DREAM CATCHER

LOUIS YOUNIS COULDN’T RESIST THE CHANCE TO TICK A CHILDHOOD DREAM CAR OFF HIS BUCKET LIST

- LIAM QUIRK

LOUIS Younis is one of the millions of car nuts to have been smitten by the iconic jet-age styling of the 1957 Chevrolet. “For me they’re the pick of the tri-fives,” says the serial SM feature-car builder. “I’d been dreaming about owning one since I was a kid, but after searching for years I couldn’t find one. I found a ’55 that ticked all my boxes, so I bought that instead. It had all the suspension and chassis work done; it just needed paint and bodywork.” But a fateful flick through eBay late one night changed everything.

“I came across a beautiful, black, pillarless ’57,” Louis says. “Initially I thought it was a US-based car that someone was trying to sell here in Australia, until I saw the guy’s Australian mobile number in the ad. It must have been almost midnight when I rang him – we struck a deal within five minutes and the next day Damien ‘Chubby’ Lowe and I flew to Adelaide to inspect it.”

The car that greeted them was an honest base for a project, and everything a teenaged Louis had pined for. “The previous owner had done the paint and trim, and it had a Vortec crate motor in it,” he recalls. “Chubby and I cruised it an hour-and-a-half back to Jason Waye’s workshop in Adelaide, and it drove beautifully – it was almost too good to touch! I battled with the temptation for a few months, but I had to build the car I’d been envisaging for years.”