SPIRIT OF MOTION.: Mike Markin’s meticulously modified 1938 Graham hot rod has turned heads and won awards at auto shows nationwide.

Like its aquatic namesake, the Shark is impressive to read about. And, like its namesake, it’s even more impressive when you’re face to fin with it.

It’s no stretch to say that the Shark – that’s the nickname Mike Markin of Eau Claire has given to his award-winning hot rod – is a work of art. Car enthusiasts once gave the 1938 Graham Model 97 the nickname “Shark Nose” because of the distinctive cut-back grille that lends it the cool, menacing air of an ocean predator – albeit fat-fendered, Art Deco one. Markin and his design and building team took that concept and pushed it to the limit, making nearly 200 modifications to the vehicle and turning it into a fierce specimen that has consumed the competition at car shows nationwide.

“This is a very unusual car, so we get a lot of questions,” Markin said after describing the years-long team effort that culminated in March when the vehicle was named Grand Champion at the International Show Car Association Championship Finals.

Markin has always liked cars, but he picked up restoration as a hobby in 2002 after receiving some sage advice from a friend. “He suggested if I didn’t get a hobby I’d be dead in five years,” Markin recalled.

So he threw himself into the hobby, restoring five or six prewar cars before discovering the vehicle that would become his focus: the 1938 Graham 97. Until he saw a listing for one in an auto catalog, he’d never heard of the car. (That’s not surprising: The Graham-Paige company made cars between the 1920s and 1940s, and only 3,800 of this model were produced.) Nonetheless, Markin fell in love with the model, and eventually tracked one down in California that was just an engine-less shell. “It wasn’t economically feasible to bring that back to original (condition). It was too far gone,” Markin explained. “But it was the perfect base for a hot rod.”

THE STARTING LINE.: The vintage care was an empty shell when Markin bought it in 2007.

Markin bought the car in 2007, but restoration didn’t begin for several years. In all, it took several skilled teams 4½ years to bring Markin’s vision to reality. His amateur but imaginative sketches were transformed by an artist, and eventually – thanks to a large team of craftsmen – were brought to life in steel and chrome. Transformation work began at Donn McFarlane’s body shop in Altoona, while body work, painting, and more were completed at L’Cars Automotive Specialties in Cameron.

While numerous talented people contributed to the project, Markin gives top credit to his wife, Pat. She served as a sounding board, held Mike and his team to task, and provided much-needed encouragement. She even helped pick the Shark’s distinctive, wine-colored paint, PPG Bordeaux Reserve.

The nearly 200 modifications made to the vehicle range from minor to radical. Among the most extreme: The car originally had four doors, but was converted to a two-door coupe. On each side of the car, part of the rear door was chopped off and added to the front door to extend it. Then the car’s body was shortened by removing 26 inches from the roof, and the original trunk was replaced by a deck lid from a 1937 Chevrolet coupe. The fat fenders – which drew Markin’s attention in the first place – were retained, but they were scalloped and streamlined, and the running board was removed.

In the front, the hood was lowered a bit, and the Shark was given a “nose job”: The original grille was removed and replaced with a custom-made aluminum grille. The only two unmodified pieces on the whole car – the glass in the headlights, made in 1938 but never before used in a car – are now framed by gleaming bezels that mimic the lines of the fenders.

And the car’s exterior is just the beginning. Under the hood – gleaming with polished stainless and aluminum – is a 600-horsepower “big block” Chevy 540. Even here, no detail was spared: The air clean was designed to mimic the shape of the fenders and hood. Inside there are bucket seats, a custom-made steering wheel, a heavily modified 1937 Lincoln-Zephyr dashboard, and 21st century amenities like a hidden, Bluetooth-enabled music system. Even the car’s underside gleams like a gearhead’s vision of heaven.

In 2010, Markin attended the Detroit Autorama – a top-tier hot rod event – to get ideas. Amazed by the cars he saw there, Markin was inspired to turn his gutted Graham into a showpiece, not just a daily driver. Six years later, in February 2016, his car made its debut at the show and finished in the “Great 8” – i.e., the best never-before-displayed eight hot rods. After that, the Shark continued to turn heads and collect accolades at shows across the U.S. and Canada.

The Shark’s inaugural season culminated the first weekend of March in Chicago at the International Show Car Association Championship Finals, where the car topped the hot rod category and was named the overall Grand Champion for the year. And Markin and his team aren’t resting on their laurels: In the weeks after their win, they took Best Rod honors at shows in Minneapolis and Winnipeg, accumulating two of the four points they need to contend for the ISCA crown next year.

From coast to coast, hot rod lovers have learned a vital lesson: Look out for the Shark.

To learn more about the Shark – including build books, specs, and tons of photos – visit theshark-shop.com.

Take a closer look at the Shark ...