Ken Dosen’s 1938 Chevy Coupe

By Dean Washington

It is often the case that when someone decides to restore a vehicle, the model is a choice that brings back memories of one’s youth. Be it the family car, that first car that got away, or perhaps the dream car that was just plain out of reach. The story of Ken and Bev Dosen’s 1938 Chevy certainly fits into this category…in a big way.

You see, Ken started off his life-long passion of the hobby when at 12 or so he began helping his older brother Dave tinker around with his 1952 two-door coupe. At 15, he started hanging around his Uncle Ed’s garage, who was body man and mechanic, and did what he could on his dad’s brother's 1964 Ford Falcon while soaking up as much knowledge as possible as they restored the car together.  When the car was finished, Uncle Ed took Ken out for the inaugural ride which was very cool, but what was even more cool was a month later when he turned 16, Ed told him that when he got his license the keys were in the ashtray and the car was his for taking such an interest and being such a great help. He was hooked from then on and he has built and sold several vehicles over the years.

For whatever reason, Ken always had a passion for the late-thirties Chevys and actually set out in 2009 to buy a sedan with the thought he could drive his grandchildren around, but Bev insisted that if he was going to build another car, it had to be a coupe. Coincidentally, his friend Frank Van Veen happened to know where there was one in Port Orchard, Washington. So after a few calls of “yes it was for sale, no it was not for sale,” George, the owner, confirmed it was for sale, so off they went. When they entered the garage, they saw the car in front of a wood pile with the tranny and small block already set in the black primered body sitting on blocks of wood. After going back and forth, George agreed to sell the car and an incredible three-year journey began.

The next three years saw Ken’s family and friends pulling out all the stops, logging over 2,700 combined hours. At the time, he was between jobs so it afforded him the time to do the job right. Bev would go off to work each day and Ken would head to the garage to work on the car which he called a “great luxury.” It was truly a family affair with his son Stephen taking on the bulk of the metal work amongst other duties and son-in-law Rod Siemens tackling the majority of the electrical work. Even his two-year-old grandson Jacob was in on the act, helping grandpa for hours on end in the shop.

The build began with Ken and Son determining that the engine George had installed was strong and was only in need of a few modifications. From there, the entire car was stripped down to bare metal where some very minor metal work was required to the all-original steel car. Each piece was then tagged and put on the shelf for later installation. He then built custom sawhorses so that when all the panels would hang the same, so the sag of the paint all looked the same. It was then off to the paint shop with saw horses in tow, where “Painter Bob” Harris laid down the beautiful Atomic Orange Metallic paint that may look familiar to Corvette aficionados.

Once back from the paint shop, in went the padding, wiring, steering column, etc, and then Ken and Frank (an upholsterer by trade) went to work laying out the headliner, dash, seats, trunk and panels. They laid and cut all the fabric in Ken’s basement and then sewed all the panels up at Frank’s house. The only part of the interior they didn’t touch was the front seats which came out of a 2005 Audi TT Coupe that matched the concept of the interior that gave it three colours in that tone which is classed as a perfect interior in the hot rod area.

After they got that all installed, they were ready to fire it up for the first time, which Ken recalls as “my favourite memory of the build and one of the coolest days he’s ever had with my son. It was a sunny day and we drove the car out of the shop, the paint was glistering and we could see the end in sight.” And the end came in the summer of 2011 when Ken, wearing his dad’s hat, picked up his mother as she was to be the first person to take a ride in the car. It was an emotional day as this was almost the same car she and her late husband drove in to tell her parents in 1948 that they were engaged. His car, a 1937 sedan, lost a front wheel on the way, which left them stranded on a highway on Vancouver Island.

Ken and Bev began attending car shows, winning the first two shows they entered in Sechelt and Port Coquitlam. Although they didn’t set out to win trophies, the recognition is a nice complement to all the hard work their family and friends contributed to the car. The thing Ken is most proud of is that over all those hours spent working together, there wasn’t one argument.

And the only way he can see an argument could develop is if he ever thought of selling it, as the family has made it clear that this one is never for sale.

