1950s

Allen's Garage. Hot rodding in Jay,Maine circa 1951. Bill Jerry and Ham Allen's roadsters captured in a Wilton Times newspaper photo. Bill was working at the gas station when this photo was taken. Photo courtesy of Peter Bennett.

Jim Hill's 1921 Dodge truck of Vallejo, California. Jim was a member of the North Bay Rodsters, and the build was completed in 1951. In 1952 Jim won first prize for originality with the truck at the Oakland Roadster Show.

Pat McNamara's 1928 Ford Model A Pick-Up of Bakersfield, California. Built in the late 1940s and the early 1950s, McManara started the build while working for Lee Chapel at Tornado Speed Equipment.

Kenny Smith's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster of San Gabriel, California. Built by Kenny, an early iteration of the car was featured in Hot Rod Magazine August 1950. According to that story, three years of spare time and approximately $1000 went into the build when Kenny first built it.

William J. Unger's 1949 Cadillac Convertible of Chicago, Illinois. Built from a fusion of General Motors parts, the build was completed in 1950. It gained national recognition when it was featured in Motor Trend October 1950. In 1951, two photos of the car appeared in Trend Book 101 Custom Cars, in an article named "Customs With Character - A Lineup of Cars With Singular Personalities."

Spencer Murray's 1949 Chevrolet of Glendale, California. Spencer worked for Link Paola at Link's Custom Shop when they restyled the car, and he had a heck of a time getting him to work on it. They chopped the top of the car 3 inches in September 1950. We don't know when the build was completed, but Spencer showed it at the 1952 National Roadster Show in Oakland.

Buddy Alcorn's 1950 Mercury was originally restyled by the Ayala Brothers at Gil's Auto Body Works for an undisclosed owner in 1952.

Bill Jerry's 1932 Ford Roadster of Jay, Maine. The build started as a 5-Window Coupe in 1949. In 1951, he replaced the coupe body with a roadster body. By early 1952, it underwent a substantial aesthetic update, receiving a fresh coat of paint at a local Chrysler dealership. Peter Bennett of Portland, Maine owned the old hot rod in 2024, by then, it had seen many roads, drag strips, and shows.

The 1952 Fageol Pataray Roadster, a unique creation by Ray Fageol, featured a 300 horsepower Fageol bus engine in a roadster body. It was a standout cover car for Mechanix Illustrated, embodying a two-tone design that merged family legacy with automotive innovation, highlighting the Fageol's influence in early American sports car history.

Dick Jackson's 1938 Chevrolet Sedan of Lynwood, California. Dick was 14 years old when he started to hang around the Barris Kustoms shop in 1949. A rope kept visitors out of the shop so the workers would not be disturbed by curious by-passers. Dick used to stand outside the rope and stare into the shop. One day, Sam Barris said, "Hey, we're getting tired of you staring at us. You want a job here?" At the time, the Manok brothers worked there along with Bill Ortega, Sam, and George. Dick said yes, and he started to sweep the floors. The Chevrolet was Dick's first car in 1951. Under Sam's guidance, the car underwent a series of modifications until it finally got the Barris Kustoms touch.

Duane Dewey's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster of Fontana, California. Duane, a member of the Roadents of Fontana car club, built the roadster in the late 1940s or early 1950s, shortly before entering the United States Marine Corps to serve in Korea. This photo shows the car as it appeared in 1953.

Herman Broome's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster. Broome was a founding member of the Gladiators of Redlands car club in 1953, and a yearbook photo from 1954 shows that his fully-fendered Ford was lowered and modified with a chopped and laid-back windshield for a sleeker and more streamlined appearance.

Loma O. Johnson's 1952 Kaiser of Headland, Alabama. Inspired by the 1951 GM LeSabra concept car, the build was started in 1952 and completed in 1953. Built by the staff at Johnson Motor Co., the car became known as "The Johnson Special." It was also known locally as "The Car of Tomorrow."

The 1953 Kurtis Sorrell SR-100 Roadster, with its unique aluminum body by California Metal Shaping and Bob Sorrell, debuted at the Petersen Motorama in 1953. Built on an Indy 500 Kurtis chassis, it featured a 302-ci GMC I-6 engine, a Howard 12 port head, and six carburetors. This model is notably the only SR-100 with an alloy body.

