leather upholstery and carpets, while Pearson started applying the BASF Light Blue Gray paint, a late-model Volkswagen hue. A local shop finished the paint job, which took a month after they pulled the car out on a 106-degree day, resulting in severe orange peel that had to be rubbed out. Safelite Auto Glass in St. George, Utah did the glass. Moon Eyes supplied a little bit of period bling with a pair of side-view mirrors.

After I photographed the 1949 Wayfarer in the spring of 2010, Pearson swapped out the 1969 Charger rims with 205X60/15 Cooper Cobra tires up front and fatter 255X60/15 tires in the rear, all courtesy of Modern Day Classics. Today, the car has a more modern stance, with the upgraded wheel/tire combination featuring MD Classic 17X7 wheels with a set of ZR-rated Riken Raptors, 215Z50/17 up front and 245X55/17 in the rear.

This car is no trailer queen. Pearson drives the Wayfarer to shows. The trip from his home in southwest Utah to Los Angeles is 400 miles each way. The car took first place in the street-rod class at last year's Mopars at the Strip, following that with a win in the street-rod class at the Spring Fling event where I first met Pearson.

The Dodge Wayfarer is a rare car, lasting only three model years. It was dropped in 1952 when the entire Dodge line was restyled and the Meadowbrook became the entry-level series. That year was also the first for Chrysler's 241-c.u. Hemi, so a factory-built Wayfarer Hemi never appeared.

That certainly didn't stop Dick Pearson from building his own. With an asking price of $48,500, this Automotive Traveler exclusive offering would be very difficult to duplicate at that price. To speak with the owner of this 1949 Dodge Wayfarer directly, drop him an e-mail care of Automotive Traveler.

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