Previte’s ’58

Sometime around 1960, Joe Previte and his two best pals told their parents they were going out for a bit. But instead of a simple cruise in Joe’s then stock ’58 Chevrolet, the three left Belmont, Massachusetts and headed to Juarez, Mexico. The hi jinx the boys encountered in Mexico have gone mostly unreported, but eventually the boys ended up in Hollywood, California and at the shop of George Barris.

It sounds like a bad situation for the ’58 – doesn’t it? I mean, you gotta group of dumb kids with no regard for caution and then you throw in a guy like George Barris – who’s famous for ignoring subtlety, throwing caution to the wind, and building shit as wild as the customer’s pocket book would allow. Seems as though this ’58 convertible was primed to be a gaudy show rod, right?

Well, we’d be wrong. Instead, Barris and his boys might have created my favorite ’58 convertible of all time. Chop the top irons, add some cad taillights, throw on a tube grille, shave everything that needs shaving, and then get the damned thing as low as practical. Oh, and do the interior… DONE. That’s it.