Bodywork & Paint: Owner and Wally Elder of Custom Auto Works (Dittmer, MO)
Paint: Kirker Paint, medium charcoal gray metallic/Hot Rod Black satin stripes
Hood/Fenders/Trunk/Bumpers: Glasstek Fiberglass
Spoiler: Custom-made with drilled air slots

The rearend is a custom Ford 9-inch running 3.70:1 gears and 33-spline axles, secured to the frame by 32-inch ladder bars, diagonal link, and a custom antiroll bar. Strange Engineering 12-inch double-adjustable coilover shocks plant the tires, while Speedway 11.75-inch vented rotors and GM calipers provide stopping power.

The front end uses factory-style tubular A-arms, 2-inch drop spindles, a pinto manual rack, and QA1 single-adjustable coilovers. Aerospace Components four-piston brakes connect to a Strange master cylinder. Weld Drag Lites sit on all four corners: 165/80R15 Nexen tires on the front and 315/65R15 (3.5-inch backspace) with Mickey Thompson ET Street R tires on the rear.

Remembering a short-block combination from the old PAW catalogs, Brian chose a ’69 10.2-inch, tall-deck dump truck engine displacing 511 ci. Chris Caulkins of St. Clair, Missouri, did the machining and assembly using all the best internals. The combo looks mean just sitting in the engine bay with a Pro Systems 1,000-cfm carb, Sledgehammer nitrous plate, and Chevrolet Performance manifold and 572 heads topped with some late-’80s Milodon valve covers.

Nowack Racing Engines tuned the combo on the dyno and it proved to be a monster, making 733.7 hp and 661.4 lb-ft of torque in naturally aspirated mode. Kick on the 150-shot of nitrous and the numbers jump to a staggering 916.3 hp and 871.1 lb-ft of torque. All of that power transfers through a 3,400-stall converter into a $400, 20-year-old Powerglide transmission.

Despite not being a “car girl” before she met Brian, Jenn played instrumental parts in some critical aspects of the build. After changing his mind “50 times in 20 years,” Brian settled on Candy Tangerine Orange for the color. Jenn asked him one question: “Do you want it to look pretty at the car show from across the field, or do you want it to look BADASS driving down the road?” Just like that, it changed to Medium Charcoal Gray Metallic from Kirker Paint expertly laid down by Wally Elder at Custom Auto Works.

The Hot Rod Black Satin stripes were Brian’s creation. He figured he’d never own a Yenko or a true Z/28, so why not just combine them. Brian was looking for a name to put where “Yenko” would usually go but was having trouble coming up with a name. Again, Jenn saved the day when the word “obnoxious” popped out of her mouth after her maiden voyage—and the ’69 had a new moniker!

The interior is pretty much all business with gauges galore, racing seats, shifter, and stock trim mixed with carbon-fiber accents—clean and tidy but nothing fancy. Although it may not look like it, Brian built this car on a budget, doing most of the work or trading his time and expertise for things performed by friends. Like many other hot rodders he regrets it took him so long to finish.

“When I got it, I was just a kid,” Brian says. “I never thought I would be married, pushing 50 with kids, before I drove it. Jenn saw the car on our second date, and she got her first ride after 16 years of marriage.” However, Brian is ecstatic about the way “OBNOXIOUS” turned out and is happy he got to make memories with his own son. Isn’t that what hot rodding is all about?