2026 Chevelle 70/SS Owner Used House Paint On His $200,000 Carbon Fiber Muscle Car
Trans Am Worldwide’s 2026 Chevelle 70/SS pairs a carbon fiber body with up to 1,500 hp in its 25-car 454 LS6X run. One of those cars belongs to Ron Crume, a lifelong painter who drove from Arkansas with his wife, Lisa, to paint it himself at the Tallahassee shop where they are built.
That made him the first customer ever to paint their own car there, though the green and gold exterior is only half the story, since the interior hides a material you’d expect in a hardware store.
Car 7B Is The Chevelle 70/SS Trans Am Worldwide Never Planned To Build
The 70/SS is a modern take on the 1970 Chevelle SS muscle car, built on the sixth-gen Camaro’s GM Alpha platform. Pricing starts close to $200,000, while a fully loaded 454 LS6X with up to 1,500 hp can easily top $400,000.
Ron’s late friend David Strait showed him the green 70/SS unveiling video but passed away before seeing Ron’s build. By the time Ron called, all 25 of the 454 cars had sold, and the one that opened up months later was car number six.
Ron, who gets car number seven on every build, convinced Trans Am Worldwide to drop number six from the lineup and give him 7B, a nod to the business he and Lisa started together. He then sprayed it alongside the shop’s painter, Keith, in PPG Envy Green and Madison Gold, both created by Charlie Hutton.
The Wood Grain Interior Starts With A Can Of House Paint
Ron hand-painted a wood grain finish onto the dash panels and headliner. The secret ingredient is water-based house paint toner in burnt sienna, raw umber, and black, the kind you can pick up at Sherwin-Williams.
He starts with an automotive base coat, then scuffs it, so the next layers can bond. Next, he brushes on the house paint toner and dry-brushes it into a grain pattern, using water to pull the color into realistic streaks.
A root-beer-brown automotive candy called James Brown goes on next to add shadows and depth before the panel gets sealed under clear coat. Taped edges and black airbrushed drop shadows make each section look like separate boards mitered together.
Ron learned the technique from his late mentor, Don Tippet, and still carries Don’s brushes and the Friskies cans he used as paint cups. He admits wood grain suits a Woody or an old Ford more than a Chevelle, but the green, gold, and distressed leather make it work.
Why Trans Am Worldwide Handed A Customer The Spray Gun
Ron painted his first car, a 1978 Firebird, in his dad’s garage at 16 or 17, and later ran his own hot rod shop building high-end customs for clients nationwide. He and Lisa also founded 7 Brew, the drive-thru coffee chain behind the 7B name, which opened its first stand in Rogers, Arkansas, in 2017.
In the booth, Ron sprayed base coat at around 12 psi to bring out more gold, and the pair laid three coats of clear, planning to buff one back off. Keith signs off every paint job with a small run on purpose, proof he laid on maximum clear before sanding it flat.
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