Solon Pierce's 1935 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Deerfield, Wisconsin. Solon was a member of the Vagabonds of Deerfield car club. Part custom, part hot rod, Solon ran his coupe with motorcycle-type fenders up front. This photo shows the coupe as it appeared in 1954.

Sam Benton's 1936 Ford Coupe of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Benton was a member of the Coupes of Tulsa car club, and he built the coupe over four and a half years. Originally intended as a utility vehicle for his wife, Ruth, the coupe evolved into a top-tier custom rod by 1958. Featuring a filled roof with a Naugahyde insert, a rolled and pleated interior by Duke Custom Shop, and a 284-cubic-inch 1948 Mercury flathead with Edelbrock heads and triple carbs, the car won several awards and recognition. This photo shows the coupe as it appeared in 1954.

Ron Hart's 1951 Ford Club Coupe of Cincinnati, Ohio. Ron was a member of the Cincros car club, and he built the sectioned Ford in 1954.

Henry Dominguez's 1951 Mercury of Indio, California. Henry bought the Merc around 1952. Around 1954, he brought it to the Ayala shop to have it customized. The inspiration for the build came from Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury.

The 1954 Edwards America Convertible, envisioned by Sterling Edwards, melded European design with American muscle. Built on a Kaiser-Frazer Henry J chassis with an Oldsmobile "Rocket" V-8 engine, it was a rare blend of fiberglass coachwork and robust performance. Norman Timbs helped design the car for Sterling.

Norm Grabowski's 1922 Ford Model T-Bucket of Sunland, California. The Lightning Bug iteration of Norm's Model T was completed in 1955. It hit the scene like an atom bomb in the mid-1950s, and it started a T-Bucket craze that spread across the nation like wildfire.

Jerry Campbell's 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan of Portland, Oregon. Campbell was a member of the Ramblers of Portland car club, and he restyled the Chevy in the early 1950s. Known for its distinctive blend of elegance and power, Campbell's meticulous customization earned national recognition, with the car being featured in Hot Rod Magazine March 1955.

John Lane's 1924 Ford Model T Roadster Pickup of San Leandro, California. Lane purchased the Model T in the 1940s. The build was started in 1951 and completed late in 1956. It made its debut at the 1957 National Roadster Show in Oakland.

A photo of Joe Barnett's 1941 Ford Truck taken outside Winfield's Custom Shop in 1957. Gene had just finished the truck and was preparing for Joe to pick it up when disaster struck, and an employee spilled a can of paint on the right rear fender. Gene, ever the perfectionist, immediately set to work repainting the fender. And that’s what you see in this photo.

Carl Burnett's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster of San Diego, California. Carl was a member of the San Diego Prowlers car club. He bought the Model T from fellow Prowlers member Chuck Gibson in the 1950s. It was a roadster pick up when he got it, but he built it into a roadster. This photo shows the car as it appeared when it was featured in Car Craft May 1956.

Joe Tully's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe of Dixon, Illinois. Tully was a member of the Blackhawk Rod and Custom club. He built the coupe in the 1950s, and the iteration seen here was raced at the The World Series of Drag Racing in Lawrence, Illinois in 1956.

Bill Peterson's 1932 Ford Roadster of Portland, Oregon. The roadster was built by Bill and Dee Wescot in 1955. Once completed, the roadster won the 1956 Portland Roadster Show, becoming the first Sweepstakes Winner of the show.

Ted Sitterley's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Tucson, Arizona. Ted paid $50 for the coupe in 1955. It featured gray primer, Indian blanket upholstery, and a 304-inch flathead engine that Ted and his brother built with help from Little Wolf Machine Shop.

Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian's 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan of Fresno, California. The car went trough several iterations in the 1950s. In 1956 it received a Candy cold and red scallop paint job by "Screwy Looie" of Fresno.

Don Blake's 1951 Ford 4-Door of Lynhurst, New Jersey. Blake was a member of the Drivin Deuces of Carlstadt car club, and he started restyling the Ford in 1956, while he was in high school.

Ed Larsen's Barracuda of Ogden, Utah. Larsen, a production planner by trade, embarked on the ambitious project in 1953. His vision was to build a vehicle that not only showcased his craftsmanship but also utilized components from a diverse range of automobiles. The project took shape in his own garage, reflecting both his dedication and skill. It took three years and more than 2500 hours to complete the build. It made its debut in 1956.

