Our version of seeing the USA in a Chevrolet, the Street Rodder Road Tour car for '09, is well underway. Appropriately, construction is taking place in different parts of the country. While the crew at Art Morrison Enterprises was whipping up a new chassis, the gang at Woody's Hot Rodz were busy sandblasting the body and massaging the metal into pristine condition.
Based on an extremely solid '52 Chevy Blair hardtop, there are nevertheless a few lumps and bumps that have accumulated over the years that need to be smoothed out. But before Woody's began on the exterior of the Chevy, there were a few other areas that required their attention.
Doing The Dash
The stock Chevy dash had a lot going on, and some of it conflicted with the future plans. The dual instrument configuration would work with the gauges planned, but the rest of the panel was dominated by the heater controls, ashtray, radio, and an opening that would accommodate the speaker off the roof of the Blues Brothers' sedan. Something cleaner and more contemporary was called for, and that meant a new shape to the bottom edge, integrated outlets for the Vintage Air system, as well as filling a number of huge holes.
The Chevy's interior was scheduled for an update. Once everything was stripped from the dash it was obvious there were lots of holes to fill. Note the shape of the right side of the dash under the glove box lid.
Making Mini-Tubs
Our Chevy's road manners will be vastly improved with the new Morrison chassis. However, to take advantage of its potential, we have to make room under the fenders for a little more rubber. To that end the stock wheelhouses were cut down the middle, the inner portions were moved in against the frame rails, then the gap was filled with sheetmetal. While they were at it, Woody's metal men filled the spare tire well and replaced a section of the trunk floor.
Filling The Firewall And Fabricating Inner Fender Panels
To sanitize the engine compartment, a variety of unnecessary holes in the firewall were filled. These included openings for the factory heater and hoses, brake pedal, and dimmer switch, as well as an assortment of other items.
Like in the rear, more room for rubber was needed up front. The stock inner fender panels ran at an angle from the frame to the fenders, and with the ground-hugging stance we were after, there wouldn't be room for the tires we wanted.
What's Next?
Our Chevy will be undergoing a long list of modifications and updates in the next few months, so follow along.
