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'39 Chevy Coupe project.

184K views 2K replies 24 participants last post by  1937Austin 
#1 ·
Nothing really to report, but figured I'd start this here vs. keep posting on the swap meet thread. So here's the same images from the swap meet.











The seller delivered it late yesterday afternoon during another downpour of rain. So even assessing the car just wasn't any fun after getting soaked unloading it. And unloading proved to be a chore too!
First the seller trailer had a 3/4" plywood deck that was rotted, so one rear tire sunk into the deck creating a hole! Then as we rolled it off the front tire turned with no steering box. As I went up to turn it the other tire was pointed a different direction! That's when I looked underneath and noticed the tierods weren't connected! Independent front wheels didn't make steering it off the trailer very easy!
Finally got it off, and then with a guy on each front wheel we tried to push it into position and keep the wheels parallel. Wasn't easy, but got it done. Then I simply covered it up, and went inside to dry out.
But some really good news too! I never looked at the title, or asked what state it was from. But turned out to be a current Oregon clear title, and a matching vin tag he had inside the same envelope! So it wont even need a vehicle inspection like an out of state car would need! One less hassle, and expense for me!
Hopefully we'll get a break in the rain someday, and I can get all the parts out of the car, and get a closer look at what I'm up against with the rust repairs.
 
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#510 ·
Great work Vall. Looks like you’re working off a punch list. I know I’m probably too late but just in case you can do this. I cut a piece of stainless and welded it to the body. Then I took the rest of the piece and mounted the fuse box and relays. Mounted the fuse box with screws so it can drop any time for work needing to be done. I even mounted my Msd there so it can be dropped and serviced.
I used stainless self tapping screws for all my ground leads. You can’t beat stainless as your ground. Anyway. You be the electric man. So I’m sure this is nothing you haven’t done yet.
 
#511 ·
I actually did mount a plate high on my driver's kick panel Mario. But then after bolting the fuse block to it I found it didn't hide the fuse block very well, so I tore it back off. I finally decided to remove the hand parking brake assembly because I wont be using that. It allowed me to drill a pair of holes to match the fuse block, and I bolted it on with 1/4-20 x 2.5" long bolts. So it can be removed in case I ever needed to.
I'm pretty anal about grounds, but hadn't considered SS screws. I'll take that idea for sure! I drill and tap all my ground screws if possible. If the metal is thin I use screws and nuts behind as I don't care for self tappers, unless it's a last resort for grounds.
I also didn't use the rubber body shims that came with my '39 as I prefer the body bolted direct to the frame for better grounding. It does add a little vibration transfer, but these aren't high end custom cars, so I expect a little road noise transfer anyway.
This wiring harness is a new one for me. I've used the Speedway 20 ckt. GM harnesses previously, and love them. But this one was $85 vs. twice that for the Speedway. And it comes with a fan relay, and some features the Speedway harness doesn't have. So far I like it, and the diagrams that came with it make it very versatile for almost any year car with alternator, or generator, and old or new steering column. Takes a little longer to build, but I think it will be better when it's done.

No work yesterday on the '39 as we had gorgeous sunny high 40's! I decided to finally break down and put the new mufflers I've had for 6 months on my Burb. So I chopped off the old, and welded in the new Walkers. I'm a bit shocked how bad the old mufflers were, as they didn't sound as bad as they looked off the truck! They literally fell apart once I cut them off! Both muffler inlets and outlets fell off, and the ends were cracked and leaking!
I guess I got used to the drone, and rumble, but it was amazing how quiet it was on my drive to our Tue. car club meeting last night! I think I like the quiet version!
 
#512 ·
Had to repair the alternator adjustment arm on the Suburban today. Of course it's been 6 years I guess that I've owned it, and after the head work the belt began slipping. But someone made up the adjustment arm, and it was too short, and sort of cobbled welds.
So I removed the arm and cut off all the crap welds, and welded up a longer arm so the adjustment would be in the middle of the arm.
After that I pulled the bucket seats from the '39 and cleaned up the rear floor area. Laid down the sound deadener on the floor, and inside the 1/4 panels. I ended up with almost one roll leftover, plus a roll of the foil tape also. I might put two layers on the firewall since that area transfers the most heat to the interior.