The 1956 Volante of Brooklyn, New York City, New York. The car was built by Enzo Volante, a race car driver hobbyist. Built from a 1941 Hudson Super Six, he started the build in 1949 and completed it in 1956.

Ed Park's 1936 Ford Convertible of Marshall, Missouri. Ed's '36 was originally restyled by Red Swanson of Portland, Oregon in 1944. R.I. Steere of Tacoma, Washington continued restyling it in the early 1950s. Ed bought the car in 1959. After buying it, he parked it in his parent's chicken house until 1977. In 1977 he started a restoration that he completed in 1983. Since then the car has gone through a couple of iterations. Ed still owned the car in 2020. He had thousands of miles on the car since the restoration, and he was still working on it.

Robert Ansetta's 1951 Ford Crestliner of Morris Plains, New Jersey. Robert owned the car from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, and most of the custom work on it was done during those years. Robert passed away in 1961 before the build was completed, and it was his brother Vinnia that finally completed the build in 1983.

Garret Walther's 1940 Ford Coupe of Stockton, California. The coupe was Garret's first car. He bought it in 1955. Installed a huge 1952 Chrysler FirePower Hemi-engine and went racing.

Buddy Alcorn's 1950 Mercury was originally restyled by the Ayala Brothers at Gil's Auto Body Works for an undisclosed owner in 1952. Buddy Alcorn of Dominguez, California acquired the car in 1955 and promptly took it to Barris Kustoms for further enhancements.

The 1955 Debonnaire Convertible, designed by Phillip Egan and built by Replac Corporation, showcased a unique fiberglass body on a 114-inch wheelbase Ford chassis. Debuted in Motor Trend July 1955, it blended sports car allure with American boulevard cruiser style. Production ended abruptly after just six units due to a factory fire in 1956.

Bill Collins' 1939 Ford Convertible of Dallas, Texas. Bill ran the ford in the mid-1950s. He lived in the Oak Cliff part of Dallas and was one of the early hot rodders there in the 1950s.

Norm Grabowski's 1922 Ford Model T-Bucket of Sunland, California. The Kookie T iteration of Norm's Model T-Bucket was completed in 1956 featuring a Dean Jeffries flame paint job. In 1958 this iteration became a TV star, appearing in the popular series "77 Sunset Strip." As a result of the exposure, Norms T-Bucket became the most famous hot rod in the country, inspiring dozens of imitators while creating a whole new class of hot rods.

George Smaldone's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Cranston, Rhode Island. Built by George and his buddy Ralph Potter, the build was started in 1954 and completed in 1957.

Al Neblett's 1956 Oldsmobile of Vallejo, California. Al was a member of the Swanx of Vallejo, and his dad, Boyd, ran Vallejo Auto Body where the car was restyled. Completed in 1957, the car became known as the Batmobile due to its Chrysler taillights and fins.

Ron Dulin's 1956 Plymouth Fury of Long Beach, California. Dulin was a member of the Cut Outs of Long Beach car club, and his Plymouth went through seven iterations between 1956 and 1962. This photo shows the car as it appeared early in 1957.

Members of the Strokers of Saginaw having a meeting about the construction of a drag strip in July of 1957. Local auto racing promoter Bob George told the newspaper that if there was enough interest shown in their second race, held July 28, 1957, the airstrip track would be paved. Bob estimated that it would cost $36,000 to pave the Edmore track. Photo from The Strokers of Saginaw Collection.

Bill Hines' 1950 Ford of Lincoln Park, Michigan. Known as "The Bat," Bill started restyling the Ford for a customer in his Southfield shop about 1955 or 56. The customer lost interest in the build, it became Bill's personal car, and he completed it late in 1957. Bill debuted the first iteration of The Bat at the 1958 Detroit Autorama. After moving to California, landing a job at Barris Kustoms, he gave the car a scallop paint job in 1958.

