Projects 1946 Chevrolet Coupe Custom -Almost Complete Build-

Here is the illustrated story of the journey towards my dream car.
I’m 19 years old, in between high school and college.
I took a year off to figure out my plans in life and finish this car exactly how I wanted..
I want a car that looks like it could be cruising Hollywood in 1949-1951.


So here we go!

I bought this car from Brant Jackson (Jaws) who had done the chop and gotten it road ready.
It was in Hawaii of all places, but I was so drawn to this car that not even the Pacific Ocean could stop me from getting it.
Here’s it as I picked it up at the port.




Getting gas in Dixon CA



I drove it from Hayward Calif. back to my hometown, Reno NV… well almost all the way back.




A wire shorted out underneath the dash and fried the starter and all the wires in that circuit..
So after breaking down at 2PM, we made it home to Reno a little after midnight.
Here is the culprit:



Here is the ’46 with my old ’51 Pontiac that I had sold to pay for the new car (it had yet to be picked up by the new owner)

 

So the first thing to do was re-wire the car and re-do the dash while I had it out.









Wiring is boring to look at.. I know... more fun stuff to come.

Then I started the laborious task of welding up all 467,000 trim holes that were in the car.

 

I just couldn’t handle having a tilt column anymore... so……..








And it was replaced with an Ididit column topped with a ’51 Buick steering wheel.



Then I just started driving it… a lot.



… And got stranded far from home a couple times... thank god for AAA

 

After a while I got tired of the faded primer and radials, so I gave it a fresh coat of black, added some 6.70 BF Goodrich tires, a set of Appleton 112’s, and it made it a whole new car. Not much progress was made for a while after this. It’s just so much fun to drive!



My lil’ helper…



Well, then the fun driving came to a halt when the t-5 transmission decided to stop working right…
So I took one last cannonball run to San Jose, CA to my friend Johnny Koonce’s shop “Kool Cat Kustoms” to install a brand new t350 transmission and rebuild the entire rear suspension.
(anybody who needs any work near San Jose should go to him, highly recommended, top notch, honest work)






New rear end…



With the new automatic trans I installed a Limeworks column shifter instead of the common Lokar floor shifter.



Then came more and more driving. I clocked in about 4500 miles in 4 months
Here are some pictures from our trip to Santa Cruz, CA by the ocean.





One more random picture..

 

I got tired of the old leaky gas tank, so I installed a tank out of a ’64 Comet (basically same as the common mustang tank)





Just for the halibut I took the front sheet metal off to clean up the frame and check the welds on the motor mounts…




But I had to put it back together quickly so I could drive the car to San Francisco the next day to play a show.

 

Welding the fenders to the body and fixing rust…









Then I took the car apart for bodywork and paint……….

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More pictures of bodywork....

 

And this brings us up to where I stand right now.

Next I will try to do the upholstery myself, it will be an oxblood with large pleats and ivory piping.

Then I will continue driving this thing daily, rain or shine, any distance.

We'll call this one the "Acquafondata Chevrolet"

Thanks for reading

 

Holy crap that's nice!

The only thing I would recommend is that you hook up with Gallogiro and let him wood grain that dash.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9103536#post9103536

 

Looks awesome Aaron!! What front end is in it? save me re-reading the old thread

 

WOW! I've been wondering how this build has progressed, I didn't expect to open this new thread it see it almost finished!
It looks amazing you've done a great job and I'm glad you chose to paint it black.

 

Looks great Aaron!! What type of paint did you end up using?

 

Wow dude, no more hose-on-primer-glossy-wet-dreams anymore. You nailed it. Good for you, enjoy it.

 

I don't know what to say Aaron....

It's like I'm dreaming..


This IS the Aquafondata Chevrolet.

This was never my car.

 

As I look at it, I think you should remove the part of the story about me having anything to do with it.

It is YOUR car.

 

Looks great. The Black Swan

 

I remember seeing the pics of it when it was still in Hawaii and thinking that I liked it,. but wow, you've really taken it to new (and very tasty) level.
Well done!

 

Wow!
Looks awesome,congrats man!

 

Thanks everybody for all the feedback, I really appreciate it!

It has a Mustang II cross-member out of an actual ~78 Mustang.. thanks man

It is DuPont single stage black. 6 coats. The first two coats were sprayed on normally and the last 4 were mixed half and half with clearcoat for a really deep shine.

No way man, I'll always give credit where credit is due, I'd never have finished a car like this if you hadn't given me the 'rough sketch' to work off of.

 

Always loved this car and the paint just put it over the top. Really setting a spark for when I start my 41 buick project this winter. Congrats and enjoy.

 

Wow I'm envious! That's one beautiful little Chevy!

 

I've always loved '41 Buicks. One of my favorite cars.

 

YEAH MAN, youve done all the right moves so far. I dig it! the wood grain dash would be cool

 

Wow... I followed the original thread all the way through.

It looks so good in all black.

What an amazing car... that hard work paid off!

-W

 

I like the rear-quarter stainless side-reversed on the hood. I had a '41 coupe that I
did that to. It almost gives it a Plymouth look.

Bitchin' ride!

 

BITCHIN !!! Chris

 

That ride is soooo nice !!!!! I love it. Thanks for posting.

 

Just when I think that traditional cars are lost on the younger generations, you come along. Not only have you nailed the post-war, So. Cal. theme, but have done so at.... nineteen??
I tip my hat to you, son; you have restored my faith.....

 

I could not have said it better !!!!!!!!!!! LOL

 

Great color and I love this whole rebuild. Way to go Aaron!!!!!!!


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