Inliners International Forums General Discussion Truck Talk 1940 Chevrolet Coupe Build!

In high school, why back in the '60s I almost lost the end of a finger at the first knuckle buffing a headlight ring for a Model A. I learned not to fight with the buffer.

Physics gets pretty scary when the numbers get big. Momentum, pressure, weight etc. It's not fun when you get on the wrong side of them. Glad you made it out of that situation okay, and I hope no other incident decided to do the deed later.

Progress from yesterday: The dashboard is painted. It looks pretty nice, then I was struck by the obvious. Why not just paint it the color of the car? Haha, again we'll see how it turns out, but if worst comes to worst we can always use the left over paint from the car. We also built the linkage for the clutch pedal to the lever on the bell housing. Then we drove to our closest paint store to pick up the paint for the car (about an hour drive.) On the way back, my '01 Jeep Cherokee stuck an exhaust valve and that took a good portion of time to diagnose and fix. These last couple of days have been pretty slow. I hate not getting a lot done, but what are you going to do.





Thanks!

Pete

Looking good. I think the inside/outside contrast will add interest. Choose an upholstery color that goes with the dash and trim and the blue will take care of it's self.

Thanks! Yep! Our thought's exactly! The original upholstery was a tan corduroy material which looked nice (see attached.) We probably going to go with a polyester mohair material (for durability) of similar color. The dashboard is a little darker tan similar to what the carpet will be with the headliner being a little bit lighter. I'm still worried about the dash board. Like I said earlier, we can always use the left over paint to paint the dash the same color as the body. The guy doing our paint and body work also does upholstery, so we'll take everything to him once it's assembled and make our final decisions at that point.



Progress from today: More trim polishing, more sandblasting and more painting of miscellaneous stuff. We also set up a bench and laid all the junk we've got out on it. We took stock of what's ready and what's not. I hope it's all there. Really, we're just preparing for the body to roll in and then start slapping stuff back on it. Word from the painters is that they are done with the final body work (they found a few spots that needed touching up) and would be painting tomorrow or the next day. I would've liked to paint it ourselves, but having a climate controlled paint booth is probably more safe with paint being so expensive now-a-days. I'm starting to get really excited about seeing the body all spiffed up. I just hope we chose the right color.

Not really too much to see from today... Sorry.



Thanks!

Pete

Pete, What is the frame you guys stack parts on?

Well, it's a long story, so buckle up. Once upon a time, before my grandfather started dumping money in nostalgic Chevy's, he invested in German cars. He restored pre-war BMW's (yes Hitler's cars) as well as a few post war cars too. 328's, 327's, 319's, 2002's, Dixie's, and even a few of the iconic BMW Isetta Bubble Cars. It's quite a collection, here's a website with a few pictures people took of his cars at the Legends of the Autobahn car show in Carmel, Ca. Click Here Since these cars are so rare, he has to look in strange places to find them. His most rare car, that Blue 1939 BMW 327/328 Pillarless Coupe (pictured on the website) was found by a buddy of his in Germany on a flat bed being hauled to the crushers. Neither the truck driver or his buddy knew what the car really was, but they knew it was a BMW and that it was rare. He bought it off the back of the truck and sold it to my grandfather. Turns out there were only 2 of these cars known to be produced by BMW and this car is the only one known to exist today. Good save. Anyhow, enough stories. That frame you see was found underneath a late 1940's 502 or 501 body (the SUV/ people carrier BMW) with a 2002 (car model, not year) 4 cylinder engine in it. It turned out to be a 327/ 328 replacement frame which was most likely used to replace a bent race car frame, or one that was rusted out. It has no numbers on it besides the date produced. He would have taken a 327 body he has hanging in another barn and set it on there, but it wouldn't be worth anything because it would not have been an original, numbers matching car. Then I came along with that famous New Mexico E-bay listing and put the final nail in the coffin of the that BMW project. Now it just sits there, collecting dust and all our piles of Chevy junk. I do feel pretty sore about it, but I didn't really know at the time. Something will happen to that frame and body some time. Maybe not in the near future, but eventually it will get put together. Don't look at me.

Progress from today: More trim work done. Polishing chrome and stainless steel and painting the window sills (if that's what they're called?) we chose a metallic paint which is similar to what the original was. It concerns me a little bit because its different than the tan/ cream color, but it blended nicely in the original car. Also, we bolted on more odds and ends on the frame. It's coming along!



Thanks!

Pete

Well, now we know where your auto genes definitely
came from. A neat BMW family history. I have an older female
cousin that is a certified and factory trained BMW cycle mechanic. OMG. A girl!
I definitely have to show this story to her.

