New guy in Illinois. 1928 Chevy Sedan

[valkokir]

Hey, new to the site. I've been looking around for a little bit trying to get some ideas on what I want to build. Originally I had decided that a mid 30's Ford coupe was the way to go, then started migrating towards a Model A because of parts availability. Ford was the lingering thought because I grew up with Fords.
I also grew up building Harleys and have a 45ci which I built from pieces in High School as well as a Shovelhead. My dad is building a 1930 Model A Town Sedan with a custom chassis and a stock body, stock colors, and a V6. I think it's going to be pretty cool.
I've been thinking about doing a car myself since I went to the Scrapdrive in Belvidere, IL this year and then decided I had to go to HCPU a few weeks ago. After that I knew what I wanted in a car. I want something I can drive at least relatively reliably and I don't have to baby the finish on. I'm the type that enjoys a work in progress and once it's done it gets limited use. So why not build a driving work in progress? I'm starting to get better on my lathe at making custom parts. I have access to a waterjet at work (limited use), a friend with a CNC Plasma Cutter, and a serious interest in learning more about fabrication.

[valkokir]

Stumbled across a 1928 Chevy on Craigslist. 180degrees from parts availability but the price was right.

Here is the pic from Craigslist http://www.msu.edu/~valkokir/chevy/cl1.jpg
The owner was emptying the house it was parked out back of and it was still buried under a tarp and surrounded by yard implements. After digging it out and this is what we had.
http://www.msu.edu/~valkokir/chevy/dig.jpg
We jacked the wheels out of the mud, set it down on some OSB, pumped up the tires (they held air) and rolled it onto the drive by hand. All four wheels rolled and the steering worked. Most of the wood has turned to mulch and the rear of the body is falling off the frame. A little disappointing at this point.
The owner's son finally shows and starts pulling parts out of the garage. We had been told that the doors had been taken off and stored inside along with the seats to keep them from rotting. But the pile to follow was encouraging and made me feel a lot better about the car's future. As near as I can tell, every piece of sheetmetal is there and after sifting through the dirt where the car sat, I think I found all of the brackets that held the wood together.
I am missing the door handles, inside and out, and window cranks(previous owner is looking again). The engine and trans supposedly ran 4 years ago, I do not care to use them and will sell them off. Last year for the 4 cylinder, it's probably sacrilege to get rid of it but I'm over it. I am going to go out of my way to use the four parallel leafs. I will put a modern rear diff on. I'd like to use the original front axle if at all possible but it needs to stop. I read on here that early 50's chevy brakes may fit the spindles? I'd like to use the wheels (original solid discs with split rims, too cool) but I don't think I can get highway rated tires and I need a driver. And if I change out the brakes the wheels will have to go with. Any ideas? I doubt I will channel the body, there will be enough work rebuilding the structure and I think if I lower it enough I'll be happy. I'll try to use the original steering column and gear box if I can (will the engine interfere?) And the original brake and clutch pedals with remote masters. I have the original seats, covered in green corduroy, those will stay. I need to rebuild all of the windows and windshield frame (Windshield rolls up about 2" into the header). I'm open to ideas. In the meantime, I'm going to start measuring, designing, and reconstructing. Will post some more pics soon.

[Tin Can]

welcome from Rochelle, IL

[29Jay]

Welcome from Texas! I have a 30/31 looked a little rougher than that when i started. Best of luck to you!
Jay

[inkundone]

excellent find! look forward to us working on our 28s together. send me some more pics of ur car when you get a chance.

[Von Hartmann]

Haha, I love craigslist.

[valkokir]

Thanks Guys!

Here's a temporary link to a crummy page of pics. Click on the thumbs for bigger ones.

http://www.msu.edu/~valkokir/chevy/index.htm

Check out the trailer hitch welded to the spare tire/tailight rack!
The Zeppelin tank was set up as an air tank he gave that to us too, dad took that. I understand it is a stainless WW2 gas tank

[Peter Pan of Chicago]

Welcome to a great place!

Joel

[blktie]

Welcome from Tinley park, IL!

[29bowtie]

Welcome from another Chevy guy.:D