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official 37 and 38 Chevy (All GM) car or truck thread

150K views 892 replies 46 participants last post by  nunattax 
#1 ·
thought I would create a spot for all the 37 & 38 (+or-) chevy (and other GM products) cars/trucks owners (and former/future owners)
to get together and share info, ask questions, post pics, etc.

I know off and on there are is lot of these cars and info on here

I have done some searches here and dont remember seeing anything like this, for these cars
(if there is and I missed it, maybe one of the mods. can drag it out and merge the threads)

Here's a link to my journal and a couple pics of my car to get things started :thumbup:


hope to hear from some others, Matt
 

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#80 ·
37 Chevys

Gents, I am starting my '37 Chevy Panel Truck. Four friends and I brew beer and will make it our beer company truck. It was found with body panels off and stored in a closed space, all in very good shape. The frame is straight, level, and true. So far I have the Fat Man IFS installed, with sway bar and am in the process of locating the engine (big block). The motor is a 460 Ford (don't laugh). It's a great "RV motor" with a mild cam. I had the motor before the truck. The truck will be a regularly driven vehicle and also used long distance and I will tow with it. I have a '32 Ford roadster I built and drive a lot; I thought the panel and roadster-on-a-trailer would be a great rig. The tranny will be a C6 with a Gearvendors Overdrive. AC and power steering. I will post a couple of pics but the project is mostly bare frame. Oh, yeah... I will leave it in original patina, surface rust and all. I guess one question I would pose has to do with rear brakes, drum or disc? (The fronts are disc). Does anyone with a pickup or panel, or sedan have thoughts on wheel and tire size... not just looking right, but right stance and good for highway.
 
#81 ·
I have 38 sedan, I used 215/60x15 front on 7'' rims, 235/70x15 rear on 8''rims.. The reason I didn't go with a 60 tire is I find they can bang too hard, as it is I'm going to change over to cheap tires with eaker sidewalls. My car rides too hard. Its not the shocks or springs,, its the tires.
 
#82 ·
thanks

Did you have any problem with "fit"? Did the front tires have full travel? Did you find the 8" rims fit the fenderwell ok? Did you use the original springs? Like you, I want a gentle ride around town and on the highway. When I tow, I plan to pump up the air shocks. My front fenders are huge! Are they about the same dimensions as the sedan?
 
#83 ·
Dr Bob said:
Did you have any problem with "fit"? Did the front tires have full travel? Did you find the 8" rims fit the fenderwell ok? Did you use the original springs? Like you, I want a gentle ride around town and on the highway. When I tow, I plan to pump up the air shocks. My front fenders are huge! Are they about the same dimensions as the sedan?
i am guessing you will want to change those rear springs
just because of age

I would love to see some pics of that delivery :thumbup:
 
#84 ·
I put a TCI IFS and Chassis Eng rear spring, sway bars front and rear. I was talking to one of the guys at Hortons about my ride quality and he said that the most common complaint guys have is this. I paid for kits I thought were engineered to make my car ride and handle like a new car. My car rides worse than the original suspension which had no shocks.
I had PS, the rack blew in the winter when the car was hibernating, I put a manual rack in which OK until I park,, going back to PS. I have the Heidts valve in my pumpline, it needs something else. I was thinking of seeing about putting a Ford pump on a SBC.
Re: suspension, on the rear springs, I took a leaf out of each spring( car sank), I took off sway bar, I disconnected the shocks ,, the rear suspension just pounds over highway cracks and it really jars you in the car.I think my tires have too stiff of a sidewall. I had a van awhile back with cheap radials on, the sidewalls were soft, but that van was probably the nicest vehicle I've had for ride,, so guess what I'm going to put cheap radials on her.
The tires all clear, I think my axle was 56 or 57"" wide and tires sit just perfect. They are not too close to the fenders yet close enough that the fender opening looks full. The front tires fit fine, no rubbing. If I didn't have PS, I'd go a skinnier front tire.
I had 2'' drop spindles on the front before and the front wasn't too low, but there was no way to drop the rear enough and I'm older so big /little tires look good to me (even tho I think I can't safety with them) So I put regular spindles on and it looks much better. I think my project picks show the car with drop spindles.
My biggest complaint with my car is brakes. Normal driving slow stopping they seem fine, If i had to panic stop, no way, doubt I could lock the brakes up. I have a 7'' dual diaphram booster with a chrome MC firewall mounted using a lengthened S10 pedal. The brakes just aren't good enough. If I ever get back to it , I'm going to try an S10 booster and hope that fixes the brakes.
One little thing I did which I thought worked out well was the steering column to floor fitting I made. I had a nice billet piece which wouldn't go on over the shift linkage. I got an exhaust reducer with the IS diameter the size of the column and the OS a bit bigger than the hole on the floor. I trimmed the reducer top and bottom , then sliced it in half. I bolted the coulnm in and expoxyed reducer to the column and to the floor. It looks like a factory fit. I had bend a piece of the reducer over and was going to bolt it to the floor, but not needed. Those billet pieces don't hold the column up , just keep column centered, This does that for about $3.
 
