Terry and Susan Streetmans 37 business coupe has been good luck since before they even bought the car in 1998. Terry was on the lookout for an all-steel 37 when a friend gave him a tip on an ad for an all-steel Nebraska car. Terry took a shot. The owner had recently purchased it, driveable and in excellent original condition, at an estate sale and wanted to turn it around. Somebody else had already shown interest, but no cash, so Terry got the car and brought it home to Clemmons, North Carolina.
Lacking the resources at home for a complete off-the-frame buildup, Terry took the car to Rod Crafters up the road in Kernersville, where Larry and Mike Shoaf, along with Mark Belton, got busy turning the green, flathead-powered stocker into a hot rod. The original steel body now rides on a powdercoated TCI Stage III chassis with custom IFS, coilovers, and GM disc brakes in front, and a Grand National racing-style sway bar.
Terry wanted Chevy small-block power for his rod and was thinking along the lines of a Chevy ZZ4 or an LT1. When he read an article about GMs limited-edition ZZ430 motor, he made up his mind on the spot. He called a friend at a Winston-Salem Chevy dealership, who came through with an engine for him. Rated at 430 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque, the ZZ430 is fed through a dual-plane intake and Holley 750 carb. This one is backed up with a TPI-built 700-R4 trans spinning 3.70:1 gears in a Currie 9-inch rearend with limited-slip.
The coupe was finished in June 2000 and has been on the road ever since. At its first show, it was picked by an NSRA state representative to represent North Carolina at the Nats in Louisville, Kentucky. At the Goodguys Southeastern Nats at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, track owner Humpy Wheeler gave it his Humpys Favorite Hot Rod award. We found the 37 by pure luck at the Good Ole Boys Street Rodders show in Statesville, North Carolina, last spring. Even before we knew about the rare mill, we liked its clean look and all-business attitude.