31 Chevy Coupe in Minnesota

Here's a '31 Chevy Coupe that a friend of mine, Terry, is building for another friend of mine, John. Terry runs a welding shop and has build a number of hot rods. This one has a complete home built frame.

It should look good from the back too. THere's a debate going on about chopping it or not.

It's got a Heidt's front suspension. Not very traditional but it's what John wants. Needs the comfort for his wife.

Terry built the headers. Very equal length. A 383 sbc dyno'ed at 475hp, with an Art Carr 200r4 are going in.

Coilovers in back on the 9" Ford rear. 3.70 gears. Terry-built control arms and roll bar. This thing will run in the high 11's and drive easily on the road. John has had this coupe for about 30 years and now it is finally getting built.

I like it. You don't see too many Chevys of that vintage because of the wooden body structure. That one is nice. I'm always one for chopping the early coupes so that's what I would do. I see he even used later Chevy tail lights. Nice touch.

He's doing a great job on it. I agree about the chop, a few inches out of it will add to the drag car look.

Do you know whose components he used for the headers? I need to buy some collectors just like those for my Dodge.

Don

please send more pics im building the same tthing right now and i can not find any build pics on a 31 .......looks great .......CHOP IT

There's a number of compromises being made because the owner and his wife think they have some say in the matter. Haha. They should just leave the design and construction to Terry, with me providing advice. I do that for free! I'll post pics as things progress. I realize many features are not real traditional but it's gonna be a nice rod anyway. I'll find out where he got the header parts.

Let me be the devils advocate here. Seems just about everything you see is chopped. If you want to be differnt why not leave it as? It already has some non "traditional" components. Besides its easier to chop than un-chop so I suppose it could be chopped later if need be. Just some thoughts.

I`m with cycledog , I wouldn`t chop it , you could make a wider visor to make the windshield look smaller

nice work Im building a 34 chevy and was wondering what model that heits front end is and what are your trunk hinges from, it looks good the way it is I wouldnt chop it.

I would not chop it either.Those cars dont have much room in them to start with.

I just like the look of a chop. From the salt racers, to the drag cars, it seemed to be the first thing to do to make them a little more sleek. What I can't figure out is why there are so many unchopped cars left. As far as room inside, no, there is not much and less after the chop. But then again, flame paint is no faster than regular paint.

Bonehead said:

I just like the look of a chop. From the salt racers, to the drag cars, it seemed to be the first thing to do to make them a little more sleek. What I can't figure out is why there are so many unchopped cars left. As far as room inside, no, there is not much and less after the chop. But then again, flame paint is no faster than regular paint.

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i dont know about the no room nonsense i chopped mine 4" and im 6 5" tall and have head room ......ill deal with it if it gets tight it just looks better

That's the beauty of hot rod building; lot's of different ways to go and lots of different likes and dislikes by hot rod lovers. That's why no two rods are identical. I built a '38 Dodge trucka few years ago. The plan was to chop it. But, when I got it together I liked the look so much I left it alone. Didn't want to risk messing up a nice cab with a bad chop.
I'll get answers to the questions some of you have asked. I stop in at Terry's once a week so I don't take up too much of his time.
Terry has a full metalworking shop with Pullmax, English wheel, etc. He made the inserts in the rear quarters. They are raised several inches from the original wheel openings.

bob w said:

He made the inserts in the rear quarters. They are raised several inches from the original wheel openings.

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I saw that. It really makes the back of the car look good in my opinion.

Well, here's an update. First, I'll answer some questions that came up.
The header parts are from Speedway Motors in Lincoln, Ne,
The Heidt's front end is for a '32 Ford with fenders. It is cheaper than the assembly designed for fenderless rods. At $2,495 (advertised) it ain't a cheap piece though.
As far as John knows, the trunk hinges are original. They were in it when he got it 30 years ago. It had been hot rodded by then though, so it's possible they're from something else.
In order to get a 'chopped look' from the front without a chop there will be a panel from the cowl that is a few inches tall, to reduce the glass area of the windshield.
This pic shows the metal work to sink the master cyl diaphram into the firewall.

Here's aview of some of the tin work in the back. The battery box will be sunk, with a cover flush on the angled panel.

Note the bear claw latch. It has wide spread dove tails that help to hold the door in position when closed. The swing out roll bar attachment can be seen.