Hot-Rodded 1939 Chevrolet A Gift Meant To Drive

WOLCOTT, CT – When the family business involves building custom hot rods, no member should be without one. It was part generosity and part self-interest that played parts in the making of the bright red 1939 Chevrolet hot rod that Susan Brunetti of Cheshire, CT was gifted in 2018.

“My father and brother both enjoy making these cars and it’s a passion of theirs, and they wanted me to be included,” said Brunetti as she stood next to the chopped and sectioned Chevy that was parked behind Brig’s Rod Shop in Wolcott in mid-November. 

Brig’s Rod Shop is owned by her father, Frank Briglia, and by her brother, Mike Briglia. “They found a car that they wanted to do as a project and my father just told me it was going to be my car,” Brunetti said.

Mike Briglia confirmed his sister’s recollection. “We have two cars each for ourselves and we wanted to build another car,” he said. “We can only drive so many. We’re a very tight family so we said, ‘Oh, we can get my sister to go to car shows with us’” by giving her a hot rod of her own.

See the hot-rodded 1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe in action in this YouTube video…

The hot rod wasn’t as flashy as it appears now when it came out of the factory as a 1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe business coupe, and it showed its age by the time the Briglias bought it around 2012. 

“The car was hot rodded before but it wasn’t running. It was never really finished,” Briglia said. “It was pretty much a basket case.” Other work got in the way, though, so it sat for years before the restoration began. 

Father and son brainstormed on the project. “We got ideas in our heads. We both work off each other idea-wise and we just had some ideas that we wanted to do. We wanted to get the car to look the way we wanted,” Briglia said.

The Chevy got “chopped” and “sectioned,” which means that is the height of the roof line got lowered and the depth of the lower body was likewise reduced. The sectioning took the form of a wedge cut with three inches removed in front tapering zero trimmed in the rear, which “basically squashed the nose,” he explained.

The biggest challenge was “just getting everything in proportion. That was the main thing,” Briglia said. “When we did all that, when we looked at the car from the side, the rear window was too straight up. Something didn’t look right, so we ended cutting around the back of the roof line and we actually kicked the rear window back.”

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From there came personal touches. Brunetti noted the “bumpers that are hand made. It’s impressive all of the little hand made items that are in there and it’s just a work of art.”

Vent windows were eliminated, a dashboard from a 1955 Chevrolet was sectioned and dropped in. The interior received custom bucket seats and a custom console. Also added to power the hot rod was a more modern-day 350-cubic-inch Chevrolet LT1 V8 engine.

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The number of modifications small and large are almost too many to count. The rear deck lid was shortened nine inches, a retractable rear license was added, while up front the car’s two-piece hood turned was turned into one piece. Oval ventilation ports were added on each side and it also received custom running boards.

Brunetti marvels at the workmanship. “It was what I expected because I expected no less than perfection, and it’s beautiful,” she said.

The Chevy hot rod is also a treat to drive. “It’s very smooth. It’s a very smooth running vehicle. I wouldn’t say it’s like a brand new vehicle, but it runs really nice,” Brunetti said. “It’s comfortable to drive in. I’ve driven it for four or five hours and it’s very comfortable. The seats are comfortable.”

While Brunetti noted the build quality, she has noticed a couple of minuscule shortcomings. “They did ask me what color I wanted, but then they surprised me at the end,” she said.

Briglia said he doesn’t recall what color his sister requested but confessed, “We already had the color picked out.” The red exterior was a solid choice as it commands attention.

“The only thing, other thing, that I could ask for are windshield wipers, which I don’t have,” said Brunetti. The lack of wipers gives it a cleaner look.

The ’39 Chevy hot rod is primarily used by Brunetti in summertime and did accomplish its goal in bringing the family together. She does take it to car shows.