Kind of an odd question, I was hoping to stretch the engine bay of my '38 Chevy 1/2 ton build. Mainly to free up some room for other components (its already quite cramped in there) but also for a looks perspective. Those ultra-luxury cars from the late 20s - early 30's have quite an allure to them. I was just hoping to build a new hood (with its existing lines, only stretched out), rather then ruin the old one, and cut & stretch the running boards accordingly. I was thinking 6" to a max of 10". Has anybody done this before? or how would a person go about this at all?
^ stock, with a Mustang II front end. It'll be beefed up though. The engine Im building for it will be a fair share more then the 85hp 216 in there right now. With the out of portion comment above, yeah anything longer then even 8" would look a bit odd Im sure, just hoping for some pics and advice. I've never seen or heard of this being done, so Im not too sure what can or worms I'm about to open.
will you be lengthening the entire front end? or just sticking the grille out there all by itself? if the answer is the former, are you going to lengthen the cowl sides or the fenders? if answer is the latter...please don't post any pictures. Although, my recollection is that the older FWD trucks had a fairly prominent proboscis. Usually those vehicles such as you are discussing are proportionat to the viewer (we know what they've always looked like) so much of an increase in any dimension is going to appear somewhat aberrant, visually speaking. Despite the inherent beauty of those classic long-nose cars you referenced, most of those have styling cues that complement that look. A pickup truck has no such cues, and I'm not entirely sure that you can imbue it with any, no matter what your metal-working skills are. dj
Look up the the 6" difference between '46 '47 '48 chrysler royale/ windsor and the longer saratoga/new yorker. I think the saratoga/new yorker look too long in the front. They had to add the 6" in front of cowl for the 8 cly. length. But then I have a' 47 windsor.
Try looking at the 37 38 Buicks , biggest series Roadmaster vs. smaller Special, and compare the hoods. Study how they did the proportions.
^ Thanks, I will right after this. it still looks fine to me at least, but thats just my opinion of it, I've never seen both in person, thats just a quick "Google images" viewing of each. Propwash, everything will be lengthened, new added length cowls will be made. Fenders will be left alone, just moved forward obviously. No I certainly will not be sticking the grill out there. I've seen a few stretched cars that are JUST that on here, and good god that looks terrible. Im after this look more or less, but not quite this LOOOONG
I think it follows the same rules as chopped tops, instead you're adding. A one inch chop no one would notice, a six inch chop and it looks like it's been flattened. I did see a 38 pontiac at Columbus nationals that I thought was stock bodied. It looked really good, after talking with the owner, every panel on the car had been chopped, stretched, channeled... but not enough to set off alarms... Maybe set the firewall back a couple. Move the grill a fraction, and add a couple to the hood.
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