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twmack2000 wrote:

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....and the sedan in the picture is a 31 chevy two-door and when that car is done it will be fenderless with a nice paint job. I am installing a 392 Hemi in the sedan. Anything that looks or is a classic I am in too. Thanks guys for the replies.

TW....years ago I was working on a design for a street rodded 31 Chevy Victoria. My plans for it would have called for steel top, fenderless, smooth running boards and what was really unique was that I wanted to mount the front axle forward and even with the radiator. I wanted to use an aftermarket frame but way back then, none were being made.

What realy kept me away from building this car was the extensive amount of wood holding everything together. Fords used a lot of wood too, but the structural integrity was not dependent on the wood like it did with the Chevies. How's the wood in your Chevy?

twmack2000 wrote:

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Alepel, I would've like to seen what a Chevy Victoria looked like with a forward front axle. I have heard of peolpe doing this but I have yet to see one. The wood in my car is mostly good but I plan on taking it out and rebuilding it with a steel. I am going to put a steel top in everyone that I know that is into the street rods tell me to use a top from a station wagon, but I want a smooth top not a ribbed top. I like your idea of the forward axle I might move my axle forward and take a look at it and see how it looks. Ya a lot of peolpe stear away from the chevy's because of all the wood amd the price for a wood kit is high dollar.

TW.....I can see where we could easily get carried away on this forum with this topic. I did that once with hombldr about flying and we ran up over 1,000 postings between us. But we won't let that happen here. Maybe

First off and most importantly if you're looking for a website with some outstanding photos of street rods of EVERY type of car.....check out this link 31 Chevy Street Rods . You might some great ideas from it.

As for the steel top, not all station wagons had ribbed tops. I know, because I went through exactly what you are concerned about when I wanted to put a steel top on my 29 Ford Tudor. The Model A Ford and the 31 Chevy are very similar rooflines. Now this all happened about 15 years ago, but I found the roof off of a 79 Plymouth Volaire, which went trimmed and mounted back to front fit my 29 Ford perfectly. I mean perfectly! It just plopped right on the top and I tack welded into place. The Plymouth Volaire had a smooth top to it. No ribs and no roof rack holes to contend with. I had to search some pretty old junk yards to find one but there were a few still out there.

Here's a picture of the finished car and what the top looked like. I have more detailed photos at home of the installation but they are not digital photos. I could scan a few and send them to you if you'd like to see some of the installation details.



I've got an old decal somewhere with a good representation of the 31 Chevy Victoria with the forward axle. I'll see if I can find it and scan it to send you.

Great to talk about cars with you.