Chris Womack shares us the star of this season of Chop Cut Rebuild with Dan Woods on SPEED:
Story By T-Bone, Photos: T-Bone and CW Restorations
I first met Chris Womack at the Grand National Roadster Show. There he was up front in Building 4 with the contenders for the coveted AMBR award. His 41 Willys Coupe was being showcased center stage next to the Pinstripers Circus.
The 1941 Willys Coupe (replica) was built under the camera and lights of the hit SPEED network show, Chop Cut Rebuild starring Dan Woods.
SPEC SHEET: 1941 Willys Coupe Replica
- 2011 LS3 E-ROD engine with Automatic Transmission
- Auto Loc Push button start steering column
- Auto Loc Ultra Touches throughout the car
- Auto Loc Head light & window buttons
- Auto Loc Custom tail lights
- Keep It Clean wiring throughout
- Helix Suspension
- Schott Wheels
- Michelin Tires Rear 345 19’s Front 235 17
- Baer Brakes with drilled & slotted rotors
- BASF Red Salsa Pearl Paint with Orange Pearl Flames
- Bill Dunn Custom Interior
- Retro Sound radio and Power Bass Amps, & Speakers
- Classic Tube custom brake lines
- March Performance Serpentine System
- Old Air Products A/C unit
- Griffin Custom Radiator
- Rock Valley Custom Gas Tank
- Currie 9” rear end with 3:55 gears
- Odyssey Battery
- Upol Rapture underliner
CW Restorations customized the no-name body, which was so porous that when sanded, bubbles would blow through, causing hundreds of hours to repair. They cut the rear wheel wells 6 inches to give a cleaner look in the trunk area, made a custom center console out of 18- gauge sheet metal and painted body color to match. To get the LS3 E-Rod to fit they milled the exhaust manifolds a few degrees to fit within the frame rails. The frame is so tight they had to make special bends in the exhaust to fit the 4, yep four catalytic converters to get the ECM to function properly.
Custom plating was made and bonded throughout the body so it wouldn’t flex when the doors or lids opened and closed. Custom one-off four-liink was designed and welded into place underneath and coil over shocks were placed at all four corners to get the perfect stance and handling. They completed this work in 7 months to unveil at the SEMA show in front of the Chop Cut Rebuild cameras.
The SHOP
Chris invited me over to his shop in Huntington Beach, CA. As I rolled up to the shop I realized it is in the hot rod neighborhood of HB. A block away is Foose Design, across the street is Wheelers Hot Rod Shop and down the street is Dan Fink Metalworks. The latter two featured here earlier this year. What a place to call home.
Chris shared some of their current projects, such as a ’57 Cameo that the cab was riddled with cancer. So much so, they are expecting a new cab to be delivered shortly. Meanwhile they are upgrading the suspension and running gear to be a great driver. This, for a customer in Texas.
Next is a 1959 MG-A. Under the tiny (now reverse opening) hood, is a 350 stroked to 383ci powerplant. The frame is upgraded and suspension too. The owner stands at a healthy 6’3 and CW re-worked the frame to push the seat back 4 inches and lowered the floor to the bottom of the frame opening up a couple more inches of headroom.
Another interesting project in the shop is a ’56 Ford Truck once owned by Cher. Apparently the superstar had a superstar interior put in the truck that’s been called Cowboy meets Goth. Very interesting and really cool diamond button tuck black leather with silver detailed buttons. The center has a pull-down arm rest with a cool cross detail the headliner also features the diamond button tuck. The car is now owned by a gentleman from Japan and recently the body started showing wear and bubbling from rust coming through the outrageous amount of filler from the original builder. He shipped the truck back over the Pacific to CW Restorations to correctly re-build the sheet metal on the bed sides, fenders, hood, and tailgate. The guys at CW went above and beyond by replacing the bed corners, welding it in and strengthening it as a great attention to detail they are known for.
While I was there in the shop, Ron Eagleton was there. Ron opened the shop back in 1999 with a focus on customizing and painting classic cars. About 2 years ago Chris came to Eagleton’s and brought the same passion to the company. Ron was expertly matching paint on a couple of Corvette doors.
If you are looking at a shop that can either finish up someone else’s work, or build from the ground up we recommend taking a look at CW Restoration Shop in the heart of the So Cal Hot Rod Neighborhood, or visit www.CWRestorationShop.com