Steel structuring a 34 chevy 3 window.

This 34 chevy belongs to a friend of mine and I have been helping him with the interior steel structure. because of the lack of wood or condition of it none of the doors would fit the pockets, so We hung the hinges on the doors and a pillars and twisted the body back to shape, so the doors would fit the body. Once we were satisfied we reinstalled the lower door sills, and proceeded to bend some 3/4 inch square tubing to go below the sills and tie the cowl to the back of the car at the wheel tubs. The wheel tubs are 1 1/2 inch deeper to handle larger tires, and keep them under the fenders. At this point we installed some 1/2 inch square tubing at the b pillar to give this area some added strength and to square up the thin metal of the b pillar vertically. At the bottom of the doors we again added 1/2 inch square tubing bent to the shape of the lower outer door sill and installed these to the inner door, along with a straight section for added strength. There will be new wood at the rear window and some in the door area and we will tie these together with steel tubing where needed.

 

Unless you switched the front of that cowl it's not a 33.
I do like the shortened vent windows. I do see that you have it also written as a 34.

 

I like sheet metal, not typing. Thanks I fixed it

 

The vent windows GOOD EYE. Yeah he shortened them up, and installed some new structure to hold them in place.

 

Nice job. Belt-line looks spot on. Geez, all the front door pillar wood is gone out of that coupe, but the steel still looks fine.
Is it going to fully fendered? I notice there's a 34 fuel tank cover panel in the background.

Steve

 

Yeah not to much wood left in this one, and the body and parts are real good. It will be full fendered, hood, and shiny two tone paint. More of a street rod than a traditional build
But he says he is gonna drive the dog shit out of it. Well see.

 

My friend got a little work done on the drivers side hinge area. He used a
1 inch by 1/8th steel strap for the support of this area, it came out real clean, and because of the strap it bent easy enough to follow the curve of the areas, and was still strong after welding it in.
Now on to the passenger side.
DID I SAY HE LIKES TO TAKE HIS TIME.

 

Is this a Standard or a Master? This will be a good thread to follow, as I have a 34 Master 5 window coupe, in need of wood replacement.

 

Nice job on those gaps and beltlines. Wish I could have watched you guys get it squared up, I have a 35 3-W on the back burner and most of the wood is gone.

 

I wonder if you have any pictures of when you started. I have a 30 buick 5passenger coupe that has no wood i need to get started. thanks george

 

He did not take any pic's of the starting process, but if there is a certain area of interest I would be glad to get some detailed shots for ya. He will be leaving some wood around the back window, and around the top of the doors. I have a couple of other builds of early chevys in my profile that might interest you.

 

thanks I'll check them out

 

Got a little more done on the 34 chevy. The glass and power window mechanism is mocked up on the drivers side, and with the additional window structure the door is not flexing as much as before. for the seams on this car we are trying to maintain a 1/8th inch gap if possible and it seems to be working out. He has installed the bear claw latches on the drivers side, and I will get some pic's of the area soon.

 

Well sonny is wrapping all the interior door area with 16 guage steel for two reasons structure, and a place to fasten upholstery. he also got the rear window wood installed all the steel structure that is being installed will sooner or later be attached to any leftover wood above the doors and the rear window.

 

Beautiful work as always John! Thanks for the update.

 

Very good job sir!

 

Nice....now convert him into a traditional hot rodder....lol

 

Got a little more structure work done on the 34 chevy. most of the interior door structure is finished along with the bear claw latches, so move back to the rear window , trunk, and side structure. the trunk mounting is gonna be next and using 1 1/2 inch square tube bent on the ends lightly to join up with the side structure. The rear window, and trunk is all gonna be new wood attached to new steel structure internally. Oh and a picture of the dash.
Have a look...John

 

Here are a couple pictures of the chassis. A long way from traditional, but real nice none the less.
lt1 injected, 4l60 e trans, 10 bolt rear, big / n / little hoosier tires.

 

Wow, that is some nice work!

 

Love how that vent window turned out.......I've always despised how they look stock, way too big. (I have a 33 5w)

Great work on the inner structure! I haven't started on mine yet, but I wonder if a guy could incorporate a psuedo-roll cage into the new inner structure of these chevy coupes, using larger square tubing? Might not be SCTA-legal, but could be a life saver, and it would be hidden....

 

Great work on the inner structure! I haven't started on mine yet, but I wonder if a guy could incorporate a psuedo-roll cage into the new inner structure of these chevy coupes, using larger square tubing? Might not be SCTA-legal, but could be a life saver, and it would be hidden....[/QUOTE]

I was just talking to a guy about a hidden roll cage in his 39 plymouth truck cab. I think it could be done using round chrome molly tubing and building the interior structure off of the tubing itself. no more than just a little more thought to it.
Thanks. John

 

Yeah, if the brakes fail just crank out the vent windows, that will slow you down .

 

Great metal work! A psuedo-roll cage is also in my plans. Look forward to seeing more of this build.

 

The car is looking great John. Keep the updates coming!

 

Good point....I suppose it would be better to use round tubing instead of rect.?

HAHAHAHA....no kidding.....gawd those things are huge in stock form...

Do a build thread so we can watch the progress, it's always good to see examples..

 

Looking good! I'm really starting to like the early Chevys.

 

Thanks guys for all the comments.
I have to let ya know that my friend sonny is actually the builder ot this car with just a little advise from his friends thrown in for good measure, and I also have to say the quality of the work he is doing is beyond what I usually throw at a project.

Back to the car.
He did get a little more done around the trunk hinge area.
Have a look...John

 

34 Standard coupe trunk lids were wood framed? I assumed that they were steel framed like a Master.

 

I don't know for sure, but most of the standards I have worked on have been wood so far.