In The Beginning
Similar to many great rides built over the years, this project had very humble beginnings, starting with our move to North Las Vegas, NV, from the Washington, DC, area. While we’ve always had a love for hot rods, street rods, rat rods, and everything in between, our quest really began when we saw photos of a 1947 Dodge.
The car had a lot of chrome and too much of a chop than was to our liking, but Mike could definitely “see” the project we had been looking for. After months of searching, we found the start of our build sitting in a barn outside of Bristol, West Virginia, and arranged shipment to Nevada.
The Build
Although the build began as a weekend project for Mike, friends and numerous neighbors, we quickly realized that our ideas exceeded our capabilities. Fortunately, we had been introduced to Gary Child of Pahrump, NV, a master builder of hot rods for many, many years. Slowly, our project began to come to life.
While we began with a weekend project, Swoopy has evolved into a truly one of a kind custom. Even though she is a “more door” car, we are intrigued with the suicide rear doors and opera windows. After searching for over a year to locate a company to mold our custom tail lights, having to design the radiator, and similar adventures, it became evident that Swoopy was destined to be more than just your average grocery getter.
Naturally we needed to ensure that Swoopy had a engine that was complimentary to this new direction, so we contacted so we contacted Bob Walker, Power Play HEMI, located in Lowgap, NC. His efforts resulted in a stunning 392 HEMI, complete with aluminum heads, Keith Black pistons, Manley Rods, roller rollers, twin four barrel carburetors, and Joe Hunt Mini-Magneto. For maximum visual effect, majority of components above the aluminum heads have been chromed, including the twin Holley four barrel carburetors. We couldn’t think of a better engine to power this gorgeous fat fender.
It’s All About The Lines
Memorable vehicles readily demonstrate the ability to maintain their theme, and with Swoopy, it is all about the lines. Examples include skinned front and rear bumpers, floating grill, and custom one-off tail lights. This commitment to lines included crafting new reveals to replace the factory drip rails, wrapping the bottom of the car in conduit, and chopping the car without cutting across the roof or raking the A Pillars. While the exterior lines readily met our goal of smooth (e.g., swoopy) we are highly confident that the interior will also set a standard for excellence.
Swoopy will also contain a series of innovative design features, including one-off taillights, floating grill, waterfall full length console, and keyless ignition. A series of design features are being incorporated into the engine bay, including hidden fuel lines, smoothed firewall, electric power steering, and sending units being located away from the engine. Inspection covers will also be utilized to further emphasize the overall cleanliness of the design.
Our Build Partner
We are very pleased to announce teaming with Phil and Mary Leatherman, owners of Extreme Automotive, located in Corona, CA. This builder has a proven track record of building notable high end street rods, as well as being recipient of the prestigious Grand National Roadster Show's "Builder of the Year" award for 2009.
Ironically, we met Phil and Mary while soliciting their attendance for our annual car show benefiting The Lili Claire Foundation. Over the years they have become true friends, and recently offered their incredible skills to finally bring our vision to fruition. After a series of discussions, Phil concluded with: “Let’s Build Us a Show Car”. We couldn’t agree more...
Debut of Swoopy
We currently anticipate completing the project in the Fall of 2011, and a series of unveilings are being planned. Examples include an invitation only event at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, CA; and the 2011 SEMA Show, held in Las Vegas, NV. We have also been invited to participate in the 2012 Grand National Roadster Show and the 2012 Sacramento Autorama as a key feature vehicle.
Look forward to seeing you at the shows and we think we’ll be fairly easy to find. Just look for the crowds and two very happy car owners.
Mike & Mary Kinney
