First things first, some enthusiasts are going to love this build. However, some will be appalled that a very rare car was modified. No matter where you fall on this topic, everyone can agree that all cars should not be created the same.

A car should bring joy to the owner, and in the case of Brian and Steve at B&S Customs in Rochester, New York, they help car owners find and redefine their dream car. In this particular video, the pair team up to help Brian’s uncle, Roy, soup up his rare hot rod.

Adding a supercharger to a car that was only one of 600 ever made may seem like heresy to the traditionalists. However, changes had already been made to this hot rod that made it more enjoyable to the car owner, Uncle Roy. Adding a TorqStorm supercharger was the next phase in this process. A car should make you want to drive it, and this upgrade made that difference to Uncle Roy.

As mentioned in the video, the car is a 1949 Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline two-door convertible. The Deluxe Styleline was the upper-end model for Chevrolet at the time. When the luxury model was released in 1950, it bore the name Bel Air. While still a part of the Deluxe line, the Bel Air eventually got its own nameplate and eventually spawned the Impala nameplate.   

The car in this video most likely came from the factory with a Chevrolet straight-six 216ci  Thriftmaster engine with a three-speed manual transmission. Cranking out 92 horsepower was ok in 1949, but by today’s standards … anemic. No wonder Uncle Roy wanted to add some muscle.

“It was converted to a hot rod about 15 years ago, and I’m just updating it to be a better hot rod,” explained Uncle Roy.

Because of the unique nature of this car and the previous engine swaps and upgrades it has received, adding the supercharger was not a simple bolt-on-and-go proposition. They updated the fuel tank and lines, went with a colder set of spark plugs, and made some cooling system changes as well as a few bracket modifications on the front-drive.

To find out more about the TorqStorm Supercharger options, visit them online at torqstorm.com.