Projects Project 37 Chevy Truck

I've been a member of the HAMB now for about a year I guess. I don't contribuite much and I apologize for that however I don't typically have a ton of time to sit and write shit like I'm doing now. However, in an effort to try and give back a little I thought I'd start this thread and document my 37 Chevy Pickup as it goes.

First let me tell you how it all began. I found this truck on Craigslist in Midwest City, Oklahoma right outside OKC in September of 2009. I spoke to this guy maybe a dozen times and he sent me pictures upon pictures of this thing in various stages of his project. So one Friday night I loaded up the truck with soda, chips, donuts and my best pal Travis and off we went on the almost 9 hour drive to OKC. We stopped at a Super 8 to get a few hours of rest and went Saturday morning to pick it up.

Now, this ain't my first rodeo but it ain't my 1000th rodeo either. I show up to meet this guy and there is the truck sitting on the ground with all the spare shit piled in the cab and bed. It's in his dark garage and I crawl all around this thing, under it, in it...as best I can. I did everything except string this thing to make sure it wasn't a junk buy. It had new Fat Man Mustang front end, 9" rear with stainless parallel four link and nice coilovers all around. New small block, decent sheet metal except for the glass shit. Nice parts, decent looking cab, doors, new motor, new rear. There were things I immediately knew I was gonna change but that's what you get when you buy somebody elses headache.

Now for the bullshit. He gave me some story about how this was his brothers project and basically he was funding it. He was telling me how his brother is the brains of this operation and has built many...no, countless rods of all levels of divinity right. He then tells me his brother has terminal cancer and the truck won't get finished. He just wants it gone cause he has bigger fish to fry with his brother and will have to raise his kids because his brother's wife died year ago. I felt aweful for him you know. I offered my condolences agreed on a price and loaded it her up and drove the 9 hours back.

Got it home and began taking it apart when I finally realized that I might have been taken. I'm gonna spare you all the colorful swear words but the just is this...some people have no business building cars. There are days when I feel like I don't have any business building cars but I have an idea of what I'm doing. This guys welds look like dirt dobber nests. Real shit man. I wouldn't let this guy weld on my kids Red Ryder Wagon. The frame was bent, the rear end was in wrong and by that I mean TOTALLY wrong. The only thing he did right was put the pinion facing front. The Mustang front will ride but I had to gring out all the welds and put it back in. I had to cut out all the boxing plates and redo that as well.

Long story short, I thought I was buying a truck with the chassis work done. I know a lot of you guys have been through this before and I have too just not this bad. The truck has some good parts with it just put in wrong. Now a year later, I'm where I thought I was gonna be when bought it.

Here goes some pics.

Pee break and ty down check in Missouri.




Putting it on the truck



Frame work underway (these pics are a little old)



More frame work:




Finally with the bed on with fenders to replace the rear:



That's it for now, this journalism thing is cutting into my rod time. Gotta go back to it. I'll keep this thread as up to date as I can. I know I've already left a lot out but I'll be back at it. Until then...Happy Motoring.

Andy L. Kaempfer
St. Louis, MO

 

Great start and pics. My Grandson and I have been working on a 38 Chevy
truck for about 15 mons. Ours is fenderless and I shortened it about 2'
Its on a 51 Chevy truck frame with an S10 4X4 rear and a 350/350 drive train.. Keep posting.I have lots of build pictures if you need to see them.
Tom (Tired Old Man)

 

Cool man nice to see another one being built. I have a few built posts on my '37 if you want to check them out.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=307305

 

Nice truck, Andy. Looks like you have a solid foundation for a very nice ride. I started with a hell of lot worse! Keep us updated!!

 

Excellent man , keep us updated!

 

i like the truck nice progress ,

 

Nice truck. Hope it is smooth from here on in

 

Thanks for the thread and future updates. We'll be watching.

 

I had some other stuff to post just not enough hours in a day. My plan was to get that crap rear end out from underneath it, re-box the frame where it needed and reinstall the rear end that came with it. Of course, its gonna need new bearings and all that other shit too. Sadly, this has become amussing to me. The four link bars are nice stainless parts from Airide and I'm new using new brackets from Welder Series. Nice gus up der eh.

I wanted to get the bed mounted and cab on it so I can find out exactly how she's gonna go down the road. The problem was I had to cut that piece of shit big block firewall out and I found all sorts of interesting handy work. Oh, and it needed some attention to the cab mounts.

Notice the lovely place a junk bolt in the way of this giant rust hole so the mud won't glurg through:



The left cab mount was in surprising good shape but the right had been split pretty bad. I went to work making a pattern for the new right side. I cut this from some 13ga. cold roll and made a make shift brake from some angle iron. I have a brake at work but I've been off for a week, which is bitchin', and didn't feel like driving the 30 miles one way to do it.



I carefully bent the new cab mount with a 2x4 and sledge hammer that also doubles as a streaching hammer. More on that another day.



With a little TIG work and some grinding its about ready.




