Omaha, Nebraska's John Boyce knew what he was doing when he commissioned old friend Dale Boesch to build his first-ever street rod. The end result was a stunning black '38 Chevy coupe, which took home the coveted Goodguys/Eagle One Street Rod of the Year award in Columbus, Ohio, for 2006.
Boesch called on all of his years of experience to turn out the radical coupe. Body mods and tricks include a wedge chop to the top (2 1/2 inches in front, 1 inch in the rear), a 2-inch pancaked roof, a wedge-sectioned body, and 4-inch stretched doors. The A-pillar was laid back 2 1/2 inches, the B-pillar leaned forward 1 inch, and the C-pillar laid forward 1.5 inches. The entire cab of the coupe was moved 3 inches to the rear, creating a look the most skilled European coachbuilder would salivate over. Grille Art of Idaho brought the Boesch-designed stainless grille, a masterpiece in itself, to life.
Underneath the master metalwork lies a full tube chassis with Corvette C5 suspension, which also has Air Ride Technologies ShockWave 'bags. A hefty Magnuson supercharger rests atop a shiny LS1, which feeds a six-speed manual trans. Custom one-off wheels are courtesy of Intro.
Boesch designed the interior, which features "cigar" shade Italian leather and other tasty accents, including stainless steel seat inserts and a modified 1957 Caddy steering wheel. The Recovery Room in Plattsmith, Nebraska, stitched all the trim.
When Boyce was interviewed during the special Street Rod of the Year award ceremony and praise was being laid upon the finished product, he humbly joked, "Not bad for a washed up old motorcycle racer." He was right. Not bad at all. When lined up against the competition, the '38 coupe shined like a diamond.