In our last installment on Doug Melson’s ’47 Dodge, we delved into the coupe’s history and the somewhat bumpy road it’s traveled en route to becoming a nicely restyled hot rod. Without recounting every gory detail, the old Dodge was shuffled between several shops (bearing the brunt of at least one less-than-skilled bodyman along the way) before finally getting back on track at Cody Walls’ Delaware shop, Traditional MetalCraft. Based on a subtle but complete design overhaul by Eric Black at e. Black Design Co., every panel of the coupe is being nipped and tucked to create a profile that’s significantly racier and more aggressive than anything Dodge produced at the time.
After tackling the tail end (the rear fender and decklid work we showed previously), Walls moved forward on the body, revising the roof modifications started by one of the earlier shops and reshaping the front fenders, hood, and grille opening. It’s a monumental amount of work. Dodge business coupes of the ’40s had a greatly
