Thread: 32 Coupe Bodies

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Deleted by D4d

Ya don't get it do ya , Duane will tell ya the same thing when he sees the chassis., sell it and buy a proper chassis. Not cost effective to re do the 1 ya have.

Originally Posted by DA34GUY

Ya don't get it do ya , Duane will tell ya the same thing when he sees the chassis., sell it and buy a proper chassis. Not cost effective to re do the 1 ya have.

Don, maybe it would help if you hit the high points of what would have to be done to the frame he has, just for understanding?

He could keep the front crossmember, but nuttin else. Needs new rails, center section and rear x member. Cheaper just to do a whole new chassis, but what do I know Roger, only built a few in my days Tee Hee

Hotrodn.. what those folks are trying to explain is that the chassis you have was for a style of car called "Pro Street". This means that the chassis was cut up and narrowed drastically to allow really - really wide rear tires with a really narrow rear axle with a 4 link type suspension.

If you're not after that particular look, then the frame you've purchased / chosen really could be prohibitive to you actually building a "regular" street rod. And those bodies you are looking at just might not mount. But Duane will know for sure. HTH

I'm not saying it will work, or that it can even be made right, but as far as getting a coupe body mounted on that old pro-street chassis the way Duane does his body assembly it would have the best chance of anything out there. With the frame level he bolts the floor panel to the frame, then brings the body down into position and glasses them into a unit. Once the body is in place and dry, the door outers are grafted to the inners, setting tight gaps. That said, if Duane says you'd be better off starting with a new chassis you can take that to the bank. He knows his stuff, and I'd trust him completely.

Can you explain what it is that you're end project is going to be? Are you focused on a pro-street machine, with inset tubs and huge rear tires mounted on a narrowed differential? If that's not what you're building then you've taken a bad first step buying the old TCI ProStreet frame. There are a ton of compromises made for a ProStreet car, and it's destined to be a trailer queen as opposed to the car you drive to and from distant events, IMO. Explain to us how you came to have the chassis, what your plan is, and what your dream machine is going to look like when done. Otherwise the comments are going to continue to be scattered like a sawed off shotgun pattern.

Based on your first post ["It's supposed to be a TCI Pro-Street '32 Ford frame"], I would suggest confirming that with TCI. It could be someone's cobbled up mess. Trust but verify. I know you said budget is an important factor, but if it's wrong, making it correct will be expensive. It is better to do it right from the get-go. That may involve selling what you have and saving your money to buy a good frame to start with. There has been a lot of good information posted on this thread. While it is apparent some people are better at interpersonal communication skills than others, take their advice anyway. When you are done, you want to not only have a cool ride, but also have one that has good resale value. My two cents worth . . .

How about an update on what you're planning to do after sifting through a bunch of suggestions?

So I've sent the deposit to N&N and they are getting started on my stuff,,, now to sell this frame,,, anyone looking to build a pro-street here's a frame for ya cheap,,,, have it listed on CL here in Houston.
Will post pix of the new project once I get it here,,,, Duane is very helpful and easy to talk with,,, looking forward to the build

I've had several others look at the frame and they all agree it's a TCI frame,,,, I'm no expert and have to take them at their word,,,, these guy's have been around for a while,,,,

Originally Posted by HotRodN

So I've sent the deposit to N&N and they are getting started on my stuff,,, now to sell this frame,,, anyone looking to build a pro-street here's a frame for ya cheap,,,, have it listed on CL here in Houston.
Will post pix of the new project once I get it here,,,, Duane is very helpful and easy to talk with,,, looking forward to the build

I believe that you're getting off on the right foot with Duane and N&N, especially getting a frame from him and having your body built to fit. You're going to be amazed at the fit & finish, especially if you've laid eyes on others. I think my doors had 1/16" gaps or even less, until I got ready to paint, and he's there if you run into a problem and need help seeing the path forward, too. Congrats!

Also,,, I think the frame could be used with a conventional body with just a little work,,, could not get rid of the offset at the rear and changes could be done,,,, cost effective only if I did them myself,,,, but the offset would be visible to an onlooker and probably get some off color comments LOL,,,

I've measured the frame at all the places and it is dimensioned to the drawing downloaded from Westcott's and at all the check points it matched up to a standard built frame. However,,, sense I'm not interested in using super fat tires and wheels I'm having N&N build me a frame to fit their body,,,

Will take this frame and modify the Roadster body I have to fit and sell the whole thing,,,, or piece mill it out,,, just depends on what someone wants,,,

All fun stuff and keeps me very busy,,, as if I need that ha ha ha

Thanks again guy's for all the input,,,, that's why I joined this forum,,,, also see some really nice stuff on here

I'm happy as all get out,, Duane is a great guy and so easy to deal with,,, what struck me most is he never talks down to me,, at all,,, hard to find,,, most I've talked with just seem to hate answering questions,,,, looking forward to making the trip up soon to take the parts I already have for him to install. Thank you to o Roger for sending the email,,, when I talked with Duane he told me how you two put together me calling him,,,, too funny LOL.

I'm so happy for you! You'll be miles ahead (pun intended!) with the project and the "fun" meter..

Ha ha ha,,, yea I guess you have built a few,,, I see three frames there and that constitutes a few,,, lets see one equals one,,, two equals a couple,,,, and three equals a few,,,, yep,,, you've done a few