A certain forest green 1954 Chevy that was about to be condemned and “squished” just might steal the show at Lawton Public Schools’ upcoming production of “Grease”.
Charlotte Oates, director of fine arts for LPS and director of “Grease”, needed a 1950s Chevy to star in her show. She began calling salvage yards and hit pay dirt at Checker Wrecker. The company had come into ownership of the aforementioned car, which had been abandoned at a storage unit, about a year ago.
When Oates called Checker Wrecker, the owner remembered the car. They took a look and decided the car would have the honor of being “Greased Lightning”.
But first the car had to be spruced up. The top had to be cut off to make it into a convertible and it had to be repainted white with silver lighting bolts trimmed in red.
Jeffrey Walker, Checker Wrecker employee, said he looked on the internet to find a picture of the car so he would get the lightning bolts right. He taped a picture of “Greased Lightning” to the hood of the Chevy as a guide.
Walker, Joe Bascom and Elaine Hilz have spent about two weeks getting the car ready for its stage debut.
“The guys have been running around the yard piecing together random stuff to get it to come together,” Hilz said. “Everything we are dealing with is 70-plus years old. We kind of grabbed bits and pieces from other cars. They just come back and throw it together.”
Some of the pieces of the car are original to it. Boxes of bits and pieces were found in the trunk and back seat. The grill was shined up and reattached. The seats had been removed so pickup seats from two different models of pickups were installed. Matching tires and matching hubcaps were put on and headlights were installed. A steering mechanism was put on, (but it steers backwards. You have to turn the steering wheel left if you want to go right). In order to lighten the car, the motor and transmission were removed. Door edging has been added to the top frame of the car so no one will get cut.
“We are baby-proofing this thing,” Hilz said.
Walker and Bascom say the car is not an identical match to the “Greased Lightning” in the movie, (the front end is a little different) but don’t think the difference is too noticeable.
“I think we can make it look close enough that people can’t tell the difference at a glance,” Walker said. “It’s pretty cool. It’s kind of an awesome thing. My wife found out about it so now we have to go watch it. We watched it (the movie) when we were younger.”
“It’s been an adventure, a unique adventure,” Bascom said of restoring the car.
Once the restoration was complete, the car was towed to the Lawton High School auditorium and placed on stage.
“We took a lot of measurements to make sure it will fit,” Hilz said. The wheels will be placed on a dolly so students can move it around the stage.
“Greased Lightning’s” time in the spotlight may not be over once the play ends. Hilz said Checker Wrecker just bought some property on Sheridan Road and the car will be the showpiece at their new location.
“If they ever want to do “Grease” again, we will bring it back down,” Hilz said. “We are all about giving to the community.”