Ok, I got to that part of your thread. Get a bit busy in there it looks like around the steering box. What headers are you running there? They have a nice forward loop it looks like that would make this possible with the stock steering in place. I didn't notice if you said, what's the thought behind running the generator instead of an alternator? Just for the look of the vintage piece? Either way, I really like what you have done with the car. I had to skip ahead to see what it looked like later on. Really excellent job.
the headers are vintage hedman headers, that were modified to go forward around the box. a set of block huggers would have worked also. the generator is period correct and works perfectly. thanks for the complement.
You might find some useful info here from the GM Heritage website . . . https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/do...information-kits/Chevrolet/1929-Chevrolet.pdf . . . including some details on the body framing.
Excellent. Thank you. I have a reproduction ordered of I believe that exact book. I have the general Fisher manual, but thought a Chevy specific one might give me some pertinent dimensions. @tb33anda3rd Thanks for all the info. You have for the most part captured the spirit of what I have in mind. I like the early model V-8s. (Partly because I understand them. I can fix most issues on a FI engine but if I am honest sometimes you fix one sort of by accident. I never like that.) I also like the idea of the car looking pretty unmolested if the hood is on. So, you have given a me lot to think about. As well as everyone else who has chimed in.
Where-abouts north of Seattle are you? I have an uncle up in Anacortes. I grew up in Orange. If we don't know mutual car guys in the Golden Triangle, we're probably only a few degrees of separation apart, since that's just how it is down there. I've been away from that area for 15 years now. I'll be following along on your build. I'm curious to see which direction it goes.
Marysville area. About 30 minutes south of Anacortes. No doubt we both know at least one person if you are from Orange. That area is pretty tight knit with the car/boat/motorcycle crowd. I need to strip your 1950 of axles, that would solve one of my hurdles. I am finding axles all over California, but I am not driving down there for a 150.00 axle that will probably turn out to be trash. That's a question I have since I have started really digging into this. I see all sorts of axle suggestions all over the boards, but looking into a lot of those suggestions, they are flat out wrong on the widths of some of the axles. I know the '47-'54 6 lug truck axle seems to fit in the front. I just have not found a definitive answer on the rear. I have seen answers all over the map including a 70's-80's Blazer. But, I can't find anywhere on the web that isn't showing those 70's truck axles to be way to wide. Is the Blazer axle narrower than the square body truck axle? Or, is there a more readily available option that works well? Obviously 50's truck axles aren't just laying around everywhere in usable condition. I am also looking into transmissions and it seems a little muddy on a reasonably priced option. Or, more accurately something that can be found without turning the world over and paying a hefty chunk for old used oil encrusted crap. I am not opposed to spending some money here and there, but also would like to see how cheaply I can pull this off without cutting any real corners. I have never tried to build something with this many re purposed parts, so the challenge sort of appeals to me.
Opinion: 283 with a three speed all syncro trans, A rear axle that has the correct width. Stock front axle with drum brakes. You should update steering box, you may not like the stock one. Mount master under floor with a small booster. Read the post about replacing wood with steel. I prefer wood. Keep it simple and it will be inexpensive.
55--63 [?] chevy axle will fit. the blazer axles they talk about are the later "little" blazer, the 4x4 axles are narrower. Isuzu and nissan pickups also in the same year range 90-95[?] are narrow also.
I forgot all about the little Blazer. What a horrible little truck. I guess I had put that in a dark corner of my brain with the Bronco II.
I am going to try an '83 Toyota axle I have. It's the exact width I need and uses the same bolt pattern as the Chevy. The only real issue I see with it is the tapered drums on the Chevy and Toyota has a flat drum. The disc wheels are tapered to fit the smaller diameter toward the center of the drums. I am not even sure I am keeping the disc wheels, but I also have not looked into other wheels that will give me the correct width. I am going to check out a 1956 265 with a 3 speed. Pretty much a complete pull out of a Nomad. I was planning a 283, but this might be too good a deal because of how complete this is. Saves a tremendous amount of time and money mixing and matching parts. And, the 265 will do everything I want. I am not looking for any real HP here.
Someone accidentally painted it Ford Blue. But, other than that I think I got a killer deal. Pulled from a '56 Nomad for an LS swap as part of the guys rebuild. Complete 1956 265 with OD 3 speed Saginaw. All there from fan to slip yoke. I think that will work nicely in my planned build. I will probably ultimately do a triple deuce on it just because I think they are cool looking. But, that might be down the road. I will just freshen it up for now, see what the cylinders look like and check if it's been bored yet. I suspect it's been apart due to the paint job. I know the 265 has an oil passage issue if you swap cams and distributors, Does anyone have the particulars on the machining needed to do that as I plan to run an aftermarket dist/ignition?
