so what should i look for in 36 chevy trucks? what is the visable difference between high and low cab? how hard is it to replace the wood? where are the prone to rust? how hard is it to find parts? do the handle a chop well? are they easy to lower? how esy is it to upgrade the existing brakes and drivetrain?
My dad had a 36 low cab when I was a pup I think a low cab has 2 door hinges and a high cab has 3 I think.
i had a 37 low cab and the beauty of it is the truck looks pretty good with no chop , BUT they do look *****in chopped ..
The high cab 36 is very close to the 35 style. The low cab is similar to a 37. There is very little wood in the low cab. They tend to rust in the lower cowl corners behind the fenders, the door bottoms and the windshield hinge area (from what I found this seems to be a favorite area for mice to nest.) You might also check the front frame crossmember where the radiator mounts. Hope this helps.....
Find yourself a nice low cab and follow this recipe... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=405816
36 early had two styles as I suppose you know. The Hi cab was squarish in shape with quite a bit of wood to it. That is where the problem is with those. The late 36 had much less wood. A fair chunk behind the dash and smaller amounts in the doors. Things changed the next year. Go with the Low cab. I did. As far as body parts available they are out there but it depends on what you are looking for. Rear fenders in steel are a bit hard to find. There are a number of parts available if you go with fibergl*** parts.
my `37 GMC, I like the looks of the low cab... they look cool on a lowered frame, no need to chop.... I have three extra cabs with doors... ratso
Robert, that looks like a good receipe, Are you using the stock steering box? Any part #s on the drag link you made? I'm pretty much going this route on a 40 I'm building now.
I'm using the stock steering box but I'd like to find one from a 41' to '46 truck. It is supposed to bolt in and has recirculating ball type guts for reduced steering effort. For the drag link, I used the replacement non-tapered tie rod ends that you can buy from places like bowtie bits. http://www.bowtiebits.com/store/sto...oduct_ID=397&Category_ID=1&Sub_Category_ID=18 I bought a new tie rod from Jim Carters and cut a big chunk out of the center, leaving the left and right hand threaded ends. I ground a generous chamfer on the ends and welded them together. Then I slipped a 2.5" long piece of 3/4" ID steel tubing over the joint and welded that to the shortened tie rod. Total length was about 8.5". Screw on the tie rod ends. Remove the ball studs from the original pitman arm and steering arm and ***emble so that the drag link is roughly parallel with the ground to avoid bump steer.
Like everyone is saying, less wood in the low cab and they already look great without a chop. I replaced all the wood in mine with square tubing without much trouble. My rear fenders were shot, so I had to replace with gl*** ones - I picked widened ones as I don't like how the narrow stock ones looked anyways. Google Jim Carter chevy truck parts - he has a great catalog full of both repro salvaged parts. I haven't found any rust patch panels anywhere for a 36 chevy truck, but I was able to fab eveything i needed and I'm no expert. I had a tough time replacing my running boards, but a nice pair will pop up on ebay every month or so.
Here is mine it is a low roof. The only wood was the door post and a piece that goes under the dash that connects to the door posts. I ordered the wood but it was a bear to install. I think I would replace with metal if I had to do it again. Maybe rob the pillars from a 37-38 cab.
Here's a '35.......I would have rather had a low cab 36 or 37, but for what I gave for this cab I couldn't turn it down. Plus the wood had already been taken out and replaced with tubing.
Low/high both have there advantages. High cabs chop easy and look sinister. With a low cab you can go with a 37-8 witch look identical to the 36s but without the termites. they went all steel in 37. Heres my 37 with 4" out of the lid. Witch happens to be torn apart in my garag waiting some shiney stuff!!
robert56, THANK YOU for sharing that info., I have a '40 p/u I'm doing and am dealing with the whole lowering, steering brakes right now - thats good info you have!
so the new non-tapered tie rods fit in the holes where the ball-studs used to live with no mods? Did you have to shorten or lengthen the arm coming off the steering box to get the drag link parallel to the ground?? thanks-
like i said, pictures dont do any justice now, its a project but its stock minus the brakes and the rearend. so its to the point now where you could go any direction with no issues. comes with the bed, doors, fenders and running boards as well which arent shown in the pictures. it also has matching chrome ansens for the front
After you remove the ball studs, the tie rods drop right in. If you place the front tie rod end so it is below the steering arm, the drag link winds up about parallel with the ground - no further mods needed.
I like the way 36 low cab looks un choped iam building one as we speak its no ford but its starting to grow on me the wood was a pain but replased it all with steel much better now just my two cents worth good look i could use a windsheild frame if someone has a extra the would like to part with
Guy W, Here are some more pics of my truck that you asked for. It's a '35 chevy....I'm not happy with the grill yet....It still needs some work. PM me if you have any questions.....THanks, Ryan
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