I'm working on the firewall now. I got a nice little $10 swap meet firewall from a 38. I'm filling all the holes while its off so I can TIG in the patches adn then planishig it flat before I go to put the front of the cab back together. Amazingly, the cab looks pretty straight from the inside. Hard to tell about how much mud is in this thing.



I got about this far today. It needs to get bead blasted and then some wheel work and some time on that planishing hammer and it should be ready to go it. I'll need to fix the flange on the cab which is another weekend job but I'm having fun.

I'll have more updates as they come. In case your interested the truck's getting a hop'd up Chevy 292 with a Clifford 2x4 intake which I've adapted to run two Rochester 2Gs and planned some Clifford headers. T5 5-speed with a really sweet Ansen NHRA approved bell housing I found. The housing still has the ANSEN bolts in it.

Long way to go...and thanks for all the nice words.

Andy L. Kaempfer
St. Louis, MO

 

Awesome fabrication!

 

This is beautiful fab work.

Always glad to see another Missourian doing good things on the HAMB.

Even though you're one them "big city" fellers.

 

Thanks for the new pics. Tom (Tired Old Man)

 

Loving the fab stuff. Thanks for sharing.

 

Great fab work. Love your choice of engine and trans. Subscribed.

 

My Dad is giving me a lot of help on this one. I passed the firewall off to him this morning when I picked him up for the Belleville Swap Meet. Hes gonna get it bead blasted and back to me. I'll post some more fab stuff when it comes around. I'll have to plansish it flat when it comes back so I'll try to take more pics of that and I when I get it all mocked up in the cab.



You can see where the original cab mounts were in this picture. I'll be repairing that flange where knucklehead cut out the original firewall with a 3/8 drill bit. That's gonna take some work but I'd like to checker that wall eventually.

When I was in middle school I'd save my lunch money every day and eat the scraps off my buddies lunches. I was doing that so when I turned 16 I'd have a car to drive. My Dad found this 62 Nova 2 door post behind his body shop that didn't run for $700 bucks. I took that lunch money I was saving and I bought it. It came with a pair of NOS front fenders for it since the ones that were on it were junk. Sold those at a swap meet for $750 and I was off and running. That car had a cool hoped up 194 in it with headers, dual exhaust and a homemade intake. I had put the three speed on the floor and my Dad blew that one up cause he was having so much with it. Of course he was generous enough to split the cost of the replacement engine with me since I was a broke teenager. Real nice geez...

See, my old man is old skool. A real geezer. He's had lots of real neat old cars. Even let me drive the 47 Ford to my senior prom and I didn't even score. I'll never forget when he brought home a busted up three wheeler that even came in a box and we put it together. Actually I was just big enough to hand him the wrong wrench size but you get the idea. Once I got the Nova going and drove it back and forth to school we found a 37 Chevy pickup in a field deep in the bootheel of Missouri. That came home too and we built that one together. During college I needed money to finish school and I needed money to finish the truck. Dad bought me out and finished it and eventually I drove it to the Indy Goodguys show. After that it got sold so he could finish his Duece Vicky.

So this is my attempt at getting that old 37 back. Cheers pop!

Andy L. Kaempfer
St. Louis, MO

 

Now thats a great story Andy !!!!! LOL Tom (Tired Old Man)

 

I've been working on the firewall and front cabs mount for awhile. I was gonna save the left side but after I looked at it for awhile I just figured I'd make both sides so they were identical. I had to repair the firewall flange more than I thought and once I got the firewall back from my Dad there were places that still needed attention.

I took some more pics but progess has been slow.



The corners were both toast. This is the right side and probably the worst of the two. Used the rust outline on the swap meet firewall to get the right contours.




There were several places that had to be replaced. Both corners and the majority of both sides. The top wasn't bad and I only had to fix a couple of holes. I left a few of the holes that were smaller for plug welds. I'll have to add a couple more but I'll get up there with Clecos first.



One of the corners going in. Some pretty thin shit here. I can't really believe it was butchered this bad. I've seen worse on this website though I can say that. Worst I've fixed for sure.



This was the first one I made. Actually the better of the two that's why I'm showing you. The cab may be slightly twisted. I braced it before I took anything out to make sure it didn't move but naturally like everything else...it was F'd up to begin with.



The whole front minus the firewall is starting to look shiny again. I didn't realize I'd be doing this much fab when I started the front. I knew there would be some but when I'm done this will all be brand new.



I needed to get the firewall almost perfect. There were a few places that needed a little extra attention. I'm gonna primer this thing before it goes in. It's just easier to do it when it's out. I got it back from Dad, he's the only one with a blast cabinet big enough to fit it in. Really, you can fit an 18 wheeler rear end in this thing. He runs an International Truck Dealership's trailer shop. No shit, you can fit a 18 wheeler rear end in it!



I've learned from past mistakes not to weld too much at once. However, if you weld just a little then planish and weld some more it won't get away from you as much. Thanks again Dad. It would have been nice to know that before but always appreciate the pearls. Oh and if pucker your lips while you wheel it you can get it just right!

