While the body was being worked on, a new chassis had to be built, too. This was because Don wanted one of Barry's DynaRide stainless steel independent rear suspensions in his car, and the stock CtC chassis needed to be reworked to make it fit. SRRC's Chad Vogele also installed a Mustang II-type independent front suspension, a set of QA1 coilover shocks both fore and aft, and Wilwood disc brakes on each corner. Don's car would also benefit from a set of newly-designed SRRC wheels in 17x7- and 18x10-inch diameters wrapped in Toyo rubber. And since Don got the first set of wheels, they're now known as SRRC Illusion wheels.
Small-block Chevy engines have been the staple of reliability in street rods for the past three decades, even though the basic design of the 350 has been refined over the same time period. An '01 LS1 was picked as the new rod's source of go, but it was to be topped with a new mini blower (it easily fits under the hood) from Magnacharger. The EFI is still in place, and is controlled by the stock computer.
SRRC did, however, elect to replace the stock exhaust with a custom stainless steel header and exhaust system that dumps into a pair of Stainless Specialties mufflers and out a single, custom SRRC oval tip. SRRC's Ryan Rivers, when he wasn't busy fabricating the buck for the grille, created many of the rod's custom metal pieces, including the radiator cover.
Chris Brown was about done with the body after finishing with the rear fenders and apron area, as well as changing the profile of the removable roof. When he was done, only the doors were left unchanged-everything else was modified, either added to or shaved off. The body and bare chassis went to Keith Pickrell at Wilson Auto Body (Santa Ana, CA) who then blocked and prepped both before spraying the custom-mixed House of Kolor tangerine and orange pearl paint.
Gabe Lopez, the same upholsterer Barry used to stitch the interior to the Impact roadster, was called upon again to create a leather interior for Don's ride. Chris Brown designed a center console for the rod's cockpit that waterfalls down from the middle rear, splitting the interior in half. Gabe built a pair of bucket seats and covered them with brown leather. He used the same material on the door panels, too. The 'glass dash, as Chris made it, is sparse, except for the domed pod that contains the gauge set from a Lexis IS300. The only shiny bits in the rod's interior come from the Budnik steering wheel and the console-mounted shifter. The Pioneer stereo head unit and speakers are hidden under and behind the seats. Lopez also covered the 'glass lift-off top with brown-colored Haartz cloth.
The crowning touch was to give the car a name, and Don discussed it with his wife, Diane, who was the one who came up with Illusion. Don explains it to mean, "It's a Coast to Coast car, but it really isn't. It's just an Illusion."
Roughly 12 months after starting the project, SRRC was about done with it, and Don was ready to drive it for the first time (for its STREET RODDER photo shoot) a few days before it was to go on a mini show tour (the Grand National Roadster Show, Portland Roadster Show, Sacramento Autorama, and the Seattle Roadster Show). Don also wants to take it to the Goodguys Del Mar show and then drive the wheels off of it. After all, he now has what he's always wanted!