extra money being spent on a car? “Now that he sees what can be done, he’s amazed,” Jim says.
Photos: John Jackson, Damon Lee
