Ride Of The Week 06/12/2023: Kevin Smith's 1949 Chevy Fleetline

THE CREEPY TIKI

Autorama Extreme is the old school hot rod show that takes place in the basement of Huntington Place, the site of Detroit Autorama. Here the room is filled with rat rods, old school hot rods, gassers, customs, and a whole lot of fun. The guy probably having the most fun was Kevin Smith.

Not only does he have a great rat-rodded Chevy Fleetline, with loads of pinstriping and patina, but he manages to fit an entire tiki bar in the back of this car and holds court in the center of the room, spreading cheer and leis to the hot rod enthusiasts and spectators.

The Creepy Tiki, as it is known, is a hodge podge of traditional hot-rodding parts: small block Chevy, 700r4 trans, ’78 Camaro subframe, ’74 Nova rear, along with a bunch of junk that has been cut to fit the car and hide in plain sight. Case in point, the sun visor from the cab of a Freightliner semi that sits above the windshield and the exhaust stack heat shield that serves as a center console, with hollowed out pistons for cup holders. Also inside, Bambo adorns the headliner above seats that were sourced from a 2005 Mustang Prototype that Kevin retrieved from a dumpster.

The exhaust is routed thru the hood with custom built headers and rain caps made from old beer cans, “I’ve had this since 1992 and have built it for fun,” Kevin smiles. While the creepy tiki might not win any trophies like the rides upstairs at Autorama, it definitely wins some hearts from folks downstairs.

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