1951 Chevy Custom Hot Rod - Class Act

We like to think that every car or truck we feature in STREET RODDER is awesome, but once in a while we run across some that are extraordinary, and in my personal opinion (for what that's worth) this '51 Chevy is the epitome of a cool custom rod.

Like many a project, John Denich's '51 started life as a bare-bones driver that was driven nearly daily for around eight years, all the while receiving updates and changes as time and money permitted. John first picked it up when he was about 16 years old, after lusting for years over Watson's Grape Vine and Jimmy Vaughn's Chevy. John and his dad found the car, brought it home to a one-car garage, and had it in primer and on the road in about eight months. Once the bugs were worked out, John gave it a purple paint job and installed what he said was a bad, cheap interior-a cool car that then, as we said, provided John with years of loyal service.

After moving to Southern California from Canada, John decided it was time to truly finish the car with the intention of entering it in the Grand National Roadster Show. So with this goal, the Chevy's reincarnation began in earnest with a ground-up redo. The chassis and suspension, though not heavily customized, were refurbished, and a pair of dropped Fatman spindles and cut coils were installed up front. Along with the front suspension work, John added a quartet of KYB gas shocks, a Classic Performance Products disc brake conversion, a Walton Fabrications pedal assembly, and an ididit steering column assembly. A set of Wheel Smith steel wheels shod with a set of Firestones and dressed with '53 Caddy hubcaps finished it off. With the chassis and suspension complete, the next step was the addition of a small-block Chevy crate motor outfitted with an Edelbrock intake, a Rochester four-barrel, an Accel HEI ignition, and a pair of Hedman headers. John backed up the car's stout little small-block with a TH350 trans equipped with a B&M shift improver kit and a 10-bolt rearend pirated from a Chevy Nova.

The body mods, paint, and interior are the crowning touches to this reliable and comfortable ride. The body has been treated to not only nearly flawless restoration, but just about any modification any custom rod worth its salt can receive, like a complete nose, deck, and shave, frenched headlights, frenched '50 Ford taillights, a filled hood, an Olds windshield, and extended quarter-panels. Once the bodywork was completed, John treated the fully massaged body to a luscious coating of copper urethane-a perfect color choice for this car. The final touch to this beauty is its awesome white upholstery that pulls the body mods, tire and wheel combo, and classy color all together resulting one of the coolest custom rods we've seen in a long time!

Facts & FiguresJohn DenichStanton, California1951 Chevrolet sedan