Projects 37 Chevy Hot Rod tribute project

LOL, teal and tweed yuck! Yeah I feel very lucky to find such a straight, rust free, and complete car!! Then on top of that having some racing history to it also!!!! Yeah I would like to meet, and to check out each others 37s!!

 

Signed up yesterday for November GoodGuys, bringing my 64 Nova Gasser. You going?

 

Yeah, for sure, will be in one of these 2? We will have to meet up out there, and maybe you could come out to Queen Creek to see the 37?!

 

My '39 coupe had a 9" Ford in the rear when I bought it, but no sign of what engine it once had. And not even close to as well kept as your '37! Mine was owned by two brothers who both worked for Old Chicago fiberglass parts, which specialized in pre War Chevy fiberglass parts. They'd made some glass parts for it like trunk lid, fenders, and one piece frontend, but then sold it to another guy. He planned to bring it back to a gasser, but said he kept getting older and it sat there in his field until he finally sold it to me.

 

I happen to have some first hand experience to know that a big block fits in the 37-38 Chevy quite nicely. It's tight and you have to watch all your clearances. But it's hard to beat the visual impact of a BBC. Nice car you found, I really like the Olds rear in there. Those traction bars certainly look homemade.

 

I was thinking about the show also.. Need to get the headlights wired and such on the 34 truck to make the drive..

I am still a bit PO'd at them from the 2020 show and how they treated people up in the sale area.

 

Yeah, I'm a big block Chevelle guy, love the big block, easy to make big power. When I get to the eng/trans mock up stage, I plan on mocking up both big, and small blocks, so whatever way I go it will all fit nice. Haven't decided if I'm going to give myself more room by setting the firewall back? Like the look of the stock ribbed unbutchered firewall, but be much more room for the big block if I did. Have to leave plenty of room for a big radiator, especially in AZ!! I don't think the traction bars are homemade? All the mods on the car look fairly professionally done. Ill post detail pics of some of that tomorrow, have a bunch more pics to post.

 

This is gonna be an awesome build.
Here's another '37 to add to your file. Taken a few years ago at the Jalopyrama in Annapolis, MD:

 

Thanks! yeah I really like this one!, think I have a pic of this one already, but at a different show? has a great stance, not too tall, rear fenders aren't butchered to hell. Like the graphics/decals on this, haven't decided if I'm going to do anything like that? really easy to over do it.

 

This is a local car that's been around awhile. Owner passed away, and the family just got it back on the strip again this summer.

 

So here is why I believe this car and or parts were at least partially professionally shop built. The sticker in the rear window "McBride engineered competition racing machines Tulsa Okla" and a smaller version under the hood top. All of the chassis parts look very well thought out and made. These parts weren't made with a cutting torch, hammer, and a rat tail file!! LOL There are 1/8" plates reinforcing the bottom of the front frame rails from under the front floor boards, to the front cross member. There are 1/4" plates reinforcing the bottom of the frame rails about 18" long under the front spring eye on the rear leafs. All of the parts; rear upper shock mounts, frame reinforcements F/R, tow bar/upper front shock mounts, trans cross member mounts, and traction bar mounts F/R, all have stampings on them. They all say T&L CO, Special Part, built by, etc, etc, and a series of numbers like a part number or more likely a date?!?! But, if the numbers are a date, that put all these nice new Ricky Racer parts built/installed right before the car was parked in 1972, and didn't leave the storage building until 2015?!?! Would love to find out any information or history about the McBride company!! Any hot rod racing historians from the Tulsa area?!?!

 

Front upper shock mount/tow bar brackets. T & L 7 8 71....July 8th 1971?? and if you look all of the hardware holding the chassis parts are all nice high quality, high strength bolts, not hardware store grade 5 stuff!!

 

Trans crossmember and mounts. Factory muscle car era GM trans crossmember, probably a brand new part off of a then late model car?? Must be Camaro, or Nova? 31" wide, measured my Chevelle, its 54" wide

 

Front frame rail lower reinforcement plates. go from under the front toe boards forward, all the way to the front crossmember under the radiator. Bolted and stitch welded to the frame. 1/8" plate cut to follow the gentle "S" bend of the frame

 

Rear spring, front spring eye reinforcement plates. 1/4" thick, about 18" long, factory mount welded to the bottom

 

Rear traction bars, and mounts, 1 1/2" diameter tube! all 1/4" thick plates

 

More close ups of the stampings on the parts

 

Trans crossmember looks like factory Chevy for the late 60's or 70's Camaro, Nova, or Chevelle.

 

Measured my Chevelle its 54", this one measures 31", must be Camaro or Nova?!

 

Bowmalloy Bolts! I worked at the Navajo Generating Station from 1980-1990 and when I first started working there they had a campaign to get rid of all those bolts. Those bolts were actually TOO good, Grade 12 in most sizes and when something would go wrong instead of the bolts failing the equipment would get destroyed. We had to go thru all the bolt bins and toss them right into the scrap pile and restock the bins with actual Grade 5 and Grade 8 fasteners. Now the whole Station is in the scrap bin…..

 

Those damn bolts are not cheap man just wow don't lose those

 

Post pictures of the date codes on the sides of the gauges. That'll sorta establish a "no earlier than" race car build date.

 

volt gauge, and fuel gauge, how do you read these date codes

 

oil psi, speedo, and tach, mech water temp had no markings

 

I never knew they had a name? I knew my dad had some from working in the record pressing industry, and I knew they were really strong! That's one of the reasons I think this car was put together by someone with a little more knowledge? Put more thought and effort into some things than most would?! Back before you could order a bunch of ARPs from Summit

 

I remember when the hot setup for rod bolts were SPS!

 

OK......so this throws a whole new wrinkle in the time line of this car?!?! So "Just Gary" said to check date codes on the gauges, didn't know you could do that?! Speedo is N9 Sept 69, ok that lines up with the time line of the car. Tach has no numbers whatsoever? Water temp no markings? Oil PSI W 12 Dec 77, Volt Y 11 Nov 77, Fuel Y 9 Sept 79. Looking at gauges to see date code markings, I find along the bottom edge of the 2 panels..."built by Lynne 3 23 80 2E, and "built by Lynne 3 11 80 2E. So this car that I was led to believe was parked , and never moved from 1972-2015?! Had new gauge panels fabricated in March of 1980?, and newer 1977-1979 gauges installed?!?!

 

Unbelievable that the shop stamped everything. I could see if they were making a line of parts that they were marketing but these appear to be one offs for your car. Great project and an excellent starting point. Hope you can somehow track

 

Is there any HAMB’rs from Tulsa Oklahoma that remember this T&L Co.? Maybe somebody has an old 1970 phone book from Tulsa in a pile somewhere? I know I’d sure like to get a 37-39 Chevy Gasser kit from them! Those look so well made I wonder if they were advertised in one of the magazines or National Dragster for sale? Somebody has to know!

 

I wonder if Lynne was 1/2 of T & L?