 
#513 ·
looks real cozy in there Vall. is that the foil from Home depot you told me to buy? i still haven't used it in the MG yet.
 
#514 ·
Yes Mario, that's Frost King. Home Depot has it, but I bought 4 rolls off Ebay seller for a few dollars per roll cheaper. I paid a bit over $15 per roll and free shipping. It's Frost King FV516. I checked the Ebay seller I bought from and they've raised their price to $24 a roll now. HD is cheaper now than the Ebay sellers. And Amazon and Lowe's have it for $18.98 also.
 
#515 ·
Started back in on the wiring, and ran into trouble. First I decided to mount the headlight switch, and use the factory hole. I put the fuse block too close to the dash, and being pretty high up it interfered with the switch mounting. So had to move the fuse block back towards the firewall to make room. Then I got to routing wiring, and decided to make up the dash area. Got wires sorted out and hooked up all the gauges. Then went to mount the panel and my panel hit the headlight switch too!! So again I had to stop and trim the panel off as short as possible on the left end so it wouldn't hit the switch.
Finally I got the gauges and steering column all done, and tidied up the dash wiring. Then I laid out the rear harness and saw it had tons of length. So instead of running it on the floor, I snaked it up the A pillar and above the driver's door on that side. Then dropped it down the C pillar at the rear, and into the trunk area. Still lots leftover to make up the taillights, especially since they're up high on the sides about halfway down the 1/4 panels.
I pulled all the extra wiring out of the looms that is for items I don't have nor ever will have. Also have about 10 extra circuits I'll land on a terminal strip so if I want to ever add anything it will be easy to just land the power on the strip.
Masked off the dash, and engine bay also, so I can begin sanding the body down to prepare to shoot epoxy sealer. Next week looks like we will get into the 50's, and if I'm ready I can add a little heat to the shop and prime the whole body.
 
#516 ·
My butt is dragging! 4 hours of non stop paint stripping with the paint stripper discs. But those "sponge" looking discs sure do a great job, and pretty fast. My little Harbor freight 4.5" angle grinder never shut off for more than a minute to move my step stool, or change locations.
Took another hour after I quit to finish vacuuming up dust! Didn't want to use air to blow it out as I figured it would end up settling back on the car again. I'll have multiple wipe downs before it's clean enough to shoot the epoxy primer.
The good news is I didn't find a single speck of body filler other than what I spread on the patch panels I put in. I did however find one more rust hole in the top of the cowl. Also found some dents above the rear window that appear to be from some kid climbing up on the roof. But the rest the roof is perfect, so guess they didn't get far. I think most will tap out with a hammer and dolly, and need almost no filler.
You can maybe see them in this image about 6" above the window. Just a few ripples.









Didn't strip the trunk lid or fenders as the lid is fiberglass, and fenders have been smoothed out already, and can just get primer now. I will eventually shoot the glass frontend, but not until it's test fitted and I know if it's ready to go on.

 
#517 ·
Nice canvas to work with Vall. Love old steel. Get that epoxy primer on there. Be careful with heat and cool cycles causing condensation before you shoot the primer on the bare steel.
 
#518 · (Edited)
Mario is right you can trap a lot of moister under that type of primer...you may want to sweat that steal with heat lamps before you spray it...and do it in sections...I would even consider doing an acid etch on the whole car, or self etching primer to treat rust pits and prevent future rusting...you are making a lot of progress on this one...nice that the drip rails look in great shape....is Mikes coupe making any progress?
 
#519 ·
No problem with warming/cooling cycles here lately! Today's temps were low of 44 degrees, and high of 46 degrees. And tomorrow will be slightly better with lows of 46 and high of 51 degrees. I plan to warm the shop up tomorrow to around 65 degrees, and give it numerous wipe downs, plus go over it with scotch brite pads and another wipe down prior to shooting it.
Lash can you elaborate on why priming it one panel at a time would be better? I thought it would be best to get it coated as soon as possible to eliminate flash rusting? If there's any doubt I'll do whatever to ensure it's got a good base before shooting the epoxy sealer. I only want to do this once.
 
