A Journey Ends And Another Begins
Greetings,
I'm a new member and my name is Bill Blust. I'm also a first time builder. But before I continue any further, let me tell you my story.
My parents were divorced when I was young. Each Summer my dad would drive from Illinois to Pennsylvania, pick me up and drive back to Illinois. A month to six weeks later he would repeat that trip to drop me off back in Pennsylvania. In 1972 when I arrived in Illinois, the two car garage was filled with parts from an old car. I asked fad what it was and he replied that it was a 1940 Chevrolet coupe. Mmmm, ok. I was twelve and hadn't caught the car bug yet. In 1976 when I arrived in Illinois, it was finished. Man, it was so cool!!! I had gotten my license earlier that year and dad let me drive it. That Summer was way too short and in August my dad drove me back to Pennsylvania. When he returned to Illinois he sold the coupe and bought two new old project cars. Then the night of October 1st, 1976, he was killed in a car accident. Fast forward to 1992. I started writing to family members asking if they happened to know what happened to the coupe. No one knew. Not long after that I was introduced to a computer. I learned to use a computer and tried to find my dads car. Fast forward 22 years. I remember the name of my dads best friend from back then. I google his name and finally find him on page 8 or 9. I have to jump through some hoops, but I finally get his contact info. I call him and ask him what happened to dads coupe. He tells me its on the third owner since my dad sold it and still in the same town. He gets me the present owners contact info. I call him and tell him my story. He doesn't want to sell it but agrees to sell it to me. On June 22nd of this year, my friend and I and my son, hop into my friends truck and head to Illinois. I buy my dads car and trailer it home. After 38 years, and a 22 year search, I finally have the car my dad built into a street rod. You can't imagine the joy I feel. So that's the end of that journey.
Now, the beginning of a new journey. The coupe still has the same paint and interior that my dad had sprayed/installed. And even though it has been kept in a garage, 38 years have taken a small toll on her. Nothing serious. Just some small minor rust, doors, hood, and trunk deck don't align properly, and a few minor dings. The 327cu.in was just recently replaced by Jeff (the gentleman I bough it from) with a new stock 350cu.in. At the same time he replaced the 350TH transmission with a new 700R transmission. Jeff also recently installed the following new items; aluminum radiator, duel exhaust with Flow Master mufflers, starter, plastic fuel tank, 14" Craiger SS wheels and Cooper Cobra tires. The second owner had replaced whatever rear end my dad had installed with a Nova rear end. My dad had replaced the knee action from suspension with a straight axle. The second owner replaced the straight axle with a Corvair front suspension. The carb needs adjusted, it bogs down when trying to accelerate quickly. The transmission valve cable that runs from the granny to the carb was never set properly. These tw items are tops on my list to correct. I took it out for an extend test drive two days after I got her home. Right now I totally hate the Corvair suspension and whatever rack and pinion was used. Steering to the right is fine, when I steer to the left it only turns half as much as it turned to the right. From the end of the steering column to the rack and pinion, it is connected by some type if flex cable. I'm told this set up was used on early Pinto's. I'm not sure I trust this. At 55MPH the front end has a slight shimmy and shake. At any speed I can feel every bump in the road. And lastly, the steering floats, not much, but constant minor corrections are needed. I have been researching the Vair suspension under a street rod. I guess it was popular to do in the 1970's. Personally, I don't like it. Not sure if its worth the time, effort, money, and aggregation to attempt to correct it. My thoughts at the present time is to ditch the entire front suspension, the rack and pinion, flex cable, and present steering column and replace it all. As for the suspension, I'm thinking of a dropped straight axle or a new Mustang II style IFS. Would like to hear the pros and cons of both suspensions. The present steering column sits at an angle but is too vertical. Its from a late 60's early 70's Chevy. I would also like to add power steering. So the suspension and steering is my second order of business. On my list third is the brake system. The master cylinder is a single bowl from a 1957 Chevy, or so I've been told. It has drum brakes all around. I want to switch to a duel bowl master cylinder, add power brakes, and disc brakes all the way around. Once all the above is done it should be fine mechanically. Then I can start on the mods and updates I'm thinking of doing. I would love to hear members feedback, positive or negative. I'm open to news ideas. I'm presently at work for a 16 hour shift and I am unable to post photos from my phone. But, sometime tomorrow after I wake up I'll post some.
I was a mechanic in the Army and have 1,800 hours welding from a Vo-Tech in the mid 80's. So I am handy with tools and know my way around a shop a little bit. But, I have never done any of the things described above. So I seriously need advice and suggestions.
Thanks,
Bill
