VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION New User Forum New Pre-war Chevrolet Owner/Club Member

Hello,

I wanted to introduce myself to this fantastic forum and club. My name is Jon Ketron. I'm 32 and recently purchased a restored 1937 Master Deluxe Business Coupe from a long time friend of mine now in his 80's.

I witnessed this car for the first time 5 years ago and fell in love with the body style immediately. After mentioning my interest in the car for a number of years, my friend decided this year he would sell it to me. A little bit about me regarding classic cars. I prefer factory original or restored to original condition pre-war cars. Coupe's are my favorite pre-war body style, they are rare to find today. I prefer 2 door body styles in general, I also own a 1936 Ford V8 deluxe sedan.

1936 and 1937 Chevrolet body style years are my favorite of the pre-war Chevrolet years.

This 1937 red coupe I purchased has sat dormant for about a decade now and is in need of servicing to achieve road worthy status once again. I have started with the fuel system. I will continue the videos moving forward through the car's entire servicing. There are several items on this car right now that are not factory correct, the dual exhaust, the sun visor, the fuel pump, the Philips head screws inside the cab, ect........ Several items will have to be worked out to make this car a 100% factory correct car once again down the road. This a goal of mine!!

Please share your comments and factory notes if you notice anything out of place on the car. Enjoy the pictures, I will continue to update this topic!




Jon Ketron
1937 Master Deluxe Business Coupe

Included are several pictures of the engine bay.


Thanks

Jon Ketron
1937 Master Deluxe Business Coupe

Hi Jon. Welcome
I jumped over to YouTube and subscribed. Will get to watching later tonight. I’m no expert…they’ll be along eventually

Jon,

Thanks for posting the pictures, very nice car. Welcome to the forum!

Dave

That is a very nice looking car. It looks like the restoration has aged well.

Be patient as you work to get it going again. I agree that the fuel system will probably need a complete redo given that the car has set so long. Expect the same from the brakes. If the wiring harness was replaced during he restoration then it should be decent condition.

You should join VCCA and get to know members who have similar cars. That will be the greatest resource to help you determine what is original and what could have been altered. For example, you mentioned Phillips screws in the cab. Those are what was in the cab extensively.

Please check one item for me. I noticed the 2 wires for the original horn on the left side of the engine compartment. In the original wiring for that car one of those wires was always live with 6 volts. The horn button is at the end of the circuit and competes the circuit to ground. I notice the the car has the optional highway or country horns. So the power to the original horn might have been disconnected. If not, if that wire touches any bare metal it will be a dead short.

Thanks Scott. Hope you enjoy the videos!

Dave,

Thank you for your comments. Glad to have officially joined!

Rusty,

Thank you for the advice and information. Both exposed wires are dead, they need to be wrapped in friction tape next time I am in the garage. I removed the original city horn several years ago and replaced it with the factory country/highway horns that originally came with the car. I will keep both sets of horns moving forward.

Looks like you own an 1937 coupe as well! Very nice, may I message you with several questions pertaining to the coupe body style for 1937? This car is brand new to me.

Thanks

I knew almost nothing about a ”˜37 Chevy when we bought ours. I cannot tell you how valuable VCCA membership has been both with respect to the car and meeting great people. I will be glad to share what I know. And there are lots of more knowledge people on this forum.

My car is maybe 85% original. The things that have been changed could easily be converted back to original. It is a Master with just over 53,000 miles. Those who have seen it know that it is no beauty queen but is definitely a solid reliable car. It is pretty much my daily driver from April through October. I have done a few tours with it.

One rare accessory for you to consider is the dual horn switch. I have the Highway/ Country horns on my car. I do not have the original single horn.

Hi Rusty,

Thanks for your response. I would be interested in talking further via phone if you would like. I have sent you a PM with my phone number.

Greatly appreciate all of the information!!

Rusty is being a little conservative. His '37 Coupe is a beauty. Maybe not a swan but a beauty non-the-less. Runs great as well.

Thanks for the kind words Chipper. Jon and I are going to be chatting by phone in the near future.

From what I see in the pictures he is starting well ahead of where I did with my car.

Beautiful car and great videos!

Thanks Ed!

I have the Carter carburetor off the car and looking to either tackle the rebuild myself or have it completed by a specialist whom specializes in Carter W-1's.

Small repairs are underway right now at my friends house to get the car moved out of the garage for transport. Very excited and looking forward to getting the car on the road again!!

Dean Echols, Chino Valley, AZ specializes in Carter W-1 and early Rochester carburetors. 928 710-4325. He was trained by one of the best.

Johnathan,

Please take my advice and do the following:

a. Toss the " Fulton" sunshade.

b. Toss the fender skirts.

(Neither of the above items enhances the beauty of the car. They are not neutral either. They actually take away from the neat flow of the car's design.)

I think you have already tossed the bugles horns. Throw them in your scrap metal pile.

The upholstry doesn't look right. You may consider changing it out to something that appears more original.

I apologize for my above advice. It can be taken as an insult but you will thank me after you have looked the car over afterwards. Will too! Besides: the wheels look too nice to hide.

You do know that this is a 1937 don't you?

Best, and welcome to the club and chat.

BTW: I'm not sure but I think that he interior screws were originally slot headed. Somebody will surely correct me if I'm wrong.

Best,

Charlie

BTW2: I have some old Chevrolet parts. If you need something mechanical then let me know: I'm cheap. Am too!

Chipper,

Thanks so much for the info!

Charlie,

Thanks for all the information and suggestions. I will keep you in mind regarding parts. Apparently this 37 coupe does not have the starterator. I had originally thought the starterator was a standard feature on all 1937 Chevrolet passenger cars. The previous owner mentioned that was a dealer option and that this car did not come with one from the factory. Could this be true?

Charlie you did it again. I laughed out loud when I read "a. Toss the " Fulton" sunshade.". Because we know how much you like them. Keep it up, as I always enjoy your posts.

"

Ignore that man. Keep both body parts. They look just fine and add a period custom touch. For an idea of what others really think, price-out your parts on the internet. I think you will find that they are highly prized! Try $485 just for the skirts!

Jonathan, when I try to open the Youtube video link, I get a notice that says the video is not available.

Hello all, wanted to provide an update for those intrested, I was able to finally finish the transaction and move the car to my garage a few weeks ago. I apologize for the delay as it has been many months since an update has been provided. Dealing with the family regarding my friends estate was a very long process that took far longer than I thought it would. Below are video links to the video's I made getting the car running for the first time in 3 or 4 years. These videos will stay on my YouTube channel.

Video 1:

Video 2:

Video 3:

This is an update for those who are regular Chat participants.

Jonathan and I have had numerous exchanges of text messages and extended phone calls as he worked to complete the purchase of the car and get it to his house.

Based on our discussions and the details he has shared it is a nice looking solid car. As you can see the “restoration” added a lot of accessories and other changes like the upgraded electrical system.

Based on the casting number and engine serial number we are pretty confident that it is the original engine. At a minimum it is a 1937 engine. The engine serial number aligns with the estimated production date for the car

One of John’s real challenges will be to determine how much he leaves as is and how much he changes to original.

Hi Rusty,

Thank you. Yes I will have quite a challenge ahead. My goal is to take this car back to it's factory stock build to the best of my ability. Thank you so much for your help thus far with the car. Right now I will work on getting the car road worthy again. It drives around the block and stop's very well, will need to go thru all the systems though before making the car 100% road worthy.