I think most of us understand that when you perform a body swap on a classic car or truck you are pulling the body off the factory chassis and setting it on a new aftermarket chassis. Is it as simple as that? Let's dive in and see what all is exactly involved. Here is our customer's 1957 Chevy that was…
At MetalWorks, we sometimes feel like an orphanage for car builds due to the number of unfinished projects that we have taken in over the years. Each of these cars has come with a horror story of how the shop restoring the car was taking payment, but not actually working on the vehicle, or working on it "just enough" to…
MetalWorks' ProTouring 1954 Chevy 3100 truck build sold at the New Orleans Barrett Jackson auction for $330,000. Here is a link to the auction results: https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1954-CHEVROLET-CUSTOM-PICKUP-269861 Here is what the 54 project looked like the day it arrived at the shop...needless to say, it came a long way! The backbone of the restoration is the Art Morrison GT Sport chassis,…
It's always cool to hear about families that purchased a "classic car" when it was new, and still have it. Owning any car that was sitting new at a dealership in the 1960's is something special, but when it's a stand out car like a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang...it's really amazing! Our customer brought us the Mach 1 you see…
Sadly we hear many horror stories from new customers when they find our shop. Such is the case with this "now" gorgeous 59 Corvette Roadster, but there is a long and expensive story behind the Chevy that lasted over 13 years. We will save the story for an upcoming magazine feature, but we will tell you it's sad, and full…
"Can you make my classic car preform like my modern car?" That is a question that is often asked by people wanting their cars to perform with better ride quality, handling, acceleration, and braking. Getting a truck to handle more like a car has been a goal of many since trucks became collectable. So now adapting the concept of ProTouring…
Trucks have never been more popular in the classic car world than they are presently. To stereotype, trucks builds have typically either gone up or down with their suspension to create the builder's desired look. Typically 2WD trucks have gone down, and I mean really down with their stance. Many builders are not content with their trucks stance until the…
Our ProTouring 1954 Chevy Belair build arrived at the shop as just a shell. The 54 was acid dipped, then, metal worked and mocked up on its new Art Morrison "GT Sport" chassis. The supercharged LSA engine mocked up in the AME chassis with front sheet metal in place. Body out of metal fab and into epoxy before body…
Come along with us as we check out all the great builds at the 2022 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. https://youtu.be/ZdIczOPSZ1I
Classic looks with modern performance...it sounds nice, but is it really possible? The simple answer is "yes" and a body swap combined with LS/LT engine conversion are two excellent ways to accomplish this goal. Below is how the Corvette looked when it arrived at MetalWorks. The Vette looked great, but the owner was looking for an upgrade in overall performance…