Spence Murray’s 1949 Chevrolet

When you think about the name Spence Murray, the first thing that may come to mind is the Rod & Custom Magazine Dream truck, but his personal ride was well received by the car magazines as well. The Murray ’49 Chevy epitomizes clean, tasteful and original customizing at a time when the car was still almost brand new. There are so many cool cues throughout that it’s hard to know where to start, but when Link Paola (Link’s Custom Shop where Spence worked) artfully chopped the top 3″ and shaved the rain gutters off in 1950, the transformation began. The car was radically lowered, bringing the overall height to well less than 5 feet, and slightly down in the back. The hood was nosed with the hood seam filled, and a ’49 Mercury grille surround transplanted to prove a perfect cavity for the floating Plymouth grill, which was a very unique detail at the time. Headlight rings were removed and the light openings were frenched and peaked. The deck lid was shaved along with the door handles, replaced by solenoids. The Chevy got a one piece Olds windshield and the taillights were put in the rear bumper guards. One of the crowning custom touches was the wild exhaust pipes running outside the body forward of the rear wheels, running above the fender skirts and exiting at the rear corners right above the bumper. Notice how the pipes look like an extension of the rocker panel moldings from a distance, and line up perfectly with the side trim? Subtle genius.

On a side note: I was fortunate enough to work with Spence on Hop Up a few years back- Amazingly, he still has the same love and passion for talking about  what makes a great custom car as he did over 60 years ago.

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