I think we Inliners are just getting a kick out of your build. It'll be a let down when the build is finished. But, not for you and Grandpop.

We get to follow Pete to school and make sure he is hooked up with some Inliners just in case he needs some help. When my son went to Texas with his '54 Stude wagon he had the local Studebaker Drivers Club to lean on. God bless those guys. He needed them and they came through. It was a great relief to know help was at hand. So who is stepping up for Pete?

Wow, it's a small world! That's really interesting. Those BMW motorcycles are pretty hot bikes! The signature horizontally apposed motor is definitely an exotic part, but it seems to be working really well for the BMW guys (and gals)! I see a lot of them driving around at the BMW shows my grandpa and I go to. The vintage ones are pretty sweet too, especially the military editions. The ingenuity in those old motorcycles is just incredible!

Yep, all the way to Indiana! I may need to start sucking up to Don here in a little bit. I'm sure I'll be seeing him at a few of the Indiana Chapter get-togethers. Hope your up to it Don! Don't worry, I don't bite!

After it's all done I think I'll be a little bummed too. Gramps and I didn't so much do this project for the end result as much as we did it for the experience. (Good thing too, because the end result isn't going to be worth hardly half of what we put in to it!) I'll try to keep the threads active with updates on where the Chevy's been. As much as it pains me to say this, it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to take the car to school with me. Dad is not really hep on the idea- for good reasons too. A $35,000, 2 wheel drive with 4 inch wide tires in the snowy Indiana winter is a recipe for disaster. Then there is the collision dillemma. (Dad wants a roll cage with 4 point seat belts and headrests for whiplash.) Who am I kidding? This car doesn't belong to me anyway. It belongs to my grandpa. I think he's on board, but I'd hate to stuff the thing into a snow bank and not even own it. I'll make sure it gets used though. You can count on that. I'm sure gramps has got at least one more good road trip left in him. We'll drive it to the moon or something.

Well, that means it looks like I'll be taking my $2,500 worn out '01 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 225,000 miles on it. Puking oil, sticking valves and knocking rods the whole way. That should be an adventure in itself. It'll probably blow up somewhere in Nebraska and I'll have to buy another car. That'll be my chance to get an old inline beater I wont have to worry about stuffing into a snow bank.

Anyhow, enough counting my eggs before they hatch. Back to the present. Today's update is a little more exciting than the norm.



Thanks!

Pete

Wow! Nice color, Export Blue is.

Nice,I like it. Another Six ball saga. In 1969 my wife and I were in a wreck on our honeymoon. We totaled her '60 Porsche Convertible D, She was in the hospital in Boseman, Montana from August 5th to December 2nd. A friend loaned me a '41 Chevy 4 door. Snow came on October 17th and didn't go away. The chevy had a good set of skinny 16" snow tires and handled it just fine. The 216 had a little less power than your coupe and I was a much more mature 24 years old. I tell everyone that was the toughest winter I ever spent and we left 3 weeks before winter began. Oh yes, I went deer hunting.

Wow! Bad wreck! I'm sorry to hear about that. Accidents are no fun.

Haha, good news! Surprising, but exactly what I wanted to hear! The initial trip is still most likely going to have to be in the Jeep (because of reliability issues - working out the bugs), but that gives me some big arguing points. Like I said, it will get used! I'll find a way somehow.

Progress from today: The dash board is in. I'm surprised with how well the color combination turned out. Lucky draw with the rattle can paint I guess. Also, I've got my graphic designer/artist aunt re-painting the gauges, numbers and clock so they look new. Finally, we started putting in the windows and all the mechanisms for the internals of the doors. They are going to be a bugger to get back together!



Thanks!

Pete

When you are done with Grandpa please send him up here. You guys are impressive. I can not get painted stuff back together without scratches, sometimes dents.

Haha. That's the beauty of a low quality camera. They aren't visible in the pictures. Believe me, we're just as bad if not worse. We've got a bunch of the blue paint left over, so we'll be able to make corrections before the final buffing. Today was especially bad. While gramps and I were drilling holes to screw in the window felts the bit slipped and chipped off a big line right across the sill about where you put your elbow while driving. After some cussing, we proceeded to to it again on the next hole. Then, later while I was buffing the chrome housing for the clock it caught an edge and shot out the back end hitting a steel rod laying up against the wall. That poor piece of stainless steel was so bent up when I went to pick it up it looked like a tin can after a good game of "Kick the Can." An hour with a pair of pliers and a screw driver had it pretty straight, but it isn't perfect. Sorry, I'm rambling again. Anyhow, it's really tough getting everything back together without screwing up some stuff. Nobody's perfect. The line that gramps and I always repeat is "You can never screw something up so bad that it can't be fixed. It just may take a little while."

