It’s been some time since Project Tiger’s Eye has seen the light. Why? Financial priorities shifted from a bachelor sourcing panels and trim pieces from junkyards in Missouri to marriage and home ownership.

Don’t remember your golden days, live them.

But, hiatus does not mean quit. Quitting isn’t in the blood of someone that has Kustom Kulture coursing through their veins. But, putting a project on the shelf for undetermined stints of time certainly is.

Our crew has done enough car features in our day, and interviewed enough old timers to preserve that peace of mind; none of the masterpieces and top notch builds that spoke to our soul were straight roads to fruition. None of them were easy on the builders.

In retrospect here’s what’s been accomplished. Outfitting the chassis and the engine build was a straightaway of progress. Incase this is your first run-in with Tiger’s Eye here’s what’s been done to the kustom 1950 Chevy Fleetline build:

• We sourced a small-block Chevy from a Suburban sitting in a junkyard in Ontario, California. The story that ensued was an educational piece on the steps machine shops take to assess a core’s usability. Great stuff in here.
• We nabbed a set of steelies and was infatuated with pastel, hazy, or milky color ways at the time. Our crew decided on the hue “camel” and documented the process of powder coating.
• Next we linked up with the guys at our company shop where they outfitted the chassis with air suspension.
• We put the bare block together, mated it to a 4L60E, and gave the skeleton a heart.
• Our 383 stroker got lungs by way of a custom low-profile exhaust system.
• The last bit of work we left on was linking the transmission to the rearend with the help of a custom driveshaft.

What’s Next For Tiger’s Eye?

As soon as our project manager gathers his grit, the next immediate step is getting the body sandblasted to assess the true state of the $600 roller. He has received mixed feedback; everything from sell the body to buy another roller and swap the bodies.

Making his mind up when he bought this vehicle, the project car manager knew that he’d give it second-life–the best life that he possibly could. Not having Ridler-type money, our project car coordinator has a deep respect for the tenacity and fortitude that go hand in hand with building kustoms and hot rods.

Naturally, you pool what resources you can, you take a hiatus if you need to, but you never quit on your project. You don’t take the easy way out. If building a kustom was easy, everyone would do it.

Our crew has gotten enough rest, and we think the ’50 has too. We built up its skeleton, now it’s time to give it new skin. Stay tuned for more updates coming soon.