Folks Of Interest The Hot Rods of Pete Chapouris

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The Hot Rods of Pete Chapouris

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I am with you with the roadster,the simplicity is what makes it stand out in a crowd. HRP

 

Yes, the simplicity, yet the elegant look of this hot rod is outstanding. Great color, as well.
The passing of Pete has hit a different nerve within me, don't know why.
A while back, I began a thread about the "mature folks", within H.A.M.B.
The passing of Pete simply got my undivided attention, as a "mature" H.A.M.B. guy.

 

With the passing of all these special folks within the hot rod community over the last couple of years. Its has me wondering about today's builders. Will we hold them in as high regard as we have the legends that we have lost?
These legends are the forefathers and creators to our hobby. What they did and established will never again be repeated. Sad to see these gentleman pass.

 

The word 'Iconic' is thrown around a lot these day,,,
But I just checked with my Webster's and sure enough,
In the description it says - 'also see Pete Chapouris'

 

This T has long been one of my favorites. I would like to replicate the stance on my RPU project. It looks like this chassis is fabricated to resemble a rolled-pan all the way around. I hope some members can post some build photos of this one (and others). Just about everything he a had hand in building has been featured in a magazine at some point.

 

This T is just plain cool . I didn't know him but seems like Pete lived a good life ..

 

I am always interested so-called "mature" hot rodder's take on traditional styled cars....those who lived through hot rod progression.

Guys who want the look and vibe of an "old school" car, but had lived through the flathead to OHV conversion, would never go back to drums brakes, want the best suspension they can get and can't even imagine not running radials.

Its as if they aren't constrained by the strict rules of tradition because they lived the tradition...they are tradition!

 

Love, love that car! I know that he brought it to the Lone Star Roundup at least once. I stared at that thing for quite a bit of time checking every detail out.
Totally traditional? No.
Right on in look and stance? Heck Yeah!!!

 

Here is a small story on the build and the car
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/week-wicked-driven-beyond-hells-half-acre/

 

What page is it on once you get to the Hot Rod .com site?

 

To the point about the "mature" rodders not needing to conform to tradition because they lived it.

I met Pete at the Fathers Day Roadster show around 15 years ago, and he was displaying one of the first So Cal Speed shop Deuce roadsters that had the 16" Halibrand style wheels and blackwall big n' little bias plys. It made a big impression on me. I complemented him on using the tall, perfectly sized bias plys. He kinda shrugged his shoulders and in an "awe shucks" way said "well, that's probably because I'm an old guy and that's what I remember."

I disagreed, and told him it was because he was more like us young guys that he wanted to run bias plys; ride comfort and radials are more important to some of the older crowd!

I like to think he appreciated my comment, it's been noted he seemed much, much younger than his age (timeless might be the better word); he was such a cool guy!

 

This is the perfect example of how something so simple can be so elegant by the builder knowing how the eye reacts to shapes and angles. I love that the windshield and vertical line behind the seat are nearly identical. Also, the consistent body exposure around the rear tire shows how axle placement makes or breaks a look. It's all so subtle, but just so right.

 

This is the car of his that did it for me. I saw this in Oklahoma City in the early eighties and could not take my eyes off of it. The paint and body work was so good it didn't look like a human could do it. Loved the different approach to flames also.

 

Here's the link to the Hot Rod article from 2006:
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/0605kc-1926-ford-track-t/

Here's a write up in Old Cars Weekly:
http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/fathers_day_ford

I believe it was in Hot Rod a few times and then again in some road trip coverage out to Austin in Hop Up when Mark Morton was at the helm. I've been a big fan of this T and its cleanliness for a long time. It was one of the cars that kept the "traditional look" alive.

 

A few more from coverage of the Mooneyes show in Yokohama, last December.

 

That car is so cool that... no one notices the V-6! Gary

 

The last time I saw Pete was at this years Deuce Days, never seemed to catch up to him to say hello.

