Not sure why I picked 1963? But I thought it was around the era I wanted to base this beast on. 1938 Chevy 2 dr. Sedan. Probably not a basis for a hot rod back then, more of a push car I bet. But, anyway, if I wanted to do a traditional build what would be a good choice for suspension (front and rear). My guess is you could run the stock leaf springs, probably get away with a 58 Ford 9 inch, just not sure how to set up the front? Any ideas would be great. I have a mustang II front end but every car I look under has one of those. What about mill? Would a 55 or similar Buick Nailhead be out of place in a 38 Chevy?
stock suspension, probably a 55-57 chevy car or 55-59 pickup rearend would be more likely, and a nailhead would be good too, but a 283 would be more common by then.
My 38 Chevy sedan had a 57 Chevy drivetrain swapped in when i got it. Although done in the mid 70's. It had the 57 rearend, the 283 with 3-speed manual. Used the side trans mounts and had the tailshaft hanging out in the breeze. Open drive of course. Front suspension was stock and had (I think) 49-54 hubs and brakes swapped to get the 5-luig pattern matching the rear. No dropped axles or sitting any lower than the stock springs with 15 inch wheels. I think any builod form the 60's would have most likely used a similar set-up as what my car had. Back then a sedan was not a rod choice, so it would not have been built as anything more than a good driving car with a bit more power than original.
This was my Dad's car from the early 50's, by 62-63 my older brother had stuffed an Olds with Hydro and tri-power in it. Not your most common hot rod but it was done. CC
My cousin had a 38 Chevy coupe in 1963, mom has a pic of me sitting on the frount fender with him and my dad doing a tune up. From looks of pic it was a later 283 or knowing him a 327. I sent him an email to get more info, it was a cool car.
One of my high school clasmates unearthed a '40 Chevy coupe in the mid '70s that was put together around '63-'64. It looked like the builder stripped out a '57 for it--early 283, three speed with a Fenton 500 floor shifter, and a '55-'57 style rear end. I think lots of old Chevies got that sort of update back then. Oh, the best part was the homemade traction masters, constructed out of 1/2 inch threaded rod!
I got my 38 Chevy coupe in about 65-66. Things were different back then, at least for me. I put a 63 Chrysler 383 in it. Why? Because I already had this perfectly good engine and auto trans. We were more likely to put together combinations that became available (think cheap) rather than follow a detailed plan. Later I blew that motor and replaced it with a 327-340 HP chevy and a T-10. The car came with a 55-64 Chevy rear. It was a standard with the straight axle and spacers to get that g***er look. A friend updated his 41 convertible to 5 lugs so I bought his old 6 lug chrome wheels for the front. There was no formula for hot rods that I can remember. Chevy engines were admired back then because they were fast for the money. Uncle Sam came calling and it got sold.
Thanks for all the input, I was thinking that the g***er look was probably the popular take on these old sedans. I am not a fan of the g***er's (as much as I am a lowered unit anyway.) It sounds like chopped and dropped wasn't the norm for these cars. I think maybe I should regroup and say that I should try and build it like how I would want it if I lived in 1963 to do it then. Obviously I would have been limited to availability of parts and cost of course. I think I will use the Mustang II front end though. Heck , I have it already I may as well use it.
The Jalopy Journal
