Hot tubbin' and grillin'

Do you know what that ’57 Chevy needs? A hot tub, of course. At least that’s what Terry Mayfield of Omaha, Neb., thought.

There aren’t many occasions when a husband can keep a secret from his wife, especially for a long period of time. But Terry Mayfield of Omaha, Neb., kept one heck of a secret from his wife for more than a year: He converted a ’57 Chevy he purchased from a salvage yard into a hot tub for their family home.

OK, I know what you’re thinking. Secrets are never a good idea, especially when it involves the home. But it wasn’t like that with Mayfield. His wife knew she had married a guy that had a crazy imagination and the fabricating talent to make it happen. So the most impressive feat of this whole experience was the fact that no one blabbed the secret.

Mayfield isn’t the type of guy who goes home after work, puts his feet up, and watches television. His definition of kicking back is working with his hands and being creative.

“This is what I do to have fun, relax, pass the time, and create. It’s all done in fun. It’s for me, by me. I don’t have anyone to answer to and I don’t have a deadline, which is nice,” Mayfield said.

It’s a Car? No, It’s a Hot Tub!

Before the project, Mayfield did not consider himself a big Chevy guy. In fact, he was traditionally more of a Ford guy after restoring two Mustangs and a ’74 Bronco. It all changed when he saw a ’57 Chevy front clip on sale at Craig’s List for $100.

Mayfield transformed the front clip into a working grill (see Figure 1). But his ’57 Chevy fascination didn’t end there. After the family purchased a hot tub from a friend, his next project seemed obvious.

"I said it as a joke to my wife: 'Wouldn’t it be funny to have a ’57 Chevy hot tub?'"

It was a rhetorical question because he had already made up his mind.

While his wife was in Hawaii with her mother, Mayfield purchased a ’57 body from a salvage yard (see Figure 2). The trim was in decent condition and mostly there, all of its windows were intact, and aside from a mouse infestation, the interior was in acceptable condition. After hauling the car to his family-owned Paul Lucht and Sons Body Shop, he got to work.

The car Mayfield purchased was a four-door hard-top, so he had to cut the roof off and remove two doors to make it into a convertible. He restored the interior and upholstered what would be the back seat and the convertible top (see Figure 3).

Figure 1
It all began with a $100 Craig’s List purchase. Mayfield transformed a ’57 Chevy front clip into a working grill.

“I built a total frame underneath it inside the rocker panels all the way down to support the frame. I basically made a frame itself for the body before I cut it apart. If I hadn’t done that, then as soon as I cut the roof off, the thing would have collapsed on me.”

The hot tub controls are located on the car’s dashboard. LED lights and cup holders surround the interior.

Mayfield kept the project a secret from his wife and worked on it for more than a year in his autobody shop before he brought it home. Was his wife surprised? Not so much.

“She knows me. She knows I like to do crazy things and build crazy things so she wasn’t surprised.”

It’s All in the Details

A ’57 Chevy convertible hot tub might look a little odd on its own, so he transformed his entire space to fit the theme. The back fins of the car support a glass table, and positioned around the table are custom-fabricated bar stools that are complete with the Chevy logo (see Figure 4).

“I didn’t want it to just be a hot tub, but something that people would congregate around. Now it’s part of the deck and we can use it to entertain people.”

He restored a 1970s fuel pump and turned it into the “chlorination station” (see Figure 5). The hose lights up and connects to the car’s gas tank filler neck. The pump itself has a motor that, when on, causes the numbers to roll. A digital photo frame on the face of the pump contains a slide show of the build.

Next Mayfield wants to install a kegerator in the trunk with the tapper exiting from the keyhole.

Will he ever restore a ’57 Chevy to drive? That remains a secret for now.

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