Our version of seeing the USA in a Chevrolet, the Street Rodder Road Tour car for '09, is well underway. Appropriately, construction is taking place in different parts of the country. While the crew at Art Morrison Enterprises was whipping up a new chassis, the gang at Woody's Hot Rodz were busy sandblasting the body and massaging the metal into pristine condition.
Based on an extremely solid '52 Chevy Blair hardtop, there are nevertheless a few lumps and bumps that have accumulated over the years that need to be smoothed out. But before Woody's began on the exterior of the Chevy, there were a few other areas that required their attention.
Doing The Dash
The stock Chevy dash had a lot going on, and some of it conflicted with the future plans. The dual instrument configuration would work with the gauges planned, but the rest of the panel was dominated by the heater controls, ashtray, radio, and an opening that would accommodate the speaker off the roof of the Blues Brothers' sedan. Something cleaner and more contemporary was called for, and that meant a new shape to the bottom edge, integrated outlets for the Vintage Air system, as well as filling a number of huge holes.
The Chevy's interior was scheduled...
The Chevy's interior was scheduled for an update. Once everything was stripped from the dash it was obvious there were lots of holes to fill. Note the shape of the right side of the dash under the glove box lid.
Making Mini-Tubs
Our Chevy's road manners will be vastly improved with the new Morrison chassis. However, to take advantage of its potential, we have to make room under the fenders for a little more rubber. To that end the stock wheelhouses were cut down the middle, the inner portions were moved in against the frame rails, then the gap was filled with sheetmetal. While they were at it, Woody's metal men filled the spare tire well and replaced a section of the trunk floor.
Filling The Firewall And Fabricating Inner Fender Panels
To sanitize the engine compartment, a variety of unnecessary holes in the firewall were filled. These included openings for the factory heater and hoses, brake pedal, and dimmer switch, as well as an assortment of other items.
Like in the rear, more room for rubber was needed up front. The stock inner fender panels ran at an angle from the frame to the fenders, and with the ground-hugging stance we were after, there wouldn't be room for the tires we wanted.
What's Next?
Our Chevy will be undergoing a long list of modifications and updates in the next few months, so follow along.
Paper patterns were made for...
Paper patterns were made for all the openings that were to be closed. The hole on the top of the panel is where the original clock was located.
Here the openings for the...
Here the openings for the heater control, radio speaker and ashtray have been filled. Note how the bottom of the dash on the right side has been modified to match the shape on the left.
For an air conditioning system...
For an air conditioning system to work properly, the correct number of properly located outlets are necessary. Here Matt Baldwin considers the location of the center registers.
As the outlets were wider...
As the outlets were wider than the mounting space available, some modifications were in order. Matt started by cutting notches in the dash with a hole saw.
Those notches were fitted...
Those notches were fitted with short pieces of tubing to house the outlets. The four outlets are the proper size to provide plenty of airflow, and they add a custom flair to the dash as well.
The Vintage Air Streamline...
The Vintage Air Streamline control was centered in the dash above the outlets. A hole saw was used to establish the ends of the opening; an air-powered hacksaw was used to cut the opening.
Inside the trunk the floor...
Inside the trunk the floor was patched with new sheetmetal sections and the spare tire well was removed and the opening filled.
To take advantage of all the...
To take advantage of all the Morrison chassis has to offer, we needed more room for rear rubber. That meant that min-tubs were necessary. The plan was to split the wheelhouses and widen them.
A plasma cutter was used to...
A plasma cutter was used to sever the sheetmetal. After the two parts were separated, the edges of the cuts were dressed with a grinder. To maintain structural integrity the cuts were made to the inside of all the quarter panel bracing.
After trimming the floor,...
After trimming the floor, the original inner portion of the wheelhouse was moved towards the center of the car, as close to the framerail as possible. A few tack welds held it in position while the filler strips were fabricated.
Portions of the wheelhouses...
Portions of the wheelhouses protrude through the bulkhead between the trunk and passenger compartment. The bulkhead was trimmed as needed so the front section of the wheelhouses could be widened.
To close the gaps in the widened...
To close the gaps in the widened wells filler strips were cut from 20-gauge steel and welded in place
The front portions of the...
The front portions of the wheelhouses were given the same treatment. After grinding and paint, they'll look like they came from the factory.
Under the hood there were...
Under the hood there were plenty of holes to fill in the firewall. Some could simply be welded shut. Others, like the openings for the heater, would have to be patched.
To fill the larger openings,...
To fill the larger openings, cardboard templates were made then plugs were cut from 20-gauge sheetmetal.
Filling all those holes is...
Filling all those holes is tedious work, but the end result is worth the effort. The stock cove to accommodate the inline six provides plenty of clearance for a V-8 distributor.
As in the rear, more room...
As in the rear, more room for rubber was needed up front. The shape of the stock inner fender panels severely limited the width of rollers that would fit.
The obvious solution to problem...
The obvious solution to problem was new inner fender panels. Fabricated from sheetmetal, a brake was used to establish the horizontal bend, then a vertical cut was made to allow for a "bend" in the panel.
Almost a reverse of the original,...
Almost a reverse of the original, the lower portions of the new inner panels are near vertical, which will allow for larger tires. The upper portions angle to the fenders and are welded to it.
With both inner panels in...
With both inner panels in place the reason for the vertical cuts can be seen. The panels were angled to fit around the suspension, then the cuts welded. The panels attach to the firewall with angle brackets outside the engine compartment.