#520 ·
PS- Mike's coupe is out of my hands now. After we pulled the body he cleaned it up and shot it in epoxy sealer. Then he did a few minor repairs to the body and planned to reinstall it. But he's had bad hips for awhile, and the doctors scheduled him for a hip replacement on both hips! First will be Dec. 16th, and then the other 3 months later. So the coupe is stalled until he's done and back in good shape.
 
#524 ·
Got out there this morning and put my portable heater inside the car as Lash suggested. Then ran to Home Depot for tack cloth and a bunny suit with a hood to keep the paint off me. When I got home I did a dry wipe down, and then a second. Then did a few wipe downs with the tack cloths, and mixed up some primer.
I got my big 40 gal. air compressor out of storage, and set it up outside the shop. Then ran the hose inside and hooked up my old spray gun. I did a test spray and the darn gun wouldn't work properly. Fortunately I had a second brand new gun in the sidelines, so I grabbed it quickly and assembled it. Poured the primer in and went to work spraying. Of course I shut the heater off first and took it out of the car.
It laid down really well, and I did as Mario suggested in a phone call, and added some "fast" reducer to make it dry quicker with low temps. I painted it in 4 sections starting with the roof, then the trunk area, and finally each side. I had an issues with the seal on the lid of my gravity feed gun, and it dripped occasionally which created some runs where it landed on wet primer. And of course I had some other runs from getting the coats too heavy. But all in all it went great, and it's done.
I now recall how much I dislike the smell of automotive paint too! Even with a good respirator on it just doesn't really stop all the smell. At least the respirator kept me from getting a headache from the fumes!









 
#525 · (Edited)
How many coats did you put down Vall? I was glad you mentioned respirator. We never talked about that. Very important my friend. Don’t mess with urethane epoxy. I had asthma attacks from that stuff. Protect yourself even when mixing both parts. Looks good. Lay down in the cool weather is always better than the heat and having to slow it down. Runs do happen in the cold too. You could probably wet sand the drips during the end of the cure time but be careful it has set completely. You don’t want to lift up down to the meta. Did you use all the primer you have?
it still looks like a good canvas.
 
#527 ·
looks good...do not worry about drips and runs.... she is covered and will not rust...when you do the body work there is going to be plenty of boo boo's and stuff that will need to be gone back over any way...I bet putting the heater inside warmed up every thing doors and all....well except the rear fenders
 
#528 ·
Yeah, I wasn't as worried about the rear fenders since they had been skim coated to true them up already. So no bare metal on them anyway. Lots of finish bodywork to do ahead, but at least I can relax and take my tme now that the bare metal is sealed.
Finally got my -10AN to -6AN reducers, so I can build up the fuel line now. I'll also run the main battery lead now since I want to use one mounting screw to hold both straps for fuel and battery cable. Saves drilling more holes, and they will be spaced apart by the straps.
 
#529 ·
Picked up my driveline today and installed it in the '39. Then I filled the differential with friction modifier and grease. Got my taillight housings stripped and shot with etching primer, and then mounted both with new body gaskets I made from old inner tube. That's when I realized I have two driver's side housings! Crap. So the one on the passenger side would have an upside down lens if I leave it. Most wont see that, but I'll know it's there, so need to locate another.
Put my tires and wheels back on today so I can push the car out to get the frontend set on it. I'll get my nephew to assist since he's coming over in the near future to pick up my old Suzuki quad for his son. I never use it, and he has a 10 acre farm. His 8 year old wants to drive his Polaris 750 all the time, and it's way too much. My little 230 will be better, so I'll give it to my great nephew to play on.

Need some input on jetting my 700 cfm Demon carb. It's a vacuum secondary carb, with 4 corner jetting. It has 74's in it now, and that seems kinda large for my 350? Even with my .513" lift, 286 duration, roller cam. I think maybe something around 64-66 would be better. What do you guys think?
 
#530 ·
I never jetted a carb with 4 corner idle circuit. I’m gonna say 64-66 is too lean. 513 cam with headers will probably take at least a 70 as a starting point. Just my gut feeling. Idle mixture screws will tell a story right away.
 
#531 ·
Thanks Mario! Maybe I better just leave it with those 74's and try it. I pulled the carb apart todaay to put a rebuild kit in it and found all new parts in it! But the accelerator pump was hard as a rock! So I grabbed the one out of the kit and put it in. I'll reassemble it now with those 74's and leave it alone.