Wish now I'd have made a bigger effort.

Mick

 

By itself it's hard to notice how small the overall car is. Him standing by it? Holy shit! Love em or hate em, someone could pay sincere homage to this car with a Shadow Rods pkg. I think those are larger but the proportions are right so as similar as one could build it it wouldn't be just a copy or clone. Now before y'all take out the hammers and pry bars to bust me in the head, the quality of that pkg is so top shelf I couldn't imagine it not working. And the price is right.

It would be a worthy honor to the man in any color, and he's sure worth honoring. I didn't know him, but the "CA Kid" and Jake's yellow 34 hit me at a very young time in my car life and it still sticks with me today. I'm really sad that he's gone but he's sure to live on in this world of ours.

 

The car is just so simple that it's elegant. Pete thought so much of it that he kept it and freshened it up. It's one of those cars that you can look at forever without it being stale. I love it!

 

That '39 prompted me to build mine, at the time they had just sold to Slover and moved to Missouri. I was a kid barely able to drive but scraped enough lawn mowing money together for the chassis mods. Catch was some fat fender parts were not finalized and they hadn't done a fat chassis here, so mine and Herb Palmers chassis were in back as a learning tool worked on when Pete and Jake would be in town showing the new crew how to do it. Two years later I started working for Pete & Jakes and for several years was one of the best times of my life.
The Flames on Pete's 39, were one of two concepts. When employed I had an old draftsman's desk that was filled with Pete and Jakes old drawings, catalog layout etc. Including a folder for Petes '39 that contained original sketches and mark ups for the flames. The other concept had traditional flames on the front end then coming down the hood sides and past the door. I liked both.

 

Having practically no car to the rear of the rear tires is one of the most outstanding features to a hotrod T. Great choice Jay, what a gorgeous hotrod!

 

His cars always had the 'right look'. Great proportions, great workmanship and simplicity.

 

There are many here that are highly skilled at the craft and create awe inspiring works be it hotrod or custom. I follow many of their builds gracing the Hamb for us to glean, learn, follow and appreciate. There is a level of competence one reaches resulting in excellence in their craft.
So the answer to your question is yes there are equals right here. They for the most part are quite humble and quite willingly share their expertise.
I will hold them in high regard. They deserve no less. Thanks to those of you I speak of.

 

Th original is fiberglass so I don't see a problem.

 

Looking at the pictures of the cars featured here I usually find myself wanting to know what kind of engine it has, what kind of brakes it has, what kind of transmission it has, what kind of suspension it has, what kind of tires it has, and so on. Looking at this car, however, is different. I really don't care about any of that. It's just so stunningly, elegantly, tastefully, cleanly, perfect in the way it looks. It's the hot rod equivalent of Grace Kelly in an evening gown.

 

I really liked Pete Chapouris' '70's era '50 hardtop. Nice & simple; nosed, decked, de-handled, lowered, one-piece Olds windshield, Tahitian red with a pearl silver top, on wire wheels and call it done:

 

Oh yeah Gary! I had that one taped to my wall as a kid. One reason why I have about equal love of both rods and customs.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Visited with Pete from Texas on Nov11,2016 at his SoCal shop.When he found out I had a Henry 32 cabriolet,he wanted to show me his 32 full fendered cabriolet.He consented to a pic with my friend who accompanied me from Texas.He was super nice,witty,and friendly to two total strangers from Texas! My friend and I agreed Pete Chapouris "made our day!"

 

I saw it there too, one of the high points of the weekend. One of my favorite hot rods of all time, what a beautiful car. It just doesn't have a bad angle.

The irony was, I was the only one looking at it, there was a deeply chopped, double Zed T Tudor behind it that belonged to the guy in the rat fink shirt and the pork pie, I had to keep waiting for the people looking at the Tudor to step out of frame... it was like Grace Kelly sitting in front of a tattooed "betty"....