Termites and Bowties- Early Chevy Group

JOE....you see the 1931 chev landau convertible on FANTOM WORKS tv show , tonight

mike

 

Was working , but my wife pvr's it .
Thanks for the heads up

 

Well! Haven’t been on here in awhile, thought I might throw a few pic of progress on here, unfortunately I’m still have carb problems and about ready to ditch the Stromberg’s for something else ...


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

had the fender blasted, and despite being new old stock there were a couple dents/dings. totally understandable after all these years in storage. you can see the creases in the first couple photos. I hammered the dents out and sanded the metal smooth no filler!. the fender must have been dropped on end and had a small dent/split in the corner and edge. I straightened it and welded the split then polished the metal up. quick [and dusty] coat of epoxy primer and it is ready to be put away and I never need it.

 

[] U cannot beat NOS fenders !!!!! And that 33 standard fender is oh so rare to find, GOLD THERE, LIKE GOLD . !

The carriage bolt down the bottom at the rear, in picture 4. Whats its purpose , do not think I have ever noticed one there before. If you find another you may think of applying flames to the front fenders or does that twist the protocol of whats traditional . LMAO

mike lynch

 

Mike it is not a carriage bolt, it is a rivet to hold a little brace/backer for the running board mounting flange.
nothing like n.o.s. !!!!!

 

learn something new every day on old chevies

mike

 

Mike, maybe it is just a '33 thing. @MalloMike can check his master? here are a few shots of my car '33 standard and photos of the other "features" of the n.o.s. fenders, top and bottom, for future reference.

 

My 33 Master has a rivet in the same place.

 

Because the 33 standard CC series is so rarely built, the peculiarities as built , seem strange in some cases.
I was at joe the woodworkers place a couple of years ago and he may or may not have one, but he does have a 33 master with a CANADIAN hood, that has long up and down louvers as opposed to the 3 doors or its USA counterpart.

I remove the factory rivets and replace them with 10/32 button head Allan heads, so the fender can be painted under any of the braces. This ads another level of detail to a car build.

Lots of neat little features, bracketry , ect that I had no idea existed. KOOL !

mike lynch

 

Been a while since I posted on this Bowtie thread... Waiting over half a year till I can continue with my build, did some frame straightening techniques on my frame. Frame still needs some work in some areas, but it feels GREAT to have the new front and rear suspension in so I have a rolling chassis to this point.

Moving to Arizona in the coming Spring/early Summer, assuring me that my next garage should give me more room to continue my build!

 

good to have you continue in this section............hope you have air con installed for ARZ , cause it can get smoking hot there in summer.

ford suspension suits early chevy frames.

mike

 

I cant believe you said the ford front end suit's this early chassis Mike LOL

 

Ya I know, it hurt my hands to type it, but truth is, suits our frames. Variety of front axles types, various drops down to 5" and assorted widths down to 46 1/2" , makes life a whole lot easier. Pick 37--41 spindles right off the shelf, then decide what brakes to run. Visually looks good also.

Over the years I have seen quite a few chevys with early ford front suspension in the magazines. Must be an American thing. ??????????

mike

 

Sure does make for easy for front end set up on these old chev's !!!

 

Thank you Mike - it does feel good to post some progress on my frame. BOWTIES RULE - at least the Chevy owners knows this for sure. As far as the a/c installed for AZ, we'll wait and see. The early Ford suspension fits right at home, just had no choice but to WIDEN the cross member so it locks in tight within the c-channel. It was WAY too short to begin with.

See Joe, even the most dedicated Chevy owners running all Chevrolet in their rods can have a "human" side to them. Besides, aren't hot rods supposed to run what the owner wants to use to their taste?

I just wanted to wait until the frame is completed (painted with Tangerine Pearl) to install the entire front brake system from So-Cal, which includes the disc brake conversion for the '37 - '41 Ford spindles and the incredibly beautifully polished stainless steel backing plate and polished Buick finned aluminum drum covers to hide the disc brakes.

As far as the Chevys with early Ford suspension in the magazines, it's not just an American thing, it's a HOT ROD thing. This is what makes our hotrod passion for our cars/trucks to look their best and the freedom to choose each part/component to our liking.

Yes it does Joe - the fact that this early Ford cross member is narrow in width, gives the owner some more needed room for different engine choices. In my case, the mighty 392 hemi needs as much room as I can get to shoe horn this Big Block within my Chevy rails...

 

as far as the archaic ford suspensions go, the key word here is EASY. lots of parts available. I [die hard chevy guy] will never be convinced it is better.

