Article: Rob Maetzig

Paul and Chrissy Chapman are regular Americarna attendees, happily heading down to Taranaki from Auckland each summer in their distinctive ‘his-and-her’ vehicles.

Chrissy’s ride is a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air sports coupe with the personalised rego plate HAZELO, so named because the car’s gold and yellow paintwork was to special order by its original owner, an Idaho woman called Hazel.

Meanwhile, Paul’s vehicle is a House of Kolor purple 1939 Ford Coupe with the personalised rego SEXY39, so named because – well, because the custom classic looks so damn sexy.

Chrissy’s Bel Air has featured in a previous Americarna programme, so for this edition all attention is focused on Paul’s curvaceous pre-war five-window coupe.

The vehicle started life as a Standard rather than De Luxe coupe, and by the time Paul purchased it in 2012 from a fellow rodder in the North Shore, it was very much a “project” that comprised not much more than a body and chassis.

It then took Paul more than five years to rebuild and customise the Ford, with plenty of time spent scrounging around for various missing parts.

But the five-year effort was worth it. The coupe is now a beautiful example of a classic American custom car, a vehicle that Paul says is also great to drive.

“It really does drive like a new car,” he says. “It has a fully independent suspension system, and the interior is white leather, with air conditioning and power windows. So we’re happy to drive it anywhere.”

And that “anywhere” includes long journeys around both the South and North Islands attending various custom car events, where the coupe has picked up numerous awards.

Powering Paul’s coupe is a Ford Racing 302ci GT40 Windsor V8, mated to a four-speed auto transmission. And while the chassis is original, it has been boxed with a new K member. The Ford sits on Cragar Street Pro 15×6 front and 17×8 rear wheels.

So all this begs an obvious question: When the Chapmans head off on their road trips, does Chrissy stick with her Bel Air and Paul the coupe?

“We have taken both cars to events but when we are in the Ford and on a long journey I’m perfectly happy for Chrissy to drive,” says Paul.

And here’s another obvious question for Paul: Will he ever build another custom car?

“I’m currently building a 1956 Chevy truck,” he replies. “But this will definitely be my last project.”