My '36 chevy 2door coach

The Claw · July 29, 2008, 12:26:20 PM

Sup all

I am a newbie to this site and hope to get all or most of the stuff that i am looking for in getting my "old school " ride back on the road. First and formost this will not be a restoration to original as that would take way to long and i might be old and grey by that time.... no pun intended. So this would either be a " Rat Rod " or a street/hot rod

Also i have seen on so many websites that a person could get replacement parts for Almost any car, question is are they any good and are they made of fiberglass or sheet metal ? as well seeing that i am looking to drop a small block 350 into it would i need to do any changes to the chassis seeing that it's such an old car ? Or would it be better to get a new chassis

In regards to the car itself ... it is in a so so half good half bad place in its life .... only has some rust and in the corners of the doors

So yeah ... such is I lookin forward hearing from you all and making some friends in the hotrod world ...

And for those who didnt know i am from South Africa

enjenjo · July 29, 2008, 03:35:57 PM

I moved so it will get more views. Welcome to the RRT.

Just about all replacement parts, fenders ect for your car are made of fiberglass. Most repair parts, rear pan, floors ect are made of steel.

Are you using the stock suspension? brakes? trans? give us a clue, and we'll try to help you out.

Harry · July 29, 2008, 11:33:34 PM

Is the stock front suspension that knee action pile of iron ? If so, that has to go. It will save you a few hundred pounds. The frame should be good. I think they have a X crossmember. But you could put boxing plates along the inside.
There's nothing wrong with fibreglass body parts.
South Africa? Are you near any diamond mines? Send some for more information.

The Claw · July 30, 2008, 02:41:56 AM

Well tx ...... enjenjo

Well i wouldnt be using the stock suspension as i didnt get any suspension with the car ... what i will be useing is a front and rear suspension off a Jag XJ6 so that would give me disc breaks front and rear with a 3.07 gear ratio on the diff and yeah it will be a LS diff .....and the trans will be a 350 turbo box ....

In regards to harry ... sorry mate i aint anywear near a diamond mine ...the only thing that i am close to would be a gold mine ... but yeah they turned that into a amusement park

chopped · July 30, 2008, 08:50:43 AM

Not a lot of parts made for the 36. Try Superior Glass works, Molalla Origon for fiberglass body parts. E.M.S. has some steel body parts.

enjenjo · July 30, 2008, 10:28:13 AM

Jag is a good choice. There are several installs detailed on the web, do a search. Is the 36 a US made body? I know some of the south african bodys were made in OZ, but don't know which ones. Regardless there will be a lot of wood in the body. A lot of people replace it with box tubing to make it stronger. you can find that on the web too.

The Claw · July 30, 2008, 01:17:21 PM

I have no idea if this is a US make or not but yeah you are right there are a crap load of wood in the car .... all three windows in the back on the inside is wood and then both bottom sides of the car is made of wood and then the pilers are also made of wood and all along the roof .... its just wood everywear i look ......

But yeah i had a look on the net and there was this other bloke with a 36 and he replaced all the wood with metal and i think i am gonna go the same rout ..... the only thing i have a problem with now is that i want to go fenderless all round but apparently here in South Africa that ain't aloud .... How crap is that ..... sometimes i wish i was somewear where i can build my fenderless rod and just drive it like i stole it

Well i will post some pic's for you all as soon as what i can sort them out as the site said i cant upload a " U r l " and when i try using the site's brows option it tells me that my pic's at just too big

Crafty · July 30, 2008, 04:41:16 PM

'36 was the last year chevy used wood in their bodies.

If you need running boards check smoothie fabrications, I know they do some for '37s.

I think the frame will be the "top hat" style, so wont need boxing.

chassis engineering inc do some stuff
chev of the 40s may be worth a look
if you get rich art morrison do a complete replacement frame ready to go
TCI do rear 4 bar kits and mustang ii front ends (front ends available from a whole host of suppliers)
as above ems do some patch panels, as do * products

have you measured up the jag stuff? cant help but think its going to be a bit too wide ?

I think the car will look far better fendered anyway!

The Claw · July 31, 2008, 03:24:32 PM

Well it seems everyone thinks the car would look much better with the fenders on ... i might just have to have a look at that ...

Well the Jag suspension front and rear fits like a glove .... more or less the same as i would think the stock suspension would have been.

Now the other question i have is would the car look good with a matt black body and a red chassis and a crome suspension ? or would that just look stupid .... as for the interior i found a pair of old pontiac firebird seat that i wanna slap inside ....

chopped · July 31, 2008, 08:34:27 PM

I sold mine last week, ran 8 years with no fenders. Drew a crowd wherever I went. People would say they saw us 4-5 years ago in another state and remembered. Hardly going to be another like it. Build it like YOU want.

The Claw · August 01, 2008, 01:47:01 PM

Quote from: "chopped"I sold mine last week, ran 8 years with no fenders. Drew a crowd wherever I went. People would say they saw us 4-5 years ago in another state and remembered. Hardly going to be another like it. Build it like YOU want.

Tx for that Chopped ..... i want to build it with no fenders but so many people said here in South africa one cant have a rod of any kind with no fenders on it .... and that just makes me go mad .... i mean it is a rod and not a production car

enjenjo · August 01, 2008, 01:53:23 PM

I saw a car on the Aussie board that had cycle type fenders made from fiberglass with the tire tread molded into the topside. Painted black, they just about disappeared, and met the rule of law.

GPster · August 01, 2008, 04:26:48 PM

I don't know much about Jag suspension but if they are anything like XKE I always liked the look and it would be great without fenders.Also because of the independence the wheels' inclination would always be close to the body'a inclination when viewed from the back. I'd think with the back of the body to not bring it any lower than the top of the frame or maybe cut the frame stubs short and put a rolled pan on it. Taking a body that's not been over-done like that it would be nice if you could play with it with computor graphics. I wonder if that body style without fenders could stand the back wheels to be a little further back in the body/fender depressions. With-out front fenders maybe the grill needs to be on a different slant to match what's left of the body showing. Because I'm computor dumb I've taken photo copies of car profile pictures and cut/inlarged/glued them together to get an idea of my thoughts. Find out how much fender they want. Maybe if you "Pro-Streeted' it a little there would be enough tire under the body to satisfy the rules. GPster

The Claw · August 02, 2008, 04:37:06 PM

Well now it seems that there is a way out of this fender thing .... and in regards to giving the grill a lil slant ... never thought abut that one .... and yeah over here i think i have the only 36 2 door coach ... so anything i do with it would stand out .... and yeah i think on monday i will find out just how much fender they would need if i do a pro-street kinda project .....