Gary "Chopit" Fioto
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Beatnik '55 Ford Bubbletop
Chassis
Not long after acquiring the '55 Ford that served as the raw material for at least a portion of the Beatnik, Chopit picked up an '88 Lincoln Town Car that he cut apart to use underneath the car. The floor panels and the 'rails and suspension components are all unmodified factory parts off of the big Lincoln. In order to sink the car to the pavement--or to the carpet for those indoor show gigs--Gary installed a hydraulic suspension system in the front and rear.
Drivetrain
It may have started as a regular Chevy small-block right out of the crate, but it was turned into one wild-looking engine. The show status comes from a combination of a serpentine belt system, braided and hard lines, half a dozen Stromberg 97 carbs with helmet-style air cleaners on a cross-ram manifold, Moon finned valve covers, an immaculately finished engine compartment, and hours of polishing. A Turbo 350 automatic transmission backs up the engine.
Wheels & Tires
When we published a photo of the car as part of our 2006 Detroit Autorama coverage, we didn't say anything about the tires and wheels because we didn't know what they were. We now know that the Beatnik rolls on a complete set of 15-inch chrome reverse steelies, riding on Coker wide white radials--and don't they look great?!
Body & Paint
Look closely and you might recognize the cowl and hood as '55 Ford pieces. Virtually every other inch of sheetmetal has been replaced during the course of the buildup. Stock headlights were replaced by diagonal quad headlights from a '60 Lincoln. Below that, Gary added a distinctive '59 Cadillac front bumper and grille. A set of '60 Chrysler taillights fill the rear fins. A '58 Cadillac front bumper and grille have been reworked to fit in the rear, with modifications made for the exhaust pipes. The rest of the body panels were built by hand from fresh sheetmetal. Gary painted the car in a lavender shade of lacquer he calls periwinkle. The Lexan top was blown into a bubble by a plastic fabricator in Oklahoma named Jack. The whole piece is fastened with electrical hinges in the rear, and lifts more than 5 feet for passengers to enter and exit.
Interior
The early '60s are awakened in the custom cockpit of Chopit's ride. The steel dash is a complete custom piece, highlighted by a '60 Chrysler dash insert, and extending down into a handbuilt center console. The cut-down one-off steering wheel is mounted on the Lincoln steering column. Pearl white Naugahyde covers the Mark VIII bucket seats, with upholstery handled by Jeff Phillips from Fort Lauderdale. Air conditioning from Vintage Air keeps it cool inside the bubble. Nicholas Fioto, aka Chopit Jr, wired an Alpine stereo system, including a six-DVD changer hidden in the trunk.