Most 15-year-olds can barely tie their shoes, let alone drive a car. But teenager James Moe not only drives this lowered Chevy wagon, he conceived of it and built it himself.
James Moe of Vacaville, CA, comes from a car family. His grandfather, Jim Pace, owns JP's Auto Body in Fairfield, CA, and has dragged since he was a teenager. He's passed his love of cars down to James, who grew up attending car shows and dreaming of the day when he could build his own ride. That chance came when Grandpa located a 1960 Chevy Brookwood Station Wagon for only $750. They snapped it up and got to work together, taking every chance they could between school and other engagements to shape this baby into what you see here.
Physical EducationThe Wagonator, as Moe likes to call it, is an all-around monster, with attention given to the body, what's under the hood and, of course, to the audio system. There were more body mods made than we have space for in this magazine, but suffice it to say that the Wagonator is quite a different vehicle now than when Grandpa Jim first brought it home. They added a custom cowl induction hood, shaved the door handles, removed the fuel door and rerouted the fuel filler to inside the tailgate door jam, customized and tucked the front and rear bumpers, smoothed the firewall, raised the center tunnel to accommodate a one-piece drive shaft, shortened and moved the transmission crossmember, and added an entire air bag suspension system complete with Ride Pro E computer. The Chevy 348 engine was bored out to 360in3, and two polished M90 Magna chargers were installed on a custom-built triangular manifold, with a jackshaft spinning both blowers. Total horsepower: 425 at 4,800rpm. Coats of Torch Red were applied at JP's Auto Body for that hot-rod look. Next up, Kustom Kar Audio in Santa Rosa, CA.
Student ConsoleTo facilitate a standard head unit and monitor, a custom center console had to be fabricated in such a way that it could accommodate modern technology, yet still match with the 1960 factory metal dashboard. To accomplish this, stock ABS was panel bonded, then reinforced with DuraGlass and finished with Rage Gold, before being painted a uniform, matching color. An Alpine DVA-9860 headunit was mounted flush in the new center console and wired to an Alpine PXA-H701 5.1 Dolby Digital Processor, which was hidden away under the amprack in the rear of the vehicle, along with the main storage tanks for the air ride, all of the controller units for the video and switching for the factory vehicle operations. Completing the center console is an Alpine PXG-RSE1 10.2-inch monitor, which was disassembled and modified to fit up front.
Additional video comes in the form of two 7" Rosen monitors in the front seat visors, as well as three 15.4-inch Rosen Car Show-series monitors, one for rear display at the rear hatch and two perched above the rear seat for back passenger entertainment.
Speaker When You're Spoken ToInstead of going with the usual front stage, that being components in the kick panels, Moe and the geniuses at Kustom Kar Audio decided to do things a little differently. At each extreme end of the metal dashboard, an Arc Audio 3-way component set - prototype Arc Audio SE 6 1/2" midbass driver, prototype Arc Audio SE 4" midrange driver and Arc Audio SE tweeter - was installed. In the center console, in the original home for the factory 6x9 speaker, an additional component set, matching the previously mentioned specifics, was also installed.
Don't worry, those kickpanels didn't go to waste. The factory air vents were removed and remaining holes, reinforced. Mounting baffles were cut from layers of MDF and wrapped with Select Products mold fabric and resined. The kicks were sanded and then finished off in Butterscotch Italian leather, creating the perfect housings for a pair of Arc Audio 10D4 subwoofers. That's right, subs up front. Talk about a foot massage.
For the rear, two Arc Audio ACS 230 5 1/4" 2-way components were integrated into the rear headliner of the vehicle at each outside edge. A third set was used for the center channel, mounted on a shelf at the top of the backseat. Grilles made of layers of ABS were shaped to reflect the contours of the dash and painted to match the interior.
Sub-stituteMoe's goal for the Wagonator was to make it "loud as $%!#." To achieve this desired state of expletive-inspired bliss, four Arc Audio Flat Line 12" subwoofers were placed in two separate enclosures located in the rear of the vehicle, one on each side. Each enclosure was made by laying cut sections of MDF on the bottom and rear sides of the enclosure area. Rings were then made from multiple layers of MDF and ABS. The rings were layered in different sizes to permit the subwoofers to be inverted and countersunk. The rings were then painted, positioned and mounted in place. Select Products mold fabric was pulled over the base and then, after drying, multiple layers of Nitex and Duraglass were applied to create the 2.5ft3 enclosure.
Powering the Wagonator's many speakers is a veritable array of amps. A prototype Arc Audio 4000SE keeps the subwoofers in line, while an Arc Audio 4200SE shows both the front and back stereo component channels who's boss. The center channels, front and rear, get a whipping from an Arc Audio 4100SE, while the kick panel subs know to pay respect to an Arc Audio 2300SE.
The amprack was constructed by welding box steel into a sub frame. The rack was then removed and secondary panels were placed, complete with framework and trim, and then a removable top cover was made using ABS, Nitex and Duraglass to cover all of the amplifiers. The top cover was then sanded and wrapped in matching Italian Butterscotch Leather, with matching design acrylic windows. The frame, made of metal, was used as the main grounding point for the entire system. A hinge allows the entire rack to be lifted, exposing the tanks and other gear below, including two RedTop Optima batteries (an additional RedTop is stashed underhood) and ANL fusing and blocks.
For the future, Moe is looking forward to getting his license so he can tool around town with the girlies, rocking the Top 40 and Eagles tunes. Of course, he'll also be taking the car to shows. Lots of shows. Hey Moe, last I heard there were girls at those car shows. Man, this kid is way ahead of us all.