Projects 39 Pontiac Coupe (series 25 small body) build

I’m looking for a 37 coupe if you know of any , just throwing that out there . I know where 4 decent 2 door sedans are but haven’t found a coupe yet.


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Poncho coupe, or will any ole 37 work.... ;-)

 

I am running a fiberglass hood, and I cut off the side panels just because I liked that look, but it also lets hot air flow through. I just got back yesterday from a 1200 mile trip with my '39 and it's 350 SBC and 700r4. It averaged 17-19 mpg cruising at around 65-75 mph for the trip. Lower mpg was in the mountains when the trans spent more time in 3rd gear, and higher when it was mostly flat and more 4th gear driving.

 

I was wondering where in the hell you got a 39 Pontiac fiberglass hood from, then I realized you got a 39 Chevy coupe.
I run with my engine skirts off 2 , got them but never been on the car, still had a heat problem until I cut in the louvers.


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No place to get either '39 Pontiac, or '39 Chev fiberglass hoods that I know of?
My car came with a one piece fiberglass front clip, and we think it was made by Old Chicago Fiberglass many decades ago. But it was so deformed from years of sitting, and possibly parts stored on top of it, that it wouldn't fit anymore. So I cut the hood part off and tried to make that fit. It was still too bad, so I cut the sides off the hood, and then spent a couple weeks bending, cutting, and re-glassing the hood to fit my car.

 

What’s your rear end ratio?

 

I'm running a 3.73 posi from an Explorer 8.8" Ford. 29" tall pie crust slicks.

 

Am I seeing a straight axle up front? Also, I have zero rubber on the car. No window seals, door rubber, etc. Do you have a source you’d recommend?

 

By ''engine skirts'', do you mean the inner fenders or hood sides or??

I'm trying to figure out weather to make some inner fenders , with or without louvers, or leave it open for air flow on a '39 Chevy coupe. I have the full hood with louvers in the sides.

 

Yes, I took the stock Master Deluxe control arm suspension out and it is now a '58 Chevy truck axle. I narrowed the axle 5" to fit my car, which made the spring perch width also the same width as my frame rails. Using two leafs per side for a nice ride also.
I got universal GM trunk weatherstrip, which seals that up nicely. For the doors I used the same trunk weatherstrip for the rocker seals, but around the door edge I put hollow soft tube type weatherstrip. It's self adhesive 3M backing, and measures .39" tall x .41" wide. A whopping $10 for 32 ft. off Ebay. It's slightly large at first, but sealed well. It took a few weeks until it took a good set and the doors closed without having to slam them. But now it's good enough I can use my pressure washer on "wash" setting and not get any water inside the car.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Weatherstrip-Small-D-shape-Car-Door-window-Rubber-Weather-Seal-Strip-Dust-proof/173540654176?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649



All my window whiskers for around the door glass, and channels are new. I purchased them locally from Old Car Parts a short distance from me in Portland, Or. The wing window weatherstrip is from Steele Rubber. The spendiest, but the best quality, and they seal fantastic also.
Installing all the garnish whiskers, window channels, and sliding rear 1/4 window whiskers was time consuming! Not tough to put in, but the whiskers have a polished stainless edge, and bending that material to shape to my windows was tedious. I used my B&D Workmate table to hold them flat, and gradually bend them around round pins until they matched the garnish molding shape. Takes two per side with my 1/4 windows being sliders, where if yours are fixed 1/4 you wont need any there at all. Just need weatherstrip for fixed 1/4 windows.

 

Awesome idea on the weather strip! I also need all the felt strips and channels for the door windows. Back in the day, I’d but it by the foot from JC Whitney. Does anyone still sell the generic felts?

 

Yes, the generic felt sweeps and channels are what I purchased. Both in 8' lengths that bend to the shape we need for older cars, or can be left straight. Both Old Car Parts in Portland, Or. and Chevs of the 40's in Vancouver, Wa. sell these. But the over length shipping could add significant charges to the price of fairly inexpensive parts.
I had tons of spare parts that came with my '39, so I traded them off to Old Car Parts for whatever I needed in new or used parts I didn't have.

 

Today’s project is swapping in a 605 power steering box in place of the original manual box. I chose the 605 because the pitman shaft is the same as my original allowing me to keep my original steering linkage and geometry. Also, it has a generally similar size. The challenge is positioning it “spatially “ into the same position as the original. After a bit of head scratching, I decided to make a plywood template of the frame rail to capture the original mounting hole locations. The old box and new box have totally different mounting hole locations.
I then marked the centerline of the pitman and steering shafts from the original box onto the plywood. I set the new box in place holding that alignment. I used 5/8” bar stock to shim the new box to the correct lateral distance off the frame, marked the new hole locations, one of which is below the frame. I then marked and drilled the new hole locations onto the template, bolted it to the frame using the original holes, and marked the new hole locations by spray painting through the template holes. Getting close! I’ll clean up the area, weld the bar stock to the frame, weld a backing plate behind the lower hole, and make it all pretty.

