On the Turntable: Robert Graham's 1931 Chevrolet Woodie Wagon and A.C. Kile's 1969 Nova SS

Our McDonough, Georgia Retail Store had two awesome vehicles on display recently: Robert Graham’s Hot Wheels-radical 1931 Chevy woodie wagon and A.C. Kile’s rumbly 1969 Nova SS 396.

Robert Graham’s ‘Surfn’ Rod’ 1931 Chevy
Sometimes the best ideas come from the least likely of places. Robert Graham’s 1931 Chevy came about after his 10-year old grandson schemed up the idea during dinner one night.

“This vehicle originated from a drawing my grandson did at the kitchen table after dinner on a paper towel,” said Graham. Landon, then 10, handed it to his grandpa and stated matter-of-factly, “Pawpaw, we need to make one of these.”

When the idea resurfaced a few months later, Graham pulled the drawing from its place on the fridge and decided to make Landon a deal.

“I would build the car but he had to help and he had to pay for it,” he explained. A tall task for any ten-year old boy—but luckily Grandpa had a plan. “I told him I would give him a $25.00 a week allowance and he could buy what we needed. “I explained to him if he needed a part that was $100.00 he would have to learn to save that money for four weeks—this was a grandfather/grandson project with a lot of life lessons to be learned.”

With that, the rebuild began in Graham’s two-car garage. The whole thing was built from the windshield cowl out. “The cowl is actually the only piece of the real car that exists,” said Graham. “The chassis, body, interior, and suspension are all totally hand made.”

Graham and Landon cut out the rusted bottom of the cowl and replaced it with new metal. Graham then hand-fabricated the rest of the body from the cowl forward using one inch square tubing and sheetmetal. The 2 x 3 inch rectangular tube chassis was fabricated on a surface plate jig that Graham also custom made. The Pro Mod style roll cage is made from 1 3/4 inch chromoly tubing and is race-certified.

The woodie’s body is—well, wood. “The roof of the car is 3/8 inch bead board plywood, natural on the underside and covered with waterproof black vinyl on top. The sides are crafted from two layers of 3/8 inch maple plywood and the windows are all Lexan,” said Graham.

What’s under the hood is no slouch, either. Graham and Landon installed a 383 cubic inch small block Chevy engine making 400 horsepower, built with a little help from Landon’s father and Graham’s fiancé.

The classic car gone wild has attracted a lot of attention on a national scale. But what’s an award when you can have your car immortalized as a limited-edition die-cast model car? Graham got exactly that when he was one of 15 finalists chosen during the 15-show Hot Wheels Legends Tour. The ‘Surfn Rod’ won Best of Show in Atlanta, and was also displayed at SEMA—a great tribute to a kid’s concept car design.

To Graham, though, the lessons and the time spent together are what matter most. His dad owned NASCAR race cars and his grandpa gifted Graham with his first car at age 12 with a challenge to rebuild it. 

“I had to disassemble it and put it back together and make it run. It took me a year and I accomplished the task and it was the proudest I ever saw my grandfather, he said.

Graham is happy to carry on the tradition. He is proud of Landon and the skills he acquired building the ‘Surfn Rod.’

“During this build Landon learned to use hand tools, how to save and spend money, how to search for parts, what it means to do physical labor, how and why things work like they do, and the proud feeling you have when you finally stand back and admire a finished project that you have created,” said Graham.

Can’t make it to our McDonough store? Head to the Summit Racing Equipment Atlanta Motorama April 27-28 and check out the ‘Surfn Rod’ at our display trailer.

FAST SPECS
Chassis
• 2" x 3” rectangular tube chassis 
• Ford 8" rear axle with 4.11 gears and limited slip differential
• 4-link rear suspension and cantilevered coilover shocks
• Mustang II style front suspension with cantilevered coilovers
• Stock Mustang II front disc brakes, Ford Granada rear drums
• Stock Mustang II manual rack and pinion
• QA1 universal joints and Summit Racing rod ends

Drivetrain
• 383 C.I.D. small block Chevy, 400 horsepower
• Lunati Voodoo Hydraulic flat tappet camshaft, 468"/.489" lift
• NOS 2-stage nitrous system
• Edelbrock Performer EPS intake manifold with Holley 0-1850 carburetor
• Schoenfield 1 3/4" headers with modified zoomies by Kotic Customs
• TCI StreetFighter automatic transmission with Summit Racing torque converter

Interior
• Modified Kirkey oval track seats with black and red diamond pleat upholstery
• Bead rolled sheetmetal panels painted hammer tone grey
• Dark grey carpet
• Auto Meter fuel, oil pressure, water temperature, and ammeter gauges
• Auto Meter tachometer with shift light
• Grant steering wheel

Paint
• PPG Ultra Black basecoat/clear coat

Special Thanks to:
Danny Godfrey; Chris Carver; Wayne Winfield; Dan Fitch; Marian Graham; Ronnie Golden; J.T. Long; Billy Eubanks; Al Squires; Robbie Holder; and Todd Dean

A.C. Kile's 1969 Chevy Nova SS 396
Chevrolet's little Nova might have looked innocent enough. But stuff a 396 cubic inch big block under the hood and stick a four-speed behind it, and you could run rings around other so-called musclecars. 

A.C. Kile’s super sleek Nova has only seen three owners in its day, but not a lot of daylight. Stored since 1987, Kile did the world a favor—or at least auto enthusiasts everywhere—when he rescued the Nova from a storage facility.

And it’s not the first car he’s saved. Kile has owned and restored a few other gems, including these:

• 1966 Fairlane GT 390
• 1968 Oldsmobile 442
• 1972 Plymouth 3430 Duster
• 1971 Rally Nova

But enough about all that. Let’s get down to the good stuff.

FAST SPECS
Chassis
• Stock frame
• 12-bolt rear axle with 3:55 gears and positraction
• Stock front and rear suspension
• Stock brake system
• Power steering
• Original SS wheels
• B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A tires

Drivetrain
• 396 cubic inch L89 big block, bored .030” over
• Lunati hydraulic roller camshaft
• GM 3919842 aluminum cylinder heads, 107cc closed chamber
• GM 3933163 intake manifold
• 780 CFM Holley carburetor
• Crane XR-1 ignition system
• Summit ceramic coated headers with 2" primaries
• Pypes 2 ?" stainless steel exhaust system with X-pipe
• Muncie 4-speed transmission

Interior
• Bucket seats
• Original black upholstery and carpet
• Factory gauges

Special Thanks to:
Connie Kile and Terri Park