56 Chevy 210 Wagon

   The Magazine Feature Story #16

 https://classiccarsworldwide.com.au

“COOL AND DIFFERENT AND A PLEASURE TO DRIVE”

DEAN CARMODY TALKS ABOUT HIS 1956 CHEVY 210 WAGON. A 15 YEAR BUILD WITH STYLE AND CARE. 

Dean Carmody, married with three daughters, runs his family owned heating and cooling business (Maroondah Air Group) in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Bayswater. In conjunction with his brother Glenn and another partner, Stuart Lancaster, the business has been successfully operating since 1997.

Early interest in cars

Dean has had a keen interest in cars from early childhood and says “at a very young age, under 10, I started to have an interest in cars when a friend of my dad bought a HZ Holden station wagon. It was lowered and had hot wires under the guards. It was the first time I had seen a Holden customised and from then I knew what I wanted when I grew up. When I was16 I knew that it would be the HZ wagon. Of course, I could not have a V8 while on P plates, so my first car was a canary yellow HX Holden wagon. It was a great first car.”

“I have been lucky enough to own a VZ Clubsport R8 and my daily drive now is a 2017 Jeep SRT. I have personalised the SRT with a Borla exhaust, custom Mopar intake, dyno and lowered.”

Current Classic Car – 1956 Chevy 210 wagon

Although Dean had always been a wagon fan and had future plans to restore a HZ wagon it was a flyer in the window of a local bakery of a 56 wagon for sale that made him change his mind. He says “immediately I thought this is the one, so I snapped it up. I bought it from a couple of guys with a wheel import business in Bayswater. It was imported from the States. At the time I had never seen one in Australia and to be honest it was not what I was looking for but I thought to customise a Chevy wagon would be cool and different. I love all the chrome and could see my family cruising in it.”

A 15 year build - Modifications and Specifications

“This was a 15-year build” explains Dean. “The car was in and out of a few shops until I found the right guys to finish the job with style and care. I spent lots of money but stopped counting halfway through the build.”

The motor is a 6.2 litre LS3 with a custom grind cam, ported and polished heads with custom painted coil covers and intake. The Chevy has a 4L65E transmission with a 2800 stall, a 9-inch diff with 4 bar rear end and Air Ride Accuride suspension. The original bumpers have been re chromed and the original stainless trims straightened and polished.

 

“There were lots of rust repairs” says Dean.” I also replaced the rocker panels and front guards together with new fabricated tailghate skin, roof repairs and the doors, I kept the two-tone style look and painted the Chevy a custom Mipa single candy red with custom silver”

“Other modifications include a raised wagon floor to allow for more drop and I cleaned up the fire wall. The brakes are Holden VE front and VS back. The Chevy has American Republic wheels 20 x 10 rear and 18 x 7 front. The rear seatbelt reels are bracketed on top of the wheel arches and hidden under custom leather trim. The front seatbelt reels are also hidden by custom covers,”

“The radiator support was lowered to fit the fabricated air induction box over the radiator.”

“Battery and air ride components are in custom boxes under the rear floor and the two medium size air tanks are tucked up under the rear guards behind the rear wheels. The Chevy also has rack and pinion steering, full custom Nappa Leather interior and vintage air conditioning.”

“Other features include a Retro Sound stereo with two x sub woofers under the back seat. A Billet dash with a leather dash pad, a flaming river collapsible steering column, a silhouette steering wheel and a custom 80 litre fuel tank.”

Thanks To Caprice Photography Automotive Art, For The Great Pictures 

 An unforeseen situation

“I have had many issues with the build, but the biggest issue is actually happening now” says Dean. “The Chevy was on a flatbed truck on the way to be engineered last year when an object hit the side of the car just above the rear tyre in the candy red causing a deep gauge. Unfortunately, this has not been an easy fix. After many attempts at the paint repair with no luck with matching we decided to repaint the entire red section. So, the interior door cards and rear tailgate interior panel were removed together with lots of chrome. With only five weeks to the car being shown at the forthcoming MotorEx this is not an ideal situation.”

“There are a few people who have helped me over the years and I would like to say a huge thanks to them. Rod at Reflection’s Smash and Custom for body and paint. Steve from MKal Automotive for the engine bay, running gear, modifications and custom exhaust, Dean from Straight Line Motor Trimming for the hand fabrication of the full interior and my wife Dani for her patience.”

“Now that we have ironed out some of the bugs and the tune is spot on, the car is a pleasure to drive” says Dean. “It’s very smooth on the road.”

Awards

Dean is very pleased with the important awards the Chevy has won over the last couple of years.

• 2022 Wagon Nationals – Best Interior and wagon of show.
• 2022 Bright Rod Run – top10
• 2022 American Bread – best GM
• 2023 Show Cars – top USA
• 2023 Mr Excited’s Mooroolbark Show and Shine – Best Custom

Car shows and future plans

Dean enjoys reading Cruzin’ magazine “it’s more my scene” he says, and he visits a number of car shows regularly. “A couple of friends of mine also have classic cars and we are always meeting up to cruise to car shows, we have been to many local shows as well as some more well known shows such as the Bright Rod Run. Recently I entered the wagon into MotorEx reveals and Show Cars, I enjoy the local scene and chatting to other enthusiasts about their builds. The high-end shows bring in some amazing builds that just blow your mind on the workmanship, the quality and the money spent.”

“I have been lucky enough to be invited into MotorEx Superstars this May and I am flat out getting the car and display ready. After that I am looking forward to the cruising shows like Rich River Rod Run, Queenscliff Rod Run and again Bright.”

Dean concludes by saying “when I started the build all I was interested in was the driving but being around the car show scene has been a fantastic experience. I have met some really nice people and seen some amazing cars.”