So....im thinking about buying one of these, problem is i cant really find any threads on here to help teach me about them. I am more familiar with Model A's....which this site seems more like Model A fans also. Wondering if someone can send me links or post some pics with info on their own 33-34 chevy. I plan on buying an ALL ORIGINAL one. i dont know if the stock chevy's came out with hydraulic or mechanical brakes in the 30's....but i plan on going on hydraulic if its not (what years are interchangable?) also, whats some things to do to hop up the engine? i know for a model a...i went with a T5 ******, B crank and cam with HC head and weber Carb...ect whats your guys opinions and some websites to give me some insite. thanks guys. the main things i want to learn about is the engine....some interchangable ******s (unless if this one shifts good already) and suspension/brakes basic and hop-up stuff...whatever you can throw at me
I think there just aren't as many Chevy's saved because of all the wood in them. In my opinion they are every bit as nice looking as the Ford's and a little different. Finding a good solid one to start with should be a plus. Good luck.
Can't say that i've seen too many hopped up chevys with original drivetrain and all. The only thing about them, as was mentioned earlier, is to watch out for all the wood bracing and make sure it's good. I've got a 32 coupe im building but didnt start with much and didnt use much original chevrolet. Thought about puttin a 265 or 283 in it with a later model ****** and rearend?
OOOOH, ya i remember seeing yours....its gorgeous looking coupe, just not quite in my price range. Ya, i've been doing alot of research...but still cant find much info about the engine or suspension. the only thing i found out, is about the wood....chevy's used alot of wood up intill 1937...hence why not alot of people hot rodded them out as compared to ford's
I wouldnt mind just rebuilding the engine to all original...but would there be anything to upgrade on it? i dont know if the distributor is manual or electronic.. if the crankshaft is balanced or if i can lighten the fly wheel. does the ****** shift good?
I have a 1933 Chevrolet, (not the one in my avatar ) that does have the original 206.7 three main beaing inline six and it does have a Winfield intake manifold the same vintage as the car and welded steel exhaust headers. The parts are hard to find and expensive. My suggestion is to install a later 235 and look for people driving old six cylinder Chevrolets and ask them what they did and how they did it. I live in Oregon and know about the cars parked outside disolving in the rain. There is a second reason why old early 1930's Chevrolets did not survive and that is because they made too many changes to the engine and transmission between 1929 and 1936. The parts look the same but they don't really interchange. When cars get near the end of their life they depend on keeping running by cannibalizing other cars in the junk yard. Somebody running a junker beater in the depression would not know this and probably try fixing the car with parts that would not work. He would then probably abandon the car. Fords did interchange with other Fords. Get a pre World War Two Hollander interchange manual and you will see what I am talking about.
like it's been said already because of the amount of wood in them there just aren't alot of them, 2 fellas in our club had chevys a 33 and a 32, if you find a good body with some reinforcing they make nice cars chevy made so many changes in the early years the engines can be a pain and performance parts are rare and expensive if you can even find them in general it will typically take more time and money to build a chevy and it will be worth less in the end, but if you get a great buy on it, good for you
I have a nice 33 chevy and its a wood frame with sheet metal nailed to it. I would take everyones advice and not try and work with the original engine. That black coupe on the hamb for sale in Calif. is a great buy to me, you will never be able to fix one up for the price of that car. Fenders are very rare, the piece behind the spare is super rare. 33's are nice looking with plenty of room inside the car compared to a ford. There are quite a few around here, my car is street rodded with A/C heat etc. and I want around 33k for mine and its a very little driven car. good luck
They're great cars! I've had mine for a few years. Like everyone is saying.... It's hard to find a good one. The wood is a big factor, so be careful. The cars are full of it... The one nice thing about an early Chevy is the ROOM! They are much bigger inside than a 32-34 Ford. I had a '34 Ford at the same time as my Chevy here, and there is twice the room in the Chevy. Lots more leg room and they much wider than the Ford's. Anyway here's mine... it's an old school hot rod, All steel with a Big Block Chevy, 4-speed and original style interior. Mine could be bought! I've been thinking about letting it go.... I hate to say it but if you are wanting an early Chevy you're better off stepping up to the plate for a nicer car or buying one done. It is sad to say but it is usually cheaper than building one yourself...
