Projects I'm all in...My '38 Chevy PU Build Thread

Ha…an adept eye picks up on all the changes in a project. Yes, I have switched to champagne. What can I say I have fine tastes. I’ll update when I can, chances are, you’ll finish yours before me.

 

hi eric every little bit helps.i watch along the carter auto restyling channel on youtube the guy is canadian and does some mighty fine work on rusty lost causes. well worth a watch.dont give up chris

 

Hey Chris! I’ll have to check him out. Don’t worry, I’m not giving up. You should be used to this by now!

 

What were those headers made for ?

Kinda reminds me of my sbc days in my 41 but those headers you have look like they might work on my 57 pickup better than the tri-fives I have.

 

They’re for a 67-87 Chevy truck. Schoenfeld makes them, part# 1346. 1 3/4” primaries and 3.5” collectors. They make them with bigger tubes as well. They fit pretty well, but the two highest tubes hit the fender, so yeah, I’ll be cutting the fenders up. Small price to pay for being an awesome mother f*****r.

 

eric can you just trim the inner fenders?.i was considering making new inner fenders for mine.they were bent up especially the louvers.but i reworked them and they turned out well.however in the summer time the firewall gets very warm and could benefit from more ventilation through to the fenders.i have a 2inch dimple die and may well drill some more holes in them and dimple them to stiffen them up again chris

 

The inner fender wells will be completely gone. I’m going to have to nibble part of the actual fender itself. Not much, maybe a 2”x8” area. I’m going to go with fiberglass fenders in the front anyway, so it won’t be any great loss. And I will have to get creative to make a little extra support for the fenders.

 

Aren't the glass fenders tough to find now ?
When Superior Glass burnt and all the molds with it, it really hurt the Chevrolet fiberglass reproduction parts availability.

 

Hmmm…hadn’t thought about that. Shoot.

 

Looks like Speedway still has them

 

Got one seat riser close to done, just needs a little more hot glue. Pics are a bit out of order. .

 

One year later; I finally finished it! The seat issue that is.

 

Nice work Eric - keep at it - ya doing it

 

Master cylinder mounted up. Made an 1/8” plate for between the pedals and firewall. Will add 3/8” rod from the plate to the dash later.

 

Got some work in on the floor and pedals. Getting close to blowing it apart for prime. Also, got the engine block at the machine shop. Maybe this pile will make noise someday.

And be careful with those wire wheels, they get stuck in the darndest places.

 

Whoa seconds from disaster

 

Almost took the fuzz off your nuts !

 

Haha…they could use a little dusting off anyway!

 

I found after driving my '37 for a couple hours, my legs were going to sleep. I raised the front of the bottom seat for more support, ( factory bench seat ), it made a huge difference in comfort. Setting straight up with no leg support gets pretty old real quick

If you are keeping the old style steering box, up grade to a '41 - '46. They have roller balls and a slower gear ratio, its not quit power steering, but a heck of a lot better then the one they came with. I cut the steering shaft on my '37 and welded it to the '41 gear box so I could keep the '37 wheel and column. The later trucks had a dished steering wheel, which in the '37 puts it right in your face.

 

Thanks Joe. I’ve been sitting in it quite a lot and it seems pretty comfortable. If needed I could always add a block to my seat frames if they need to be raised. The way it sits now, the seats are pitched forward so my legs are pretty straight.
I do have a 41-46 box in it right now, I already rebuilt it as well.

 

Not having a hump in the floor will help. I put a T350 automatic in mine, the hump is right where the throttle needs to be, so I'am kinda cramped. Lookin good so far.

Joe

 

Got the old girl outside to blow the dust off and took some beauty shots. So far…I like what I’m seeing, but I’m bias.

 

Been doing a lot of cleaning and prep….boring stuff. Shot some prime on the floor pieces today so I can keep moving on.


Did a little layout on the dash too.

 

Thanks Chris. Been trying to keep at it for real this time. Getting the engine to the machine shop was very motivating

 

im in the middle of fitting up a nice mild cam at the moment hopefully with more economy compression vacuum and plenty off idle and midrange power.time will tell slan chris

 

You’re going the opposite way of me! I had a nice cam here and ready to go. Decided I wanted something wilder. So the solid roller is on its way to me.