40 SUPER CHEVY SEPTEMBER^2019
TECH
And then we were inspired to
go another route. As Joe Whitaker
of Real Deal Steel (RDS) in Florida
explained, “Of the millions of Tri-Five
Chevys built by GM, most are either
gone, restored already, too expensive,
too rough, or are body styles (e.g.,
four-doors) that aren’t as desirable.
That’s where we come in with our
brand-new steel bodies. AssembledS
tarting a new project is an exciting time; even for those
of us who do it on a regular basis. We’ve wanted to do a
Tri-Five for one of our Week To Wicked builds so when
that concept gelled into reality we were nearly doing cartwheels.
Then reality set in. It turns out that finding a suitable starter car
was harder than expected. All the really clean cars cost a bundle
(hey, even we have a budget to adhere to) and we felt a bit guilty
ripping apart a survivor car to modify. The ones with really clean
paint were already full of aftermarket parts we really didn’t need
and the rest were either overpriced or rotted-out and overpriced.PUSHING
STEEL
OUR NEXT WEEK TO WICKED PROJECT
TAKES SHAPE AT REAL DEAL STEELStory Steven Rupp
Photos the Author and Seth Rupp