Bill Loveland wanted "something different" when he decided to build his first full-tilt street rod. How does a '38 Chevy business coupe in Atomic Orange grab you? The car retains its classic lines, but has attention-grabbing eye appeal to spare.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The bumperless coupe is just as sleek when viewed from the rear as it is coming toward you. The car has been lowered 4 inches in the rear, two inches up front.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A low mileage '95 Cadillac Fleetwood donated its LT-1 350 V-8 engine and 4L60E automatic overdrive transmission to the orange coupe project. The owner says it delivers plenty of power and decent gas mileage at highway cruising speeds.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Look closely and you'll see that Loveland did away with the squared-off door edges on the coupe, opting instead for smoothly flowing curves that match the overall body lines much better.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Rick Fisher Upholstery in Augusta created these stylish door panels using leatherette material with cloth inserts to match the bucket seat coverings.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
By using Silverado seats, Loveland was able to incorporate 3-point seat belts into the interior scheme. The seats also tilt forward and a small jump seat with its own safety belts can be installed in the surprisingly spacious area behind the passenger seat.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Creature comforts include a set of 2002 Chevy Silverado seats that match the custom door panels, Classic Instruments gauges in a polished billet dash insert, Hot Rod Air A/C, a highly polished ididt tilt steering column and a 4-spoke Lecarra leather-wrapped steering wheel.
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A closer view of the Classic Instruments gauge lineup, the Alpine sound system head and the controls and vents for the Hot Rod Air air-conditioning system.
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American Racing Torq Thrust II wheels tuck neatly inside the front fenders, wearing 215X50X17 Toyo Proxis rubber. Same wheels are found in back, but carry 235X55X17 tires of the same brand.
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A polished billet mirror on each side gives the driver a good view of what's going on behind the Chevy coupe. Multicolored pinstriping picks up the accent lines along the body and hood.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Loveland molded in the rear fenders and created his own teardrop-shaped fuel filler door, along with the ultra-thin teardrop tail lights. A custom rear roll pan was fabricated and flows seamlessly into the fenders.
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Originally inspire by a Mitsubishi Eclipse color, Loveland opted for a GM color sprayed by Mark Garringer. The Atomic Orange bodywork glows in direct sunlight.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A set of 7-inch sealed-beam tri-bar headlights with built-in amber turn signals were incorporated into the original stem-mounted headlight buckets.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A recessed tag surround was sculpted into the decklid, accented by distinctive Chad Ward pinstriping.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Fisher Upholstery carried over the gray leatherette theme and the "swoosh" from the interior into the trunk space.
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Loveland was able to polish his original vintage stainless steel grille to a beautiful luster, with the larger horizontal bars detailed by more Chad Ward pinstriping.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Once known as "Nellie Belle," the reincarnated '38 Chevy coupe is destined for a life of highway travel, not as a trailer queen, according to owner Bill Loveland.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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