Projects 39 Pontiac Coupe (series 25 small body) build

I made up a blank off with a few beads rolled in for stiffness. I decided to pick up the existing 3/16" holes and rivet it into place. I also installed 1/4"x28 nutplates in place of the rivets holding it to the fender.

 

Got a set of 15" 5x5 Rally II wheels yesterday. Hoping I can make them work. I always thought these were an awesome factory wheel.

 

Been gimped up the last 5 months with a hernia that no one would fix due to COVID crap. Finally got everything stuffed back in where it belongs and a couple weeks of healing behind me. I can finally get some progress made on the Poncho.
Today’s fun was hanging a tranny on the engine. Tomorrow, I hope to hang it in the engine bay and start figuring out how to attach it.

 

Something simple like this angle iron bracket should suffice to support engine after it was swung into position using engine crane. I used an engine tube and not a front mounted Hurst style bracket.


Another simple bracket at the rear for transmission. Given that your X-member has been removed I'd personally install something to add some integrity back to the frame and minimise lateral twist plus it's there to hang a transmission support off.

 

I like the front bracket idea. I’m going to fab one that will sit on a scissors jack, so I can fiddle with the height adjustment also. As far as the missing X member, I’ll replace it with something similar after the engine is hung. That way I can build the frame stiffeners around the tranny & exhaust path.

 

Made a little progress yesterday & today figuring out the exact location for the motor. I made up a wooden template the exact size of the motor mount upper surface. This will allow me to position the motor and cut the wooden template. I’ll then transfer the cut line over to the steel mount. The hired help taking a beer break...lol

 

Just found your post, and your Pontiac looks almost as rusty and rotted as my '39 Chev Sport Coupe was when I bought it a year ago April!
I didn't get any of the front metal from the firewall forward, and my coupe came with the crappiest one piece fiberglass front clip I've ever seen. It was very heavy, but poorly built, and didn't fit well anywhere. I tossed it, but cut the hood off first to use with a pair of steel fenders I bought.
I built all 1" tubing supports for the front fenders, radiator, and everything that was missing. Mine's just a old hotrod, so wasn't too worried about it being factory original.
Looking forward to seeing yours progress! I just started driving mine recently!

 

Mine looked a lot like yours 15 months ago!

 

Today's junkyard bounty. Still in search of the elusive 605 steering gear box..

 

"So, let's see if we can get a 98 Vortec 350 married to a 79 Turbo 350 stuffed into a 39 Pontiac.
What could possibly go wrong?"

That should hold you until the Blue motor is ready

 

What could go wrong? Easy peasy. I put a 90 350 roller motor mated to a late 70's 700R4, in my '39 Chevy coupe. Fit like a glove and works great.

 

I have a 350/th350 in my 39 pontiac and it is so ez even a caveman (me) could do it.

 

Are you running your original rear end and steering?

 

No I have a trans am rear and springs and a off topic clip in the front. I still have the stock mid section of the frame, I put the tail right in the middle of the x and lifted the nose of the motor 3 degrees and called it good

 

If you situate your motor low in the chassis, so the motor mount centerline is even with the frame, it will save the floor from needing a huge trans tunnel, or driveline tunnel. These old GM's had flat floors, and I love that myself. Mine still has a flat floor with the 350 and 700R4 in it. My engine sits so the motor mounts on the frame are slightly uphill to the engine mounts.

 

Just rereading your post and am very interested in your setup. First of all, your car is a 39 Chevy coupe, which has the same body as mine. When yo say “motor mounts on the frame are slightly uphill to the engine mounts”, can you clarify? Better yet, do you have a clear pic? I believe my initial mock up has the engine very close to what you’re describing, as I don’t see a need to alter the floor for clearance.
Secondly- you say you’re running a 700R4. The Turbo350 in my pics is a loaner for mock up, and I was planning on using one in the car. If I went with the 700R4, I would have the 4th gear, but how do I control the torque converter lock up?

 

The slightly up angle I described is the 2" box tubing sits inside the frame rails and is angled slightly up. I also have the heavy wall tube I used for the cross bolt on my motor mounts at the top of that 2" box tube, and then tapered the bottom edge up to attach to the tube to close the end in.
Looked through my pictures taken during the build and found this one was the only one that showed the mount. Hopefully it shows what I meant?



