History Lets see your Chevy's of the 30s

I've had this car since the early 70's, it's a 38 foot showcar Top picture is current the rest were taken in the 70's

 

Ya I think we should call him chevy guy


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About 12 years ago, the '34 Master got me back into cars following retirement. Replacing the rebuilt (junk) engine and trans with a fresh '56 235" and a Saginaw close ratio 4 speed allowed me back in the street game meeting very nice old farts with varying back grounds. No show car, simply an enjoyable daily driver. How "bout an MP90??

 

It's a work in progress. Old gasser that ran in the 60s and then was parked for 50 years. Has a 58 Olds rear.

 

Nothing beats the style of those late 30s GM coupes. Rolling Art.

 

I looked at a 1936 Chevrolet sedan a few years back. It was crusty but it was an original car. The interior was all intact but it looked like it would crumble pieces if you actually sat in it. Last tag...1954.
Get this...
The guy said not only are those the original tires but they have the original 1936 air.
What the heck do you do with 1936 air?

 

Sell it to a restorer that has to have everything original.



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I've been reading some of the stories about how some of the guys came to own their cars and it brought to mind what I think is a pretty interesting story of how I acquired 39 Chev coupe that I pictured at the beginning of this post. I spotted it long before I was even interested in cars. I had just become a freshmen in high school and because I lived in a small rural town we had to attend a regional high school that was quite a distance from my home. As a result I had to take the bus that went through parts of the town that I was not familiar with. Early on I noticed an old car parked in the driveway of one of the old farm houses along the route. The only reason I even noted that it was there was that it really stood out from the other cars that I was used to at the time. I went by that car every day for a couple of years noting that it was still there and never seemed to move. As cars started to play a bigger role in my life and my friends and I started to read some hot rod magazines and one was even building one using a 27 model T I came to realize that maybe that old coupe might make a really nice project. A short time later as luck would have it I noticed that there was a for sale sign in the front of the old farm house and in a few days I saw that the coupe was no longer in the driveway but instead sitting on the side of the house. I thought that this might be an opportunity to stop by and see if the coupe was for sale. A couple of days later a friend of mine who already had gotten his license and I stopped at the house and went to the door to see what the deal was with the old car. The lady of the house answered the door and I explained that I had seen that old Chevy for years in the driveway and was wondering if it was for sale. She told me that the guy she and her husband bought the house from said that he wanted the car and that he would make arrangement to pick it up once he was settled into his new home which as it turned out was on the other side of the country. After a couple of months I noticed that the 39 was still sitting on the side of the house so we I decided to stop in again to see what was going on. This time the owner told me that she hadn't heard anything from the owner of the car and just wanted to get it out of the yard. She had talked to motor vehicle and was told that if the car sat on her property for more than 30 days it could be considered an abandoned vehicle and that she could send a registered letter to the car owners last known address and if they didn't respond that they could take ownership of the car. She did that and the letter was returned to her as not able to be deliver. She took the letter to DMV and was able to take ownership of the car. I asked her if she still wanted to get the car off of her property and she said that if I would give her the money that the registered letter cost her and the transfer of ownership into her name I could have the car and after some back and forth bickering we finally settled on a price of $25.00... not too bad!! ....As you can see in the my initial post the rest is history.

 

My ole beater, courtesy of @Dan Greenberg

 

Hello Moose. This reply is about an answer you posted back in 2012 explaining the correct use of full manifold vacuum for advance. I want to thank you as it was an excellent tutorial but am too new to know how to contact you direct. I was raised in the quadrajet eras and have always stuck with ported vacuum out of habit. Your explanation makes sense and I will be changing ports and timing on all my trucks. Thanks again.

 

Diehard Chevy guys...

My '38 project. (Ignore the rear wheel. It's just sitting there loose.)


A friend's sedan

Another friend's '37 coupe. He and I are currently rebuilding this car from the ground up.




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I'm glad you found that info to be useful. Keep us posted on how the change works out for you.

