John and Darlene Zwarych love old cars. John remembers playing with his Hot Wheels and dreaming of his first car when he was a kid. Darlene grew up in a car-loving household where even her mom drove a done up ’54 Oldsmobile.
     The Winnipeg, MB couple are the perfect match for each other but something was missing from their gearhead passions — actually owning a vintage car.
     In 1997 the pair filled that void and finally purchased their first vintage car, a 1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe 4-door out of Sandy Hook, MB. It was an older stock retortion (see inset) that had served as a parade car for many years. “I liked the (humpback) bodystyle. I liked the nose and the grille and the fact that the headlights on the ’39 sat on the fenders instead of hanging off the grille like the ’38s,” says John.
     They also liked that the car was family friendly, as they already had one child. The couple drove the car in stock form for a couple of years, but the 235 inline six, vintage suspension and six volt system meant the car wasn’t always reliable. “It would really start to vibrate at 70 km/h,” says John, adding that made long road trips in the car undesirable. So, after a few years of local cruising the car was put in storage while the couple began amassing parts for a street rod rebuild.
     It wasn’t until November of 2004 that the tear down and rebuild process began and the couple would lean heavily on Darlene’s brother, Tim Misko for fabrication and body work. Misko started with boxing the stock frame and modifying it to accommodate a Mustang II front suspension and ’71 Comet 8-inch rearend. Originally, the plan was to leave the interior stock, including the mohair upholstery, but sparks from a grinder started a fire that wiped out those plans and basically led to a complete restoration of the car.
     The body was stripped to bare metal and a firewall and floor pans — right back to the trunk — were fabricated. The bottom six inches of the car also were replaced and the trunk recessed to house the license plate. While John imagined a sapphire blue paint job accented by a bright orange stripe at the beltline, Darlene and Tim had better ideas. Tim owned a newer Chevy painted Pewter and suggest that base colour with some ghost flames. It was a good idea. Colin Anderson at Landau Ford in Winnipeg took care of the painting chores.
     The 235/3-speed manual combo was hauled out and replaced by the more highway friendly 350/350 combo. Omer at Omer’s Design in Fannystelle, MB went to work on the interior, covering the original back seat and a pair of Nissan Maxima power bucket seats in Dove grey leather with matching tweed inserts. The gauge cluster was modified and filled with Autometer gauges and a Kenwood CD player provides tunes. An ’84 Pontiac column topped by a LeCarra leather wheel completed the Chevy’s transition to modern driver.
     The car made its public debut at the April ’06 Manitoba Street Rod Association Rodarama car show where it won Best in Show, Best Paint and Best in its Class.  In the year since then, the Zwarych’s have enjoyed driving the now reliable ’39 more than 2,700 miles to runs as far as the U.S. “It’s like new,” says John. “You just put on the A/C and go.”