Historical distortions...........Now that is great conversation right there.What a great subject to bring up.
BMC's chevy is a fuckin nice kustom, but the grille is two year too young to fit the area .... but we've seen more off topic, that's for sure ! thanks for posting a tasteful kustom anyway , and a real kustom: not just a chopped and bagged stocker
Here's my similarly-styled '41 Buick. I've had this car for some time, have worked out much of the mechanicals, and finally got a little bit of bodywork done this summer. There is a long list of work yet to do obviously - bumper guard taillights, lower the rear bumper and mold the pan, mold the fenders, finish shaving the trunk, etc. etc. etc. but this is as far as we got before we put it in primer for our show this past weekend. Are you going to chop your Chevy? The lid on the Buick will be lowered before I'm done...
Nice! I've always loved '41 Buicks. One of my favorite cars of all time. I really like where you're going with yours, should be awesome! Oh yeah... my Chevy IS chopped! haha.
I can see that. I think my bleary eyes were playing tricks on me. It's subtle, which is cool. They are good looking cars...nice work.
Yeah I like the subtle chop on the chevy, but I think it would look better without the drip rails. Is that on the list?
On any other car I would shave the drip rails, but I can't stand it when the rails are shaved on this era chevy. The top of the door is above the line that swoops around the windows and makes it look out of place without the drip rail. Do you know what I mean?
Gil ran 129 mph in that beauty.Just goes to show Oldman Evans knew what he was doing with them flatheads.Ayala's were the baddest of the bad.Poetry in motion when looking at this car.
A question for the experts. I love the stance on Curt Six's Buick posted above. I would like to achieve the same stance on my '47 Olds coupe, which has double pig'd coils in the rear. What would the period-correct way of lowering my car be? I can cut the front coils, but what to do with the rears? Can I cut them, then heat and bend an end over, should I be searching for shorter coils from another car, or? I'd hate to just heat and collapse them, gives a poor ride. Air bags on a Schraeder valve would be a bolt-in, but I'd rather do it the way someone would have done it in 1950.
i've looked at some of the old barris cars and the springs were heated and bent. crude but simple. i've was able to get a 39 ford (previous page) the older fella channeled the car and used T-bird leaf springs with some of the springs removed. you would not believe the amount of cutting and welding it takes to channel a car. its amazing, he spent a fortune on gas. but its low.
Jim Genty at JAMCO made my springs for me several years ago. I think they were 4" lower than stock. They set everything down nicely and retain a better ride quality over cut coils. The rear still needs to be about 1"-2" lower than it is, which will also require that I c-notch the frame. JAMCO can make you a set of springs, and there are a couple of other companies that guys on here recommend (don't remember names...maybe someone else will chime in).
Good to know, thanks for the info, can I ask how much they cost you? Also would like to know, I have 15" Buick wheels on my '47 like the Herb Ogden Buick had, and I have a pair of the single bar "flipper" caps on them, bu they're the smooth, wheelcover kind, not the dog dish kind with the extra trim ring. When were those first available? I'm trying to keep the car correct to around 1950, give or take. I picked up a curved glass SW "motor minder" this weekend and found a Popular Science mag ad from 1951 showing them available so I'm feeling pretty good about using it, would like to feel the same for the hubcaps. I've got a set of the National rippled center caps, but they're the blank ones, so I'd have to make flippers for them, and I'd have to swap back to 16" wheels, which I'd rather not do if I can avoid it.
Not to side track this thread but do a search on Jamco before you order ANYTHING from them. Their reputation is less than stellar right now.
I found this info from another thread and maybe this will help you. Baron, When you get going on the rear suspension, you might want to look at 68-72 GM intermediate rear coils, There is a wide range of spring rates from a standard Chevelle to a Vista Cruiser wagon. They bolt in a 49-50 Olds using the hardware from your Olds, and lower the rear about 4 to 5 inches. When you lower the rear that much with the stock "truck arms", the rear wheel moves back in the wheel opening. I had to slot the arms and move my rear axle ahead 9/16". I used a 9" Ford rear end with all of the Olds brackets and biscuits. I stayed with the original arms, because of how they lift on launch, that is part of the legend of a "Rocket 88". http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=739027
Oh yeah I know what you mean. ok, you can keep em! It's a great looking car thats only getting better! I dont know why more people dont build these 40's chevy's? They're great looking when customized and not super expensive the buy.
There are quite a few in the works..... I am building a '41. My buddy is knocking the fishing lure out of a current '48 and going back traditional. All while building a '38 Poncho that we chopped in the Winfield chop class. Thats 3 in about 8 miles.
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