Member's Pride   //  March 2008

“The “SHOWLOW” Street Sweeper ‘62”

Denis McClendon Mesa, AZ   
 
From the beginning of his interest in cars, Dennis McClendon of Mesa, Arizona, had always favored the bubbletop ’62 Chevy. He has owned several '62s in the past and restored all of them. When he bought this ’62 Bel Air, his plan was to also restore it to original.

However, after his initial start on the project he said, “It sort of turned into a custom when I thought about the several modifications already made to it...and then things really got wild! One thing led to another and I finally decided, or it decided, that this is going to be an all-out super custom car.”

Dennis bought the car through an eBay auction from a seller in St Louis MO. The car was not original when he bought it. It had a custom interior, a small block Chevy motor and custom wheels. However, the car was completely rust-free and that also inspired Dennis to do an upgrade to modern running gear...and of course – more, much more!

I asked Dennis about how the unique look of the car was created. He said that although the overall concept was his, he incorporated ideas and suggestions from friends Ryan Butler of Enumclaw WA and Rich Thayer of Chicago, IL. He had a rendering done by Steve Stanford who combined all the different ideas into a beautiful set of illustrations so all of the guys could see what the car would look like when finished. Dennis took on the project of building the motor, while the interior was designed by Denny John from D & D Specialty Cars located in Van Buren , Arkansas , Ryan Butler designed the entire engine compartment and R. J. Customs handled the bodywork and paint/graphics.
 
The end result of this '62 makeover is quite striking and is probably more so when seen in person. Here is the extensive list of mods made in order to achieve this level of customization:

Complete tubular chrome moly chassis
Roof chopped 2” and pushed back 2”, removal of drip rails
Custom-built bumpers narrowed and shortened 2”
Fabricated lower valance/spoiler that also serves as a center air foil
Hand fabricated filler (behind and top of bumper)
Factory grille and headlight bezels
Fabricated radiator core support
Fabricated fan shrouding, upper core support cover and engine fan (inner fender-wells)
Hand-built exhaust headers and entire exhaust system including custom milled aluminum mounts
Scratch-built motor mounts which also serve as an upper Shock Wave mount
Scratch-built anti-sway bar mounts and end links
Modified front fenders (at top and entire lower portion near rocker)
Scratch-built hood (both outer skin and inner structure)
Scratch-built bracing and latch housings as well as hood hinges
Scratch-built firewall and cowl
Scratch-built entire sheet-metal flooring
Scratch-built entire dash
Custom-built all inner trim on the “A” pillars, “B” pillars and around headliner
Scratch-built package tray and waterfall
Removal of front and rear glass seals and chrome – floating, redesigned front glass and stock rear glass and set in urethane.
Custom side glass and opening hardware (including removal of wing windows)
Shaved door handles and all body moldings and emblems
All emblems or logos air brushed on
Redesigned upper body lines on doors
Doors lengthened 3”
Quarter panels shortened 3” and redesigned at rocker to add 1” to rear of rocker creating a “wedge” look  also lengthening lower rear quarter panel (after tire) recessing quarter panel for custom rear bumper
Scratch-built 3 piece rockers
Scratch-built upper side glass seal retainer
Modified rear upper “Filler” panel once rear glass was moved back and drawn into car
Addition of metal to upper/inner doors
Custom rear bumper (narrowed 2” and recessed into body) also scratch-built center valance plate holder and air foil which ties into and covering all fuel components
Scratch-built fuel tank
Scratch-built front and rear suspension
Scratch-built engine assembly brackets (alternator and air conditioner)
Scratch-built air intake plenum
Scratch-built fuel lines, brake lines, etc.
Scratch-built aluminum front inner wheel wells and splash panels
Heavily modified Silverado front power seats
409ci engine - bored & stroked to 484ci
Featuring an Algon fuel injection system (one of a kind)
Aluminum one-piece driveshaft and 6-speed Richmond transmission
Currie modular aluminum rear end
Custom gauges