Buy This Ridiculous Chevy Tahoe Rockabilly Bel Air Build for $37K
Straight outta Florida.
What do you do when you own a regular modern SUV, but yearn for the Happy Days of your youth? You bust out the chrome and build this glorious rockabilly 2004 Chevy Tahoe, that's what!
Excitingly, this unique vehicle can be yours, as it's currently on sale by Somerset Automotive, which, as you've probably already guessed, is based in Florida. As per the listing, the Tahoe features a 5.3-liter V8 originally rated at 295 horsepower and 335 pound-feet of torque, paired with an automatic transmission. It's only a rear-wheel-drive model, but given it's been lowered significantly, you wouldn't want to take this one on so much as a dirt road anyway.
The real joy, though, is in the visual modifications. The Chevy Bel Air is God to hot rodders, and this Tahoe was made in its image. Up front, it wears a 1950s Chevy badge upon a chrome mesh grille, paired with a front bumper in the style of the Bel Air. The hood itself has been modified to host a pair of period Chevy chrome ornaments that are sure to maim any pedestrians unlucky enough to meet them.
From the side view, we can appreciate how the white roof complements the rich green body. The car features side trim aping the Bel Air, too, with a chrome trim stripe diverging into the classic quarter-panel molding. Other nice touches include the chrome door handles and rims which help complete the look.
The rear is what really shines, though, with a set of huge tail fins worked into the Tahoe's back end. Rather tidily, the fuel cap is hidden inside one of the fins, eliminating the need for a flap that would otherwise blemish the rear quarter panels.
The exterior modifications are impressively complete if a little rough around the edges. In particular, the front headlights don't really work with the design, and the mesh grille could be better executed. Overall though, it's a solid effort at turning the Tahoe into something with real 1950s charm.
There's just one glaring disappointment with this build. Where the outside of the car has been utterly transformed, the interior is merely stock standard 2000s GM fare. It's almost a culture shock to open the lustrous green doors laden with chrome, only to find beige leather and gray plastic inside.
If you want your friends and family to stare, mouths agape, when you rock up for dinner, here's your perfect car. It's currently listed for $36,998 with just 49,766 miles on the clock. Even still, that's a bunch of money to pay for a 2004 Chevy Tahoe. Of course, you could build something similar yourself, but by the time you're done with all the paint and panel work, you'd probably have spent similar money. If this weird and wacky look truly is for you, then, that may just be the price you have to pay.
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