Projects My 1941 Chevy Special Deluxe Coupe Project

Hello guys. I have been kind of dormant on here for a while due to my Dad p***ing away, not having an old car, injuries (car accident) and life in general. However, I am now back and happy to be back because I scored this 1941 Chevy Coupe that I am picking up this Saturday. It is 100% complete, 100% stock original and in excellent condition. Although some of the body trim is not shown, it is all there.

I have a couple questions if anyone could answer.
1. What is the stock original face to face of drum dimensions on the front end and rear axle?
2. Where is a good place to source new and primarily used parts & do***entation for this make and model? (I'm looking for a good LR fender as you can see in the pics)
3. Can you guys give me some ideas for some nice looking wheels?
4. Should I go with a S10 suspension clip or the Camaro? not sure on the widths yet.

My plans are to customize it for cruising with a Camaro front suspension clip, Ford Explorer 8.8” rear end with disc brakes, SBC, Overdrive transmission, A/C, P/S, P/B and tilt steering wheel.

I would love to hear you guys’ thoughts, suggestions, do’s, don’ts and so on. Once I get the car home, I will post up some more pics and continue as I progress along.

Thanks.

 

For new (repop) stuff check out The Filling Station Lebanon, OR.

 

Will do, thanks for the info.

 

I am thinking a 348 with a 4 speed. A good body guy can fix that fender.
And it would be "cooler" without air...
Nice find!

 

Heck yeah. a 348 and a 4-speed would be awesome for sure. 348's seem to be a bit scarce anymore. I'm in Texas so without A/C in August would be unbearable for me. My thoughts are at the moment to build a car that I can travel anywhere I want to go in it and keep the wife happy while doing it and we all know how important that is, LOL. Thanks Birdman.

 

Those are awesome!!! Thank you for sharing.

 

I believe I would do a warmed up later inline with a "T5" . Easier and cheaper. Nothing against an SBC, just different. Absolutely on the AC. I used a Mark IV , hang under the dash on my Buick. Easier than built in.
Good luck

Ben

 

Thanks Ben. I actually did think about a later inline 6 but I guess I am just stuck on the SBC stuff. I am thinking of a Vintage Air setup on this one. My Dad had V/A in his 57 Chevy Pickup and it was like a meat locker. On the hottest days of August we would have to run it on low. It was crazy cold.

 

Zack, I saw that car on c-list but looks like you got to it first! Did you get the parts car with it as well or just the black one?


I would recommend against the camaro clip, they’re a little wide for these cars. It can be done but wheel fitment and clearance can become an issue especially if you choose to lower it any.


I’ve got a 39 in the works and if you have any questions you can PM me I’ll share what I can.


Here’s a link to a factory manual 1941 Chevrolet Shop Manual

 

good luck . im prejudice .but one of the best coupe styles ever .ive been on mine for a couple years now ,and getting closer to the vision every day .the frame dosent lend its self to a clip very well .but i guess its possible . i think tci cross member is a better way to go . i rebuilt my stock frnt end . the shocks are spendie to have rebuilt but steering is very nice without power . i went with a 235 but could change to v8 on a dare . they made about a million chevies in 41 , so parts will not be an issue ,im sure .anyway good luck again . im waiting for the chrome to be installed on my grill right now . $1,300 for grill and surround pieces .but had to bite the bullet . ill post some pix when i get it back

 

Congratulations! They're a nice sized car and you get a lot more metal than with Fords ( no axe to grind here, I have both kinds!).

Not sure about the Camaro clip. I have an unmentionable ( here) front and the narrow track allows the wheels to be well tucked into the fenders.

Twin exhausts is a challenge as the frame rails are quite narrowly spaced. I run both down the p***enger side, but I do have 2.5" pipes, smaller would be easier to deal with.

Posies rear springs fit straight on and ride nicely. Tune rideheight with blocks. Stock rear springs are flimsy and the torque tube resists spring wrap. But that's gone with an open drive.

Rear fender looks very repairable.

Don't set engine / trans too low else the pan will be run the risk of being too low. It can be set higher with only minimal mods to the removable trans cover, or ems make a taller replacement.

Chris


Sent from my SM-T515 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Yes, I got the black car only. No, I did not get the parts car because I just don't have a place to put it but I wish I did.

Thanks.

 

Thank you for sharing your photos and info, that is looking sweeeeettttttt!!!!! I am still on the fence with the clip but after looking at prices to rebuild stock, I am a bit more optimistic to do the later model swap over. Where are you getting your grill from?

 

GREAT INFO guys!!! This is what I'm looking for. I really appreciate it.

Sounds like the Camaro clip is not the way to go on this car. As much as I would love one of the aftermarket setups, it is just not in my budget. I have fabrication skills (thanks to my awesome Dad) so fabricating a donor front clip to the 41 frame will be something I would enjoy doing. Building is half or more the fun for me. If anyone has any ideas for a donor front suspension clip that cannot be mentioned here (LOL) please drop me a pm. I am looking for a low cost alternative to the aftermarket setups.

