Story: Michael Crenshaw
Photography: Garrett Wade
Some guys root for a team and some guys really root for a team—going above and beyond a hat, jersey or flag—conveying their love through a more time-consuming and ultimately more expensive, laborious process. When this 1973 Chevy Caprice came to 813 Customs, the instructions were simple but detailed: Build a matching old-school to the owner’s new-school, keeping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers theme intact, while still keeping it clean in regards to its original roots.
“We did an ’06 Charger for the same owner—the car was fully orange with airbrushing. He’s a really big Bucs fan, and we knocked that car out of the park for him. That’s when he brought that Donk to us,” remembers Joe Barravecchio at 813 Customs. Once the initial conversation was brought to light, details like keeping it reminiscent of a throwback were thrown into the mix: clean white and orange pearl. The reasoning behind the subtle exterior treatment was due to the fact that the donor car was almost flawless from the get-go, which is almost unheard of. “It had all the original parts and trim on it,” Joe says. “It was a great car to work on. It didn’t need a whole bunch done to it.” Normally, full-glass consoles change the demeanor of the car completely; however, by using white, it hints at its origins as a classy boulevard cruiser.
Something you might not instantly recognize are the two different sets of DUB skirts: Azzmackas and Shokkas. All four corners are 30 inches, but the difference in sets allows for a simple yet stunning visual display of outward thought. When Joe from 813 was building a Camaro on 30s with the Azzmackas, and Jay, owner of the white ’73, wanted Shokkas, the idea of mix-and-matching seemed appropriately obvious.
The biggest thing about this ’73 is the way it drives. “It’s got 30-inch wheels and it drives like a Cadillac,” Joe states. “A lot of times when you put 30s on the car, it drives like a truck. There’s also some tricks we like to do, which I don’t want to explain, that set us apart from everybody else, and they sit the way they sit and drive the way they drive.”
With this kind of proprietary skill set to make the car drive different from the rest, as well as attention to detail and outward thought process, 813 Customs made this ’73 Caprice stand apart by being different yet appropriately dressed for the game. There’s no doubt about this Caprice’s status as a true player.
Spec The Technique:
Year/Make/Model: 1973 Chevrolet Caprice Convertible
Performance: 454 BBC; Turbo 400 transmission; March Performance Serpentine kit
Exterior: Custom-made white with orange pearl paint; chrome front and all trim; custom grille and headlight bezels with Tampa Bay Buccaneers badge; ’73 cutouts with orange back lighting; bumper grille inserts; orange canvas top
Interior: White leather with orange suede inserts; fiberglass dash/doors/rear quarters painted in a custom orange pearl mix; power locks and windows; orange carpet; Dakota Digital gauges
Ice: 24-inch TV; Pioneer AVIC-940BT; Clarion EQS746; 12 Addictive Audio 8-inch Neo Loudspeakers, 12 25mm tweeters, four Version 2 12s, one 200.1, one 10.4, one 20.2; Vital Power VP2000 batteries
Wheels/Tires: 30-inch DUB Azzmacka wheels in front, Shokka wheels in rear; DUB TRI-ACE tires, 295/25/30
