1928 Chevy: I have sooo many questions....

i have a 28 coupe, my back window was just a wood frame. no metal skin, then from that frame around the corner and up the the rear door was just a flat piece of sheet metal, the whole thing was covered in materal and had the s-bars on the sides, i was out at a junkyard and found a 28 4 door that had the small windows behind the rear doors, so now i'm planing on turning it into a 5 window, i have welded some of the cowl back together and patched the quarters, the doors are good and i removed the wood from them, heated my house for two or three days with the wood, its lots of work buy dam it is a chevy and theres almost none around.

 

Do not use pressure treated or any sort of construction grade lumber to wood the body. These materials are for building houses and garden sheds not automobile bodies. Use hardwood such as ash or maple. Use doug fir and the body will twist up like a pretzel when it drys out

 

Here are a few pictures of the steel structure in my 28 chevy. I will be doing the same thing to a 27 chevy in the near future and will start a better detailed build of it.

 

got a nice thread going here, i'm gonna be using some of this info for my 33 chevy 4dr build, mines already got kugal ifs front end sbc 350/700r4/ford 9in, just needs roof filled and interior wood dealt with, i'm starting with a professional replacing the floor sills with steel and when that $ runs out, i'll take over , so i too, have been trying to research and started a few threads.for me, i like the idea of steel suporting the body. when i was crawling through the inside of the 33 , looking at all that wood, the thought of someday 300++++ horsepower makes me want to do as much steel replacement as possible. the door posts are real solid, steel on three sides with wood in the middle, the wood might just get buried inside there when i close off the fourth side with steel. i'm gonna study this thread and all the links , like ghost's, and try to learn something.i was born in kansas, but never heard of dennis, ks.

 

As the owner of a 29 chev coupe.... i can tell you that even with good wood to copy...it's a splinter in the ass. We tried a piece and quickly went the way of the steel frame.. and as said earlier...you'll only do it once. The 4 door could be a lot of fun to make a very unique car out of!

Good luck, old chebbies are nice!

 

You're getting a lot of good advice. Here's mine. With all the work you have to do with the body, keep the stock engine and drivetrain for now so you don't bite off more than you can chew. Keep it simple and get it on the road. You can also do an engine or suspension swap later.

 

If you do end up going with a SBC or other larger engine I would take a good look at your frame (no disrespect to 29nash I think he knows his stuff) just in case it is like mine. My frame looked to be in very good shape. I stripped everything off of it and then decided to move it in my garage. When I picked it up I was shocked to find that I could twist the entire thing by hand.The rails seem solid but the rivets that hold the cross members in place are loose and deteriorated from rust which allows it to move. I plan on building some stiffer cross members and while i am at it I am going to box mine in (partially because I just want to). If you decide to go for a little more power but want an easier fit I was told a 4.3 v6 will fit easier. I really don't know, nor am I going to find out, but I know it is a good alternative in other applications. If your going for power I have also seen an article from hot rod where they push 500hp out of one of those.
http://www.hotrod.com/pitstop/hrdp_0705_pitstop_chevrolet_v6_performance/index.html

 

Man, Ive been away from this site too long. I have a lot more to read! Thanks!

I still have not done anything with the car yet. Ive got a couple cars to paint and finish up for some people(newer cars. not anything cool,haha) I will probaly move it to the shop soon. I have had a couple people interested in buying it. I just don't think I can bring myself to sell it tho. I know its probaly the worst possible project for me to cut my teeth on, but thats what makes it fun I think. The doors honestly dont look like theyd be too bad to go back in with new wood. As for the rest I am still undecided. I still dont know what to do about a top. Could someone post up some detailed pictures of how this top is suposed to be constructed, ot some various way I could do it. I hate to do a body swap since the body is so good.

 

I wish I could find someone local who has a car like mine fixed up, or give me some sort of run down on what I need to start doing.

 

I got a chance to look at the inside of some car roofs at the H.A.M.B drag races at mokan today. It actually helped me alot. I just couldnt visualize how the metal square tubing was suposed to be put in. One plus is I don't think I have to do anything to all four doors. If I even use all four doors. The wheels are turning on how I want to do the top. Ghost28's delivery builds gives me hope. Going to the springfield mo swap meet tomorrow so I may be able to pick something up I can use, or atleast get some ideas and drool!

 

Just stumbled on to your thread. I have a few picts on my website

http://truck.jandcawards.com/index_Page1185.htm

of replacing the wood and the 350 engine idea.
have more if you would like
Jim

 

Hey Jared what you have is a Landau sedan it was the top of the line for chev in 1928 ,it is different to a sedan in that the doors are bigger and the rear window was fabric also the window moulds (Garnish moulds) were flash with a wood grain pattern just below the window. Hope that helps alittle Jim