tilt front end.....50 Chevy ???

[elwood]

Hello,

I am building a '50 Chevy Coupe Gasser and would like to make a flip or tilt up front end .
Does anyone have any "plans" for such an endevor ?? OR do I just buy some hinges , weld everything together and hope for the best :-)

Any assistance would be Greatly appreciated.

Elwood

[chevender]

I'm going to do the same with my 57. I'm going to use the holes in the fenders to bolt them togeather with the hood. What kind of hinges you use are up to your imagination. I'm going to use a double acting hinge of my own design that will allow the front end to be opened by one person. I'd show them to you but they're still in my head as I won't be getting to them for another year or two. Wish I could help more.
Rick

[elwood]

Thanks Rick ,

I was talking to a friend in the heavy Construction business . WE have a dealership called Parts for Trucks . Apparently they actually sell a " kit " for the folding fiberglass front tilt ends of dump trucks etc.

It comes with rubber bumpers , hinges , clasps etc and can easily be fitted with a pneumatic piston style opener , kinda like the back window on and SUV or hatchback .

The bolt together idea sound good !! Thanks , I was thinking of mig welding it and building a 1" x 1" frame ynder it for support , since I will have no inside fenders .

Keep in touch , be interested to see what your hinges look like .

I have many pics of my build , but am no Techie and have to get some assistance from my Daughter in order to send them to this site .

All the Best !!

Elwood

[Kustomizer]

Bob fabricated a steel tilt front end with opening hood on our friend Louis's Belair wagon, here is a link to pics of it on our site:
www.gassersinc.com/friends_projects/louis/friends_louis.htm
I don't have detail picks of it right now and the body is off the frame now so I can't get pics, but can when it's back together, otherwise maybe Bob could give you a quick answer.

Here is a good build link on the HAMB message board with a fiberglass tilt front-end setup:
www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142015&highlight=55+chevy+tilt

[elwood]

Hey Guys ,

That Chevy Wagon sure would haul groceries in a big hurry :-)

Thanks for the info on the tilt front end . For some reason I thought you'd have to cut an arc on the rear lower portion of the front fenders to allow for the swing up and down (?) angle of dangle .
Proof is in the pictures , guess I was worked up over nothing :-)

I have a frame in mind that I will have to weld onto my 2 " x 4 " members to support the weight , this old Chevy has more steel in the hood than there is in an entire Honda .

That's what's so cool about the Gasser Inc site .........lots of guys with info and the willingness to help each other .

Will send some pics as soon as I figure out the new confuser....I mean computer .

Elwood

[marks73turbota]

I'm new here but many (and I mean many) years ago circa 1970 I owned a '63 Catalina Ventura ex-race car. I wanted a tilt frontend but one did not exist in fiberglass. With the engine out I crawled up inside the engine compartment with the hood closed and the front all bolted in it's stock location, and drilled holes thru the hood edges into the fender flanges. I used 5/16 bolts with one washer between the hood/fender to maintain a small clearence to maintain the fender spacing, and bolted it together. This is where I get a little fuzzy on the memory. I used the original hood hinges to tilt the front assembly. I reversed them so the hood flange bolted to the frame horn under the radiator core suppoert,and the fender flange bolted up under the radiator core suppport. Not sure if I swapped them side for side or moved them down using them on the same side they came from. This was in 1970 so I'm really going by a shoestring memory. The articulation of the hood hinges allowed the entire front assembly, minus the bumper, to rise up at first pull and then tilt forward. This allowed the front apron between the grills and the bumber to move back, up, and around/over the bumper. It really worked great. And the original hinge springs also helped with the heavy weight of the all metal front assembly. Now if this was exclusive to the exact hinge I used and the exact way I placed then maybe this setup will not work with other hinges. But if it gets you thinking about alternatives then it's good information. I did have to cut the lower half of the fender off located between the front wheelwell and the door just so I could open close the assembly by myself. It really worked well for me. Mark L

[brad]

BUILT A 50 GASSER BACK IN 04 THERE IS A GUY IN OHIO THAT MAKES A ONE PIECE NOSE 49-52 IF THAT HELPS BRAD FROM INDY,PS THE 70 CHEVELLE LOOKING GOOD!