VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION New User Forum Original or not

Hello all , my name is shane and am a new member, I am in the process of paying off my first chev , from my late brothers wife, a 1931 tourer , he had owned it for 40 years and restored it in the last 5 , Finnished it got it registered did one 800 km trip which I followed for 500km in my 56 dodge , he then stored it while doing a caravan trip to celebrate his retirement from engineering, he soon after suddenly passed away, 4 years later is where we are now, during restoration he wanted to make the car reliable and able to do long trips with similar cars , he wanted 12 volt wiring to suit camping fridges , radio , spare battery lights so I totally rewired everything as I am an electrician and cheep ,brothers rates ,(beer and curry for payment)
Also he fitted an electric water pump, thermos fans , modern light bulbs, alternator , downdraft carby , other than that it looks original,
So my first question is about the engine and torque tube arrangement , I have never worked with these before, the engine is a little Smokey , and I want to do a lot of long trips as in a solid week at a time maybe 5 or 6 hour days ,
Can the original engine handle this sort of task and is upgrading to the 235 with pressure oiled engine from the late 50s not an option , thanks shane

I would go original but that is your choice. I believe there was a guy just a couple years ago that drove a stock '31 from the east coast to the west coast. Pretty neat but if in good shape and taken care of they will go just about any place stock!

There are several Aussies that have driven 20s Chevs thousands of miles around Australia. I am sure a few will eventually see this post or hear of it and give more appropriate feedback than we in the USA can.

Not to mention the guy that drove from China to Paris in a stock '30 or '31 (?) a few years ago in the Great Race.

Thanks for your response, I will drive it first the way it is of course and see how it goes

Maintenance, maintenance, Maintenance. A vehicle kept in good shape should present no problems other than normal upkeep. Speed, well that is a different story. If you want to enjoy the scenery and in no hurry you should be just fine. I'm not a purist so a couple smart modern items is not out of my realm to make an old man, (me) live a little longer. Good luck and keep us posted.

Congratulations on getting a car that has strong family connections. That makes any Chevy a more special car.

I am in a similar situation with a car that was in my wife's family for around 50 years. It did not need restored but required a lot of heavy service work to get it going again.

I approached the project with the goal to get it running reliably as a fairly original car. My thinking was that after I started driving it I could better determine what if any improvements I might consider.

What has surprised me is that after 2 years and about 2200 miles there is very little I want to change.

It sounds like you have a fairly solid car. I agree with the advice and your choice to get it running as is and original as you can

I have a '31 Phaeton. It will cruise at 45-50 without problems all day long. I used to drive my '31 Coach at 55 on the Interstate when that was the speed limit. Yes, that was 40 years ago. Yes it talked to me but never cussed! or unexpectedly shut up! Guess in my advancing maturity I am getting a bit more conservative.

Okay thanks for that, I am keen to give it a try, it will be after Christmas before I have paid it off and take ownership, just wondering are their different diff ratios?

The farthest I have driven a 41 216 is about a hundred and fifty (150) miles round trip.

Don't pay any attention to those who cite examples of long, long trips in a 31 era Chevrolet car. I would stay within a few miles of home. Those recommending long trips may run towing services and are just waiting for you to to call so they bring the "hook." Maybe not Uncle Ed but corn prices may have been down somewhat this year. It would not be too far but the cost would be out of sight.

You may want to consider selling that old 31 and look for mule and cart.

In any case, make sure you have plenty of spare parts on board if you take that 31 any place over the immediate horizon. You know; extra oil, coolant, gasoline, money, tube patching material, air pump, tools of every kind and above all the missus for advice along the way and especially if you break down.

You're welcome to this sage advice,

Charlie

BTW: If you don't realize I'm just kidding, well, I am.

I had a '27 Capitol tourer (4 cylinder, no front brakes) and I drove it on long return trips such as Ballarat to Broken Hill and Townsville to Rockhampton (Q31 will know how far these are). I never had a problem, but never drove over 45 mph and it was in flat country, not in the height of summer. The best thing I had done was thoroughly cleaned out the water jacket in the head.

Ha ha , you have made my day , I needed a good laugh ????

Thanks pete I would like to pop a photo up but not sure how yet, yes I know those roads you mentioned, I rode a Harley from Tasmania to broken hill to brisbane in March , I think if you can’t keep within 10 or 15 km of the speed limit then every vehicle is going to curse and overtake , I am not in a rush but I see some very stressed caravan drivers doing just that , and nearly getting killed by road trains as we call them in Australia, ie prime mover with 3 trailers
. Having said all that I can’t wait to get out there and give it a crack , will keep you posted