Ya, alot of people have been telling me your better off buying a restored one vs redoing one. But if i can get a complete body with fenders for a fraction of the price, with solid wood, it sounds like a deal to me. I might toss out the original engine and do the 235....does the engine mounts match up, and does the frame need anymore reinforcment....or its well off the way it is? do most people switch up the suspension and brakes from there 30's to parts from the 50's also? does the wheel base match up to be able to switch up the front and rear axle?
In a nutshell: nothing matches up and nothing fits. Do a search here on 32 chevy. And 33 Chevy and 34 chevy. it will give you tons if info. Easier than waiting for posts to this thread. You will surely learn more and lwarn it quicker if you use the search function. In my 33 I am going old school: using the stock axle and dropping it. I will box the frame and change the middle x member. I am going to use a 54 - 235 or 261, Saginaw 4 speed, overdrive and 37 sedan torque tube.
If your looking for another early 30's car....i would stick with what you know, which is the Model A... I am also a fan with the early Chevy's, but i wouldnt dare mess with them because of the h***le, searching for parts.....and being able to cough out the overprice parts to properly restore the car.
Well originally...i wanted to learn more bout the stock engine and rebuilding it/hopping it up (which i couldnt find anything about it on here) WAIT! actually, i cant really much info on here compared to the Model A's I also tried searching which hydraulic brake spindles hook up to the stock 33 axle...but no luck with that. in fact....all im finding is info about how chevrolet had so many variations that alot of the parts are not interchangable.
]Had my 33 chev 5 window for abt 20 years now. All I got was the body, grille and hood top. Channeled it 4 1/2 inches. Be sure the wood is in good condition or the car will be a real nightmare to get correct. Make sure the doors don't stick out at the bottoms when closed. The wood is so hard to get out with the metal wrapped around it that you have to chisel it out in little pieces and the nails are spiral so they just don't pull out easy. I have hundreds upon hunderds of hours taking all the wood out of my car and replacing it with tubing. Good luck....Greg
Everything is relative. Compared to Model A's, you arent going to find very much info here - or anywhere for that matter. Compared to other things, you will find a lot of info on the early Chevys. Its all relative. Go to www.droppedaxles.com and read Sids articles on Chevy spindles - it will answer all your questions on the axles and brakes.
heres a few pics of mine, its running a bored and stroked 261, packard trans, 55 chev rear, you have to fab up a crossmember to old up the bellhousing mounts, the front of the engine mounts to the front crossmember, this car runs all stock suspension front and rear, with a dropped axle, mid 50's chevy hydralic brakes, I can give you details if you need them, there great cars, dont let the wood bother you, mine has orig wood, and i have another car with steel replacing the wood, its not that big of a deal.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=384431 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=258189
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323303 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=420771 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18390 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=464046 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=313392 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=484206 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=475013 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=465366 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323290
If you're going to do it, I suggest a solid car to start with. I made the mistake of buying my '34 town sedan after someone had started hacking...a roof section, a new floor, and about a mile of tubing later it's back to a solid state. So much was messed up and out of square...it would have been done a long time ago if it wasn't for fixing what was messed up. Chevy parts are expensive and hard to find. They are not fully sourced by the aftermarket in steel, so you are stuck with fibergl***, paying a premium for solid, or making due with less than perfect and tying too many hours into it to make it work! All that said, I love my '34 (and may even get it done one day). Good luck!
