By Brian Brennan – Photography By NotStock Photography
There are countless reasons for someone to build a hot rod. But listening to Jeff and Kim Bjustrom, who grew up in a small farming community in Iowa, it’s the memories made on the farm that have stayed with them. Kim’s dad owned an old 1952 Chevy. Sometimes they’d ride around with a calf in the back seat. For Jeff and Kim, building this 1952 Chevy custom was about bringing back memories of Kim’s parents and their family’s legacy.
The build of this 1952 Chevy was brought to life by the crew at Vescio’s Customizing & Restorations (VC&R), led by Bo Vescio. From concept to completion, it was a true team effort. Lead fabricator Marshall Starrett, along with Jeff and Bo, teamed up with designer Ben Hermance to create the vision for the car’s exterior and custom features. Marshall then turned those ideas into reality, crafting each restyle piece right in the shop. If you’re wondering just how much effort it takes to pull off something like this 1952 Chevy, consider that 5,000 hours went into transforming this stocker into what you see before you today.
At the VC&R shop, Gary Vance and Chase Vescio handled the bodywork and preparation. At the same time, Bo Vescio and Randall Vaughn applied the Deep Sea Blue Metallic basecoat from Valspar, followed by a House of Kolor clearcoat. Mike of Mike Iverson Signs then applied the pinstriping. Neil Skaar and Marshall handled the drivetrain and reassembly. The one-of-a-kind interior and custom dash (designed by Eric Brockmeyer and fabricated by Gary Vance) was brought together by Sean Henderson at Top Stitch Auto Upholstery. Rich Omdahl of Go Manufacturing machined the custom trunk and seat emblems. Cole Stineman invested countless hours, bringing out the deep shine through extensive buffing and polishing. The brightwork was made to “pop” by the good folks at Ogden Chrome.
The body features a chop top with a rubber-rake stance, and both the hood and the decklid are pancaked. The windshield and rear window are laid back (the Glass Guy Chicago supplied custom glass), the lights are frenched, and the body has been extensively modified. VC&R sculpted the lower quarters, reshaped, enlarged, and flared the wheelwell openings (wheelwell lips from a 1960 Chevy pickup), extended the rocker panels, and even reworked the door lines. The Chevy features 1956 Chevy fenders and headlights, 1958 Corvette taillights, and inverted, flipped factory bumpers to tie it all together. They were smoothed and drawn in for a tight fit to the body. Also, note that the “rear” bumper has been reshaped and relieved on the bottom to allow the pair of tailpipes to peek through. The extended rockers also change the appearance of the door line and how the fenders sit. The grille was reworked while retaining much of its original appearance. You can see that the vertical teeth were removed and a crossbar added. The new configuration lets you see into the inner cooler, giving you a sense of what’s under the hood. The beltline chrome was retained, while VC&R made new chrome for around the window and the side uppers. VC&R noted that these pieces are often discarded, but Bo thought it a good idea to create something that gives a clean appearance, drawing attention to the mild chop.
The V-8 engine from Mast Motorsports is based on their LS3 package, equipped with a Whipple 2.9L supercharger, fed through a K&N cone-style air cleaner element, and charged via Mast Motorsports ECM M-90-controlled EFI, powered by an Aeromotive A1000 in-line fuel pump, now producing over 845 hp and nearly 900 lb-ft of torque. The block itself is painted bright orange to provide the necessary contrast and draw attention to the “eye-popping” supercharged LS. Mast used Mahle pistons, a Callies Compstar 4340 steel forging crankshaft, an LSX 427 camshaft, and aluminum heads secured by ARP hardware. As is so often the case, hot rodders like the retro-style look of early valve covers. Such is the case here, with the earliest “Chevrolet” (inline four-bolthole) V-8 valve covers fitted to the LS heads. The exhaust consists of 1-3/4-inch-diameter stainless tubing that draws the spent gases into 3-inch stainless tubing, which features fittings from Verocious Motorsports, and then exits through the pair of MagnaFlow mufflers and dual tips. Added engine accessories include a Concept One serpentine belt system, a Powermaster starter and alternator, and an OPTIMA YELLOWTOP battery now residing behind the front wheel. The cooling chores fall to a PRC radiator with a SPAL dual-electric fan setup and an aluminum engine oil cooler. Coupled to the V-8 is a 4L65E pressed-overdrive trans from RPM Transmissions, featuring a Precision Industries torque converter and an aluminum trans cooler. The shifter comes from a Mustang modified to use a Lokar shifter mechanism. The driveshaft itself was built at Denny’s Custom Driveshaft.
All this power is ultimately transferred to the ground through a 9-inch ring-and-pinion rearend from Art Morrison Enterprises (AME), featuring Strange Engineering 3.50:1 gearing and axles, a 3/8-inch sway bar, and held in position by an AME four-link setup. The rearend is mounted within an AME Chevy GT Sport chassis that includes IFS and a solid rear axle. Notably, the rear of the framerails was narrowed by about 2 inches on each side, creating a custom AME chassis to fit the modified 1952 Chevy body. A custom 17-gallon gas tank, fabricated by Starrett of the Vescio’s crew, is installed in the chassis. The IFS is built by AME, utilizing Strange coilovers, a Pro-style spindle, a 1-1/8-inch adjustable sway bar, and rack-and-pinion steering connected to an Ididit tilt steering column. Bringing all this power and chassis back into control relies on Wilwood disc brakes with six-piston calipers in the front and four-piston calipers in the rear, along with drilled-and-slotted rotors. The Kugel Komponents under-dash pedal assembly controls braking with an electronically managed master cylinder. Eye-catching details include Forgeline billet wheels and Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. The Grip Equipped Dropkick wheel is a custom three-piece wheel made from forged 6061-T6 aluminum centers and heat-treated rim shells, assembled with hidden stainless steel ARP fasteners and Heli-Coil inserts. The Michelin tires measure 285/35R18 in front, with an overall diameter of 25.9 inches, a 3.95-inch sidewall, and a 7.5-inch backspace. The massive rear tires are 335/30R20, with an overall diameter of 28 inches, a 4-inch sidewall, and a 5-1/4-inch backspace. The car has a natural “rubber” rake, giving it the stance we prefer on a hot rod.
The interior and custom dashboard were derived from Eric Brockmeyer’s renderings, which feature a custom dashboard filled with one-off gauges from Classic Instruments. Starett of VC&R installed a Painless Performance Products wiring system and “fired up” the Restomod Air A/C. The custom-made dash, and the seats, trunk panels, door panels, and roof are wrapped in this bright orange leather. The interior mix also included an Ididit steering column with a Sparc Industries custom wheel. Seating consists of front and rear 2000-era Chevy Impala seats. Orange soft leather was used throughout and stitched into place by Sean Henderson of Top Stitch Upholstery. Orange was selected for its contrast to the otherwise-“dark” presentation, to draw the eye to the amazing stitchwork, and to “match” the color used underhood. A dark blue suede was wrapped around a fiberglass headliner form, and an imported dark blue Finetuft velour carpet was installed. There is also a VC&R-fabricated center console featuring sections of orange leather as an accent, painted in a “flat” blue hue, that houses the Mustang shifter modified with Lokar mechanics.
The Chevy is no stranger to the road, having made the trip from their home in Minnesota to Tennessee for the 2025 Triple Crown abrading period. From there, it has also gone onto the Goodguys Southwest Nationals. The 1952 Chevy is also no stranger to the “winners circle,” having scored a Modern Rodding Pick and a Builder’s Choice Top 10 from Dean Livermore of Hot Rods by Dean during the Goodguys Southwest Nats in Phoenix.
Check out this story in our digital edition here.
