Carrol Allen's Chevies were manufactured more than three decades apart, but they share a couple of things. Each car was the low cost offering from Chevrolet in the year of their birth and each has been reborn thanks to its owner's considerable automotive skills.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Carrol Allen says he completed a full frame-up restoration of his 1929 Chevrolet 2-door Coach after 12 years and quadruple bypass surgery. Although it's regularly driven to car shows, on classic Chevy tours and in parades, the burgundy beauty looks as fresh as the day it was finished in 1995.
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Allen's 1963 Chevy II hardtop did duty as his son's high school car, but was in rough shape, covered with hail damage, when he decided it was time to bring it back to life. Dechromed, smoothed and covered in Victory Red paint, the little Chevy was re-engined with an Astro van V-6.
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Chevrolet stepped up its power plant offerings in 1929, advertising `A Six in the price range of a Four.' The 196 cubic inch OHV 6-cylinder engine was available in the Coach model for only $595.
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The stylized cover between the front frame horns features simulated louvers and a nifty molded fitting where a hand-crank could be inserted if the electrical starter failed.
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Allen and his son Chris installed the Hampton Coach cloth upholstery kit inside the old Chevy, giving it just the right look for a fully roadworthy restoration.
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The instrument panel is a masterpiece of understated simplicity, with white-faced oval gauges and polished control knobs. The tall shifter controls a non-sychronized 3-speed manual transmission.
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The '63 Chevy II featured a clean, simple rear design, with squared off combination tail light/backup lights and a horizontal spear across the deck lid. Robbies Hobbies handled the replating of the front and rear bumpers.
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Allen revived the big wooden steering wheel with a lot of hand-rubbed tung oil. The spoke covers are reproduction pieces, but the aluminum hub and horn button are original pieces.
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One way to spot a Chevy of the late '20s and early '30s is the distinctive solid disc wheels. Some models were available with spoke wheels, but the disc wheels looked ultra-modern at the time.
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The old inline 6-cylinder engine was replaced with a 4.3 liter Astro
van's V-6 mated to a 700R4 automatic overdrive. Mercury Bobcat front
suspension with rack and pinion steering was added, along with tubular
braces to stiffen the front of the car.
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The bucket-style front seats fold forward to give access to the spacious rear passenger area of the 2-door sedan. Note the ample leg room.
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The dashboard design is a symmetrical layout, with the instruments perfectly centered in body-colored panel.
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The S-10 pickup rear end used under the Chevy II actually proved too narrow, so the owner had a friend custom-mill a set of wheel spacers to move the 7-inch wide Unique wheels to the proper location in the wheel wells. The rear tires are also Winston radials, but in a larger 235/60R15 size.
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Morgan-Bulleigh gets credit for the `waterfall-style' upholstery theme used to upgrade the original seats.
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Allen chose a set of Unique 5-spoke polished wheels for the Chevy II; the front wheels are equipped with 195/60R/15 Winston radials.
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Not exactly handy, the gas gauge is mounted outside, on the top of the fuel tank. The filler neck is located on the other end of the tank.
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Allen removed most of the side trim on the car, but chose to retain the small`6' fender badge because the car is still powered by a 6-cylinder engine, this one modern V-6, which replaced the old inline 6.
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The header panel above the windshield contains a crank mechanism that allows the glass to be cranked up a few inches for interior ventilation. The windshield wiper operates via a conventional vacuum pump, not the crank.
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The passenger side door is equipped with a handy map pocket. Both doors are lockable, but only the passenger door can be opened from the outside with a key.
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Built as a basic economy car, the Chevy II proved a perfect palette for an interior upgrade.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The interior of the Chevy II has been upgraded with two-tone leather upholstery, a late model GM tilt steering wheel and modern gauges and stereo system.
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