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Brent DuPont's '57 Chevy Home-Built Masterpiece

The popularity of cars comes and goes. Sure, the Bow-Tie examples both dominate magazine pages and parking lot car show and it's among the Chevy set that you see waves. For the last few years, the first and second generation Camaros have gathered the attention. Though they never really left, the string of seriously modified 1955-'57 Chevys being turned out by both pro and hobbyist puts those Camaros to pastures. The Tri-5s got it goin' on these days.

Many PHR/Goodguys Street Machine of the Year finalists like Mike Black's flamed '55 and NFL star Trace Armstrong's fast '57 had individual styling cues that set them apart. Others like the Neil Lea '56 and the Bruce Ricks '55 had street rod build styles that most pre-'49 guys could only dream of achieving. Brent Du Pont's car, this '57 Bel Air named "Ricochet," stands out for putting all of that stuff together with a dose of g-Machine prowess that's a sure fire finalist at Columbus this summer.

DuPont, from Rocklin, California, had always been an enthusiast, but never a "builder." His '68 Camaro SS big-block ride was shaped up in his own garage, but wasn't the masterpiece you see here. Brent sucked up the guts to sell that Camaro, bought a rust-free Bel-Air that was blown apart in a well organized but failed restoration, and invested in a Millermatic 185 welder--this guy was going to just figure out how to build his dreams from mechanical inclination, less experience.

That was 1996. More than six years later the car is wearing out Nor Cal's pavement and impressing motorists with surprising dexterity. It actually took twice as long, figuring that three years was enough to achieve a great driver that was comfortable, stylish, and, most important, fun to drive.

DuPont prioritized only that it had to have a big-block, which eliminated his idea of buying a pre-built performance chassis based on Corvette parts (as we showed off last month in PHR), since there were no rat-motored examples at the time. Proper handling and geometry were must-have assets, so Brent contacted Oregon's Jim Meyer Racing Products, who hangs front suspension featuring great camber gains at a low ride height using GM B-body spindles and custom a-arms. In addition, a Meyer chassis features a cross member that's four inches higher than stock, insuring that a slammed stance won't generate sparks. Baer Brakes were DuPont's next investment (a typical 13- and 12-inch Track system).

A wrecked '96 Lincoln Mark VIII was inspiration of the interior theme and also the dashboard and seating source. Ward Auto Interiors (Orangevale, California).sculpted and designed everything else from scratch using Ultra leather and Italian wool in Light Cream and Palomino Palomino Italian wool. The audio system's capacity is beyond our possible descriptions, but 1,200 watts of Phoenix Gold power gives you the hint. Five cases of Cascade sound deadening material line this ride! "A lot of people thought I was crazy cutting out the factory dash, but now that it is done most have been very receptive to the change.

"I have learned a lot and met some great people along the way," DuPont said. "Now that it is finally done, it is time for dividends to pay off--it's time to hit the road and enjoy the hell out of it!"

Hopefully that road leads to Columbus, Ohio, so our judges can weigh his achievement against the year's best.