 

@Penetrator I like your body transport system, you have it up where it's easy to work on and you can scoot it into the corner when not working on it, Good Job!!

 

Sorry guys, If you liked the pic of my 31' Coach, the post has been deleted..........It was deemed a "street rod". Some of you other posters better look out!

My guess the 283 with 3x2's, 57 rear end, straight axle, and power nothing is too modern?

 

On the road since 1984.

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@Jalopy Joker Love that 38 with the flames!!!!

 

I sent a message to a friend with a 39 Chevy "fastback" not sure if that's the right term, it doesn't have the bustle trunk, it's since been painted but here are pictures of it at Bonneville a few years ago.

 

@vtx1800 Wow now that's a cool looking shot. Here's some info on all of the passenger car body styles for 39

 

Me when I was two years old in '79 in front of Dad's 38 Coupe. He bought it in 1971.
How the car looked when it was finished in 82.

Winning a top 25 award at the OKC Nats in 1983

My dad died in May of 06, a week later I got married, this is us driving away from the wedding

And finally, a couple years ago at the Lonestar Roundup.


I'm in the process of gathering parts for a full mechanical rebuild. Should be good for another 40 years.

 

Most Chevy guys refer to them as "Flatbacks". Technically a sedan, the two-door was called a Coach. a 39 Four door flatback is a pretty rare car, pretty sure they were low production because everyone wanted a trunk.

 

He built the car from several sources, but I'll just "paste" the note he followed up with. I feel like I am stealing his story, but I know you will like it.

Yes. Let me tell you about '39 parts! The frame and body shell and hood came from So Dakota. My younger brother Jim found the NOS rear fenders - one in Georgia and one in No Carolina. My nephew Steve found the front fenders in a junkyard near the twin cities. My nephew found the running boards on Craigslist near the twin cities. My brother Rog found the hood ornament and other trim pieces on Ebay. The two grill sides were found separately in Minnesota. The steering column and seats came from Ft Dodge junkyards. The doors came from a farmyard near Humboldt. All new glass came from Mpls. All new rubber came from Steele rubber. All new metal patch panels came from Bitchin Products. 350 tranny from a hot rodded Mazda RX7. 350 engine from a local builder. Rear end from a 9" Ford. Some trim from Chevys of the 40's. There's more, but you get the idea!

About the sun shade. That was my assignment - to get the 3 of us out of the direct sun, I used a plastic tarp and four 6' sections of 1" conduit connected with pins. The strength came from wedging the poles between the bumper brackets and the salt at a 45 degree angle. No guy wires needed and 5 minute setup time, and just room for 3 lawn chairs. I had plenty of room to haul everything with the back seat out.

 

@Dan Hay Referencing the picture of your dad in 1983 I can honestly say I was there and I think I have the t shirt that matches his That really caught my eye!!

 

Here's a few more pics of my flatback. Bought it in 1975 and spent many yrs slowly restoring it between other projects. Started with a rusty body and frame. Parts came from all over the country. Brothers Rog and Jim and nephews Steve and Eric helped locate fenders, doors, running boards. Brother Rog hand fabricated a mirror image taillight bracket out of exhaust pipe. Wife Jessie helped out a lot, too.

 

My old '36

 

I still miss this Sedan. Drove it everywhere.

 

Started out in the 70's with a 38 Chevy Coupe that I ended up selling to my Brother. I soon learned that I was more drawn to the looks and styling of the 37 Chevy. Over the years I have had a few 37 Chevy Coupes, Sedans, a Sedan Delivery, Pickups and a Panel Truck. In that time there were also a few 36, 38 and 39's. I built my current Chopped Sedan in the late 80's, sold it in 2000 and bought it back in 2010.

 

Here's another view of my Hemi powered 39 from back in the day. It had American Racing wheels that were made out of real magnesium and not aluminum. When I tell people that it had wheels that were actually made out of magnesium most say they didn't know they were available . Here's an early ad ...
In doing some research on these vintage
wheels I see that have become extremely
valuable . I wish I had kept them

 

A long time in the making door sure!


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Our Old '38