I found this Quick Fuel video on 4 corner adjustment. Sounds like they don't think it needs much adjusting? But says whatever you adjust one corner to, adjust the others to match. They recommend 1.25 turns per corner to start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJg8GTlnIH0

The Demon has glass float windows, and knurled thumb knobs for idle/air adjustment, so no tools needed to easily change adjustments.


I also measured the stance today, and found the body is 1" higher in front vs. rear. So it looks like I hit my goal of trying to get it pretty level. It's 14" to the bottom of the frame rails.





 
#532 ·
You are

cranking on this build Vall!! You are going to learn to love those knurled mixture screws. I remember when I posted about mine and if memory serves you said you weren't aware of them. With twin side mounted carbs, they're a life saver. Hell, for that matter they make life easier even with a single carb.
 
#533 ·
cranking on this build Vall!! You are going to learn to love those knurled mixture screws. I remember when I posted about mine and if memory serves you said you weren't aware of them. With twin side mounted carbs, they're a life saver. Hell, for that matter they make life easier even with a single carb.
I bought this Demon carb at a swap meet long before I bought the coupe. It was $40 and looked really good, so one of those things I just thought I could use someday, and if not sell it too a buddy.
I installed the Edelbrock RPM Performer on the coupe the other day, so I committed myself to going with this carb. Ordered a finned, polished aluminum 12" oval air cleaner also to get plenty of air to the engine. Looked at a lot of intake setups, and finally asked myself why, when I already had an intake and carb I could use?
 
#535 ·
Better updated picture of the engine with the Edelbrock intake and 700 cfm Demon carb.



Of course right after I locked up and came in the house a package was waiting here with the new finned aluminum oval air cleaner I bought for the engine. Didn't feel like going back out since it's raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock out now!

Got my exhaust hi temp wrap yesterday and wrapped the tail pipes where they parallel the fuel cell. Probably didn't need it at about 1.5" away, but cheap insurance.

 
#536 ·
That 700 will rock with that intake and cam. Good choice. Everything looks great. Say what kind of steering box is that?
by the way don’t forget to cork all the unused vacuum ports.
 
#538 ·
Been dealing with a paralyzed little dog for the last week, so no work on the car. But made up a list of -6AN parts to plumb the carb and ordered parts today. Wow! That stuff isn't exactly cheap! I went all black fittings and hose, and bought a kit to start with, plus a Y fitting to bring the two feed lines together. Then had to order a pair of -6AN inlet fittings for the bowls. It adds up way too fast. But the cheap Chinese stuff was mostly incomplete, and would still need to buy more pieces. Plus it's all chrome, red and blue. Just too colorful for an old school look.
 
#539 ·
I got some time today finally to work on the '39. I had the driveline fitted up with new U joints, and the Ford flange. But I goofed up my measurements, and it was a little too short. Might have worked, but the yoke only went into the trans about 2" and it felt a little sloppy. So I ordered a longer 7" yoke and took it back to the driveline shop. He called today and said it was ready. Went to pick it up, and he had swapped out the new U joint for another new U joint, and installed the new yoke. I asked the price and he said, "No charge."

Unbelievable! My mistake, but he does all the work, and a new U joint for free. And he tried to give me back the shorter yoke too. I asked if they could use the yoke, and he said they could. So I told him to keep it.
Got home and installed the driveline. Then pulled both door window tracks out, and dug the old seal material and broken glass out of the tracks. Surprisingly the 4 screws holding each door track came right out without any trouble. I had shot them with WD40 a couple months ago, so maybe it helped loosen them up? Or maybe I'm just getting lucky
 
#540 ·
Well sounds like things are just going your way. That’s great. Enjoy the ride you deserve it.
 
#541 ·
Thanks Mario! Hope to get fuel lines, and battery cables built and hung under the car today.
I tried to bolt up a good starter I have here yesterday, but it wouldn't clear the bellhousing on the 700R4? I looked online to see what they look like, and it appears the correct starter has a deep dished area around the starter gear for clearance. So I guess I'll end up having to buy a new one instead of dipping into my parts hoard. At least I might use the old one as a core to avoid the $20 core fee.
 
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