Lou Roupoli’s 1939 Woodie
1939 was the first year Chevrolet added the “Woodie” into their production line. Only 983 were made. Chevrolet Motors sent out by railroad, a 4 door special deluxe, to four designated wood builders. “Joseph Contrell & Sons”, built less than 300 of these Woodies. Contrell, was the premier wood builder of the day. Today, Lou’s ’39 Woodie is a Contrell body. There are six 1939 Woodies known in existence. Lou bought his 1939 Woodie from the second owner in Florida in 2014. A full restoration was completed in 2015. All 1939 Woodies were painted in only one color “Wood Ash Brown”. With all original available extras of the car, today Lou’s Woodie has won numerous awards and shows.
Frank Collelo’s 1956 Bel Air
After months of looking for a 1956 Bel Air hardtop, Frank's brother Felix found a beautiful 4 door frame-off restoration completed in May of 2010. The car was in Locke California. Felix and a body man friend checked it from top to bottom, sent Frank pictures, and called him after talking it over. Frank told his brother to buy it. The car had everything he wanted and then some. LTI Corvette engine, 4L60E transmission, front power disc brakes, power steering, CPP500 steering box, A/C, Flowmaster dual exhaust, tilted adjustable steering column, Dakota digital interior panel, OE performance fuel injection gas tank, Hellwig front and rear sway bars, and much more. The outer color is Lexus pearl white and GM bright teal. Custom tubular grill, custom white interior with teal piping and teal carpet. Autosound Radio with dual rear speakers. 5 chrome wheels with spider caps. Frank says this is the cars of his dreams!
Ike Medina’s 1937 Chevy
When Ike was 2 years old his family moved to California in a 1937 Chevy 4 door. 25 years ago Ike’s uncle in Colorado reminded him that he had the same model car and that Ike could have it. Ike brought it back to San Pedro and began to restore his family’s car. Four years later the car was complete and ready to cruise. This frame off restoration included a Chevy 260 motor, 4 speed manual transmission, Nova rear end, original pattern mohair, and original color paint. Ike also included many original Chevy accessories complementing this beautifully restored head turning 1937 Chevrolet.
Pat Califano’s 1952 Chevy
Pat Califano bought his 1952 Chevy in 2011 in the state of Arizona. It sat covered for some time until he decided how to restore it . Pat did a frame-off restoration which included a Chevy small block 350 V8, a 700R4 transmission and a 9 inch rear end. He also added air bags all around, front end rack and pinion steering, vintage air conditioning, new chrome and stainless trim, tinted glass, a sound system with subwoofer, and an all black leather interior. Pat chose to paint the 52 with a champagne colored top, and a black bottom with pin-striping accents. All of these restorations took Pat six and a half years to fully complete but the results were worth the wait!
Rudy Alba’s 1952 Chevy Fleetline
Rudy bought his 1952 Chevy from a good and longtime friend, Don Kusar. The Chevy had a good base to start a restoration and the look he was going for was old San Pedro. Rudy grew up in San Pedro during the 1960s and these old classic cars are in his dreams and memories of times gone by.
With the help from talented Legends member Mark Tippet, he started to transform the car to what you see today. Rudy is extremely thankful to Mark for working on his car and sharing very valuable knowledge and resources. George Caserma and Pat Califano are also individuals who helped with ideas and helped get parts for the car.
Rudy has received many wonderful compliments on his car and is thankful to those who have helped him restore this old 52 Chevy. To this day the best compliment he has ever received was at his latest car show; a gentleman walked up to him and asked, “Is this your car?” Rudy responded with a yes. the man then responded with, “You have a nice short!”
