In 1955 the Selvidge brothers started their hot rodding life with a disassembled ‘31 Coupe, and a ‘28 Sports Coupe. The ‘28 started out simple, a 4” Dago dropped front axle, Mallory dual point ignition and red disc wheels. After a year of driving it to and from campus, they decided the car needed a few modifications and felt they had the talent to do it themselves. Being that the top of the ‘28 was made out of wood, the two brothers grafted what they had from the top of the ‘31.

After two years, the banger was fully built and ready to race. The engine was hopped-up with special valves, pressurized mains, full race Isky cam, dual Stromberg 97’s on a Burns manifold, shaved head, 19lb fly wheel, Auburn racing clutch, and a Cadillac LaSalIe 3-speed transmission. The car now had a '32 grill, Stewart Warner gauges in the dash, and moved the gas tank to the rear, with Pontiac taillights out back. After some time, and a great deal of racing, a wrist pin lock let go and ruined the engine. The brothers got ahold of a ‘55 Chevy 265ci V8, with a Dunton cam, and two 4-Barrel carburetors, and drove with that powerhouse for a few years.

In 1960, both brothers went off to college, and traded a classmate for a new 1960 Chevy Impala. The coupe was painted a dark metallic blue, and sold again sixth months after to John Dewitt, a local to Bakersfield. After John's death in 1998, his nephew Sean inherited the Coupe. Sean and his wife started to make progress on the coupe in 2016, spending 12 hour days on the weekends working on it.

Some of the work included a custom set of 4x2 stacks, a full powder-coated chassis, and all new wood.

On September 10th, 2017, the painted body would be laid on the frame for the last time. During the last week of the build, Sean, his wife Anna, and his friend Lefty, put more than 50 hours into finishing the car, little did they know this would be the first time this car had moved under its own power since the late 1960’s. As Wes Selvidge said, “I don’t know where it all ends, but I do know where it started; with a Hot Rod Model A.”

 If you're more curious about the car, checkout an up close video of the car on our YouTube down below!