With a set of 2-1/2-inch dropped...
With a set of 2-1/2-inch dropped spindles and one coil cut out of the springs, Ken was able to get his ’51 down to the proper height. The body had some of its trim removed, and a ’50 Olds windshield replaced the original two-piece unit.
When Roger and Kaye Littleford brought their son, Ken, home from the hospital in 1962, it was in a ’51 Chevy Fleetline. Living in Idaho Falls, Idaho, it seems that Roger has always had a love of customs (he believes for more than 50 years) and it started when he watched a neighbor drive past his house in a custom ’39 Ford two-door sedan.
While serving in the Air Force (from 1958-63), Roger bought a ’51 Fleetline and used it to drive back and forth to and from the base. It was nosed, decked, and had a custom grille as well as a ’50 Pontiac one-piece windshield. And, in typical ’60s style, it was painted a lime gold!
When Ken was old enough he said he wanted a ’51 and his dad decided to build one for him. Roger found one, having bought it from a friend who had stored it at his dad’s farm, but he says the car was in bad shape when he got it, with the top caved in, no hood or interior, and whole lot of dents.
That’s Ken’s ’51 in the background...
That’s Ken’s ’51 in the background and Roger’s ’52 up front. Both are painted with Sherwin-Williams powder blue primer, with Wally Bowcutt spraying Ken’s and Les Andrus, of Blackhawk Autobody, spraying Roger’s ride.
He had outfitted it with a straight-six, but later changed it to a 350/350 engine and trans combo with a ’57 Chevy rearend. Dropped spindles with one coil cut gives the car its stance, and 15x6 GM wheels wrapped in Coker wide whites gave it its look. The ’70 350 engine was bored 0.030 over by Echman Machine in Rexburg, Idaho, and an Edelbrock 650 carb feeds the V-8.
For the ’52 Roger would build for himself, he drew inspiration from a neighbor’s car (then owned by Ted Carlson) he’d seen in the mid-’50s that not only cruised the streets but could be found on the dragstrip, too. The car was eventually sold and then sold a couple of more times before Roger’s friend, Terry Ray, bought it and replaced the windshield with one from a ’50 Olds and then louvered the hood. Ray then decided to sell it and Roger saw he had a chance to own it, which he did in short order. It took three years for him to do the modifications he felt the car needed.
Roger’s ’52 has the louvered...
Roger’s ’52 has the louvered hood as well as a ’51 grille with a ’52 top bar.
Roger is the ninth owner of the car and, like the owner, has spent its life in Eastern Idaho. A friend of Roger knew the car’s original owner from 1952, and Roger invited him over to see the car and, when he took him up on the offer, his eyes teared up and he said it brought back lots of memories. The car now fits into Roger’s longtime dream, and he says he wouldn’t change anything else on it.
Ken’s bored-over 350 Chevy...
Ken’s bored-over 350 Chevy has a fair amount of chrome under the hood and cooling is aided by a new radiator from U.S. Radiator.
Roger Brown did the interior...
Roger Brown did the interior in the ’52 using a white pleated material with black cut pile carpet. The steering wheel is original.
Ogden Chrome dipped the appropriate...
Ogden Chrome dipped the appropriate amount of metal into their vats before Roger bolted it up to his ride. All of the window glass has been tinted, and a ’50 Olds windshield went into this car, too.