Termites and Bowties- Early Chevy Group

Brother, you need to bribe that Chevrolet Dealer somehow to purchase THAT sign or billboard that just happens to show the year of your Chevrolet Coupe... That's TOO much of a coincidense...

 

Haha I know crazy right!? I had to get a pic in front of it, a

 

Square body syndicate did an amazing 3+3 with a ***mins swap. blue and white truck. Do it!

 

A local car that's pretty untouched and stayed in the family

 

Got some more miles in today.

 

Today was awesome. Mini-tub day. I relocated the body to frame support INSIDE the frame so I would have room for the mini-tub. I made a pattern to match the curve of the wheel well with duct tape. (Something I saw done on a video.) Used that pattern to cut a 4” strip of 18g steel. It was sorta crescent shaped when flat but fit perfectly when shaped over the wheel well. Held it in place with Clecos.
Then I cut out the wheel well leaving a 1” flange. I then deleted the temporary 2” wheel spacer. I never intended to use wheel spacers. They are only temporary. The mock up looks better than I had hoped. The wheels in the pic have 4.25” of backspacing. I’ll likely buy wheels with 3.5”of backspacing. Did some body work too. Too many pics to post them all now.

 

You are good!!

 

Before I start to weld the pieces of the mini tub together, I thought it wise to have y’all review my plan and give me advice.
The first picture shows the strip of 18 gauge metal held in place with Cleco fasteners and the original fender well in the new position. My plan is:
1. Hold all of the pieces together with rivets or Cleco fasteners for mock up.
2. Then make short cuts along the joint line with the yellow arrows so I can **** weld the splice piece flush with the wheel well flange.
3. I will need to go slowly and planish the weld bead so I don’t get too much distortion from heat and shrinkage.
4. I would then make any final adjustments to the wheel well tub before doing the same thing with that weld bead (red arrows).
It’s a lot of welding. Making my own new wheel wells would reduce the welding by half, but I do not have the skill to fabricate my own wheel wells from new steel.

Another issue. I think the body damage to the DS rear quarter panel was more significant than I had realized. I have successfully hammered out the two dents at the very back of the driver side wheel well (red oval). However, when I compare the driver side rear quarter with the p***enger side rear quarter, I think the driver side wheel well bead is pushed towards the centerline more than on the p***enger side. The belt line extending back from the door seems the same as the PS. The DS area with the red oval was partly rolled under and I rolled it back out when I hammered out the 2 dents in that same area. I think I need to pull the wheel well bead away from the center line a little bit more. I took some pictures (with yellow rectangles) so you can compare. Maybe 31ChevyMike, Snoop74, or anyone else could show me a picture of their rear quarter panel from the same angle for my comparison?

 

Jay, It appears to me, using the tires as a reference, the axle may not be centered. If it is centered on the frame the driver side is further towards the left. If you can reference the yellow boxes the same in both photos it will give another point to check from. Or the angle of the photos aren't the same.

 

Wayne, It just occurred to me why the tire on the p***enger side sticks out more than it does on the driver side. That’s because I still have a 2” wheel spacer on the p***enger side. The axle is very close to being perfectly centered, but it looks off-center because of the wheel spacer on the p***enger side.

 

AAAAAHHHHHH....

 

So I still think the DS rear quarter needs to be pulled out a bit more. The DS tire is tucked in more than the PS (PS has a wheel spacer) which gives the illusion that they are almost the same. It’s easier to see in person.

 

use a comp*** and a large piece of cardboard to make a templet of both sides and compare the two. use the one that looks correct as a guide to straighten the other side.
I think I would also make two new identical wheel wells. each one made from two pieces, an upright piece and the piece that creates the arch over the wheel. this way it would provide the shape to make the sides identical.

 

Wheel well repair + started welding the mini-tub.

 

Your determination and welding skills are inspiring Jay! Keep up the great work sir!

 

That’s because you haven’t seen it in person. Haha!

 

Joking aside, early Chevy owners have it MUCH tougher to restore our hot rods than most other makes and models. With that said, Chevy models are popping up more and more as we speak! I just sold my bottom rumble seat spring to a new owner of the same model as mine, right here in Lake Havasu City! He purchased his '31 Chevrolet for only $1,500 as a complete original car, stored on a farm INDOORS for over 65 years in Wisconsin! I haven't seen his car in person, but soon enough, looking at one photo and the car seems to be in as close to mint condition as it can get! Even the wood is in awesome shape! His plans are to build an early 60's hot rod, leaving the top unchopped, a '65 Corvette 327 mill that he's had for over 25 years, whitewalls, etc. Lynn was really impressed with my coupe, and wowed at the sight of my hemi, reminding him with his '40 Ford coupe that he had with a '92 hemi...

 

Jay are those the Wheels you plan on running? Or at least the size ?

 

These wheels are 15” x 7” wide with 4.25” backspacing.
I want to go with at least an 8” wide wheel x 15” and go with 4” of backspacing (might go black instead of red). I think I can squeeze that under the fender but I’m gonna wait and finish both mini-tubs first and do some measuring. No wheel spacers will be used EVER.

 

Love that wheel!!! I've been looking for one for years. Thanks for sharing!

 

Very little got done to the 34 this week.

However . . . .
My son told me he was ready to take possession of his 1968 C10 which has been at my shop for 4 years. Now I have more room and don’t need to sell my 1965 C10 short bed stepside. Hooray!
Today I pulled off the DS tire and I mocked up the inside piece of the mini-tub. It lines up great which is a real relief.
Here’s a short video. LINK
More needs to be done before I weld it up. I held the fibergl*** fender in place and there is plenty of room for a wider wheel/tire combo.
So far, so good.

 

P***enger side mini-tub is underway. The 2WD S10 rear really does a nice job at tucking the wheels in close so I can use a wide tire and still fit a fender if I want.

 

So, did you convince him it was a 34 and not a 36 that he owned and you now own? Also, that was a nice 1970 Camaro. My first car was a 1973 Camaro.

 

I explained the car was a 1934 and not a 1936 and he told me he just forgot what the correct year was. There is no doubt it’s the same car. I was standing in front of his garage, right where this picture was taken. I had this picture on my phone for a year and a half prior to meeting him.

 

I’ve completed the mini-tub. I’m happy with the results but my wheel well repair patches ain’t pretty. I’ll likely redo some areas but it will wait until I’m in the mood. Best of all is that I can use the 54.25” S10 rear axle and wide tires and still use fenders if I choose to.
Today I worked on getting the PS door aligned. This has been a daunting task. So far, so good. The front gap is good but the door belt line doesn’t line up well enough to satisfy me. I think I can correct the alignment by moving the top door hinge out board 1/8”.

 

Looks good !

 

Really great day in the shop yesterday. The p***enger door lines up great and the struggle to get it right was minimal. VIDEO LINK.

 

The old girl is looking better and better after each task that you have completed Jay! Nice work!

 

good job jay she's coming together well