A local guy has advertised a 42 chevy coupe for sale. Tag reads Style 41-1227B Body # 3258. The paint and trim #'s are not readable. It appears to be mostly complete although rough. Front grille, headlights and bumper intact, all sheetmetal present and solid but plenty of dents in fenders and trunk lid, rear bumper missing. Interior very rough. All upholstery is rotted out. Some rust through in floor. Some gl*** cracked. (is this just plate gl*** that is easily replaced with new safety gl*** or is it hard to find) Six cylinder engine is present but missing a few parts and does not run, Don;t know if it is stuck or not. Radiator is absent. He is asking $600 OBO. I am a newbie to the hot rod world so I thought maybe some you old hands around here could steer me straight. What would a fair offer be. I am looking to build a hot rod with my 11yr old son. This will be an ongoing project and I expect it to take several years. I would like to build it in the tradition of a southwest VA moonshine runner. Body would remain pretty much stock looking and un***uming but the ch***is would be highly modified or replaced to handle a decent amount of power. I have a 1970 BBC 396/402 that could be used for the powerplant if it would fit. (need advise here, is this a good candidate or bad idea?) Are there modern ch***is that will swap out fairly easy with the '42 and handle a mild BBC build? I am not looking to do an all original restoration. I am fully open to custom fabricating things by hand for this or using replica parts. We would probably reserve the motor and ch***is in case we decide later to put it back to stock. In your opinions, would this be a good first time project for us? How hard & $ will it be to find or manufacture a rear bumper and any other missing body parts to look stock. I can weld and have done some fabrication work and body work although I never learned any good technique for hammer/dolly etc. so I expect I will need to watch some youtube and ask lots of questions or find someone to show me a few tricks as this car would need it. Sorry for so many ?'s
The 42 Chevy coupe that I am building for my daughter I put a mustang II under the front and a ch***is engineering rear spring kit on the back. I wouldn't tey to utilize another ch***is since both of these kits work extremely well. Just my 2 cents worth
I suggest you get a subscription to a couple street rod magazines for you and son to look at for ideas and go to alot of car shows together. The ideas you see and friends you make will all help plus a great bonding time for both of you. Good luck and dont go too wild on first build its real easy to lose interest if project is to long or complicated. Just my 2 cents worth Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Tag with "41" prefix, I thought would be a 41 Chevy. Look on Google Images, to see what a 41 looks like, as they are way different than the 42 nose. Gl*** was saftey plate with plastic bonded in. A gl*** "kit" from an antique gl*** place might be a lot more money than finding a rural gl*** shop that does flat gl*** cutting for tractor, backhoe, construction equipment. first time build, keep it simple. Fix all the bodywork first, before spending money on engine and ch***is mods. Most newbies end up with a lot of money in a ch***is, but give up when they can't fix the rot. The project can't be sold without a big loss then. I'd never run that 402 gas hog. It has torque, but not really a good hotrod motor, and it's heavy.
Take a look here http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=694183&highlight=41+chevy These make some great hot rods I almost got one but didnt so I cant speak from experience but my research. The suspension is easy to upgrade as most of it bolts on and off. And frame swaps aren't easy, ever. With a frame swap you dobeliminate a few minor problem but cause yourself a situation that resembles being pecked to death by a duck plus and about twice as many more headaches as you were attempting to eliminate. Some guys love that abuse. I'd look at the available bolt in upgrades for the front ch***is and the rear is easy to reconfigure. A few well placed reinforcements on the existing and it should handle all that BBC can throw at it.
A very good car to rod. I have a '46 which would be identical to the '42 with a slight difference to the grille. The frame is very stout, but narrow in the front, that BBC might need tight exhaust manifolds or over the frame headers to fit. These cars all had sixes in them from the factory. There are kits to put different rears under them or a little research might show you how to use the stock springs with a different rear. I put Must.II from an actual Mustang II under mine, it fits like it's meant to be there. The stock front suspension unbolts from the frame with about a dozen bolts. Bigger disks from a Granada help it stop. Great looking cars and a '42 is rather rare.
Rear bumper interchanges with the 46-48 cars so a replacement should be easy to find. Bumper guards I believe are different but the bumper is the same. Gl*** is all flat and easily replaced except for the rear window, that's curved. $600 for any pre-war coupe that's buildable seems cheap enough. If you dig into it and decide it's not for you or you find something better I'm sure you could part it out for a profit.
It sounds like the car may be a 41 rather than 42 by the trim tag but I kinda like the 40 & 41's better anyway as they always looked a bit leaner to me. First, ch***is swaps usually end up as incomplete train wreck projects and even when completed I would say usually diminish the value of an old car. Use the original ch***is and save yourself a ton of fabrication and aggravation. Keep it simple. As much as you may be tempted, try not to dis***emble the whole car at once. If you do small projects one at a time like floors, trunk pan, front end, brake system etc. in little bites, it will be much easier to keep you and your son motivated. Nothing will kill a first time project faster than a completely dis***embled car that feels like it will never go back together. If it were me, I'd invest in a wiring kit, they are worth the money just for the ease of installation alone. For a powerplant a small block chevy along with an automatic trans and a later model rearend would be a reasonably priced swap and hard to beat. If you're looking for the vibe of an old shine runner you probably don't need a highly modified ch***is. Big blocks sure look great but they always seem to be a pain in the *** to make fit.
