Rod & Custom Feature Car
Brian Vanzant
1950 Chevy Styleline DeLuxe Station Wagon
Paducah, Kentucky
Chassis
The frame beneath Brian Vanzant's woodless wagon is a hybrid of sorts: partially stock with completely reworked front/rear 'rail sections, thanks to Brad Starks (Paducah, KY). To accommodate a new RideTech-optioned Scott's IFS, the front needed a severe re-arching, while a Currie 9-inch required the narrowing of the rear framerails by 4 inches. As for the RideTech components, ShockWaves were used fore and aft, the latter working with a stainless four-link setup. For the steering, a Ford power rack-and-pinion unit connects an ididit column; Wilwood disc brakes are powered by a '97 Nissan master cylinder with a 7-inch booster.
Drivetrain
Though many consider the "rap" of a Chevy inline-six hard to beat, for some, it takes more than just a high-pitched exhaust sound to get their gears rollin'-Brian included. Not only did he forgo the old Stovebolt for a V-8, he stepped way up, opting for a GM Performance Parts 502 big-block fed by an electronic Hilborn fuel injection (with custom-made plumbing for the cooling that looks more like it's part of the Vintage Air Front Runner system that was also used). The exhaust is all-stainless from the Street & Performance headers back; transmission of choice came from Gearstar in the form of a Level IV 700-R4.
Wheels & Tires
Again, Brian went "big" when it came to choosing the wheels and tires for the wagon. Ultimately, he went with a quartet of Budnik Gassers-19x8 and 22x10-outfitted with Nitto's 35-series profile NT555s (245s in the front, 285s out back). The soft-lipped, 10-spoked wheels offer just enough window to reveal the 11- and 12-inch Wilwood rotors and six-piston calipers they're mounted on.
Body & Paint
The transformation of Brian's Chevy started out at home, then migrated to Brad Starks' garage, and finally made its way to Randy's Body Shop (Paducah, KY) when Brad took a job there. The end result is anything "but" what Brian nor Randy Wiersma had envisioned in the beginning-what was once to be a nice "surf-inspired" wagon quickly snowballed. From chopped top to the slanted pillars, stretched doors (these were four-doors!) to slanted pillars, pie-cut hood to the one-piece quarter windows, there's not an inch of exterior that hasn't been touched. To further accentuate the restyling, Brad (along with Kyle Wiersma) finished the'50 off with a DuPont Hot Hues Cappuccino Craze. Then, after much practice and little guidance from Oscar Gamble, Randy wood-grained the center panel so perfectly that it's hard to tell whether it's real or not!
Interior
As with the wagon's exterior, the spacious cabin-which wasn't compromised much as a result of the chop-has been redone, reworked, and restyled from floor to ceiling. All metal fabrication, including the custom dash (with a machined insert by Corey Croley that houses the Classic Instruments gauges), was again undertaken by Brad. The rest, however, is credited to Tracy Weaver at the Recovery Room in Plattsmouth, NE. Using a combination of two tones of leather, wool square-weave, and real bird's eye maple with accents of machined aluminum trim (courtesy Corey) is all it took to do the trick-well, along with the creativity and skill to put them all together in manner as such!