Specs & Features

1938 Chevy Coupe

Owners: Ken & Bev Dosen

Originally from California

Body: All Original Steel

Colour: Atomic Orange Metallic

Engine: Chevy, Custom 350 cu. in.

Transmission: 700R4

Axle Ratio: 3.80 posi

Rear End: Ford 8”

Front Clip: Mustang II

Brakes: Power Disc / Drum

Steering: Power

Paint: Custom With Ghost flames

Wheels: Foose Nitrous

Steering Column: Flaming River

Floor Shifter: Lokar

Gauges: Custom VDO

Glass: Tinted

Interior: Custom with Snake Skin Inserts

Stereo: Kenwood/Digital Design Sub & Amps

Exhaust: Headers/2.5” SS/ Flowmaster 40s

Spindles: 2” Drop

By Arch Linsao

Any self-proclaimed “Hot Rodder” out there knows that custom wheel fitment (or any wheel fitment for that matter) is the furthest thing from an exact science you could possibly think of. No two classic cars are the same, and no two customized classic cars are anywhere close to the same. So when it comes to fitting the final show-stopping part of the puzzle to your chrome-clad, candy-painted, air-bagged, decade-long project, the last thing you want is a wheel that doesn't look quite right, or worse, doesn't fit right. Those custom wheels could either make or break your custom classic. And I'm here to try to make sure that doesn't happen.

There are two big things you're going to want to consider when it comes to finding the perfect wheels to complement your ride. Well, let's face it, there are about a billion things to consider. But out of them all, these are the first and most important two to consider. Everything else will seem to fall into place after these. I'm talking about: 1) Look, and 2) Fit. If you're not going to take the time to figure these two things out, you may as well just give up all together and leave the car the way it was when it rolled off the assembly line. But you and I know you're not that person, so let me break it down for you.

The first thing we'll dive into is the “look.” It's simple really. Just ask yourself this: What look do you want to achieve for your car? What style are you going for? The answer to that will play a huge part in deciding what wheels to put on it. Because let's face it, wheels are all about looks. Sure, in some cases, they are functional choices; for example, if you're building a gasser to take down the track and are looking for lighter wheels. But in most cases, you'd sacrifice the weight for a good-looking wheel and just up the horsepower to compensate, right? I hope so!

One of the reasons that answering the question of what you want your car's “look” to be is so difficult to answer is that there's no real set of rules or guidelines to follow. I hate to sound cheesy, but the only limits to what you can do are the limits of your imagination. It's true, though, only you can decide what you want your car to look like. Everyone likes different things, and that's why it's so difficult to suggest a wheel for someone other than yourself. Style is so subjective.  The most I can do to help is point out some of the trends out there and the rest is really up to you. Just keep in mind, it's your car. So really, who cares what other people think and like or don't like, right? The only thing that matters is that you like it. That being said, let's move on to a couple of basic styling theories.

It's pretty simple really; there are two main directions you can go - Resto or Custom. And what I've seen stylistically is if you go the Resto route, you want to keep it looking somewhat “stock-ish.” Going with either refinished stock wheels or a custom version or replica of a stock wheel usually works too. Sizing is kept conservative in most cases, and to factory spec in many cases. American Racing has always been one of the staples when looking for Resto-styled wheels for your classic cars. Wheels like the Torq Thrust, Smoothie and Ansen Slot Mag are classic styles. Now, if you go the Custom route, the sky's the limit. It looks like the “go big or stay home” trend is starting to fade to some extent. Custom car builders are still going with larger wheels, but gone are the days where it was a contest to see who could fit the biggest set of wheels in their fenders and still drive. Now it's moreso trying to get the proportions right to match with the rest of the car. Foose Design Wheels by MHT are bringing the old Resto styles into the world of Custom wheels by offering refreshing new versions of the old classic styles in the larger more aggressive fitments your full-on custom needs. The Nitrous Legend, Ascot and Coronet are prime examples of this.

Now it seems that a new word has been invading the car styling scene. And that word is: Stance. Stance can best be defined as the relationship between the car's suspension, body, tires, wheels and the ground.  And getting that relationship just right will take your custom classic to another level. Achieving that perfect stance is pure gold. And stance is something that can work with both the Resto or Custom styles, and every style in between for that matter.

