What's up? I have been pondering something for the past 3 minutes here... Changin my '36 Olds More Door...from a Hump Back Whale...to something a little sleeker...I was wondering what it would take to change the rear...if any has done it on a similar car...and things to watch out for...also can I use the back of a '36 Chevy Slant Back?? Should I even dare cut the back off of a '36 Chevy? Your opinions and help are very much appreciated...Here are the pictures of the two cars also...They look WAY better out of the woods...but these are the only pics I have... Also...Does anyone repop front and rear fenders for the Olds?? are they the same as Chevy?
Hey, Many,many hours of metalwork for little gain! Don't those ers GMs still contain a fair amount of wood in them? Go take a good long look at a GM 'flatback' from this era, is that the look you want when it's all said and done? This is most 'doable', but the Olds is what it is, and that's not a bad thing! Swankey Devils C.C. "Meanwhile, back aboard The Tainted Pork"
I think by the time your done....itll be ALOT of work...and not what you wanted. sell the 2 take the money and buy something closer to what you want. But if you do it. Take a picture form the side of both, make copies of them...cut and paste till you find something you like. Good luck!
They both do have wood framing but so did the other cars of the day too... I love that Olds, and really think it would look sharp...and different with the slant back. The chevy does not have a trunk...which would be a downside. I will have to check them both out a little more, but from a quick look at the pics it looked possible. But I quess I need to make a trip to the field. Also...another question...Do all the bodypanels interchange on these cars? For example can I swap the fenders from a '36 Chev 4dr to my Olds? I like the fenders better on the Chevies because they come to a point at the end...instead of the kind of sqaured off ends the Olds has.
Olds and Chev's are on different wheelbase's, and even different for Chev. Standard vs Master. The fenders are different, Olds will be longer due to the longer wheelbase from firewall forward. The grill shells are different, which means the Olds fenders will not bolt (note the term, bolt) in. This doesn't all mean you can't do it, but it won't fall together. These both look SOOOO rusty it's hard to imagine building either one, and I've built some stuff that was barely a pile...Unless they're free for the hauling, and you're a glutton for punishment and want a challenge, it'll be so expensive and time consuming to combine these two to make one car, or build either one, that you'd be better off to find something you really WANT to build. (I can't belive I'm saying this...) Search this site for a thread entitled "Ever have something you can't give away..." or something close, for one HAMB'rs tale of woe trying to sell a '37 or so Olds. Nobody wants it, he says, and he was going to scrap it (?). Think about what to do with it when you're finished, and who might want it, before you dive in. BTW the body framing in these is ALL wood, not just some of it. Building one is a skilled woodworking project, make no mistake. As for opinions, everyone has one, but a '36 Chev two door sedan has to be the worst looking GM car built in the 30's, or ever. No trunk, dumpy styling, wood framed. Gods, they're awful. Brian
Jeez, that would be a mess of very tough work. There are so many compound curves to deal with. I saw an early Chevy that had been changed from a trunk back to a flatblack. Palm Coast Rod and custom in Florida handled the chores, It did look nice but what a tremendous amount of work was involved.
They were both free with 60 other cars and about 30 tractors. They actually aren't that rusty...The fenders are banged up a bit on both but the olds only has some rust on the pass. rockers and a baseball size hole in the drivers side floor pan. I actually like the Chevy...but the I think the Olds would be cooler. Actually Building either one wouldn't be really any different than building a T or A...both wood framed. Any old car you are going to build unless the wood was previously done is going to be an undertaking. I am going to build the Olds, it's really not to bad of a car...yeah the sheet metal is banged up...but everything is there....EVERYTHING....It has a title all the past registrations, license plates, owners/operators manuals, even sales brochures, and parts reciepts. What I'm shooting for is to restore it and then lower it a bit and rework the old dog bone 240 Str 8. I thought the flat back without the trunk would be cool, I may have to access the situation a little better, but if it can be done I'll figure out how to do it...I've started out with a hell of alot worse.
The Olds would definately be the one to build, and if the floors are in it and you're not a novice, go for it. Forewarned is for-armed tho! Brian
Keep the oils all olds...it's better looking [to me] than the chevy and more useful too. Olds/chevy fenders don't interchange. Back in those years, the cars were built on completely different assembly lines.
i believe in 36 there is no differnce between master and standard... 35 was the last year for that. 36 was also the year chevy got rid of most of its wood. in 37 there was basicly none in the car.
Why not? Thanks everybody for the info....I do think I'm going to keep it the way it is...less risk of screwing up a good car. Thanks for the info!! So how about repo things for the olds? does anything exist?
As soon as you want to go anywhere for more than a day, you'll be missing that trunk!! That's why GM flatbacks are rare..
I'll keep that in mind... So how about fenders?!?!?!? No repops? any one know any nice ones for the Olds?
The Jalopy Journal
