I thought a 27 chevy coach would be a neat car to transform into a rear door sedan delivery since I sold my 28 chevy. So I found one that needs a little fixing up . It will be running a 67 nova 283 and a powerglide trans, along with a triangulated 4 link mercury monarch 9 inch ford rear. The front suspension is out of a 40 ford with a 4 inch dropped magnum axle and split wishbones, hung by a transverse front spring, and a model A crossmember. It will be full fendered with running boards, and smoothy steel wheels with caps and rings. Chopped 4 1/2 inches with a green body, and black fenders. Man I got a long ways to go actually I allready started on it awhile back. Have a look.
THE CHOP. I decided on a 4 1/2 inch chop, but only 2 inches through the rear window. And I took 2 1/2 inches out of the body just below the rear window to give me the amount I needed over all. This still give me about 12 inches of widows for the door gl***, and 9 inches for the back window. The windshield will be about 9 inches in height, if I lower the dash down from it original position 1 1/4 inches.
The dash board clean up, and the fire wall recess. THe dash had a lot of holes that were not needed any more. The hood on the 27 chevys were really short, so to fit the small block 283, I decided on a 5 inch recess for the firewall to move the engine back. I cut a 5 inch band of steel, and removed the firewall. filled all the not needed holes, and welded the band of steel to the front edge of the firewall and then reinstalled it.
The front and rear suspension, along with the boxing plates. I removed the original front and rear suspension, they were shot and the front axle on a 27 chevy is a spindle mount unit with no brakes. I added a spreader bar to the front of the frame for support, and cuz I think it's needed for the look. I then braced the frame, and cut the original crossmembers out. I then added the model A crossmember for the front spring, and boxed the front of the frame. Then I built the triangulated 4 link for the rear, and added the coil over mounts. At this time the whole frame is boxed front to rear with 3/16th plate steel.
I started building this car three months ago, and at the same time I started the ***le process. So today I decide to start a build thread. And to my suprise, my ***le shows up in the mail. Life is good...John
You mentioned a long way to go.. Well not really, you have it built in your head, now you just have to execute! So far, looks great! Like they said about Michaelangelo, the statue was already in the marble, he just brushed away the small pebbles so you could see it
It looks great John. I was wondering when you were going to start a thread on this one. Keep it up! -mikethegreek-
Thanks guys. I was initially gonna put a 67 nova column in the car with the column shift handle, but after looking at the space for the linkage off the column, it was real tight at the brake pedal. So I opted for a 28 inch speedway basic column, with a 4 spoke 17 inch wheel. This will give it a better old hot rod look, and I will use a floor shift now. Pictures to follow after I install it.
I got up early and started on the foot floor panel, and the mounting of the column and steering wheel. Had to use a 5 inch column drop for the best line up, and comfort of the wheel. Now I know what steering parts I need to order for the connection to the vega box.
After I got the steering column installed today, I still had some time to work on the hood line up, and grille shell mounting. The 27 chevy grille shell was aluminum, and patched with an old licence plate and paper thin. I sold it and found a 29 chevy steel grille shell. The basic shape of the 29 shell was there but the fit was lacking to the 27 hood shape. I decided to cut the shell on both sides of the radiator fill hole, and fill the cuts with new metal. Enlarging the shell by 2 1/4 inches overall. now to find a shell insert to protect the radiator.
Ghost, This looks to be one clean and neat build. Will be watching your progress. Looks like you have made quite a bit in 3 months.
Thank you. I don't know what it is, but I think with the onset of the warmer weather, all parts of the build are just falling into place like I hoped they would. I figure I might as well take advantage of this burst of energy for as long as it will last . Thanks again
Awwww man. I forgot all about it SORRY, If it's any consolation it was in really bad condition. The aluminum had deteriorated to the point that it was paper thin and patched with parts of old licence plates.
No worries- I'll just loathe you from afar for a day or two I found an UGLY aluminum one on fleabay... missing the bottom couple of inches... so I'm still looking.
Yeah. Were gonna have to start on your ch***is build pretty soon. I decided to build a new guage insert for the center of the dash this will house the speedo and the other 4 main guages. I think what is next on the agenda is the structuring of the body with steel and hanging of the doors. Once the body is real solid, I will reinforce, hinge, and cut open the rear cargo door.
Not much to report except I built some new rocker panel. The original ones after sand blasting left them with a lot of holes. Also a friend gave me some original 34 or 35 chevy 17 inch spoke rims, with fairly new 5.25/5.50 17 inch tires. They look really cool and will fit the build. So I think I will paint the rims black to match the fenders, and use these for around town and short trip cruising.
Green with black fenders...??? Is this deja vu...??? You kept it simple, you just changed years, that's all... Looking good John...gonna have to stop over and check it out...maybe next weekend tho, this weekend I'm going to Moab... R-
Yeah 5 lug. The only problem is they are 5 by 4 1/4. I will get this figured out. Stop by anytime. Be safe and have a blast on your trip to Moab.
A little more done on the 27. This time I squared up the body, and installed the new rocker panels, and the headers above the doors. I had not chopped the doors yet so I took the top portion of them off. Then mounted the bottom portion of the doors to the opening. They lined up real good. I then chopped the 4 1/2 inches from the top of the doors, and tacked them in place. Next up some structuring where the wood used to be.
ghost, i noticed you put brakes on the front axle...if you don't mind me asking, how did you do it? did you find a kit for disk brakes on a '27 chevy spindle, or use a different axle? reason i'm asking, i have a '26 chevy coupe with 6 lug hubs & would like to use 5 lug. thanks
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