1937 Chevy Coupe

[Dr Crankenstein]

I've been promising a build thread for some time... so here it is.

First and foremost, this is not my car. It belongs to a good friend and I hope my hand serves my friend and his car well. (We'll see how that works out.)

Back story: He and I scoured the 'net and told everybody we knew, we were looking for a '37 or '38 Chevy coupe. Some 3 or 4 years went by and no reasonable, affordable or sensible candidates surfaced... until one of his co-workers "caught wind" and led us to a relative, who supposedly had a '37 for sale...

My buddy got the relative's ph# and gave it a ring. The owner couldn't send pictures, but he said enough to prompt a "leap of faith" and a 4 hour road trip. When we arrived, this is what we found...









... sorry for the crappy phone pics... but it was, indeed, a '37 coupe tucked away in an old highway van for some 15 years. We looked it over, under, inside, out, end to end and the removed sheetmetal as well. I stuck a small magnet (inconspicuously ) to as many surfaces as possible.

We climbed out of the trailer and had a private discussion... needless to say, my buddy bought the car.

That's all for tonight. I'll continue tomorrow.

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[smallfoot]

OK FINE! Post up 3 fugly pix of a hot find and then keep us hangin....

[kenny c]

Ok. You've got our attention.

[lowbudget50]

And then???


Hahaha will be watching.

[hankthebigdog]

Looks like a start, now GET TO WORK AND MAKE IT GOOOOOO. LOL

[Old Iron]

All righty then
Tell me you're gonna lose the 65 Impala tail lights

[bob w]

You're not fooling me, it's a '65 Chev. BTW, nice find.

[Skip]

It's tomorrow.

[Dr Crankenstein]

Easy guys. Everybody's familiar with the speed of light and the speed of sound... this build will move at the speed of smell.

Moving forward at the speed of smell, the seller provided some old snapshots...







Late '70's? We don't know for sure, they were given to the previous owner by the previous owner, if I recall correctly. (Note: The original beam axle is still under the car in these pics.) Dig the crushed velvet, "turbine" wheels, truck-stop front lamps, shag carpet and chrome garnish moldings. The garnish moldings are in nice shape and will remain. Everything else is out the window, including the '65 Chevy tail lights, which I believe are lying in wait for a bonfire... or a trip to the range.

On a personal note, look at the first pic above and the panel alignment. This drives me nuts and I've seen "finished, professionally built high-dollar" cars with equally poor fit. This will be FULLY addressed before it's done... or you'll find us both swingin' from the rafters.

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[53 stickfigure]

Im with you on the panel alignment. I'm going through it. Even if its just a daily driving grocery getter, nothing can ruin a car more than uneven gaps. Even if its just in one small spot it throws the whole car off.