'32 CHEVY COUPE

1937 Chevrolet Coupe

Owner: Bernd Farber

Originally rodded in California, this Art Deco beauty was imported into the UK in 1988 by Real Steel. The car is pretty much as it was, with the exception of the wheels and tyres.

The chassis is the original and runs a stock front end suspension, brakes and steering set-up, with only tubular shocks as a concession to modernity. Unlike Ford, who used a transverse leaf spring, Chevrolet used 2 parallel leaf springs above their beam axles.

The motor is a 350cu.in Chevy smallblock. The internals are unknown but it runs a “noisy gear drive” in the front instead of timing chain and this emits a whine not dissimilar to a supercharger. It has a Turbo 350 automatic gearbox with a column change on a tilt-adjustable GM steering column. The rear axle was donated by a ’55 Chevy and is also suspended on parallel leaf springs.

Many style features point to a quality build when the car was first rodded, at least 21 years ago. For example, all of the interior chrome window garnishes are still in place and all 6 door and window-winder handles point in the same direction, straight to the front. The car has subtle blue-tinted glass and a fine interior based around the original bench seat. Although showing its age in places, the black paint is so mirror-smooth, it would be a crime to re-paint it.

The coupe was bought by Bernd Farber in 2005 and now spends its days on German roads.