The 700R4 is a better choice than the TH350 for a couple reasons. First for the overdrive that drops rpm's about 30% at freeway speed. But also for the low first gear that is 3.07:1 and pulls hard out of the hole. That's a deeper 1st gear than most 4 speeds have, and with my 3.73 rear gear it feels great off the line.
Controlling the 700R4 is pretty simple. I bought a Superior Solutions #K-013 hydraulic lock up switch kit. Under $40, and it's a easy 30 minute installation. Pull a plug on the trans, screw it in, run a 12v. hot wire to the switch and then off the switch to the factory plug in connector. Then off the connector to a good ground. When the pressure switch senses enough pressure to allow lockup it closes and locks the converter. Let off the rpm's and it lowers pressure and unlocks it.

I also set my engine back just far enough to allow easy removal of an old points style distributor. Not enough room for an HEI though. I used a Accel electronic adapter kit to eliminate points, but keep the small points distributor. With the engine location and my 8.8" Ford rear axle, I was able to use adapter joints at the rear end to mate the Ford flange to a 3rd Gen Camaro V8 driveline, so it's a stock length with no special driveline needed. I did have to swap out the input yoke to an aftermarket longer yoke. I also moved my rear axle back with different leaf springs to get it centered in the fender opening. I think it was about 2" back to get that centered. Then I radiused my openings to fit my Towel City cheater slicks that are 29.5" tall. And I cut the bottom off the fenders because I deleted the running boards. I edged the radiius with 1/4" round rod to finish it off.



My original springs were 9 leaf, as all were. I made up a 5 leaf set, to lower the rear, and put my axle above the springs. I also welded a 1" thick box tube to my spring perch to get it another inch lower than the springs would give me.

 

Ageless your on the right track buddy, I have a Vortec 350 out of a 97 Yukon with a 700r in mine . tight fit but carries this car just fine, in fact I do multiple trips at 8 hours or so to Florida a lot. I think I may have helped you before but if not let me know if your needing to find some stuff , I know a guy with lots of 30's Pontiacs willing to sell parts.

 

Thanks! Poncho has been on hold while tracking down a 605 steering box, which I now have. I want to fit the steering before dropping in the engine, just to ensure I have all my clearances. I’ve been researching 700r4’s also. Rumor has it the 87-92 has improved flow, so I’ll be grabbing on of those. The local salvage yard has a number of S10s and Silverados in this window. I can get the TX with torque converter for under $200.
My big concern is installing it correctly. Lots of horror stories about burning up clutches due to incorrect setup of the Throttle Control Cable.

 

So just finished reading the whole thread here, little advice if it worth anything, buy or make some olive red panels to fit the original hole on the drivers side and cut in on on the passenger side. I did this after I shoved in my SBC , found that the heat lingered in the engine bay down around the bottom of the motor even with me running the engine covers off. The olive red panels allowed the heat to escape that low lying area , in fact I can feel the fan blow it out at a stop light now when I hang my arm out the window in true hot rod style.
Just my 2 cents since you seem have roughly the same setup as me.


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Not olive red, stupid predictive text . Hate smart phones. Louvered panels


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First pic is what I started with , no frame btw , second pic is a couple years old but pretty much what she looks like . Not hijacking your thread just like to encourage you on your build and love seeing another 39 being built .


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Now THAT is some funny shit right there...lol. I’m thinking..what the hell is an olive red panel?

 

You say: “to fit the original hole on the drivers side and cut in on on the passenger side”
Are you talking about the inner fenders? So louvre , or olive red...lol, the driver’s side battery access hole And make a matching panel on the passenger side?

 

Yeah , LOUVERED panels, I sourced my from eBay of all places, There’s a fab shop that makes assorted panels , lengths,widths and number of LOUVERS. Try that


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It was all caps or you would have got luffa , lol.


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So out of curiosity... did you position your louver opening slots facing down or back?

 

I position the opening of the louvers facing the front of the nose cone , so to scoop the air , especially when in motion.


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