The Hot Rods of Pete Chapouris

I’m still getting over the fact we’ve lost Pete. He was a very important part of the rebirth of traditional style hot rods in my early years, and his PC3G shop responsible for the restoration of three of my very favorite cars in Bruce Meyer’s collection: The timeless Doane Spencer roadster, the Pierson brothers’ coupe, and the So-Cal Belly Tanker. Many people remember him mostly for his ’34 coupe, ‘the California Kid’, maybe in modern times for Billy Gibbons 3 Window ’49 Shoebox called ‘Kopperhed’ (I loved this car too). Under So-Cal Speed Shop, Pete and his incredibly talented team restored and built hundreds of amazing hot rods and influenced countless young builders both within his shop and around the world.

Ironically though, I guess the Pete Chapouris car that stands out most for me though is the ’26 Track T he built for his dad in the 70s and then rebuilt for himself (with prompting from Gray Baskerville and Jake Jakobs) many years after his father passed away. Looking at that car now, it has some very mid-90s parts here and there, but it’s still so simple and clean. No, its not a 100% period-correct hot rod, but all the influences are there. The design is uncluttered and without extra junk bolted on. Its understated and honest, straightforward and full of purpose… Maybe that’s why this car reminds me of Pete the most.

(photos courtesy of Hot Rod)