There has been progress on the ’31 Chevrolet hot rod/rat rod. This is slow work, since we are making it up as we go, but we are moving forward. At last update, we had added some patch panels to the body and were trying to shore up the shell so it could be moved around without it collapsing like a house of cards. Though the photo above may look like it collapsed, it actually represents quite a lot of progress.

The body is now tied together front to back and side to side. It still needs a ton of work, but it can stand on its own now. We’ve also channeled the body to slide over the frame.

Before

After

We tipped it on its side because we needed to add some welds to the underside and it sucks to lie underneath and weld and take all the hot bits that fall down on your face or chest or who knows what.

The cross-braces in the photo above are the beginnings of a floor, and they will serve to mount the body to the frame. The farthest forward one will end up getting cut to make room for a transmission tunnel, but for now, it is bracing things. And, off goes the body to the storage unit (the back porch) for now.

Sometimes projects like this progress with the arrival of new parts. In this case, the rear end suspension kit was next. A GM 10 bolt rear end was sourced from a swap meet. Then, we stripped the original springs and axle saddles and did several hours worth of measuring (a combination of us being slow witted and this step being important) to ensure the proper fit onto the ’31 frame.

And just like that (still needs the rear mounts fabricated), we have rear suspension.

We tacked in the brackets. After the rear shackle mounts are in place, we will add the cross-member for shock mounting, rims and tires, and it’ll be able to stand on its own two rear feet. One thing (almost) done, 7 million more to go…