Ed Ward's 1932 Ford Roadster of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ed purchased the Roadster in 1958 from Augie Pabst of Pabst Motors. Before Ed's ownership, the car's origins were unclear. However, it was believed to have ties to Milwaukee racer Tom Friedmann, who tragically passed away in 1955 while racing a Maserati at Road America. Ed drove the roadster until 1959 when he pulled the Flathead engine to swap in a Buick Nailhead—a project that was never completed. The car then sat untouched for decades. In 2013, thanks to Jeff Bloedorn and Chadly Johnson, the roadster was revived with a fresh Flathead and put back on the road after 56 years. Ed enjoyed the car until his passing in 2021 at the age of 80. After much deliberation, the family sold the car to Bloedorn, ensuring its legacy would live on.

Hugh Nutting's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster of Midland, Michigan. Built by Throttle Tamers of Midland member Hugh Nutting, the build was started in 1956. It evolved through high school and tech school, eventually receiving a 1951 Oldsmobile V8 and a glossy 1954 Chevrolet red paint job in 1959. Hugh sold the roadster in 1961 before heading to ArtCenter in Pasadena. As of 2021, it was believed to reside in the Cadillac, Michigan area with SBC power under the hood.

Tommy Henderson's 1934 Ford Cabriolet of Coney Road, Toronto, Ontario‚ Canada. Tommy bought the car in 1958. He built and sold it in less than a year, to pay for a trip to Ireland in 1959.

Bill and Bob Glazier's 1953 Oldsmobile Convertible from North Bend, Washington, restyled by Barris Kustoms in 1958. Originally yellow, it was transformed into a Candy Apple Red custom with quad headlights, Packard taillights, a continental kit, and Dean Jeffries applied scallops and pinstriping. Stored away in the early 1970s, it resurfaced in 2024, catching the attention of Chip Foose, who cleaned up and woke up the iconic piece of custom history.

In 1958 or 1959, Dale Scribner brought his 1953 Henry J to Sam Barris to have it lowered. Sam, living nearby in Carmichael, used a simple folded piece of paper as a gauge to lower the front springs to Dale's preferred height. In 2024, the memories of the car remained vivid, especially the moments with Sam Barris: "I have fond memories of those days and Sam who took his time to help a kid out," Dale told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama. Photo courtesy of Dale Scribner.

A photo taken from the roof of Mel's Drive-In in Sacramento in 1959. As Dale Scribner fondly recalled in 2024, Mel's Drive-In in Sacramento was always a hub of activity, much like the famous scenes from American Graffiti. "We would make a loop up K Street, down J Street, and into Mel's, waiting for a parking spot to open up. The place was full of life, and sometimes, folks would be looking to race." Illegal street races were common, and one night after the legal drag races in Vacaville, a gasser team rolled a Willys gasser off a trailer, drove it through Mel's, and loaded it back up, much to everyone's excitement. That spontaneous and rebellious energy was typical of the time. With cars packed into every available spot, people would cruise the surrounding streets until they found a parking space. Illegal drag races took place regularly, with racers looking for competition at every stoplight. Dale’s stories of Mel’s drive-in encapsulate the essence of the era—a time where car culture, racing, and youthful exuberance thrived. The black-and-white image of Mel’s Drive-In showcases its bustling atmosphere, a visual reminder of Dale’s vivid memories from those nights spent cruising with friends and racing on Sacramento streets.

This is the plaque of The Townsmen of East Long Beach Car Club, featuring their emblematic character dressed in a top hat and holding a cane, a symbol of their club's identity in the Southern California car scene during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Officially established on September 27, 1959, and centered around Millikan High School in Lakewood, California, the Townsmen were known for their modified cars and, unfortunately, gained notoriety following the events of the 1960 Car Club Murder. Photo courtesy of Car Club Plaques.

Vince Ciganik's 1953 Ford Convertible of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Vince was a member of the Rev-Masters car club, and the mildly customized Ford was his high school ride in 1958.

Delmar McCutcheon's 1955 Buick of Bakersfield, California. Known as The Kandy Kane, the car received a panel paint job by Larry Watson at Watson's House of Style in 1958. The upholstery was done in Mexico.

Ivan Peroff's 1956 Buick Century of Kanehoe, Hawaii. Built between 1957 and 1958, the car was sectioned, channeled, and powered by a supercharged Buick Nailhead engine.

Ron Dulin's 1956 Plymouth Fury of Long Beach, California. Dulin was a member of the Cut Outs of Long Beach car club, and his Plymouth went through seven iterations between 1956 and 1962. This photo shows the car as it appeared early in 1958, after Mike Clines had added Gold scallops.