Well, things have changed. I have the opportunity to get the entire rolling chassis from the Nomad my engine came from for extremely cheap. Will the '56 Nomad axle and front brake parts work on the '28 Chevy? I am not certain on the rear width and front spindle fit and unfortunately it's a pretty good drive to where it is. So, hopefully someone will have some first hand knowledge and can say yes or no on fitment.
I am also looking for a good machine shop in the Seattle and surrounding areas. The guy I normally use is booked out for more months then I am willing to wait. And the person he recommended is retiring and has all the work he plans to do between now and then.
I managed to get a bit done this weekend. Had to get some yard work done .I pulled the old engine and took the transmission cross member out. I decided I would get all my fitting done before I even broke into the new engine. Saves being as careful with it after it's built and repainted. I still need to pull the rear end out and get the torque tube out of my way, but hanging the engine over the space I can see how it fits now. I think after I get it mounted I will see what I can come up with the stiffen the central part of the frame where I ground the rivets off and removed the cross member that went between the engine and trans on the 4 cylinder.
the rear from that nomad will be perfect. the engine and drivetrain should be fitted with the body in place or don't do the final welding until a complete test fit. I suggest a complete "pre-build" of the vehicle, right down to the wiring, before any final paint.
That's the plan. I don't like to remodel later on. So, I try to be careful when I reassemble a car to get it right, or very close before hand. I have scratched my paint before I have ever driven a car before. It's very upsetting. I am going to do everything in stages so I can take it to a point without too much backtracking. But, fitting a different engine sort of demands some backtracking. Think so on the 56 Chevy rear end? I have been looking into axle widths. Looks to be about 5" wider than the 1928 Axle. More than willing to be wrong on it however. Maybe I am thinking about it wrong. Just seemed that it would take some serious backspace to keep tires under the fenders.
I retract that question. Further research seems to show the 1956 Bel Air axle is only 1.75" ish wider. So, basically a perfect swap and keeps my drive train mods in the correct era even more. Which is something I am trying to do, but only in the loosest sense.
Some progress to report. I mocked up the body and got the frame sitting where I wanted it. Grabbed a cheap pair of block huggers to make sure all this worked clearance wise. Built engine mounts and sat the weight on the car to see how much it dropped. I will just put the rear axle where I need it to do any minute height adjustments. I moved the engine 1/2" towards the passenger side of the car to maximize the clearance around the steering. Everything worked out exceptionally well overall. I will be a little tight on the very front of the flat part of the floor, but I wanted to keep the intake level if possible. Which brought the Saginaw 3 speed up a bit as it has a larger flat top on it. I didn't go lower on the front as I left the wide front crossmember in place to act as a brace and a bit of a pan under the engine,so I needed fan clearance. I still need to figure out how to make a shifter work without getting under the seat. Picked up my wood for the body frame on Sunday. So, hopefully in the next few weeks I will start seeing the body frame coming together. The block huggers were a good suggestion. They clear everything by enough I am comfortable with it. The passenger side will have to come off to remove the starter if needed. And, I will have to run shorty plugs to keep them from arcing to the plug boots. I am debating how to do the pedals. I am thinking I won't do an underfloor. I decided to build a removable crossmember under the rear mounts to stiffen the frame at that location. I thing I will do a firewall mount. I have plenty of room, it won't look as clean, but I think it will be fine. Still thinking on that one however.
Quick update. I haven't gotten a lot done, but I have taken a few hours here and there to start making parts. It's turning out to be a slow process. Nothing of the old wood is really of any value. So, lots of looking through pictures,books and reverse engineering from metal body panels. I am currently working through the front windshield frame portion. Those old parts were real garbage. So, that's taking a minute to get all that worked out.
Almost done with the front posts and windshield. Those turned out to be fairly difficult with no pattern whatsoever. I found some really good pictures of some of the Holden produced body frames. So, I stole some ideas from that as well. Since I am not doing a restoration, I don't mind taking liberties to get what I need.
Love the pictures, but if you would please, when posting pictures select to show them as full size images instead of as thumbnails, it makes it easier and more enjoyable to those following your build!
Excellent suggestion. I never even saw that option. I will go back and edit. Doing that also made me remember. The above windshield part that was confusing me in post 20 is cleared up. The reason that made no sense to me is it was never supposed to be on my car. That is a part from a '29 that someone used despite it not fitting right in any manner. That piece and my visor is a 1929 part. It really gave me a lot of head scratching as it just didn't fit at all. Nothing lined up and it just seems out of place. Mystery solved while looking for roof line pictures. The '28 is vinyl all the way to the front and over to the visor with no sheet metal there. Also all the way down above the doors to the drip ledge instead of just in the middle like 1929.
Dude, that woodwork looks super clean. Are you modifying a wood kit made for a 28 Chevy, or are you custom cutting all that out of lumber? I can't imagine how F'd all that would look if I was doing it. I will have to stick to 37 and newer Chevys...
The Jalopy Journal
