Thread: 32 Coupe Bodies

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In an effort to be helpful guys here's my contribution (I self identify as a curmudgeon for a reason):

1st problem I see is an old 80's Pro street chassis . Lots of fab work needs 2 B done B4 ya even think about slammin a body on it. JMHO

What fab work do you see needs to be done??? Elaborate please.

Okay, I called N&N and feel much better about him working on this. Was asked to email up some photos of the frame and we talked about possible things that could be done. So,,, unless something just jumps, then I may head up to Arkansas this weekend to take him all I have.

Keep in mind,,, a body has been on the frame before and I have a Roadster body that should I open up where the shock mount is to allow it to lay down flat, it looks like it would fit okay.
I downloaded the drawing from Wescotts and took measurements along several places and while it's not exactly to an original, (slightly narrow in places) it's pretty close. N&N said that most after market builders do not make to original dimensions. Again I don't know so can't comment on any of this.

From the way it seems,,, N&N can get a body mounted and it would be right,,,,

Again thank you all for all the advise,,, don't' think for a moment I'm not paying attention.
HotRodN

You have a pro street chassis as in monstrous tires and parallel four link setup. Is this what you are building?

I don't think that frame has much torsional stiffness to it for mounting a street body---------

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

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

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 . . .

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,,,,

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

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