Pete Chapouris
Pete Chapouris (16 December 1942 – 6 January 2017[1]) was an American hot rodder and customizer. He is best known for creating The California Kid '34 3-window, and also as partner in Pete & Jake's Hot Rod Shop.
History[]
Chapouris began his hot rodding career in the 1950s in Southern California, where he was a member of the .[2] He is best known for the '34 Ford 3-window The California Kid, featured on the cover of (along with a similar coupé built by Jim Jacobs)[2] in November 1973 and in the movie of the same name in 1974.[1] The California Kid became one of the most-often copied hot rods ever.[2][1]
The magazine cover led to a partnership with the builder of the other cover car, Jim "Jake" Jacobs, and the creation of their speed shop, in Temple City, California, in 1974.[1] Chapouris was also SEMA Vice President of Marketing. He died on 6 January 2017, from a stroke.[1] He also helped re-establish So-Cal Speed Shop which to this day is thriving due to new ownership.
References[]
- ^ a b c Hot Rod Magazine online (retrieved 17 June 2015)
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- 1942 births
- 2017 deaths
- Kustom Kulture artists
- American automobile designers
- Vehicle modification people
- American automotive pioneers
- Businesspeople from California
- 20th-century American businesspeople
- 21st-century American businesspeople
- American business biography, 1940s birth stubs