Just Passin Thru https://chuckshew.com Just Passin Thru Sat, 04 Apr 2020 11:24:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.6.13 https://chuckshew.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/cropped-Logo-1-32x32.png Just Passin Thru https://chuckshew.com 32 32 John’s 1932 Chevy five-window coupe https://chuckshew.com/johns-1932-chevy-five-window-coupe/ Sat, 04 Apr 2020 02:34:32 +0000 https://chuckshew.com/?p=680 John’s 1932 Chevy five-window coupe Read More »

]]> My Uncle John was a great man. He was my Fonzie! He taught me how to be cool. John had a 57 Chevy when I was a little kid and I am sure that is why I love them to this day. John passed away in August of 2016 after a short bout with cancer. He went into the hospital for back pain and found out he had stage 4 cancer. He never left the hospital. Many car collectors say they do not own the car, they are only the caretaker. This will always be John’s 1932 Chevy five-window coupe.

My aunt, his wife told me he wanted me to have the 32 Chevy so on September 11, 2016 I drove up and brought it home to Lebanon, Tennessee.

Chuck Shew 32 Chevy

The above photo was taken while gassing up at Speedway, KY. Once I got the 32 home and had time to look at it I realized why my uncle took it apart and never completed the project. While it looked good on the outside, it was in horrible shape. The floor was a piece of plywood wedged in between the body which was welded to the floor. The frame looked like some high school kids worked on it. Overall it was really junk, the rumble seat cover was never attached to the rest of the car. 

     This car means a lot to me and I want to restore it in honor of my Uncle John. Unfortunately, I have the 57 Chevy and the 78 VW Bus to finish first. I am planning the things I want to do to the 32 which for starters is a new aftermarket frame and an LS motor. I have big plans for John’s 1932 Chevy five-window coupe. When it is finished I would love to take a cross country road trip. 

John's 1932 Chevy five-window coupe
1932 Chevy floor frame

1932 Chevy Rocker Panel
Cracks in Pillar on John's 1932 Chevy five-window coupe
John's 1932 Chevy Five-Window Coupe Front View

]]> Buying my 57 Chevy https://chuckshew.com/buying-my-57-chevy/ Sat, 04 Apr 2020 01:20:46 +0000 https://chuckshew.com/?p=668 Buying my 57 Chevy Read More »

]]> As long as I can remember, I wanted a 57 Chevy. Back in Jr High, it was the only car I talked about. I lived in Great Falls, Montana for a while in High School in the 70ties and I ran an ad looking for a 57. I remember looking at quite a few but never bought one. I had a friend that knew much more about cars than me and he kept me from buying a bucket of rust. I tried but I was not going to be buying my 57 Chevy in Montana. I did, however, purchase my first car in 1979 it was a 1973 Dodge Challenger.

One day in June of 86 a friend I worked with told me her son found a brown 57 Chevy in the backyard of a home in Montrose, California and they only wanted $800. The son did not have the address just the general area. I drove up and down streets and alleys and found the 57 in a backyard. I went and got a friend and with $800 we knocked on the door.

It turned out, the 57 Chevy belong to a man who was living in a truck in the backyard. The homeowner was being nice letting him stay there but it was now time for him to go. They told me they wanted $600 for the 57 but it would not run. They had put a new battery and fuel pump in it but could not get it to start. My friend, Tony offered them $550 and said we would have to tow it. They agreed on the price and Tony and I pushed it onto the street. I was the proud owner of a 57 Chevy.

I thought we were going to call a wrecker but Tony said we would not need to. When they installed the fuel pump they switched the lines, instead of pumping the gas to the engine it was sucking it out. Tony noticed this while we were trying to start it. He switched the lines and we drove it to his home.

The next day after work I went to see my new 57 and got a surprise, Tony had washed it and it was not brown as we thought, it was black! The 57 stayed at Tony’s until I arranged a storage area for it. I drove the 57 to Glendora, California where it sat in a gravel parking lot ready for me to start working on it.

Thanks for reading my first post about buying my 57 Chevy! I hope you enjoyed my story. You can read about my 32 Chevy here. You can learn about my 57 on it’s Facebook Page. You can learn more about John’s 32 Chevy here

Chuck Shew 1957 Chevy at Pebble Beach, California This is what it looked like shortly after buying my 57 Chevy.
Here is my 57 at Pebble Beach back in the 80ties. It sports a new paint job, rebuilt rear end, engine and some new chrome. A few weeks after this photo I moved from California to Virginia.

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