George Pfalzgraf 's '52 Chevy Deluxe - Mild-Mannered

Since raising the year break in SRM a year or so ago, we've had the privilege to shoot a number of '50s and early '60s cars that we normally wouldn't have spent as much time looking over because of that 1948 cutoff. One thing we've noticed, though, is those later cars make very cool street rods without changing the original styling cues. Very subtle modifications, combined with the usual suspension and drivetrain upgrades, a decent paint job, and an upholstery overhaul, is oftentimes all that's needed to make one very cool ride. Case in point, George and Elaine Pfalzgraf's 1952 Chevy deluxe.

George has a long history with cars, going back as far as his childhood when he first became enamored by a neighbor's mga roadster. A few years later, George not only had an mga roadster under his belt, but a coupe as well. He went on to own a string of vintage Jaguars- including a '52 XK120 coupe and a '66 XKE coupe-a nash Metropolitan, and a stock '35 Ford Fordor before stumbling upon a '52 Chevy deluxe for sale. The owner was moving south and needed to get rid of the coupe, along with a '50 Chevy pickup. A deal was struck and soon the pair was headed to George's Cedar Falls, Iowa, home.

The coupe was in fair shape when George picked it up, but it needed lots of love. The transmission jumped out of gear, the interior was rotten, and the paint was stripped off the roof, but the car was otherwise solid. Being more of a resto guy than a hot rodder, George decided to take the best of both worlds and convert the stock hardtop in the style of the times.

The first task on the list was to overhaul the stock suspension. A pair of dropped spindles was installed up front to slightly lower the car, along with lower rear shocks, while the rest of the stock components remained unchanged. A set of Coker chrome steelies was wrapped in radial wide whitewalls and installed at all four corners. The original sixcylinder engine was replaced by a more modern 235ci Chevy straight-six and dressed in period performance and dress-up goodies. The stock three-speed manual transmission remains behind the hopped-up Stovebolt.

With the mechanical side of the car sorted, it was time to move on to the paint and body. George wanted to retain that '50s vibe with the exterior as well, so the car was handed over to Jay Jensen, who laid a two-toned Caramel Brown and white paint scheme. While the body was being massaged, all the stock chrome and stainless hardware was sent out to Aih in Dubuque, Iowa, and The Finishing Touch in Chicago, Illinois, who handled those chores respectively. Once the paint Was dry and all those shiny parts were reinstalled, it was off to Todd Ilax in Evansdale, Iowa, who installed a Painless Wiring kit before Joel Mattix at Boss Interiors, also in Evansdale, stitched up the spice and off- white tuck 'n' roll naugahyde.

When it was all said and done, George, with the help of Elaine and all the local Talent in and around Iowa, had created one of the most impressive '52 Chevy deluxe coupes around today. While the modifications were kept tame and mild, The execution left nothing lacking, resulti ng in what could be mistaken as simply A stock '50s Chevy. Nonetheless, George's '52 Chevy turns heads wherever it goes, and attracts the attention of hot rodders and restorers alike.