1937 chassis question

[dragn4door]

Hi,
We are in the process of rebuilding our 1937 4 door Buick and was thinking about putting a late model frame/chassis under it. Does anyone know of a decent fit for this? I was wondering if this has been done and if someone has tips or suggestions to do this. Also wondering if anyone has kept the straight eight and dropped it in the new chassis? Seems like a neat idea but I'm not sure it would fit decent at this point. We would just love the fact that we had a modern suspension with power steering and power brakes. Thanks for any help on this project.

[64Electra]

Not sure If it's such a good idea. Depends on what series it is, junior or senior. and With these type of mods, it seems like go all the way or don't go at all.

[poison heart]

Depends on how much work you want to do. I'm sure you'd have to modify a lot our mounts and things like that to get a 37 to fit on a newer chassis.

Might want to measure width and wheelbase on your 37 frame and go to a junkyard and see if you can find a frame that is about the same size

[Bad Boattail]

Why don't you tell us what model your Buick is ?

The wheelbase is different on all 4 available models:

Special: 122 inches (same as a 1971 - 1976 Riviera)
Century: 126 inches (1971 Electra = 127 inches)
Roadmaster: 133 inches
Limited: 140 inches

[Steve Reynolds]

Not sure if you would want to take the project this far, but in this thread http://v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=181701 I have listed one of my projects for sale. Ignore the price in the ad, I'm willing to DEAL on this entire project to get it out of my shop. For the price I'd sell it for, you could use the frame and sell/scrap the rest!

Look it over and let me know.

Steve

[dragn4door]

Why don't you tell us what model your Buick is ?

The wheelbase is different on all 4 available models:

Special: 122 inches (same as a 1971 - 1976 Riviera)
Century: 126 inches (1971 Electra = 127 inches)
Roadmaster: 133 inches
Limited: 140 inches
Sorry about the lack of that information. It's a special. Does that mean a 71-76 riviera frame might fit it? I'm not certain about the track with but that is something I should measure so that I do know it. I think we might just leave the straight 8 out of the picture if we go late model frame and just go with a gm small block v-8 or even a v-6 if the right one comes along. We are not trying to build a race car by any means but just a cruiser. Thanks for the feedback guys and Steve that chassis you built looks awesome! great work! At this point I couldn't entertain the thought of making an offer for what you have for sale there. The old budget is really tight heading into winter here. Once again thanks for the help and suggestions as we have many things to learn on this build and we absolutely love it!

[Bad Boattail]

I notice only now that you are new to V8Buick, so:

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp191/EBMPSmileys/V8Buick-Welcome.gif

Please put your name in your signature, we're all here on a friendly first name base :TU:


Does that mean a 71-76 riviera frame might fit it?

I suppose that only the wheelbase is the same on both frames, but that's not a bad point to start from.

Model year 1975 Riviera:

Front tread = 63.4 inches
Rear thread = 64.0 inches

Model year 1937 Special:

Front tread = 58 7/16 inches
Rear thread = 59 5/32 inches