Sassy Grass Green is a Chrysler color. Specifically, it was option code FJ6 nicknamed Green Go for Dodge models and Sassy Grass Green for Chrysler and Plymouth cars. It was offered as a paint color option in '70 and '71. So what the hell is it doing on a '64 Chevy wagon? "I get that a lot," owner Bart Beuter says, sounding like he wishes he had a nickel for every time he's been asked that question. Why Sassy Grass? He just liked the color. He knew he wanted to paint it green and had been kicking around some color ideas with a Mopar buddy who recommended Sassy Grass. "As soon as I saw the paint chip, I knew it was the color I wanted," Bart says.
We get the impression that once Bart makes up his mind, there's no looking back. He likes the color, the paint is dry, and it's on the car to stay regardless of what anyone else says about it.
Paint job aside, there are plenty of other interesting things about Bart's ride. When was the last time you saw a two-door wagon? It's interesting to note that Chevrolet never called the '64 wagons "Chevelles." They were referred to as the "300-series," which was available in two or four doors. The higher trim level Malibu was also available as a wagon in '64, but all Malibu wagons were four door only. Bart says there were fewer than 3,000 two-door wagons built in '64, making this cargo-hauler rare. And the treatment he's given it is no less than spectacular.
Bart is a welder, so it should be no surprise that there has been some metalwork done to the car, but geez . . . . The car has been completely redone with a Chris Alston tube frame, an eight-point rollbar, Mustang II front suspension, ladder-bar rear suspension, and giant wheeltubs. Not only did he do all the frame modifications himself, but he also built the rollbar, made his own headers, sprayed the paint, and built the engine. As far as we can tell, the only work he farmed out was the engine machining, the transmission build, and he had someone stitch up new upholstery for the seats.
A car this cool isn't built overnight. In fact, Bart has owned his wagon for more than two decades. He bought it for $300 in 1978. Though it was originally equipped with an inline-six and a column-shifted, three-speed manual transmission, someone before him had dropped a V-8 in it, promptly blew it up, and parked the car. Bart fixed up the body, built a high-revving 327, added a TH400 trans and 4.88:1 gears, and it became a dedicated track car.
After several years of drag racing it, Bart was ready for a change. He wanted the wagon to be an over-the-top street car. So he built a 427 big-block that ran on methanol with a Hilborn mechanical fuel injection system complete with a set of velocity stacks. Unfortunately, someone ran into him, and the damage from the accident completely destroyed the front end.
The car you see here is actually the third version-you could call it 300 v.3. Bart stuck with big-block power, but this time he's sporting an overbored 454 with a 6-71 supercharger and electronic fuel injection. We think this one is a keeper.