Progress from today: I cut a big hole in the floor for the shifter. Then we decided to tackle the doors. We've been dreading putting those suckers together since we took them apart. Boy, it's tough. It took us basically the whole day, but the drivers side is mostly done and the passenger side is about half way. Then we found that the passenger side glass is cut too short, so it doesn't seal up in the top. Great. We'll probably re-drill the mounts for rolling mechanism and move it up. I hate cutting corners, but new glass is just too expensive. I sure hope the rest of the car doesn't go together as hard as the doors did!





Thanks!

Pete

These last few days have been brutal. The car is not going back together easily at all. Grandpa and I are starting to get pretty exhausted. 12 and 13 hour days with not much getting done is taking it's tole. We're both beginning to get irritable too. The over-100 degree weather is not helping either. Never the less, the wiring harness is in. More dash components are in, tail lights, some of the trim, foot starter components, etc. Really just bits and pieces that we find and decide to put on. Trying to stay positive here, but we've got 6 days left until the car has to be mostly done, or it won't get finished until about Christmas time. Gramps and I are taking off to do our annual month-long fishing in a little cabin in far Northern Idaho (4 miles south of the border.) So it's crunch time! Hopefully our luck turns soon!

Sorry, I forgot to take pictures today. I'll post some when I get down there in the morning.

Thanks!

Pete

You two have done a fantastic job in a short time. I spent my first year of retirement putting my son' Stude back together. We both worked on it after school and weekends. When we left in it to head for college in Texas we went to Reno to have windows put in. We worked on it along the way and I stayed a week in Lubbock finishing things up while he started school. Christmas is no big deal. Better than making a mess. That fishing trip is important. Going off to college will be a big step for you and this time with your grandfather will be with you forever. Stay calm the car will get done. As I say this my son's Stude in sitting out in the weather with the engine out where it has been for several years now. He lives in California now and doesn't have space there or time to get here.

Sorry guys. I'm embarrassed by that last post. It came across very defeated and negative. I needed an attitude adjustment. I was in the shop alone for most of the day today, and it gave me the time to think. Things still haven't been going any better, but it made me realize that there is nothing else that I'd rather do than sit in that hot, stinky shop working on a car that refuses to go back together. I was able to remind myself that I love working in the shop. I love getting filthy. Just like a guy named Rust n' Chrome said on the HAMB website, the harder you work on something, the more proud of it you are when your done. Again, I'm sorry for that last post. I'm sorry you had to read that. I'm not proud of it.

I'm sorry to hear about the Stude. I'm sure the time will come - hopefully sooner rather than later. We're just going through some rough patches right now. You guys probably know exactly what I'm talking about. I got frustrated and lost my ability to see the grand scheme. Like I said before, there is nothing else I would prefer to be doing than working in that shop with my grandpa. That's the likes of it. I just needed to slow down and realize it. Attitude adjusted!

Progress from today: More trim pieces are on. The passenger door has it's rubbers. Also, some more odds and ends here and there.



Thanks!

Pete

Pete you have done amazing things in a hardcore time slot i have had my project going for two years and haven't got as close as you two have in a few months

Keep it up and stay inline!

P.s. were all rootin' for ya!

i'm with your father on the four-point belts, but the roll cage will only get in the way in a street-driven vehicle.

We have snow and ice in Indiana, yes, and you can and should learn to drive on those surfaces, in whatever you have to drive. A good set of all-weather radials will help; feathering the throttle, driving sloooowly, and looking ahead and behind will help even more. The greater danger to your '40, greater than the snow and ice, is road salt -- a foreign substance in California, but a way of life in winter here in the frozen wastes. It is the chemistry with which the tinworm lives and works.

There is no "Indiana Chapter," but we have a North Central Regional group that meets once a year, usually in late August or early September in Westerville, Ohio, near Columbus. Bob Garrett, Tom Langdon, Big Bill McCoy, and some other highly knowledgeable and competent Inliners are active in that group. We should all welcome you to the arctic Midwest, and we should hope that you'll be able to bring that '40 eventually. In the meanwhile, you can learn to drive on snow and ice in that clapped-out Cherokee.

i should certainly welcome you to Indiana and will gladly help you in every way i can. i am semi-knowledgeable about the older machinery -- like unto your '40 -- but mechanical competence is another matter. You, indeed, might be far more help to me than i to you. Where are you going to school -- Purdue, Rose-Hulman, IU, or ? Let me know when you're coming, and i'll send you some contact information.

