Michigan Hot Rod Shop Turns Out “All That Glitters”
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Even Christa Haley’s photos do not do justice to the glittering deep red-brown paint on a ’49 Chevy Fleetline that All Speed Customs brought to the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (www.MCACN.com). The paint job on the car—applied by shop owner Brian Moat—was a sparkling special finish.
Paul Wetmore of All Speed Customs (www.allspeedcustoms.com) said that the car was built with SEMA in mind. The shop had talked to Meguiar’s about displaying it in their booth, but Meguiar’s wanted a black car. So, All Speed Customs skipped Las Vegas for the first time in years and came to Chicago.
Fleetline was the name for Chevy’s fastback series in the 1940s and early ‘50s and All Speed Customs learned that chopping a fastback roofline can be a challenge. The shop had to cut apart and the entire rear end from the wheels back. The quarters had to be reworked. The frame was C-notched on the rear half and converted to a Mustang II stub frame setup in the front.
Under the car’s hood is a 348-cid big-block Chevy V-8 fitted with Billet Specialties front and rear drive units. All Speed Customs mechanics used Edelbrock’s 409 cylinder heads and dual-carb intake manifold. Behind the engine is a 799R4 overdrive automatic transmission.
“We started with just a shell,” Wetmore pointed out. “The owner pushed it off his trailer and into the shop.” Building the car was a major job and took a bit longer than the customer had expected, but when it was done he saw the paint, the engine and the custom-stitched interior, all of which were handled in-house by All Speed Customs. Wetmore said the shop has a 12-person crew and is looking for at least two more team members, one for mechanical jobs and the other to help with bodywork. Anyone out there with som glittery talents can apply at 143 West Sherman Blvd. in Muskegon, Mich.
Photos by Christa Haley