With the chassis and drivetrain united and awaiting the arrival of a worthy body, Walker selected a basic Dennis Taylor Reproductions fiberglass body then added a few of his own special touches. A custom grille by Jim Rench fills the stock grille cavity, the fenders are slightly re-contoured, the running boards are redesigned, and a pair of flush taillights and third brake light were laid into the rear of the car.
Street Rods Only handled all the modifications, and when all the reshaping, sanding, and straightening were completed, they applied a slick coat of silver and black Dupont paint over the entire surface. Then, J.R. Hoskins separated the colors with a line of flip-flop blue striping.
When the completed body was bolted in place, it was time to finish out the interior. First, a dashboard was fabricated in a modified drag car fashion using lots of polished aluminum and enough leather upholstery to civilize it. Then, it was filled with Auto Meter instruments, also in a modified race car fashion. A sound system and Southern Air climate controls were added to make those long cruises a truly pleasant happening for all the senses.
After all the amenities were installed, it was off to Looks Upholstery in Pekin, Illinois, where generous amounts of black leather and black wool carpet were used to cover the interior surfaces.
The finished product is a very civilized approach to what appears to be one of those menacing Willys drag machines. Like we said in the beginning, it's really interesting to see just what the guy who builds cars for others builds for himself. For Walker it was bringing his Summer of '41 to the winter of '04 for us to enjoy.