I'm still trying to get it flat enough to suit me. I had to call it a day. Sorry no pics of the planishing just the wheel. I made that too btw, almost like a piece of jewerly. Wrestling that thing through a planishing hammer and english wheel all day puts me to bed. I'm sure it will be a couple of weeks before I finally get it all together. We've got holiday parties and that shit coming up. Not to mentione what you skydivers like to call, "Relative Work" too.

Maybe after Christmas is over.

Thanks again!

Andy

 

There is a couple of wood blocks that go in where the rear part of the cab floor meets the front and I have a pair that I wont be needing since mine were good shape,I have to get up in the garage to get some rims down so I will try to find them.

 

Nice project.

 

Looks good. The 37-38 cabs are my favorite. My buddy is building one now. Keep us posted

 

Thanks a lot, I appreciate that. The blocks that came out of course were more dust than anything else. I had planned to make some kind of spacer for that, I haven't decided on what exactly. Either an aluminum spacer or a series of machined posts. The cab mounts are not in there for good. I haven't drilled any holes yet. I'll wait till the firewall is fitted and whatever twist that is in the cab is fixed.

If you find those blocks you can shoot me a PM or something.

Thanks again for all the kind words!

Andy

 

I think the blocks came with the cab mount kit and if you are going to use a 292 six you might want to recess the firewall a little since I hear the motor is a little longer then the 216s,you could probably gain some room by moving the radiator forward some too. I dont think there are shortened water pumps for the later sixes like there is to put a 55 to 62 235/261 in those trucks.

 

Looking Goooood !!!! Tom (Tired Old Man)

 

Man, I just love the looks of those chevy trucks. This looks like it is going to be a cool build. Please keep the progress and the pics coming.

 

Jeff, where did you get the cab mount kit? When I took it apart it really looked like a old 2x4 that was in there. I'm sure that wasn't it cause it was impossible for me to measure, it was desenegrated.

I'm pretty sure the 292 is 2 inches longer than the stock 216. My plan was to get all this mocked up somewhat before I make it permanent. I've seen a couple of these trucks with the 292 in it and the firewall is stock. Still not quite sure what it's gonna take to get it in there. If I can ever get this thing together with Cleco's we're gonna find out.

Thanks again!

Andy

 

hello, Im just starting a 37 build my self, mabe we can share some thoughts, parts and ideas, nice pics, mine is not that far yet but slowly trying

 

I think I got the cab mount kit from Jim Carters.

 

I looked for those blocks and they were not where I thought they would be,they will turn up when I am not looking for them.

 

First I want to apologize for letting thread go for almost two stinking years. I've got lots of excuses but I'm sure you don't want to hear them. Had some camera issues, new job, laziness, etc. I'll do my best to pick up where I left off. If you guys wanna see something specific let me know. I'm gonna try my damnedest to keep this thread up to date. The recent Model A build thread that Ryan put on the main page reinspired me.

Last I left this thread I was working on the firewall. Long story short, the big 292 wasn't going to rock in the existing firewall so all that fab on the $10 swap meet find was just practice I guess. I was gonna have to make a new one. I set off on that piece and it wound up taking waaayyy more time than I thought. Typically, I'm the kind of rodder who has to make two or three to get what I want. So here it goes.

Needed to get the motor mounted so I set off with making some new mounts. The 292 has offset mounts which is no big deal when you're fabing your own stuff. Here's some layout.



I had made some cardboard templates to see how it was going to fit then laid it out onto some 1/4" plate.




I'll MIG the 90 degree plates from the back then turn them over and TIG the gusset.




LOOK! Twins...




MIG welded the backside. This is where some laziness took over, or maybe because it's two years later I can't seem to find the pics. Sorry again!


So now I can mount the mockup engine and trans. Late 292 with 5-speed.








You can see here I more or less have the tunnell from the swap meet wall and a new flat sheet so I can see where things need to be.

After some cussing and yelling at the dog to stop eating metal shavings I came up with the idea of more or less making the entire firewall and only using the toe board flanges and mounting legs from the original. Not a lot of fab photos on this process but I'll try and make up for it later.







I'm probably gonna regret putting this thing as far back as I did. The 292 is about 2" longer than the 216. It should drive more stable but there isn't a lot of room in these old trucks to begin with. First time I've ever been glad I'm a runt.



I'm gonna have to dig for some more photos or just take some more before I keep going. I don't want to get ahead of myself and I just gone done finishing the toe board and floor which really turned out super sweet.

I'll have more tomorrow.

Thanks again for not blasting me too much on the long hiatus.

Andy from STL

 

Awe hell, I had to post these cause they make me laugh.


Here's a little notalgia for you. Circa spring of 1995, my high school prom. Look at the colors on these cars. If this doesn't scream late 80's early 90's then show me what does. That's my Dad's 47 coupe and my 62 Nova. 18 years old and my whole life in front of me. My date actually caught a ride home with someone else. Go figure. It was the hair I bet.




This is Cash, he's a regular at the shop. Pretty much drinks all the beer but never brings any. He's that guy. Probably cause he doesn't have any thumbs. My buddy Travis brings him around. He's a pussy, but looks mean as Paula Deen's ugly sister. My dog is an idiot. Cash just lays at the door making sure no city scum wanders into the shop.



Andy from STL