Brad Masterson's 1951 Chevrolet
1951 Chevrolet Fleetline owned and restyled by Beatniks Car Club member Brad Masterson of Masterson Kustom Automobiles in Lynwood, California. One morning in 2005 while reading the local newspaper Brad found an add for a 1951 Chevrolet Fleetline. The price was right, only $4000, however it was localized in Colorado. The car had been in Colorado all its life, and it had normal body rot. Brad was on the look for a Fleetline, ever since he found some old photos of Tony Tellez' 1951 Chevrolet, he wanted one to make similar. But all the projects he looked at in California was out of his price range. This one really looked nice, and the owner could ship it to Los Angeles. It had original paint and upholstery, and was a good car to make a nice custom out of.[2]
He got hold of a Kaizer bumper overrider, similar to Tony's Chevy, but he ended up trading it for material with Bill Hines. He used the car as his daily driver while he worked at Bill, with 6V, stock inline six, and three speed on the column. The transmission leaked really bad, and eventually died. So he installed a 5 speed from a 1990 Chevrolet Camaro, along with a 235 cid from a late 1950s truck. While being at a car show in Detroit, Bill and Brad spotted a chopped fleetline done by the Gas Monkey Garage. Bill said; "That's your car! But we're not gonna chop it like that!" So when they came back to California, Bill ordered Brad to remove all the glass, and make it ready for a haircut. Up front, the chopped the a post 4", and the rear was just brought down until it looked nice. The way they did it, was to sink the entire top with deck lid assembly down between the rear fenders, so you did not have to mess with the deck lid. After he did removed the taillights, and making new temporary ones in the bumper guards. Originally, he planned to install taillights from a 1950 Dodge, but everybody thought the bumper guard lights looked so nice, so he stuck to them. He frenched the headlights, removed the door handles and filled the side trim holes. The first grille he had, did not feature a center bar, but a gold mesh screen. Later on he got hold of a nice stock grille bar that he installed. The bumper guards up front were also removed. He shaved the hood, deck lid to achieve a cleaner appearance, the deck lid was electrically operated by using a 1980s Cadillac latch. [2]
He painted the car candy apple green, with paint mixed by Bill Hines. The engine was dressed up with dual carburetors mounted on an Offenhauser intake. Dual exhaust was made, with Fenton headers. He found a nice 1954 Pontiac grille bar that he eventually installed. In 2011, he applied 1953 Packard trim spears. The upholstery was first done as it was stock. However being driven daily, it soon got ruined. A new tuck & roll upholstery was fabricated in 2011, by David, done in charcoal grey with white tuck & roll. An accessory butterfly steering was installed, along with a chromed glove box door. Up front, it sports Firestone 6.40-15 tires with 1953 Cadillac hubcaps.[2]
Magazine Features and Appearances
Kustoms Illustrated 18
Wheels Magazine August 2008
References
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