Here are some pics of the 32 5 window I have been working on over the last few months. I got the car in Michigan and it was a surprisingly nice rust free body. The car was painted black lacquer 40 years ago and never put back together. Shortly after it was painted the owner decided to chop it 2 5/8 inches. The car was put on a new aftermarket frame with a street rod 4 bar suspension and Halibrand quick change rear. At some point the floor and firewall were removed and used for another project. I brought the car home and decided I wanted to go with a more traditional style car. I removed the 4 bar and tube axle and went with a 4 inch drilled drop axle and stainless hairpins. The photos are the timeline of my progress.
Fast forward to today. I got the frame back from the powder coated and started to reassemble the chassis. The motor is a 396 bored to a 402. 10.1 pistons, 620 hydraulic roller cam, dual 500 edelbrock carbs and a Muncie M22 4 speed.
Not to be a smart ass , but the center section of the frame looks to be a bit light for that big block. Vic
I guess I’m a smart ass too. That frame is not braced enough in the center. Your doors and hood won’t be able to keep paint on the edges.
^^^^^^^^^^^ What they said. Now would be a good time to do that, powdercoat can be touched up with paint in the few spots needed.
Let me be a little more specific. It won’t really be the power of the engine that twists the frame, it will be the roads you drive over. A lot stiffer suspension than Henry Ford designed, and the rails themselves being boxed, I think the center X is required to keep the frame in one plane. Otherwise the front and rear crossmembers, and the few little tubes in the center, will not keep the tin above nice and square.
As you brake and accelerate your axle is going to cause your inadequately braced center crossmember to twist. This can eventually lead to failure at the welds or of the tube itself.
That would be wise; much better to do it now than find an issue later on down the road. Triangulation is your friend.
I found a roll bar hoop that had some decent bends in it and the tubing size was the same as the ladder bar crossmember. I still have a little more fitting to do and then I can get them welded in place. I will run a set of bars forward as well.
I have the fenders but they are in the loft. Someday I might decide to run them but no fenders for now. Thank you!!
With the forward legs too, and then you could have short vertical ties into the trans crossmember, you are creating a much stronger lattice.
Well it took some time to actually get the time to weld the frame supports in but I believe this will make the frame much stronger. Thanks for the suggestions and feedback.
Looking good. This is gonna be a nice car. I'm always amazed how some folks manage to squeeze a big block chevy into these cars, can't beat the pulling power of those motors.
While I’m waiting on the firewall to get back from paint, I decided to replace the black socket head bolts on the rear with some polished 12 point ARP bolts. That is one of the details people will probably never see or notice but it was bothering me.
The firewall is almost ready for paint. There was a lot of work that went into retaining the look of a stock style firewall and still having enough room for a big block Chevy. A little more filler and it's ready for the semi gloss black paint.
Here are a few when I was fitting the firewall and making sure everything fit before bodywork and paint.
Firewall is back from the painter and hopefully in the next few days I will get the master cylinder mounted and the brake lines plumbed
Mounted the master cylinder and pedals today. I also started plumbing the stainless steel brake lines. Trying to keep everything clean and sanitary. I will polish the brake lines once I get them all made.
I got some new tires and finished up the brake lines. Next I’d stainless fuel line and fab up the 3 inch exhaust.
Here are a few updated photos of my 32 build. I had to remove the firewall and have it repainted because the paint started to lift in the corners. I have a few panels to finish welding in and then I can put the body back on the frame.
The Jalopy Journal