Good stuff guys, keep it coming. I did a little research last night on the '42. From what I gather they were built in '41 and hit the market fall of '41. If this is the case, would the ID tag say 41 or 42? Is it correct that the fenders on the '42 extended back into the door? If so then this is not a 42 as the guy has advertised it to be, rather it is a true 41? Looking at pictures of it, the fenders do not extend back and the grill looks to be a 41 so I am going to say my first newbie mistake is taking a sellers word on the year of the car they are selling and me not being able pick out the difference in styling. I guess the 41 is not near as rare as a 42 as far as production numbers go. I think both look cool though. I guess the thread should be changed to reflect 41 rather than 42 but not sure how to edit or if its possible. You guys have talked me out of the ch***is swap. Is aftermarket steel available for floor pan replacement or will I need to custom fab them? Just trying to wrap my head around what this will take.
500.00 would be a fair offer but it is probably worth 6. I had a '40 that we adapted '41 sheet metal to the ch***is help up fine to modern HP of the time. If the car was a shine runner back then it would have had the 6 hopped up, not something that I would do but that is what it would have run and heavy rear springs so it wouldn't look too hunkered down when it was carrying a load. It would also be pretty plain so as not to attract attention. Not to change your build ideas just that I am really interested in shine runners.
Here's my input for 600 obo of you don't buy it ill buy it ,600 is a good price buy the less you spend on it the more you'll have later for add ons just feel the guy out see how low he will go or be str8 forward with him the car needs a lot of work I want it what's you bottom dollar and ill get it out of here Also don't worry about how rare a car is if you like it then get it you can make it worth what ever you want depending on how far you take the resto I think its a cool looking car myself and they all deserve to be rebuilt I wish it was closer to me or seriously if you didn't I would well hope you get it And the hole frame swap thing I'd p*** on the mustang 2 setup is nice and easy so is sticking a rear underit Good luck
I've been browsin' some google images and this is the first one that really hopped out at me as a jumping off point. I really like the wheels and the windshield visor.
Price is good, car is decent, make sure there's no ***le issues in your state; Chevys have a ton of aftermarket support and as projects go should be a relatively easy build. If I had it here I'd throw a quick and dirty coat of paint on it and would want $1500 for it. And it would sell.
Sounds like the general opinion is that it would be a pretty good starter project and the price is fair but I need to keep it basic and simple. Maybe it would be best to keep everything stock for now, rebuild the old I6 motor and get it road worthy first, then focus on upgrades one at a time. If I have to, I can give up the idea of the BBC engine but there just something about that rumble i really want. I reminds me of how i felt when i went to my first NASCAR event at Martinsville speedway and they started all the engines at once. That lump in the throat and thunder against your chest makes you want to laugh but you can't type feeling. Like the fiirst hill on a roller coaster or the first time you go over 120 MPH. The SBC'c just don't seem to give me that same feel. My son is a car fanatic. He loves to draw concept cars and has quite a bit of artistic ability. We have done car shows since he was 2 and he never grows tired of cars. He is ready to move past hotwheels and legos though and start putting real wrenches in his hand and grease up to his elbows. i found a couple more pics of '41s I like although some go in a little different tradition than the moonshine runner. The '41 makes a sweet lookin' ride. for some reason the attachment function is coming up blank after upload and the pics disappear. Ill keep tryin.
Buy it, build it, drive it....you'll find getting most parts easy including some NOS stuff trim etc. Done right its a comfortable quiet driving car. My 47 is essentially the same body. Ck out Chevy's of the 40's https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/ I re-built my to look mostly stock from an old cobbled up rod.
Many vehicles were registered as being the year they were first registered, though I do not think it would have sat around do to the shortage of vehicles with the war. More common on trucks used in rural areas as they often were not registered if used on the farm/ranch and rarely on public roads, then later sold or given to a relative to use and registered for the first time when the vehicle was several years old- imagine a kid going to register the 10 year old vehicle that grandpa gave him- well grandpa said he bought it about 8 years ago so it must be a ....., and many states did not require the paperwork on a family transfer as no tax was due so they just entered what was given.
Don't waste your money on rebuilding the original 216. If you want to keep the drivetrain mostly stock, find a good running 54-up 235 to put in it. You should be able to find a good useable one for around $300, lots of them around when guys swap v8's into their 50's Chevys, and it'll still bolt up to the original 41 transmission. Plus they have full pressure oiling which is much better than the 216 splash oil system.
As noted above, make sure it has a clear ***le... many states are getting really picky, and difficult to register some of the old iron.... My buddy just picked up a '41 sedan a couple of months back, and is driving the wheels off it. They are great cars... Tom
Buy it. Its Much less than what I gave for mine and it looks like it might be a little more solid. As for the motor, many used that for the "***le" so keep it until it all squared away, regardless of the motor path. Parts are available and reasonable. Additionally, as noted, the Ch***is Engineering Inc stuff is top notch and as simple as it can be to modernize it. I have a '41 Tudor sedan in the garage being rebuilt now.
Buy It, Build It and Run the rubber off. I bought a 41 back in 93 for $900. Sounds like mine was a bit better than what your describing. I decided to go pretty much stock, rebuilt the friction shocks and complete front end suspension through contacts in Hemmings Motor News, cleaned and POR'ed the ch***is and a basic brake job all around. Ran well, drove well and had a cool look in the original Green paint. Before I even started on the body and paint a gentleman stopped by one day while I was working on it and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Sold her for a healthy profit. Good luck on the project whichever way you decide to go. It will be a great father/son project. Really like the rum runner theme.
I have a stock 41 Chevy runs great and it starts right up even when the temps fall to 25 degrees. I could more than the 80 0r so hp.I love the way it rides
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