God's Peace to you.

d
Inliner #1450

Thank you. You guys are the best.

That nasty "tinworm" was a bother for me as well. I bought a few gallons of under coater to spray on everything underneath after everything is put together. Do you think this will help the problem, or does will rust find it's way anyway?

Great! I will try to be as active a member as I can in the North Central Region. Good timing too, I'm supposed to be at school on the 12th of August, so I should be able to make it to the meeting!

I really appreciate your kindness. I hope I'm not forcing you into this. My last post was kind of alluding.

I'll be attending the School of Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette. I hope to eventually go to work in the automotive sector working on performance engines, but may also do some work in the diesel sector. (The Caterpillar plant across the river in Lafayette) I'm really just looking for a place where I can work with my hands. I want to avoid computers and cubicles if I can.

Progress from today: Tail lights are on. Driver side weatherstripping is on and both doors are hung again. The radiator brace is on. Also, the fenders, hood, trunk, lights etc. should be ready to pick up from the paint shop tomorrow, so we can mount all of that. My graphic designer/ artist Aunt is almost done re-numbering the gauges. We are also expecting a shipment of parts from Chevs of the 40's to come in tomorrow, so that's good. Three work days left until gramps and I take off for Idaho. We still have time for our luck to turn! We'll see.





Again, thank you so much for your kindness.

Pete

That blue paint shines, and the buffed-up, blood-bought trim is going back on. It looks wonderfully good. "Progess" always seems so slow, especially when we are eager to get it on the road and see what it will do -- but we do well to make haste slowly. The driving will be so much more sweet when it's right.

Undercoat is ugly, but it's not as ugly as what the tinworm leaves behind. Undercoat is painful to remove, and should be applied sparingly. What you want to watch for are the places in the body and frame where water collects and does not drain. That's where you make holes to drain the water, if you can, and make sure that the surface is covered with rust-resistant paint, undercoat, or both.

You are so blessed to have grandpa's labor and experience, and the money to buy the parts. When you are out on your own and balancing all of your obligations, things will proceed much more slowly -- yet what you are learning now will inform all of those future projects.

West Lafayette is just an hour or so up the road from Indianapolis. i'll send you a PM with contact information. When you are sorted out and settled in Purdue, and have some time to spare, then maybe you can come down and see how to be "car poor."

God's Peace to you.

d
Inliner #1450

Pete, Glad to see you hooking up with Don. The car is looking great. I hauled a '50 GMC pickup off a ranch here. The only places it had rust was in pockets between the metal and the old under coat. The stuff works both ways. Be careful putting it on and check it every once in a while.

Wow, Don. Again, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I look forward to meeting you in person. We can work on that "car poor" problem of yours.

I certainly am blessed to have such a great grandfather. I love him dearly and appreciate all he is doing for me. Can't thank him enough. I really am very fortunate.

Wow, that worries me with the under coater. All the more reason to do it slow and right. We sprayed the frame and entire car with DP-40 primer (don't tell the California Air Quality people!) I've heard and read a lot of of good things about the stuff. Apparently very corrosion resistant. I'll also keep it well drained. Fingers crossed that the under coater goes on well. I'll definitely be sure to check and maintain it along with the rest of the car.

Indianapolis to West Lafayette is a pleasant drive. I was recently there to register for classes and such. I really like it up there. Well forested, green, beautiful, rural landscape - my kind of place! Hopefully, the winter does not hit me too hard, but being a skinny California kid, my odds are not too great.

Progress from today: Gramps and I with the help of a close friend (actually, he did most of it) made the transmission cover in the center of the floorboard. It's not quite finished yet, but it looks really good. Then we got a call from our paint man. Fenders, Lights, Vents, etc. are painted and ready to go! He still has to finish with the hood and trunk, but the other stuff is ready. So we went and picked them up. They look really nice. Also, like always a few more odds and ends are put on here and there.







Thank you guys so much!

Pete

Happy 4th everyone!

Today was a good day. Not just because it's America's birthday, but because we finally made some decent progress! Gramps got most of the wiring figured out while I finished the transmission cover and built the throttle linkage. We also bolted in the Vent just above the firewall and glued it's rubbers in place. We are both so happy. It's a little too late now, but at least things are moving at a decent pace. We certainly won't finish, but we may be able to get things buttoned up enough where we can feel proud. We leave for Idaho about early morning the day after tomorrow (July 6th) so tomorrow is really the last day. Wow.





