Good News and Bad News...
The good news is that I was able to replace the oil filter adapter gasket today and it was visibly damaged.

The bad news is that I still have an oil leak and I also have a coolant leak.  A new thermostat cover gasket should take care of the coolant leak but I think I am going to let a mechanic take a crack at diagnosing the oil leak. It appears to be coming from above the oil filter but not from the adapter so I am stumped.
While I was at it today I fixed the lock on the right rear door, screwed the molding back onto the front seat, put some velcro on the old back seat to hold the seat cover and vacuumed the carpet for good measure.  The extra bumper that was in the back floor is now safely stored on the shelf in the garage freeing up some space for passengers in the back seat.  That came in handy this evening as our neighbors wanted to cruise around the neighborhood.
I guess the big victory today was that I got the windshield wipers working.  It turns out that there was just a wire that needed to be connected.  I will need to find a screw and washer to hold the control cable on but that should not be too hard.

Here are pics of the engine cowl identification plate and the VIN.

For those of you who are interested, here is the meaning of the VIN:
V = V8 engine
C = Belair (cheaper versions were the 150 and 210)
57 = Year manufactured
A = Built in Atlanta
13806 = This was the 3,806th car to come off the line.

Cowl information plate:
Style 1019D = 4 door sedan (kind of hard to see in the picture)
Body No 7892 = Sequence number of the body
Trim 665 = Med. Blue Vinyl w/ Black & Blue Pattern Cloth
Paint 810D = India Ivory/Larkspur Blue

http://www.oldride.com/library/1957_chevrolet_bel_air.html
Series 2403, Style 1019D, Body Type & Seating 4 dr Sedan - 6P, Factory Price $2,390, Weight 3,272 lbs, Total Production 254,331

Next up, having a mechanic diagnose the oil leak and getting the brakes checked.