Photos and Article By: Andrew Tanner
A big part of coming to McPherson College to participate in the unique Automotive Restoration program is having a vehicle to spend countless hours repairing. Many students come from thousands of miles away, so transporting more than one vehicle is often not feasible. Other students come here without a classic car of any sort, and are itching to get their hands on one. Jacob Scruggs, junior, was absolutely itching to get his hands on a classic Chrysler.
Like many car enthusiasts, Scruggs spent plenty of time online searching for that perfect car. After a failed attempt at purchasing his ideal restoration project, in November 2015 he found a 1957 Chrysler Windsor for sale in Alabama and he absolutely had to have it. While searching Craigslist, Scruggs strayed from more local searches to Kansas and his native Texas and found his Windsor. Being a relatively difficult car to come by, he bought it sight unseen and had it shipped to Kansas. Upon arrival, he excitedly spent three hours helping unload his new car in the freezing cold weather. Now the restoration process could begin.
This 1957 Chrysler Windsor has a 354 cubic inch polyspherical V8 engine, meaning that the combustion chambers in the heads are shaped like spheres. After rebuilding the distributor and replacing the two-barrel Carter carburetor with a new one, coupled with some basic maintenance Scruggs had a running car. He also replaced the transmission front pump seal, brake master cylinder and booster, new wheel cylinders, drums, and anything else brake-related. Now, not only did he have a running car, he had a driving car.
With new floor pans installed and body work currently in progress, Scruggs hopes to put a nice paint job on the Windsor in the next year. Though he has already replaced the gauges and started making new interior door panels, he hopes to have a nicely redone interior as well. The ultimate goal is to have a clean-cut driving car that he can enjoy. In the near future, he will be putting a larger four-barrel carburetor on it for increased power. The next time you see this car, it might look a little rough, but keep in mind how much progress it has gone through to get it where it is!