Thanks guys, I hope you all had a good time today!

Pete

Well, that's it! The day I have been both looking forward too and dreading for the last year. The last time both you and I will see this car until Christmas. We got a few things buttoned up today like the transmission cover, throttle linkage and the rear window in, but most of the day was spent cleaning up the shop. I'm really bummed not to have finished the car in this time frame but we did the best we could, and had a darn good time doing it.



For now, I'll leave you with this picture. Taken with a tear in my eye, it's the shop right before we closed it down and locked it up.



To sum up for now, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your input and support. I originally started this thread as a way of documenting the build and making a daily log. Then advice, and opinions from experienced people started rolling in and my reasoning changed completely. This build would not have been the same without all of your input. It definitely would not have gone as smoothly.

Sorry, this kind of sounds like my final remarks. It's not. I just would not be able to live with myself if I took off and didn't say thank you. You guys are great.

Anyhow, it's been nice talking with all of you and I hope you all the best of luck on all your current and future builds. I'll be checking the threads every now and then, so let me know if there is any way I can help any of you. I owe it to you guys.

Thanks!

Pete

Pete, We are not nearly done with you! We will follow this thread,car, and you as far as you let us. You have become our grandson,son, nephew, young friend. Your grandfather is blessed to have such a fine young man to pass his interest and skills on to. You are starting a grand adventure and have tied the beginning to family, friends, and a cool car. The two of you have accomplished a lot and I am sure you will finish what you started. Thanks for letting me watch the progress. I looked forward each day to the up dates. I'll be checking in to see if new posts show up. Good luck at school. Catch a bunch of fish in Idaho! If you are near Carson City/ Reno and have time let me know.

Pete, It's been a great treat following your build. Best of luck in college.

Thank you so much for the kind words. You guys are the best.

Just got back from Idaho. It was a great trip. Fishing was average, but me an gramps still got our fill. I love it up there. Can't wait for next year!

Leaving for Indiana on the 6th of August! (Get ready Don!)

Between final preparations for school, I was able to pop on down to the shop for a little while today and make a mess. The rear fenders on! I'm still not too happy with the position of the rear end and how the wheels sit inside the wheel wells. They're too far forward. I may try re-drilling the center screw holes in the rear end mounts and pulling it back an inch or two. Quick question: Didn't most of these 40's have this feature? The rear wheels appear too far forward? Maybe the trunk and spare tire's added weight will make it sit a little lower and get the rear end to fold back a bit. We'll see! Also, more odds and ends like pedals and door latches are on.





Thanks!

Pete

Your are correct in your assumption of 40s rear axle wheel placement. A quick internet search of stock 1940 coupes such as yours will clearly show that.

It's 1 1/2". All the old Chevy cars and pickups have it. It had to do with the hinge type mount used with the closed drive shaft. You could do it with a lowering block and deal with both issues at once. You'll have to lengthen the drive shaft.
Glad you had a good trip. I hope school goes well.

If you are leaving California for Indiana on the 6th. swing thru Reno for Hot August Nights me and Beater and maybe even Hank can meet up with you.

No progress from today. Sorry. Grandpa's Birthday.

Ya know jalopy45, I may just do that. I'd love to meet some of you guys. I worked out a new route and heading up to Reno should only add about 2 hours to our original plan. I don't think I could stay long though. Probably just drive up, shake your hands, say thank you and drive off. Let me know what your plans are and what event you guys are going to be at. (EVENT SCHEDULE) I'd like to be through there around 9 or 10 o'clock in the morning if possible. Need to stay on schedule. Lemme know!

Thanks!

Pete

I'll be at the swap meet (3rd row down and in the center isle with all the inline intakes).from Wednesday to Saturday and Beater usually tries to escape his marital incarceration and shows up on Friday and we go to the Nugget in the evening . The margarita machine will be running..

I usually don't go up there until Friday but maybe I could change that. Efi-diy may be in Reno tonight or tomorrow. What was your original route? Where were you crossing the Sierras?

I'm in Reno now so I'll start looking for Alberta plates. I'll head home tomorrow and back down Tuesday to set up for the swap meet.

A really fast '50 GMC with BC plates would definitely be a tip off.

How many cylinders is it running on this year?? and he should have Alberta plates, red numbers and letters on a white plate..

He just rebuilt it again and had about 300 miles on it when he headed this way. You see more license plates than I do so I'll take your word for it.

Beater, check your PM's. Call me. My plan is to be there around 11:00am. I hope it's not too late!

Thanks!

Pete