In around 1982 the couple decided to buy Pauline a muscle car, and they found this ’70 big-block convertible Chevelle SS with only 37,000 miles, but it made a racket when running that was not quite right. They bought the car cheap and it turned out one of the rockers had loosened up and jumped off the pushrod. They bought the car in maroon, but it was originally Nugget Gold with black stipes and a white interior. Pauline painted it the red with a black interior like you see here. She daily drove her Chevelle while dragging the boys all over and besides, who would want teenage boys in a white interior?
Joe built his ’29 Ford roadster pickup with fancy wires, classy styles, and a fully chrome undercarriage. While building the ’29 Joe kept hearing about turbos and decided a turbo on his small-block Ford would make the roadster pickup stand out as extra cool. This was in the early ‘70s so when he started trying to find some technical help everybody said to call this guy Gail Banks. Turned out Mr. Banks was having great luck putting turbos on boat motors and with his help Joe had another winner that looked good, sounded just right with no muffler, and ended up on the cover.
The young man sitting next to Joe is Wesley Laird. The Lairds have been favorites of StreetScene (car features of grandpa Dave’s ’57 and mom Brandi’s ’32), but the reason for this picture is, as a third-generation rodder, it was decided to save Wesley money over the long run, and he is seen here signing up for an NSRA Lifetime Membership with Joe.
window/frame, was built early in production along- side the B400s, and they had none of the improve- ments throughout the production year (safety glass, extra bracing, etc.), and many of them were four- cylinders. They are super rare and personally I always mix them up with cabriolets. Joe’s Sport Coupe sits on a SoCal chassis with a 4-inch drop I-beam front suspension, a Ford 9-inch on a transverse leaf, Wilwood front discs and Ford drum rear brakes, and the chassis is finished off with a Blueprint 383 engine running a Holley double pumper, modern ram horns, HEI ignition, a cool alternator support bracket, and a 700R4 for easy cruising. Joe cleaned up and straightened out the body before he laid down the Lochinvar Green paint. Lochinvar Green was on a couple of the stock Willys (trucks most like-
ly) that Joe had purchased over the years and he loved the color (Willys used it from 1939-42). Jerry LeBronte did the top in black Hartz cloth and Interiors by Rita stitched the leather interior. Once Joe was properly retired, he kept building cars and he started doing things for local shops when their schedules got tight. He still runs the “Manufacturer Picks,” plus he does a “John Q Rodder Pick” for the little guy’s building rods. Joe and Pauline’s story is still ongoing and I can tell you one of the top things about street rodding is meeting people like the Troilos, good honest folks who just want to have “Fun with Cars” including and bringing all their family and friends. What more could a street rodder want? How about a shared father/son cover of StreetScene!
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