Dave Garner's 1936 Chevrolet Standard coupe - Shock Therapy

By his admission, dave garner has spent a good deal of his life rodding and restoring old vehicles; but, while he has had a number of nice cars and trucks, dave never felt like they were done, as he says, "right." however, that was going to change when he found his next project, a '36 Chevy standard coupe-this car was going to be done from the ground up, and this one would be right.

A young man purchased what would become dave's new acquisition from the original owner, and he drove it through high school and kept it in running condition until 1980. a planned father-and-son restoration project never came about,so the Chevy sat in storage for the next 20 years; dave jumped on it after seeing it listed for sale in hemmings Motor news. surprisingly solid, the only modifications made over the years were the additions of a Lasalle rear bumper and '53 Pontiac taillights. once in dave's garage, the coupe was disassembled, stove bolt by stove bolt, and then the decision-making process began about a replacement powertrain. Wanting something different, a wrecked '95 Pontiac 3.8-liter V-6 came dave's way and he couldn't pass it up. designated as the L67, it came with a supercharger, eFi, and lots and lots of wires.

The engine was mounted sideways for front-wheel drive in its original configuration, so dave picked up a '95 Firebird 4L60e to convert it to RWd. the engine and transmission bolted together, but there were a few challenges involved- the holes in the flexplate had to be elongated for the converter to fit; 1//2-inch spacers had to be made to move it back to fully engage the transmission's pump; and, finally, a fabricated flywheel cover was required since the engine has the starter on the left. once the engine and transmission were united, the next challenge was to mount them in the chassis. the V-6 lacks typical engine mounts so a cradle with provisions for them was fabricated and bolted to the block.

Although it would seem like an engine compartment that once housed an inline would easily accommodate a V-6, this particular engine presented a problem; the throttle body for the eFi is mounted to the back of the blower and it butted up against the body. dave's solution was to punch two 5-inch holes in the firewall, one above the other, and build a "tunnel" to connect the throttle body to the air cleaner. other fitment issues required moving the stock a/C compressor over the left head for steering clearance, modifying the serpentine belt system accordingly, and building equal-length headers that exit the engine compartment over the framerails and through the fenderwells. the engine remains stock, other than the modifications to make it fit.

A Mustang ii independent front suspension system from Jim Weimer's Rod shop was installed to update the chassis; a new X-member was installed in the middle; and a '97 Chevy s-10 two-wheel-drive rearend was added in back. the rear suspension consists of the main and second leaves of the s-10 springs, along with a pair of rollingsleeve airbags and an s-10 antiroll bar. dave fabricated a gas tank using 16-gauge mild steel, complete with an integral fuel pump, to fit the space available between the rear framerails.

Like everything else up to this point, dave did the hammer and dolly work necessary to get the body ready for color. He plugged the holes made for the Pontiac taillights, removed the spare tire bracket on the rear panel, and converted the trunk to a rumble seat. With the body better than the day it left the Fisher plant, dave began shooting all the sheetmetal with black PPg base/clear with guidance from friend and retired painter ed Boeger.

One of the few things dave didn't do was the interior, which was handled by West Coast Custom auto Upholstery. the '80s-era Bronco ii seats were chosen because the right seat moves forward far enough to allow inside access to the rumble seat. the original dash was covered in vinyl and fitted with three Classic instruments Vintage series gauges (speedo meter, tach, and a quad with fuel, oil pressure, temp, and fuel). a panel has been added below the dash that holds a/C vents, indicator lights, switches and auto Meter instruments to monitor the air/fuel ratio, vacuum/boost, trans temp, fuel pressure, and there is a clock as well. A fan of the Chevy's original styling, dave wanted to retain as much of its flavor as possible. to that end, he reconfigured the original radio head to operate a modern system. in stock form, the radio controls operated a firewall unit via speedometer-like cables; dave used miniature plastic chain and sprockets from a robotics supplier to connect the knobs to a Custom auto sound receiver with manual controls.

By now it should be obvious that dave's Chevy isn't a run-of-the-mill street rod, but many of the unique features are harder to detect than the out-of-the-ordinary powerplant. Along with the engine, most of the electronic features of the '95 Pontiac it came from are included. dave ordered all the pertinent gM shop manuals and a few good books on eFi, and then, with Pontiac's Powertrain Control Module in hand, he went about cutting and splicing all those wires to make everything work. along with the engine's ignition and fuel injection, other systems included in the coupe are: the retained accessory power system, which allows the radio to play for 15 minutes, or until a door is opened, after the ignition is in the off position; a twilight sentinel, activated automatically after a preset delay turns off the headlights when the ignition is shut off; a multi-function chime control, which reminds you the lights are on, and also controls the two-flow electronic system that adjusts power steering pressure to control sensitivity; a electronic level control, which controls the rear air springs; and, of course, cruise control, power windows, power latches, and remote entry are all part of the package.

About the only electronic component in the Chevy that's not gM is the tCi automotive transmission computer for the 4L60e; ironically, it led to one of the car's most unusual features. the tCi electronics allow the transmission to be shifted manually, so dave decided to include a special control for it and some of the car's other electrical accessories-a computergame joystick. Mounted on a stalk between the seats, the genX 500 Quickshot has a variety of switches to control the lockup converter, transmission up- and downshifts, high-/low-beams, momentary turn signals, and all cruise-control functions. No coins are required, and dave looks at the world through the windshield instead of a video screen.

After six years in the making, and in two years of daily driving, the coupe has only faltered once. That was due to a loose pin in the engine's electrical harness that made itself known in the first thousand miles- not bad for any street rod, particularly one as complicated as this example. Other than that one little hiccup, the Chevy has performed perfectly and has proved to be exactly what dave wanted-a unique street rod that incorporates vintage looks and contemporary features. and there's nothing really shocking about that.