Hello! Just pulled the '41 Coupe out of the garage where it's been since I dragged it home in June. Looks the same, but I got a lot done underneath. Though it's still got the dog-tired 216, I converted it to electronic ignition, pulled the oil pan, valve cover, and side cover, and completely cleaned out the 5+lbs of sludge inside, and disassembled the rocker arm shaft to clean it as well. While I was at it, I reshimmed the rod bearings to get rid of the rod knock. The engine got all new belts, hoses, gaskets, wires, and plugs along with the new distributor. It's now running on 12V, with turn signals installed, and I fixed almost all the gauges (only the temp gauge worked when I got it). I tossed the vaccum-assisted 3 spd and torque tube, and replaced it with a T5 that I rebuilt myself (first tranny rebuild), new clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing . I fabricated the cross member, and connected it to a '56 Chevy rear with 3.70 gears with a newly fabricated driveshaft. The rear end is supported by a Chassis Engineering leaf/mount kit. The rear brakes are entirely new, and I replaced the front drums with discs. The MC is a dual well under floor unit, and it's all tied together with brand new lines, and adjustable proportioning valve, and residual valves front and back. The floors have some rot along the edges on the pass side, so I ground off all the surface rust on the inside, hit the floors with Ospho, then Rustoleum aluminum primer and industrial grade gloss black. They're pretty solid, so I will repair them properly later, just wanted to stop the rust. It's now riding on 15" Mastercraft tires on stock Chevy 15" steelies that I powdercoated myself, with original chevy baby moons and stainless beauty rings. This is phase 1 - get it running, driving, stopping, and registered, with the new driveline in place. Next step is pull the body off of the frame, repair the floor and possibly acid dip and paint the frame. Tomorrow I'm going to the DMV to register it, so I can finally drive the damn thing on the road. It was a lot of work, but nothing beats the feeling when you pull it out of the garage for the first time, and it actually starts, runs, and stops. Chris
You got a lot done in the last 6 months! Congrats. '41 Chevy coupes are among my favorite cars, a friend had one in high school, we cruised all over in that thing. Keep up the good work, and keep us posted on your progress.
Put plenty of miles on it before you pull the body off the frame,when they come off the frame they have a tendency to stay apart a long time.
Jeff - LOL...that's why this is "phase 1", of what will probably be many phases. I see so many cars for sale on Craig's List that got torn apart then the owner lost interest. I know myself well enough to NOT try to restore it all at once. If I get the body off the frame, I want to get it painted and the floor repaired, and that's it...body will go back on and the car will be driven some more. Phase II probably won't happen for at least a year... Chris
I wish there would have been a phase I with my 37 Chevy p/u,it went directly apart and did not see the road until 24 years later. If I would have been able to drive it before it got yanked apart I would have found out how they sucked when driven over 40,I am glad to see you improved the rest of the drivetrain as I done the same on my 37 since it hit the road and will be much more enjoyable so get out and drive it. Report back on how the 216 does as my 235 has a rattle and seriously thinking on going back to a 216 (maybe with full pressure),I have only driven them in fields and not on the road so I am curious how they do in modern traffic with a T-5.
The Jalopy Journal
