'39 Chevy Coupe project.

Getting ready for the show this Sat. I decided to dig out an old scoop I've had for years and swap it on the '39 for awhile. It's an early Mr. Gasket 3 hole bug catcher designed for a single carb, with the nice heavy cast base. Cleaned it all up, and wet sanded some marks off; then rubbed it out with Mother's polish. Went to try the base on my carb, but it had interference at the choke linkage. So got the die grinder out and relieved the thick base inside to make sure the choke linkage worked. Tried it again, and the darn bracing inside is like 6 spoke wheels and the front spoke hits the overflow tube on the bowls!
I decided to stop there, before doing any major surgery, and try the scoop to the base. Another road block. The scoop width at the front hits my radiator support rods! So to use it I'd have to rework the support rods and rebend them to go out wider to make room for the scoop. I finally just set it aside, and put my old air cleaner back on. Maybe I'll look at it again later this summer when I'm not pressed for time to get things done.

Figured whatever scoop I end up with might not hurt to change the bends in my polished aluminum radiator supports. So got out this morning and unbolted them to change them. Got one side bent up to clear using my 1/2" EMT bender as I originally did. Then just matched up the 2nd side and reinstalled them.
I was a bit surprised the OA length only changed about 1/4" or so shorter, so they fit right back in with just a small adjustment on the firewall end. The butterflies for this scoop were painted an ugly purple, so disassembled them, and used Jasco stripper to remove the paint. Under the paint I discovered the original metallic red powder coating on the butterflies, and the linkage arm! So no polishing needed, just reassemble the butterflies once I make up the linkage to operate off the carb. Have two 10-32 heim ends coming, but wont be here until next week, so I'll leave it open until then.
I think you are right about this scoop though Steve. It's a bit big for the overall look of the '39. So I'll keep looking for something else.

Show was great! Lots of spectacular cars, and saw a bunch of friends there. Fortunately brought a spare chair, so had friends stop and rest while we visited. Weather is hot today, but with the morning schedule I had to wear a pullover sweatshirt until about 10:30 and then it was warm enough to shed it.
Had a mishap on the way home, but no damage to the car. Was driving the freeway, and got near my exit when I began to hear a strange noise. Then I got sprinkles on the windshield, and smelled antifreeze! I looked at the gauge and it was 180, so since I was less than a mile from home I cruised slowly home.
Pulled in the driveway, and jumped out to look and my lower radiator hose was leaking pretty good! So I got out the creeper to look, and it was coming from the top. A flashlight revealed a spot where the hose was cut next to the radiator clamp, which I thought was weird. Ran to the parts store and took the piece of hose with me and bought another lower hose with a 1.75" ID, and a 90 in it. Cut it to fit, and installed it, but still wondered why it got cut? I removed the fan belt and turned the fan, and the blades bumped the new hose! Couldn't figure out why the fan suddenly was too close, so started looking around and saw on the driver's side motor frame mount a crack across the whole top edge where it's welded to the frame. Weld was still solid, but it cracked just above the weld. Looked at the passenger side, and found the same thing, only smaller.
So I'm going to have to pull the headers to get good clearance, and jack the engine up to close the gap, and weld it. Then I'll shape a 2" wide strap to saddle over the top of the frame, and weld it to the frame, and the motor mount, so it takes the torque off the side of the frame.
Probably be a one day job to fix, and since I'm headed to Colorado next week on Wed. I'll put it away, and wait until I return to make the repairs. Guess I should have gone over the top of the frame rails when I built it, and do it right the first time. Live and learn. If I think it might need it, best to just do it the first time, and not have to fix things later.

mmhotrod said:

Don’t worry buddy you’ll get it you know it’ll be fine when you weld it

Click to expand...

I guess I really should have not have expected 84 year old metal to hold well without plating the frame rails in the area of the motor mounts.
My plan now is to make up plates from 3/16" steel to spread the surface area out. I'm going to jack the engine up to close the crack, and then start by welding the crack. Then I'll cut my plates with a 2"x2" notch in them, so they can be slid down over the frame brackets to straddle the brackets. Then I'll weld the plates to the existing motor mount brackets, and plug and perimeter weld the plates to the frame rails. I'm going to also weld a 90 degree top plate so the reinforcement isn't just to the inside of the frame rails, but also on top of the frame rails too. I figure if I make the plates about 6" long on the inside and top of the frame rails it should be plenty stout, and avoid any issues again.
Minor setback, and the toughest part will just be removing the headers, and reassembling after it's all done.