Words & Photos: Chadly Johnson
My buddy Titus and I were in Milwaukee for the annual Cheaterama show when we caught wind of another car show in town at the same time. The show was the Milwaukee Concourse D’Elegance, which is basically a smaller version of Pebble Beach. Now, this is not our typical crowd, but it was rumored that some hot rods were going to be on display, so we figured we’d check it out. After an hour of drooling over cars that I could not afford with a lifetime of pay stubs we came across a freshly built ’57 Chevy done up in ’60s gasser style, and man, they nailed it. The paint was wild, it had a perfect stance, and was absolutely dripping in chrome. Then I read a small sign posted next to the Chevy and discovered this was no fresh build, but a survivor car that has been painstakingly preserved for nearly a half century. Even after I knew it was actually built in the ’60s I could still hardly fathom it due to its amazing condition. I knew I had to get its story.
The gasser was owned by Terry Taylor, who had a goal of turning it into an ISCA champion contender. As fate would have it, Terry met Butch Brinza at the 1967 ISCA show in Indianapolis and the pair teamed up with their eyes set on the 1968/69 show season. The ’57 was already a show winner, but underwent a major transformation before entering battle in the upcoming season. Terry modified the body, including the molded hood scoop, then brought the Chevy to Butch, who soldered the front clip into a flipper front end and leaded the rest of the body. Butch is also responsible for the ’57’s incredible paint job. The paint concept was a struggle, but when the design became clear to Butch he taped it all out in a single night before shooting the Candy Tangerine paint. Secondary only to the paint is the amazing amount of chrome plating on the gasser. In fact, Terry had 3 chrome shops at work to keep up with his vision, which included plating everything from the engine block and heads on down to the rear axle.
The overall package proved a winning combination, capturing 131 trophies at 26 car shows and being named the 1968/69 ISCA International Grand Champion. The win also earned Terry a 1968 Plymouth Road Runner designed by Gene Baker and painted by Chuck Miller called “Probe,” a round trip for two to Los Angeles with accommodations at the Sportsman’s Lodge, and a trip to Barris Kustom City. People often found it hard to believe that the heavily chromed car was even capable of running, which was a requirement to compete at the ISCA shows. One day Terry had heard too much from a group of people who were at a show near closing time, so he fired up the ’57 and left a pair of rubber patches to prove just how well the car ran. In fact, the gasser has time slips to prove it was capable of 12.10 second passes at 112 mph.
After the winning season, Terry took the car home and partially disassembled it for even more chrome work, but then other projects and priorities took over. Terry became heavily involved with motorcycles, several of which were painted by Butch, as well as caught up in starting a country rock band and opening a bar in his hometown. Prior to his passing, Terry asked that the ’57 be passed to Butch. After a long search for a deserving owner, Butch sold the ’57 to its current caretaker, Dennis Worthy of Franklin, WI. In 2003, Butch was honored by the Pinstripe Legends with their Lifetime Achievement award for “Innovating and Perpetuating” the art, and for his influence on painters and stripers in the upper Midwest.
The Chevy made its first reappearance at the Milwaukee World of Wheels in 2010, where it was a real crowd pleaser. It was later invited by the ISCA to be displayed in their booth at the Detroit Autorama, and in 2011 it was invited to the Milwaukee Concourse D’Elegance. 2012 marked another highlight when Del Swanson created a tin sign of the ’57 for the 2012 Pinstripe Legends Show. The signs were then sold to raise money for the Milwaukee Children’s Hospital. Currently the ’57 resides in dry storage, as its chromed engine is being carefully examined at a machine shop in hopes that it may run once again. The engine was out of the car at the time Dennis took ownership, but he is sparing no expense in the hopes that it can once again be joined to the body as a runner. It definitely sounds like the old survivor is in caring hands that will guarantee its future is as bright as its glorious past.
