1934 Chevy Three-Window - Virginia Powerman

It actually happens to a lot of folks; after spending an inordinate amount of time and money on a particular car, the next one you build is usually a beater. But what you might describe as a beater and what someone else believes is a beater can sometimes be seen as two different things.

Vic Wilbourne has spent the last 37 years working for the Virginia Power Company. He's also spent the better part of two and a half decades working on one car: a 1966 Corvette. A self-confessed Chevy man, Vic bought his Vette in the early '70s, rebuilt it in the basement of his home and then, in the early '90s, took it on the ISCA show car circuit where it was named a Semi-Sports champion.

Any type of car you own after an experience like that will probably never measure up, but that's all right with Vic. He just wanted to find a car that wasn't quite finished, buy it, do his magic, then go on to the next. He's had some success, too. In 1999, he received a STREET RODDER Top Ten award at the Goodguys Charlotte show for his silver-and-black '34 Chevy three-window. And his '34 Outlaw Chevy coupe was featured in 2002 on ESPN2's Mother's Car Show Series television show.

So when he came across a Down's Manufacturing '34 three-window for sale at the 2003 NSRA Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, he found his newest project. It seems the owner, a lawyer with a passion for huge engines, didn't like his ride after he'd had a 1,100hp fire-breather installed. So he told the car's builder, Gary White, to find a 502 engine for it and then sell it. Fate working the way it does soon found Vic, Gary, and the coupe in the same place. A deal was struck and Vic came home to South Boston, Virginia, with a new toy.

Feeling the interior was a bit dated, Vic began by ripping it out and replacing it with purple ultra leather. Decar Upholstery (Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina) installed the material, along with a TEA's Design split bench/bucket, and a center console that houses the stereo head unit as well as various knobs and controls. Vic liked the 502 crate engine, but added an aluminum Speedway Motors shotgun-scoop air cleaner for an added visual, plus a lot of extra chroming.

The hood sides, extended in length due to the car's 117-inch wheelbase (a stock '34's wheelbase measures 111 inches), already had the cutouts in place, but since Vic felt the Sherwin Williams purple paint needed more punch, he had Dwayne Cromer design a set of flames that would rise out of the cutouts and accent the sides of the car. Jim Norris laid out and painted the flames, and Vic got the desired effect-making the car's presence even more intimidating.

The chassis, a Pro-Street unit, was dialed in with a shortened Currie/Ford 9-inch rearend setup with 4.33:1 gears. Up front, a polished TCI independent suspension system was used. Coilover shocks are on each corner, as are Wilwood brake calipers. Hoosier meats (P175/70-15 and 31x18.5 LT) wrap Billet Specialties Legacy wheels (15x6 and 18x15). With such big tires stuffed under the rear, Vic added another trick body mod, extending the inner rear lip of the back fenders to reach under the apron, helping to minimize flying gravel and such.

Initially, the tach was mounted above the dash. Combined with the radically chopped windshield, it was hard to see ahead. So it was relocated into the smoothed-out dash, right next to the five other Auto Meter gauges. Bill Steele, a friend of Vic's, did that work, along with some of the touch-up painting needed after the car came back from various shops with fresh chips.

In the end, Vic got the car he wanted, without spending 25 years in his basement building it. Because this rod meets his three criteria (1: Chevy, 2: Pro-Street, 3: big-block), you might think it will stick around in Vic's garage for some time to come. Vic, though, says he's got itchy feet, which means he's thinking about something new. His wife, Susan, feels he should keep the rod he's got. But for a lot of people (Vic included), driving them is not the same as building them.