It's been almost 20 years since Frank bought the coupe that has become the "keeper" in his collection. It's been about 10 years since it's been finished and on the road. In that time, Frank and his wife Laurie have taken road trips all over the eastern United States, bringing the mileage to over 75,000 miles.
Massachusetts to Charlotte every year for the Goodguys Nationals at the [Lowe's] Motor Speedway. The thrill of driving on the speedway under the lights is unbelievable. We drove to the NSRA Nationals in Louisville three or four times. We've driven on the Blue Ridge Parkway and through Amish country in Pennsylvania. We love these adventures."
Rod & Custom Feature CarFrank & Laurie NastasiaLowell, Massachusetts'39 Chevy CoupeChassisThe chassis is built on the original '39 Chevy 'rails, beefed up with a Fatman front crossmember and X-member installed by Baron Hazen in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Fatman crossmember was located slightly forward to give the car the correct proportions after being lowered. The Mustang II is modified with Heidt's 2-inch dropped spindles, and half a coil was cut from the NAPA MII front springs. The rear rides on Chassis Engineering parallel leafs. Frank installed Monroe shocks and Chassis Engineering anti-roll bars fore and aft.
Frank added a March serpentine belt system. The exhaust system, installed by Jay Lally at Jay's Custom Exhaust in Lowell, Massachusetts, combined Hedman headers feeding 2-inch aluminized pipes with Turbo mufflers. A TH350 automatic features a shift kit and FB Performance converter, and is hooked to the 3.00:1-geared Ford 9-inch rearend via an Inland Empire aluminum driveshaft.
Wheels & Tires
Frank could have gone in several directions with wheels and tires, but big 'n' little blackwalls rolling on polished Torq-Thrust II five-spokes from American Racing were a good pick. The rear rim dimensions are 17x8 with P255/55R17 Goodyear Eagle tires. The front 15x7s are mounted with P195/60R15 tires.
Body & Paint
The lines of a stock '39 looked good to Frank, who avoided making radical changes to the sheetmetal. Bumper guards and hood ornamentation were removed, the cowl vent was recreated, and a Porsche 911 gas door was added by Mike Pilato, who also modified the hood. In order to reduce what he calls the "bug-eyed look," Frank taper-sectioned and lowered the headlights. Except for necessary body prep work accomplished by Frank, the rest was left alone. Frank's friend Scott Pond from Hudson, New Hampshire, covered the body with Spies Hecker Currant Red, a Ford color, leaving just enough in the gun to shoot the grille and the headlight bezels.
Interior
The coupe's interior is a combination of old and new and it blends together just right. Upholsterers Bill and Kay Lang in Denton, Maryland, added the Pontiac Fiero front buckets plus a rear bench to create a full interior, covering the seats and the custom-built door panels in tan cloth and vinyl. A Lecarra Vette 3-style wheel was mounted on a Flaming River tilt column. Frank kept the stock instruments in the restored dash. The lower sub-dash houses the vents and controls for the Air-Tique air conditioning system, and hides the switches for the power windows, lights, and windshield wipers. The Alpine stereo system is mounted overhead, the speakers are hidden behind the rear seats.