 

Are you planning to sleeve the frame so it wont collapse from tightening the 3 bolts? I always sleeve the frame if it's a boxed frame. Just open the holes with a unibit until a thick wall pipe fits in. Then slip the pipe over the bolts and tack it at both sides. Pull the bolts and weld the sleeves, and it's ready. Makes steering boxes very solid.

 

My quarter windows are a mystery. They came with no glass, but I have the interior trim. I assume they don’t slide cuz I don’t see how they could...but they also don’t have the typical crimp edge like around the windshield hole to attach a window rubber. So what does the quarter window rubber look like and how does it attach?

 

If yours has no lip around the opening like the windshield, and rear windows, then they're sliders. That's going to really be challenging to return them to sliders, because the slide mechanisms are tough to find, and the garnish molding even tougher to find! Mine had all but one garnish molding, and the missing molding was the driver's rear 1/4 window! I had to buy a molding for a non sliding window, and section it, to weld it back together, and then modify it for the slider handle. If I didn't have the passenger side as a template, it would have been even worse! Here's a couple images of what I did to section and weld it back, using the passenger side as a template.







You can see on the rusty looking original the step in the straight bottom piece to clear the slider handle's travel. I cut mine with a parting disc, and then welded a thin metal along that edge after cleaning the cut up.
One of my operators is a late 40's piece, and they're identical to pre WWII operators. So you can use the newer operators with the older glass and cars. But the 1/4 glass is a different size, so you need to specify it's a "passenger coupe" with sliders when buying the glass for these windows.



The opening gets straight felt bent to fit, and the garnish molding gets the same exact size bent and fit to it. There is no rubber seals, and there's a "trough" below the glass inside the 1/4 panel that catches the water, and a drain tube that routes it down to the lower body and outside. I drilled and riveted all the felts to the body and garnish moldings. The rivet heads pull down tightly into the felt, so glass doesn't contact any of the heads.

 

One other thing! In a pinch, if your car doesn't have the troughs to catch water, and you can't find operators for the sliding glass for this year, or post WWII either. Then you could order the glass for the sliding windows, but use urethane windshield caulk, and after cleaning the surface smoothly, you could caulk the surface, and glue the 1/4 windows in place. You'd need to use duct tape, or blocking (maybe both) to keep the window in place until the caulk sets up, but it would work. Just need to mask up the body outside also to ensure the caulk wont end up on the outside opening metal.

 

Yep. Gonna stiffen the area. It still has a bracket deal inside it stiffening the area, but I plan on beefing it anyway.

 

What exactly slides? A single pane of glass? Overlapping panes? I don’t see how it has room to slide back or down.

 

My 40 Pontiac , the windows are a single pane and slide open about a third of the way.

 

Slide front to rear I assume? I’m not seeing an opening in the back Of the window channel to slide into. I am definitely missing something here.

 

Both , I have louvers in the inner fenders and the engine side covers off.

My rear is a 12 bolt main with 3.73 gears


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Try Steele rubber I got most of my rubbers, weatherstripping there.


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Reaching out for help and encouragement. Poncho build has been stalled due to life events and my reliable 55 ate it’s motor. (I also have a 66 VW giving me screaming fits.) All in all, life is too short to drive a boring car, and yet, here I am...a barn full of un-drivable crap.
-The 55 oil pan looks like a silver mine. I will likely give up and buy a crate engine and re-gear her to be more highway friendly. Once I decide my plan, I’ll open a 55 thread.
-The Poncho surprised me after I (finally) clocked the rear end and discovered it is a 4:11, with little to no options to gear it taller.
I’ve been spinning my wheels (figuratively speaking) chasing too many problems on too many fronts. I’m not sure what I’m asking for here...just getting my ass kicked and needed to vent.

 

I've Been there man! Ive found the best thing for me is just pick a job, preferably something that doesn't require much thought(such as pulling the engine in your 55) and just go out to the shop turn some music on and start working...
You will make progress and feel better for having something accomplished!

 

It's easy to get overwhelmed with one big project, let alone several. The good part is it sounds like none of them are daily drivers, so no pressure to get them running to drive to work. I'd simply start with the easiest one, and get it going again. Then proceed with the others as you have time and funds to complete them.
After you've gradually gotten each of them completed, or even each task on each car completed, you'll feel less overwhelmed.

 

Start by getting ONE driving and working ok then do the others when the mood strikes.

 

Hey man, Making any head way?

 

Actually..yes. I moved the 55 over to the side. I’ve decided to spring for a crate engine for the ole gal. I’m also going to pull the Muncie and go with 700r4 or if I can find one, a 2004r. I built this car as a beast for jumping stoplights in my youth. Now it’s time to slow roll. I’m a little undecided on the engine selection, so I figured I’d think on it a bit before giving into my basic impulse and overpower it again.
So as I wait, I’m focused on metal work on the 39 Poncho. The floors are in decent shape up front but need sections welded into the rear. I’m back at it and feeling more optimistic..