 

Truth there. I’m die hard Chevy guy too. Love the idea of building a real solid Chevy. But that front end...the Ford type front end is just so much more versatile. And hey. We haven’t had any issues with fords robbing our small block Chevy design for years and years. Lol


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Not to change the topic too much. But has anyone dealt with Pete and Jakes for these said front ends? Talked to Jerry over there and he had me dialed in with what I needed within minutes. Seems like a real solid outfit.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

FAST ------------pete and jakes , they have been in business for a long time and pioneered the 4 bar system I believe, when it was the original owners Pete Chapouris, died recently of SO-CAL shop fame and Jake Jacobs. They sold the business to owner that still has it. Name unknown. Picture of them at 74 NSRA nats Tulsa on mag cover.

Problem with our early chevies is all the nonsense we have to go thru to get them to sit down in the weeds and axles narrow enough to pull tires inside fenders. I would use a super bell axle for 33-34 ford as they are narrow at 46 1/2? king pin to king pin. Choose either the beam or the tube style. Paint it with powder coat or plate it, or polish an aluminum one. What ever you like.

Black coupe is mine using MOR DROP axle 4 1/2" over stock and narrowed to 44" wide by bending in forge. Car was so low at axle could not get over a coke can on its side . Drove it for years 1975---1996 that way

Discs for the front with 37--41 ford spindles wilwood 4 piston or gm discs, they are all available. 4 bar on side or hairpins. Look at what 31 chevymike is running looks nice. You can play with spring to get it where you want it. The ford system if all plated adds up real fast.

Anyway, all this FORD parts style talk is giving me a headache !!! Just ordered diner , hope I can keep it down

mike lynch

 

I purchased mine from Speedway Motors. The ONLY issue I had with my chromed kit is that the bat wings were NOT chrome plated. So I purchased the chrome bat wings from Pete & Jake's. Not sure whether you want your front end in plain steel or chrome, the choice is yours. After purchasing the early Ford cross member, you will probably need to widen it to fit in your frame like I just did just a few weeks ago.

Sent from my SM-G955U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Not entirely against ford stuff .
This is my last 34 chev 5 window !!!
390 ford fe , and mustang 2 front end

 

Ok gotcha. Which brings me to my next question. I was going to box the frame and then weld crossmember to inner box? Is tha not right?


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

my understanding is, its best to box the frame front to back. The newish way of doing it is BRIZO style ?? where the boxing plates are setback 1/2" and wires can be run and also fuel brake lines where the frame protects them.

Any kind of power will twist the frame.

I would make the cross member plate where it has a boxed section, let the cross member slip into it and everything is all solidly welded. Its just one way of doing it, others should voice their opinion who have done it. My 35 standard frames are already beefy being X ed.

mike lynch

 

Yes, like Mike said above, you can do that. You will have to see how much width you have on the early Ford cross member to weld it to your boxed rails. I widened mine because I was not in the position to box my rails YET. I will box mine later at the right time.

Truth is, there is a very good chance that I will buy a brand new '31 Chevy frame from Superior Glass Works IF they are still in production. There's a message on the site that this frame is currently unavailable. If I can, I planned on taking measurements from my original frame and transfer my new suspension to the new, boxed frame without the tubular x-member. I have my own square-tubed x-member from Speedway Motors to use instead. Once the x-member is in, then I can purchase some custom length adjustable ladder bars to hold my QCR in place.

 

FAST EDDIE, what year is your Chevrolet. What motor trans are you planning on and rear end.

mike lynch

 

Hey Mike


It’s a 31 and as far as motor and trans 327 and a 4speed Muncie or Tremec manual

Rear end not sure yet. I’ve heard a Tri five Chevy will fit nice or I’ll order a speedway 9”


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Eddie, the tri-five Chevy rear is one that I've seen used so many times, including my own when mine was turned into a hot rod in the late sixties. That rear is the perfect width and can be installed with no issues. You can even use your original springs, checking the arc and making sure the leaf spring mounts are positioned correctly.

The Speedway 9" is also a great choice, more so if you're planning to hop up that 'ol 327 and handle almost any horsepower its connected to!

 

fast eddie 27, maybe you should be 31 fast eddie 31????

31chevymike is correct , the 55-56 chevy rear end fairly strong, good assortment of gear ratios available and stock width mounting face to mount face 56 " ???? The quick change rear is so period correct for style of hot rod your building. Fenderless ? Full fendered is other look and not going to see a quickie very well . Unless you put gas tank in trunk.

Pricey but depends on what you want to spend. Your only going to bust rear gears if you can get the car to hook up. Smoke the tires your not going to break anything.

Going to say it again, I can feel the darts flying, you can see what they offer for fords 1928---1931 frames as far as bracing and tubular for other ideas .

mike