1838 Chevy Coupe - The Fisher King

For some, their search for the Holy Grail will take a lifetime. For others, they attain what it is they're looking for a lot sooner. Wes Cassel, from New Berlinville, Pennsylvania, found out early in life what it was he wanted and, in one simple word, it was Chevrolets.

For many Chevy fanatics, the Corvette is at the top of their personal want list, and though Wes said he's owned "lots of Corvettes," he has also owned several street rods, including this Fisher-bodied '38 coupe.

Wes said he's always liked the looks of the Chevy from this year, and so did a lot of folks-Chevrolet sold almost a half-million of them back in the day. Still popular with today's street rod crowd, the '38 Chevy is one of the most prevalent body designs that populate the larger street rod car shows.

The chassis under Wes' ride uses the basic '38 Chevy 'rails, but a Chassis Engineering suspension system (with leaf springs and centered around a Ford 8-inch rear) was used, while a Heidt's independent Mustang II-type front suspension was installed up front. Billet Specialties Vintech wheels (16x7 and 17x8) were shod in BFGoodrich rubber (205/50R16 and 255/50ZR17) and are kept in a highly polished finish.

The powertrain is all Chevy, starting with a 350 V-8 that was upgraded with a Competition Plus camshaft, a four-barrel Edelbrock carburetor, Sanderson headers, and Flowmaster mufflers. Air flows through a Billet Specialties air cleaner to the carb, and cool water is supplied to the engine via a Walker radiator. A TH350 trans was also installed, with shift linkage provided by Lokar.

Wes was lucky when he originally found this coupe, as there wasn't much bodywork needed to make everything right for the new House of Kolor Black Cherry paint job (which looks black, or at least a deep dark brown at first glance). East Coast Customs in Stowe, Pennsylvania, did the paintwork, which was followed by an elaborate set of flames in gold over orange, with lime green and purple pinstripe.

Creature comforts are the cornerstone of any street rod, and Wes used buckets from a 2000 Chevy Malibu that had been reupholstered in vinyl and cloth by Wings Custom Auto Interiors, based in Glasgow, Kentucky. Wings did a great job with the interior job, as the finished product looks rich and elegant. A colormatched underdash panel was added to house the stereo and air conditioning vents, and five VDO gauges were gathered in an aluminum dash panel just forward of the Billet Specialties steering wheel. A Ron Francis Wire Works kit handles wiring for Wes' ride.

Not the type of guy to stand back in his driveway and admire what stays in his garage, Wes has actively poured on the miles with his coupe, racking up more than 9,000 miles on it before STREET RODDER caught up with him at the NSRA's 2006 Street Rod Nationals in Louisville. An obvious lover of cars, and especially Chevrolets, Wes isn't expected to slow down anytime soon. After all, he recently picked up a new Z06 Corvette after waiting for more than a year for it. But that just goes to show ya: Sometimes it's the patient man who finds his Grail no farther than at the end of his driveway!