#85 ·
TheCiscoKid said:
I have 38 sedan, I used 215/60x15 front on 7'' rims, 235/70x15 rear on 8''rims.. The reason I didn't go with a 60 tire is I find they can bang too hard, as it is I'm going to change over to cheap tires with eaker sidewalls. My car rides too hard. Its not the shocks or springs,, its the tires.
breezed through your journal (more time later) looks good (questions later also) :thumbup:
 
#86 ·
Dr Bob said:
Gents, I am starting my '37 Chevy Panel Truck. Four friends and I brew beer and will make it our beer company truck. It was found with body panels off and stored in a closed space, all in very good shape. The frame is straight, level, and true. So far I have the Fat Man IFS installed, with sway bar and am in the process of locating the engine (big block). The motor is a 460 Ford (don't laugh). It's a great "RV motor" with a mild cam. I had the motor before the truck. The truck will be a regularly driven vehicle and also used long distance and I will tow with it. I have a '32 Ford roadster I built and drive a lot; I thought the panel and roadster-on-a-trailer would be a great rig. The tranny will be a C6 with a Gearvendors Overdrive. AC and power steering. I will post a couple of pics but the project is mostly bare frame. Oh, yeah... I will leave it in original patina, surface rust and all. I guess one question I would pose has to do with rear brakes, drum or disc? (The fronts are disc). Does anyone with a pickup or panel, or sedan have thoughts on wheel and tire size... not just looking right, but right stance and good for highway.
since you plan on using it like a truck/towing
I would go for the disc on rear
and the chassis eng. rear spring kit might work well for you
 
#87 ·
I wish I had gone 4 bar. The springs become a negative arch,, they even advergtise this, I don't know how this can be a good thing. also with a 4 bar you have more control over ride hieight. I don't know if the sway bars make any difference. The Chassis Engineering rear sway bar is made for a Ford using a Ford axle. This is why I harp about the poor designs. It's not made for my car. I had to make spacers to fit it on my axle.
 
#89 ·
panel truck suspension

Thanks to all of you for input. I think I will stay with the stock springs, rebushed. Actually they might soften the ride plus it's a relatively easy R and R if I want to change them. The Fat Man spindles are not dropped because the engine is a big block and I want to see how it sits. I can always take out a bit of spring later. The springs are designed for a big block anyway. The engine is well over 700 pounds. I started a journal but it's starting from bare frame so it's not too exciting. I'm good at slow, steady progress so there will be updates as I go along.
 
#90 ·
spacytracy said:
Just got my invitation to show my 1938 Chev. coupe in the Salt Lake City Autorama March 2,3,4. I know its not that big of a deal, but for my garage built 7 year project it is a big deal for me at least.
thats cool :thumbup:
and it is a big deal, because its your car,
so who else does it need to be a big deal for :thumbup:

Dr Bob said:
Thanks to all of you for input. I think I will stay with the stock springs, rebushed.
the engine is a big block
I started a journal but it's starting from bare frame so it's not too exciting. I'm good at slow, steady progress so there will be updates as I go along.
very cool on the journal, i will check it out :thumbup:

my only concern with using the stock rear springs is they are now very old and fatigued,
and were never made for the kind of torque a big block, towing a trailer or just loaded down in the back of the truck, will apply to them
(just worried they will break)
I would at least go get a new main leaf made for them
 
#91 ·
hey guys, I just got my seats and I threw them in the car
I was sitting in it playing with position and steering wheel angles etc.
(making engine noises the whole time, Vroom Vroom)

I was curious what size drop (how far down) do you have on your steering column mounts 2", 4", 6" ?

and how well do you like the way it turned out?

with the set back firewall and the seats a lot farther back than stock
it sure seems funny with the dash and windshield so far away, is this common also?
 