32-35 Chevys are cool, and the 33's are one of those one year only cars... and parts are rare and hard to find... period. The ch***is is the easy part... The original frames are nice and heavy and very usable if they aren't rusty or rotted. the suspension on the other hand... why would you want to interchange anything. It's all 73 years old! the springs are thick and stiff, the steering is usually loose and worn out, and the rear axle is useless with the gear, not to mention the closed driveshaft. the original ch***is can be modified easy enough... or you can build a new ch***is with a little bit of tubing and know how. I'm NOT SAYING MINE IS RIGHT... I'm saying this is how mine is set up and my car drives like a dream and handles like it's on rails.... the frontend has been completely changed the parallel springs and original axle are gone. It has been replaced with a Model A style front cross member and a six inch drop tube axle and buggy spring and hairpins. it also was moved forward aprox 6 inches for better placement of the wheel in the fender. also with the front axle moved forward the car sits super low in the front, plus because of the wheels being more forward they pick up the front sheet metal and frame before it hits anything when pulling into a drive or speed bump. The car still stays true to the traditional style though... it does run early Chevy drum brakes on the front and a corvair steering box. the rear of the car is very simple a 9" Ford pos. with later parallel springs a small/short ladderbar and coil over springs... simple and effective. the car rides a little stiff on big bumps but it doesn't rub or when I let the horsepower hammer the body doesn't move or get into the tall tires I'm running. the frame is also fully boxed from front to back with two tubular X-members 1 placed about in the middle under the cab of the body and 1 one between the rails starting from the axle location and going down the lower slope of the rear frame. I think a lot of people think my car is a newer Street Rod because of its stance... but the car is VERY TRADITIONAL. It's built like they would have in the 60's or early 70'... it's just all hidden LOL! I've drove my car to several events 3 to 5 hours (one way) away and enjoyed every minute of it! I'm sorry to say that I didn't build this car (but I have built several Model A's and other cars/trucks in the past) a man in Lincoln, NE did. He is big into drag racing and it shows. I think the car would hand a 1000hp easy. And he done a very nice job of keeping it simple clean and traditional. The bodies on these cars on the other hand is a different story.... like Jville_hot_skater said... the early Chevy's are a h***le! unless you find a complete car the searching for parts, the wood in the bodies is not an easy job that is for sure. but the end result is much more rewarding... take it from me. It's funny but no matter what event I go too (nothing against the Ford guys, but damn I get tired of looking at 32, 33 & 34 Fords) when I pull in, I'm usually the only one there with a 1933 Chevy! Early cars aren't cheap... I seen a really nice complete 3 window in Springfield, MO at the swap this year. The didn't have an engine or gl*** but it was super straight, and the body was killer, but it was also $15grand. I'm sure you can find a nice one cheaper if you look around enough. hell the little 'ol man down the street might even have one in his shed for a few hundred bucks, but like I said in my earlier post... and I know its hard to do, but if you think you want an early Chevy, pony up and buy a good one. It will save you TONS of work and even more cash in the end. let me know if I can help you out... if you need pics, measurements... etc.. Good Luck!
I have a 33-5 window I removed all the wood and replaced it with steel and tubing. I don't remember it being all that tough but that was 18 years ago and I have sleep sence then. I chopped it 2-5/8" and channeled over the frame. Replace the floor I made up hat channels like the Ford "A" with steel inserts. It has been on the back burner for the last 15 years,(lack of room) but I'm just now starting to work on it again
Nice car -what do you have for the front suspension may keep mine after reading this thread http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/1967585415.html
The mechanical brakes on the Chivvys are quite adequate. I can set them up to lock up on pavement. They do fade on long downhill grades, as in mountain driving but that knowledge is enough to prepare, downshift, etc. I would not convert them on a car of mine, unless the present ones are completely worn out and the conversion was primarily an economy measure. Otherwise, there's a kit sold to upgrade the front 'beam axle to discs, is reasonably priced. Anybody thats doing that usually replaces the enclosed drive shaft with a donor rear axle with hydraulic brakes. What condition is the present motor?
Somehow I missed this thread.. I literally dug my '33 5w out of the dirt, it was my great grandfather's car, and my great uncle drove it in the 40's-50's. He's still alive, really loved the car, but he tells horror stories about how unreliable it was. Engine, suspension, brakes, and steering issues. One time the tie rod fell off and he ran off the road and through a fence. My grandma (his sister) hated to even ride in the car...haha. But in all fairness, he drove it like he stole it and lived out at our family ranch which had terrible gravel roads, so the car got beat up too. My car was just a shell, but I can vouch for what these guys are saying, to restore one to original is very tough unless your car is very very complete. You just can't find parts. I plan to convert to ford-style tranverse leaf spring front end, all new steering and brakes, etc.
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