Back on the Road – John Foxley’s 1952 Chevy Custom
There are many stories of hot rods and customs from the 1950s and ’60s that endured years of neglect before being rediscovered and restored. John Foxley’s 1952 Chevy custom has a similar tale, though its journey of inattention and resurrection happens on a shorter timeline.
The Chevy was originally built into a custom in the early 2000s for Robert “Short Dog” Short, with a top chop by Joe Garcia at Drag-N-Shop, a ’49 Cadillac rear window, ’49 Chrysler grille, ’51 El Dorado headlights, extended quarters, and many more mods. Painted satin gold, it made the rounds in SoCal for several years.
At some point in the ensuing years a towing accident left the Chevy damaged, and it was neglected for years afterward as it passed through different owners. John’s friend ended up with the car and ultimately called John when he decided he couldn’t finish it. “He wanted me to buy it and complete it,” John says. “He trusted me to do it right.”
John has a great track record with customs and proved his friend right with a two-year rebuild on the Chevy. He repaired the body damage and refined much of the bodywork in preparation for a new show-quality finish in House of Kolor Pagan Gold by Robin Crouch. John augmented that with lace painting on the roof, while a cut-down ’53 Cadillac front bumper and narrowed ’51 Cadillac rear bumper with ’53 upper corners and custom taillights were fine-tuned and re-plated to finish off both ends.
The car’s mechanical components were rebuilt and refreshed, too. The original front suspension was fitted with air springs when the Chevy was originally built; same for the stepped rear frame and Camaro rearend suspended with air springs. Power comes from a tidy 305c.i. small-block Chevy topped with a Cadillac air cleaner and Fenton valve covers and backed by a TH350 transmission. Steel 15-inch wheels are painted to match the body, wrapped in 6.70-15 wide whitewalls, and topped with Fiesta wheel covers.
A ’51 Ford Victoria dash adds a different flavor inside, with Moon gauges augmenting the original Ford instruments and a ’51 Buick steering wheel topping the chrome column. Blind Mike stitched the ’50s-style white vinyl tuck ’n roll upholstery, which includes a tuck ’n rolled headliner insert and fully upholstered trunk.
John finished the 1952 Chevy custom just in time to have it at this year’s Grand National Roadster Show, where it won first place in the Radical Custom class. More importantly, John got to meet original owner Robert Short and the people who first built the car two decades ago. “They were all happy to see it completed and back on the road,” John says. We are, too.
Photos by John Jackson & Damon Lee
