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 [ddd) 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[P

 

[Old Iron]

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

 

[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. [ddd

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.

 

[akatao]

nice score . I bet some one would love those tail lights

 

[sneakysnake]

I like 37 coupes, nice find.

 

[earthman]

Well this is going to be a treat!

 

[Skip]

Something tells me this is not going to be a rat rod. NTTIAWWT

 

[bob w]

Ya Skip, there was mention of panel fit. That's not rat rod talk. Maybe Dr. C is a closet Foosefollower.

 

[Skip]

nice score . I bet some one would love those tail lights

I remember a tech article in Hotrod decades back (like when it was a new car) about getting rid of those tail lights in an Impala, and fabricating long skinny tail lights in the trim strip running between the trunk and bumper.

 

[zzrodder]

Nice, nice! [cl[cl Looks like a rebuild job that someone lost interest in... Time to bring it out of the 70's. Gonna watch this one, looks like a great car to start with.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Sorry to disappoint, fellas. It will be finished, painted and the panels will fit... mark my words!

zz: You are correct. We don't know how long it sat before it took residence in the trailer... I'm guesstimating 25 years since it last ran and drove.

bob w: I don't know anybody named Foose.


Where was I? Oh, yeah... the build...

My friend and I have recently come to understand... we're not very smart... so, using a letter from his first name and a letter from my surname, we are B-tard (him) and A-tard (me). Duotards, if you will.

Small delay. Btard planned to expand his existing garage, or build a separate shop before buying a project, but couldn't... quite... squeeze the trigger... then we found the car and he jumped in with both feet.

The following spring, we retrieved the car and it sat in another trailer while the shop was built, which took us into the following winter before anybody turned a wrench on the car.

Freshly rolled into the new shop...

... not a wrench or toolbox in sight, but trust me, when the tools moved in, the tail lights moved out!

.

 

[Torchie]

Solid looking start good Dr.
I'm sure you will knock the fugly off of it.
And I have found that the speed of smell is faster then either the speed of light or sound.
Just try outrunning the smell of a F#*t....
[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[Skip]

Can we get a couple pics of the shop. The lights at 4 feet up the wall are an interesting idea. What else is going on? Please?