Mentioning stance is a good segue into our second most important thing to consider when making your wheel choice. Arguably, this could even be the first thing to consider, but that really depends on how you build your project cars. Whether it's to decide the look of the car and find wheels to match, or whether it's to build the car's look around a set of wheels you really like. No matter how you do it, those wheels have to fit. And that's what we're talking about here:  Fit. No matter if you decide to run a classic styled wheel on your Retro, or some crazy multi-piece CNC-machined billet wheel tucking fender on your Custom, those wheels must fit and must fit right. The last thing you want to do is get those wheels on and figure out they don't clear your brakes, or the tires rub the fresh paint on the fenders. So here are a few tips to prevent that from happening.

First things first, know your vehicle's original equipment specs. By “specs,” I specifically mean the most common wheel fitment specs: Bolt Circle, Hub Bore, and Offset/Backspacing. Bolt circle is also referred to as PCD, which measures both the amount of wheel studs/bolts and the measurement of how far apart those studs/bolts are.  Hub bore is the diameter of the wheel hub of the vehicle where the large centre hole in the wheel would sit. Offset and backspacing are essentially the same thing, just measured from different points and in different units. Basically, they both determine where the wheel sits in the fender, in relation to depth.

Now, the older and more rare your vehicle is, the harder it is to find out exactly what these measurements are. And that's considering you're using factory hardware and components on your vehicle. If you're building a custom project, chances are you're using custom components that are either from other vehicles or one-off customs. In that case, you'll need to measure all this manually.

And whether you're going the Resto route or the Custom route, there are other measurements you're going to want to make in order to ensure your custom wheels will fit and sit just right. One of the main measurements you're going to want to make is to measure how much width you have inside your fenders to fit your wheels. You'll want to measure this two ways: First by measuring overall width from the inside of your fender lip all the way to either the inner fender or the first piece of suspension that you'd hit. You can also measure from the mounting surface of the wheel on your hub/brake rotor/drum outward to the inside of the fender lip, and then again from the mounting surface inward toward your suspension components or inner fender wall. The last measurement, but definitely not the least, is to measure both the shape of your brake rotor if you're running a disc brake setup, and the amount that it protrudes from the mounting surface of the wheel.

Getting all these measurements will be essential to getting those custom wheels to fit just right ,as it'll also aid in determining both tire sizing and suspension setup. All of this is in order to achieve that ever-so-sought-after “stance.”

So let's sum it up. First, decide what look you want to go with for your custom classic. Second, figure out your vehicle specs and do some measuring. Lastly, and this is what I always say whenever I make any recommendations, talk to your experts! Let your wheel and tire and suspension expert know what you want and what measurements you have to work with. The more information you provide, the better the chance you have of that image in your head of what you want your car to look like becoming a reality.

Oh wait, I forgot another critical step: Check your wallet.

For more information please go to www.racingheadservice.com

For more information please go to www.tcsproducts.com

For more information please go to www.qa1.net

The new SharkBite Spreader bar kits are now available for 1963-1982 Corvettes from Speed Direct. The C2-C3 cross member is notorious for the flimsy vertical attachment on the cross member where the upper a-arm bolts on causing the upright to settle and flex inward, changing the suspension geometry. The new SharkBite Spreader bar kit will stabilize and stiffen the cross member by spreading the sagging vertical mounts back to their proper upright position and this will improve and stabilize the suspension geometry. The kit is available for Corvettes with factory, or aftermarket control arms and comes with all necessary hardware for installation.

For more information please go to www.speeddirect.com

Chris Alston’s Chassisworks now offers complete steering linkage kits for ’64-72 A-Bodies, ’68-81 F-Bodies and ’78-88 G-Bodies through their gStreet line of performance steering and suspension products. The kits replace factory centerlink, idler arms, and tie-rod assemblies. Quality OEM style components are used in addition to Chassisworks billet adjuster sleeves and bump-steer kit. The bump-steer kit will replace factory outer tie road and adjusting sleeves with an extended, billet steel sleeve and a high strength rod end. These adjustments allow for improved steering predictability.

For more information please go to www.cachassisworks.com