Don Pritchard's 1957 Chevrolet

Don and Tom Pritchard’s 1957 Chevrolet is a Tonawanda, New York custom built by Ron Gerstner, who operated his shop in Williamsville, New York. The car belonged to the Pritchard brothers of the Buffalo area and represents Gerstner’s bold, late-1950s/early-1960s approach to restyling. Photo courtesy of Custom Rodder.

Don Pritchard’s Chevrolet as finished by Williamsville customizer Ron Gerstner. Deep burgundy over white tuck-and-roll, with canted quad headlights, a reshaped grille opening, molded front fenders, a sculpted hood with a bank of louvers, shaved trim, and wide whitewalls for a low show-car stance.

Car Craft April 1963. Don and Tom Pritchard’s Chevy made the cover, billed as the “Debut of a Champion — Winner from the Empire State,” showcasing its canted quad headlights, custom grille, and sculpted rear.

This profile view shows how far Gerstner pushed the four-door. A 3½-inch chop over a C’d frame with cut coils to drop it roughly 7½ inches. Scooped front wheel-opening flares flow into the rocker exhaust shields, with rounded door corners and recessed antennas smoothing the sides. Photo courtesy of Custom Rodder.

Out back, the deck was shortened about six inches, the license housing was protruding, and a second ¼-inch-rod grille hid the taillights behind a rolled pan. Photo courtesy of Custom Rodder.

The engine bay “bristled with chrome,” housing a 283-cid Corvette V-8 set up for competition by Bill Rose of Albany. Photo courtesy of Custom Rodder.

Pritchard's '57 did also land the cover of Custom Rodder.

How the Pritchard ’57 looked in 2016 while owned by Fritz Schenck in Kansas. Parked in storage in gray primer, missing its quad headlamp assemblies and grille but still showing Gerstner’s molded fenders and louvered hood.

Passenger-side view in 2016 during Schenck’s ownership, showing the wrinkled quarter from the decades-old crash and layers of old lead and paint revealing Gerstner’s heavy bodywork beneath.

Rear view as, found in 2016, showing the shaved decklid, molded bumper-delete rear pan, and layers of old lead and filler coming through on the fins and quarter.

February 2023. Back in Western New York, the Pritchard ’57 arrives at Klassy Kars in Akron for restoration. Father-and-son team Gordy and Kevin Kaiser began teardown, parts inventory, and prep for sandblasting and lead removal. Photo courtesy of Bill Barrile.

A photo of the old custom taken in July of 2025 showing progress at Klassy Kars. With the trunk lid off, the shortened deck and rear panel are opened up, and decades of lead are stripped from the quarters. Photo courtesy of Bill Barrile.

The body shell sand blasted and ready for further work. Photo courtesy of Bill Barrile.

Fresh primer after blasting. This photo was taken early in August of 2025. Photo courtesy of Bill Barrile.

On the lift at Klassy Kars during the teardown. Photo courtesy of Bill Barrile.

Don and Tom Pritchard’s 1957 Chevrolet is a Tonawanda, New York custom built by Ron Gerstner, who operated his shop in Williamsville, New York. The car belonged to the Pritchard brothers of the Buffalo area and represents Gerstner’s bold, late-1950s/early-1960s approach to restyling.

Gerstner gave the Chevrolet a radical makeover that period magazines billed as “long, low and wild.” The roof was chopped about 3½ inches, the frame was C-notched, and the coils were cut, dropping the car roughly 7½ inches. Both front and rear fenders were extended. Up front, Gerstner hand-formed a new opening and filled it with a grille made from ¼-inch rod. 1958 Lincoln headlight buckets and rims were canted and tunneled, the stock fender peaks were shaved, and the hood was sculpted with raised peaks that flowed over the nose. The hood sat lower between the sculpted sections, and its corners were rounded. Scooped front wheel-opening flares were blended into the exhaust-shield rockers for a continuous line. The doors received rounded corners, and the antennas were recessed. Out back, the deck was shortened about six inches, the license housing was protruding, and a second ¼-inch-rod grille hid the taillights behind a rolled pan. The engine bay “bristled with chrome,” housing a 283-cid Corvette V-8 set up for competition by Bill Rose of Albany, while the interior and trunk were trimmed in white pleated Naugahyde. The glove box and ashtray were welded shut, and the top and bottom of the dash were upholstered to match. Finished in Wild Cherry paint, the car won First in Class, Best in Show, and Best Trunk at its debut at the Albany Auto Review.

According to Bob Reigan, the Chevrolet was parked at Don’s mother’s house in Depew, New York, after it was involved in an accident while returning from a day or weekend of drag racing. Once tucked away in the garage, it sat for decades. Over the years, a few parts were picked from it, and by the time it resurfaced, the car was missing various components.

By 2016, the Chevrolet had been acquired by custom builder and collector Fritz Schenck. The car went to Kansas, but little progress was made on a restoration while it was there. When Fritz later listed it for sale on Facebook, Buffalo enthusiast Bill Barrile spotted the post and tipped friends in Akron, New York. A deal was struck, and Fritz delivered the car back to Western New York.

The Chevrolet is currently in the hands of Klassy Kars in Akron, New York, the father-and-son team of Gordy and Kevin Kaiser. As of the latest update from Barrile, the Kaisers have begun going through the bodywork, sandblasting the shell, and removing old lead in preparation for a proper restoration. Barrile is documenting the work as it progresses and plans to share photographs as milestones are reached.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Car Craft April 1963