Chezoom

When Thom Taylor sketched his idea for a this ’57 Chevy, he must have been thinking of how those basic design notes could be accentuated without crossing the line into out-and-out caricature, and he walked that fine line with remarkable success.

Body modifications include an upward rotation of the rear quarters, designed to lift the fins, and a re-forming of the front fenders that left only the headlight buckets and wheel openings intact. The hood is a custom fabrication, eliminating the dual “gun sights”. In all, only about 10 percent of the original body survived the transformation into a hot rod that looks ready to attack. Despite those Ford and Chrysler contributions to Chezoom, it’s still all Chevy via its heavy dependence on Corvette mechanicals. The engine is a fuel-injected 300 hp 1992 ‘Vette LTl, mated with a Chevy 700R4 automatic transmission. Corvette’s strong presence carries through in the brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, differential, and front and rear suspension. Jack Garrison put the gray leather upholstery on the Cerullo seats, along with the matching tweed carpeting. Keith Russell’s teal pearl paint job serves as an ideal foil for the silver fluting on the fins, and the whole package rides on a set of Boyd Coddington 17-inch custom wheels