Wheels Galleries

`Bub' Lovelady couldn't believe his luck when he first laid eyes on his 1931 Chevy coupe after his wife found it in a want ad in 1996. The car was totally stock, with under 36,000 miles on it and he drove it home, where the transformation to a true hot rod began.

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Mike Berry The Wichita Eagle

`Bub' Lovelady

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Mike Berry/ The Wichita Eagle

Keeping things simple and straightforward under the hood, Lovelady opted for a basically stock 350 Chevy crate motor with blockhugger headers, an Edelbrock carb and a nifty '54 Cadillac air cleaner.

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Mike Berry/ The Wichita Eagle

A bit of serious stance is provided by the 4-inch dropped axle custom-built for the Chevy by Jelly. The period-perfect nerf bars were likewise custom built for the car by Rock Valley, using stainless steel tubing.

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Mike Berry/ The Wichita Eagle

The view from the rear is just as impressive as the front. Lovelady chose to keep his coupe's original body dimensions, no chop, no sectioning, no channeling. Although equipped with a roll-down rear window, the car was not outfitted with a rumble seat, which was a common combination, according to the owner.

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Mike Berry/ The Wichita Eagle

Believe it or not, those are the original 1931 vintage glass headlight lenses. Lovelady upgraded them with 12-volt bulbs and added the clever internal amber turn signals for safety.

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Mike Berry/ The Wichita Eagle

Wheel Vintiques supplied the 15-inch rear steel wheels, trim rings and hub cabs. Coker 235 x 15 radial wide whites are fitted to the rear, 195 x14's in the front. Twin '37 Ford tail lights were neatly tucked inside the radius of the rear nerf bar.

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Mike Berry/ The Wichita Eagle

Seating for two is courtesy of Jerry Park, who donated the stock seat from his '34 Chevy coupe to the cause. Master upholsterer Tom Richardson stitched up the vintage tuck and roll interior. Note the window crank for the roll-down rear window, a stock feature.

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Mike Berry/ The Wichita Eagle

A Billet Specialties banjo-style steering wheel, wrapped in leather, tops the '78 GMC Suburban tilt steering column. Vintage black-faced Stewart-Warner gauges fill the billet aluminum custom dash insert.

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Mike Berry/ The Wichita Eagle

Richardson suggested the dog-leg pattern of tuck and roll for the door panels, accenting the door and window controls.

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Mike Berry/ The Wichita Eagle