According to Jesus, "Having Ian do the chop was great! He took the time, so we could figure out all the little subtle details that make this chop look so good. It also took a lot of beer!" With all the sheetmetal back in place, it was time for paint. Once again, Jesus had his own ideas and the right guy to do the painting. In Salinas, there is a heavy undercurrent of traditional custom culture. Many of the followers are young guys who work in regular body shops and moonlight on special projects. Jesus had his buddy, Lionel "The Tokyo Kid," shoot the '54 in his chosen PPG Satin Copper Orange. Yes, satin! Jesus wanted a different look and one of his ideas was to use a soft satin finish. The finish color looks great; the color has great depth, and the body actually looks friendly and touchable. It's really quite unusual and very effective. The detailed engine bay and firewall, which are finished in a high gloss, add even more interest and ambiance to the car.
To re-trim the interior, Jesus looked back to the '50s and '60s for ideas. Like the engine bay, the interior sheetmetal features an all-gloss finish, which adds a rich feel to the car. The dash is mostly shaved and the stock instrument panel features smoked lenses over VDO gauges. The car also is completely rewired with a Painless wiring harness.
For the software, Jesus figured a classic "El Cheapo" Tijuana blanket trim would do the trick. He did this "striped-delight" over the stock seat frames, stretching four gray-, orange-, and black-striped blankets to a contour fit. The floors are done with silver panels and orange carpet from R.E Cutty in San Jose, California, and this same silver trim is used in the kick panels and lower door panels which are trimmed in their upper sections in black vinyl.
The steering wheel is stock '54 Chevy, which he restored. The floor-mounted shifter activates a Turbo 350 transmission and the Chevy has a mega sound system hidden in the glovebox. It's not your normal super glossy, high-buck custom, but it's got the right touches in all the right places. The project has been in the works for over five years and it's been driven for at least four of those years. Jesus' '54 is the heart and soul of what drives guys to build neat customs, and his Chevy is surely one of the coolest and most unique customs we've recently seen.
Jesus Villalobos
San Jose, California
'54 Chevy 210 Custom
Drivetrain:
A '64 Chevy 283 outfitted with a pair of classic finned Moon aluminum valve covers, lightly reworked '62 "202" heads, Pertronics electronic distributor conversion, and an Offenhauser manifold is topped with three two-barrel Rochester carburetors. The stout small-block is backed by a TH350 automatic.
Chassis:
The stock chassis is modified with a Tony Smith-installed Mustang II IFS, power rack, KYB shocks, airbags, and disc brakes. Out back is a Greg Iazzerini-fabricated four-bar setup, airbags, and another pair of KYBs.
Wheels & Tires:
What else but wide whites, steel wheels, and cool caps?!
Body:
Greg Iazzerini and Pep's Customs of Salinas shaved the trim, reshaped the wheel openings, angle-chopped the top (2 inches up front and 3 in the rear), added B-pillars from a '46 Fleetline, frenched the rear taillights, and added '55 Chevy headlight rims.
Paint:
Jesus' pal, "The Tokyo Kid," applied the Chevy's flawless, custom-mixed PPG Satin Copper Orange finish.
Interior:
The car's interior sports classic Mexican blanket upholstery that works well with the Chevy's traditional California styling. The silver panels and orange carpet may not sound that appetizing, but they sure look cool here.