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#92 ·
steering wheel

When I built the roadster (pic in journal), I positioned the steering wheel where I could easily steer with my left knee bent and the wrist and forearm resting comfortably on the knee. I have never regretted that. I can drive the car all day without knots in my neck. My advice is "form follows function", think of driving position first and you won't regret it.
 
#93 ·
front end

I ordered my new front susp. and brake master/pedal assembly :thumbup:

I went with Heidts Superide II
the brake stuff is TCI
pretty excited :mwink:

I started a thread looking for some pointers
but I havent got a ton of info, that I wasn't going to do already, but Im hoping for more hints (something I might have missed)

I will post some pics of the goods, when I get them home :pimp:
 
#94 ·
front suspension

I just finished installing my IFS and was fortunate to have two friends help me through it. I can't emphasize enough the importance of getting it precise. We carefully checked the squareness and level-ness of the frame, set it up on jackstands at the expected rake (3 degrees) and did not move the frame the rest of the time. Get a chassis centerline drawn on the floor and carefully check it front and rear. Don't center the IFS at the point of installation because the important measurement is the centerline of the chassis and frames can vary. Everything has to be precise, right to left, pitch, yaw, if welding, bevel the edges and get full penetration. It is the most important thing to get right because handling, bump steer, braking, and wear (or lack of it) all stem from this step. Measure and remeasure often. Oh yeah, put the front fenders on because the spindle has to be centered in the fender. Make a mark on the floor at the center of the fender opening and square that line with the chassis centerline. I will try to post some photos of my install later tonight at home.
 
#95 ·
Hello all,

I'm starting on installing the rear end mounting kit for my '37 4 door. It explains that I have to remove all the spring mounts on the rear. Unfortunately, they're riveted on with 4 rivets a piece, which is 16 rivets. They're a huge pain in the butt. I've gotten one of the 4 pads off so far.

I notice that the Chassis Engineering kit seems to line up with 2 of the holes for the front 2 mounts but the 3rd hole needs to be drilled and there is a 4th hole from one of the rivets that isn't used.

Has anyone installed this kit? The instructions are pretty vague, or maybe it's just me not picturing what they're talking about correctly.

Also, I got more parts in the mail today, but haven't opened them to figure out which parts they are. It'll be like Christmas.

Thanks,
Brandon
 
#96 ·
Vetteman61 said:
Hello all,

I'm starting on installing the rear end mounting kit for my '37 4 door. It explains that I have to remove all the spring mounts on the rear. Unfortunately, they're riveted on with 4 rivets a piece, which is 16 rivets. They're a huge pain in the butt. I've gotten one of the 4 pads off so far.

I notice that the Chassis Engineering kit seems to line up with 2 of the holes for the front 2 mounts but the 3rd hole needs to be drilled and there is a 4th hole from one of the rivets that isn't used.

Has anyone installed this kit? The instructions are pretty vague, or maybe it's just me not picturing what they're talking about correctly.

Also, I got more parts in the mail today, but haven't opened them to figure out which parts they are. It'll be like Christmas.

Thanks,
Brandon
I love seeing the UPS/FedEx truck pull up the drive :D

how are you removing the rivets?
I have found, if you cut an X in the head with a cut off wheel, they will usually knock right off with a chisel (you dont need to grind the whole head off)


I thought that spring kit was pretty straight forward, but I have never done one
 
#97 ·
Thanks for the tip on the rivet. So far I've just been grinding them when able, but 2 of the 4 were impossible to get to so I just had to go at them with a chisel and hammer and a little with an air chisel.

I just want to make sure I put things in the right place and drill holes only when I need to.

Brandon
 
#98 ·
Vetteman61 said:
Thanks for the tip on the rivet. So far I've just been grinding them when able, but 2 of the 4 were impossible to get to so I just had to go at them with a chisel and hammer and a little with an air chisel.

I just want to make sure I put things in the right place and drill holes only when I need to.

Brandon
better safe than sorry :thumbup:
but if you take out the wrong rivet, you can just throw a bolt in it :D

if you hang the ends on the new springs and set them next to the old ones
you should be able to see right where the new hangers go
(or does the new kit move the axle ahead little?)
 
#99 ·
I can tell where they go but when I line it up only 2 of the 3 holes line up. I haven't tried the rear mounts yet because I haven't gotten them off. The old mount has 4 rivets holding it on. The new mount only has 3 bolts. You can't get all 3 to line up. I was just wondering if this is common.

Brandon
 
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