 

Hi. In addition to the filling station try www.chevsofthe40s.com . Both filling station & chevs of the 40's have online sales and both have great paper catalogs. When you purchase your first item online they include their paper catalog in the package. I purchased a bunch from both when I went thru the Coupe a few years ago.
My avatar here shows the 235 C I inline 6 in my 46 Chevy coupe. Bored 0.060, hot cam, dual 2 bbl Weber carbs on a Clifford water heated intake for choke control improved efficiency, HEI distributor & 12 volt alternator. This works great with stock 3 speed and a 355 ratio (pickup) rear gears. Running R600/16 on the front and R700's on the rear. Great gas millage with this set up. Also has vintage air and it cools quite well. Car is non running at present due to being rear ended by a texter. When I fix the wreck problems I am going to add a bigger drain line for the A/C as when running fan on high it tends to blow water out of drain pan and some gets on carpet.
With this set up it runs with traffic on the interstate Hwy with NO problems.
On the brakes I just rebuilt the original and it stops just fine just like it did back in the day.
Unless you are going to race your car an inline 6 will easily do the job.
Jimmie

 

Zack, sent you a PM

 

Hi. Forgot to add if you keep the original front end and rebuild you must keep the original shocks as they also function as control arms. What I did was simply add brackets for more modern tube shocks and they work just great. If you run radials on the car and something like 40-41 PSI in them it steers much better/easier than the bias ply tires. With either it is hard to turn the steering wheel when car is not moving but moving just a couple of MPH it steers ok. Not as easy as power steering but ok. Just part of having and driving an OLD car.
Jimmie.

 

Got it, thank you.

 

Good info Jimmy, thank you. I am not sure if the 6 that's in there even runs but I am going to find out for sure. Are these old six's babbet engines?

 

I am lucky to live just blocks away from one of the finest resources for old Chevy and GM parts in the USA! Joe DiOrio's Old Car Parts has been my go to source since the late 60's when I bought my first 1940 Chev coupe. And I still buy from Joe Jr. today for my current '39 Chev build.
Joe has a huge inventory of NOS parts in his place, plus a yard full of old used parts, plus his stock of new repro parts too.

http://www.oldcarpartsor.com/author/ocp-generic/

I personally think a Camaro, or Nova subframe is too big and ugly to put on the beautiful early Chev tophat frame rails. I'd go with one of the MII or a solid drop axle before I'd use the Camaro/Nova subframe myself.
The 8.8 Ford is an excellent choice as there's nothing you could buy as cheaply and get so much strength, plus a posi and good gear ratios. I use them all the time in my builds, and buy them for $200 at my local you pull yard.
My '39 is a SBC 350 roller motor, with 700R4 swap I did. I am using a later '58 Chev truck axle up front that I narrowed 5" and converted to disc brakes. A Vega steering box, and 2000 Chevy truck tilt column. If you set the engine correctly a stock 3rd gen Camaro driveline fits perfectly, and just needs an adapter U joint to mate to the 8.8" Ford. That's what I'm suing in mine.

 

This will be interesting for me as I have had my wife's grandfather's '46 Fleetmaster for around thirty years and still haven't touched it. This may spur me on though I do have other cars lying in wait. Good luck with your build!

 

I've narrowed a number of drop I beam axles, and also one tube axle. The tube axles are easier to narrow, but take more setup time as I weld angle iron pieces to each half before cutting them, to keep the kingpins aligned. Then once cut, I remove the amount I want to narrow, sleeve the inside with solid round bar, and then plug weld, and finally weld the joint at the middle. Then cut the angle iron off, and polish everything smooth.
I beam axles require what's called a Z cut, which gives it more weld surface area, and stronger than a straight through cut, and **** weld. So once I cut the axle in half, I then cut halfway down through it, and then cut horizontally the length of the amount I narrow it. Then do the opposite to the other half of the I beam. So a 5" narrowing results in a 5" long weld horizontally. Then a vertical half the width of the beam up and down at the ends.
Of course all the joints are beveled prior to welding, and the welds done from both sides. But I start by aligning the two halves first. I **** the joints, and use larger round tube clamped along the axle beams to hold them perfectly aligned. Then once they're clamped to my weld table, aligned, and ready; I tack them at numerous places on one side. Flip it over and move the tubing to the other side, and tack numerous places on the 2nd side. Then remove the tubing, and start welding both sides, but jump side to side so it doesn't pull or twist the metal.
Once it's fully welded and ground smooth, I then go one step further, which isn't needed, but i do it anyway. I cut a piece of 3/8 plate and fit it into the backside of the I beam. Make it long enough to overlap the weld area, and then I weld that into the backside of the beam.
This is my narrowed '58 Chev axle. Set up for front side cross steer, as the Vega box sits ahead of the axle.






My car is set up "g***erish", but with lower springs, and the drop truck axle it can easily sit a good 4"-5" lower without any effort. And could probably be 6"-7" lower if I got creative with mounting points.

 

That's cool! I hope it does spur you to start on building it.

 

WOW, I am jealous now, LOL. Beautiful work!

 

I know many have gone this route many times with varying success. I have an opportunity to grab this as pictured for $200. I was thinking of using the front clip and rear end. Of course, I would fabricate to my existing frame as clean and factory looking as possible. Most all of this the frame would be s****ped. Newer technology, and easy to find parts. What are everyone's thoughts on this as a donor suspension?

 

Thanks! This car was missing almost all metal in the bottom 4" of the car. I replaced floors, rockers, inner and outer lower doors, lower 1/4 panels, tail panel, and cowl lowers. Then began all the grinding, sanding and everything else to get it down to bar metal, and epoxy sealed it. After that I did all the bodywork, did the engine/trans, rear axle, and suspension work front and rear. Then bought a commercial sewing machine used and sewed up the interior. Plumbed it, and installed a 20 cir. wiring system, and took it on a 1250 mile drive late last summer. That was 18 months after I bought it as a rotted out heap. But I've been retired a decade, so have lots of time to spend on cars.

 

AWESOME WORK!!!

 

There's not much you could use of that frame unless you're willing to chop up your floors at the backseat and trunk area. Stock frames don't have the hump at the rear that frame has, so it will require major surgery. Plus nothing to mount the front clip to that frame, so it will require fabricating all new brackets and mounts. Using the stock frame will be a lot better.