The Monterrey auctions are now underway, and we saw that this ’49 Chevy convertible will be heading across the block at Mecum during the weekend. It’s unique in that it was built by Boyd Coddington and designed by Chip Foose, back when Foose worked for Boyd. It was built originally in 1993 for Greg Turchetta.
He was a big admirer of the ’50 “Turtle Back” that Boyd had customized earlier, and the body on his ’49 ended up being nearly identical to it as a result. Unlike the Tutrle Back, Greg’s car had an LT-1 instead of a dual-quad 350. The LT-1 is backed by a Turbo 350 automatic that sends power to a 9″ Ford rear end. Up front the underpinnings include a Mustang II IFS setup and all 4 wheels have disc brakes.
This car was recently updated by Charlie Hutton to it’s current condition and features an original Chip Foose sketch from the original build as well as 3 sets of wheels; Foose designed tribute wheels (on car), Boyd Coddington Jr. tribute wheels and the original Boyd wheels. All paperwork and documentation from the original build is included with the car as well.
While this car is certainly attractive and has a great pedigree, we find it very interesting to note that this build appears a bit dated when compared to some of the new builds we see at Good Guys shows. Ah well, that’s the best part about hot rods; the only way to stay in style is to build them over and over!