Ron Dulin's 1956 Plymouth Fury of Long Beach, California. Dulin was a member of the Cut Outs of Long Beach car club, and his Plymouth went through seven iterations between 1956 and 1962. This photo shows the car as it appeared late in 1958, after Ed Roth had helped him lay a two-tone Green and Gold scallop paint job.

Bill Hines' 1950 Ford as it appeared after Bill had given it a scallop paint job in 1958.

Don Provance's 1957 Ford Fairlane of Oak Lawn, Illinois. Don started restyling the car as soon as he brought it home from the dealer. It underwent numerous modifications, primarily at Liddle's Auto Body in Alsip, Illinois, under the expertise of George Liddle and Jack Detmars. This photo shows a captivating purple paint job. It had been nosed and decked, and distinct modifications included the integration of 1956 Ford F-100 headlight doors and a 1954 Chevrolet grille. Accessory additions encompassed dual spotlights, 1957 Plymouth hubcaps, and fender skirts.

The 1958 MacMinn Le Mans Coupe, designed by Strother MacMinn and engineered by John Bond of Road & Track, was a vision of dual-purpose excellence. Powered by a Corvette V8, it was hailed as a groundbreaking American sports car design, showcased on Road & Track's cover in 1960. Only five were built.

Fred Thomas' 1950 Ford Two-Door of Ypsilanti, Michigan. The Ford was Fred's first custom. He got it in 1957 and it was mildly customized, lowered, and dressed up with full ripple wheel discs and handcrafted bubble skirts.

Bill Collins' 1951 Oldsmobile of Dallas, Texas. By 1957 Bill's Olds had been dressed up with a flame paint job and drag-style exhaust. According to Bill, he ran the first flame paint job in the area of the Olds.

Joe Castro's 1955 Ford Thunderbird of Hayward, California. Known as "The CandyBird," Castro's Thunderbird was restyled by Joe Bailon at Bailon's Custom Shop in 1957. The CandyBird is believed to be the second car to have been painted Candy Apple Red. The first being Jerry Sahagon's 1951 Chevrolet.

Jim Skonzakes' 1922 Ford Model T-Bucket of Dayton, Ohio. In 1959 Jim bought the famous Kookie T hot rod from Norm Grabowski. After buying the car, Jim brought it to Larry Watson at Watson's House of Style for a cosmetic makeover. Larry gave the car a Rose Pearl paint job with Candy Red flames.

Wayne Knudsen's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Toledo, Ohio. The chopped and channeled coupe is believed to have been built by Knudsen in the mid-late 1950s. It was later acquired by Warren Bookman, the organizer of the Toledo Auto Rama. Under Bookman's ownership, the car was prominently showcased at the Auto Rama, drawing significant attention and acclaim from attendees and automobile enthusiasts.

Deaner Probst's 1933 Ford Cabriolet of Jefferson, Wisconsin. Known as "Lil' Dough," Probst dragged the car home as a project in 1957. He spent the next years working on it while showing it at various shows. This photo shows an early iteration of the car as it appeared in 1959.

Larry Ewing's 1940 Ford DeLuxe Coupe of Redwood City, California. The Ford was Larry's first car, and he bought it in 1957 when he was 15 years old. By 1959 he had fixed it up and given it a 1957 Pontiac Limefire Green paint job.

Fred Thomas' 1947 Chevrolet Four-Door Sedan of Ypsilanti, Michigan. The car came from California, and Fred bought it from a fellow from San Bernardino. The Cal owner had been studying at the University of Michigan, and he sold tbe car to Fred before he returned back home to California in 1959.

Art Jones' 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan of Portland, Oregon. Jones was a member of the Aristocrats of Portland car club, and his car was originally restyled by Jerry Campbell in the early 1950s. After buying the car, Jones had Gene Cargail of Gene's Custom Shop rebuild it. This second iteration, showcasing bold and unique styling, was featured in Car Craft October 1959, capturing national attention and admiration.

Jim Galvin's 1949 Ford Tudor of Ottawa, Illinois. Galvin is an original member of the Illinois Valley Mis-Fires car club. He built the Ford in his backyard, starting the build in 1958. By 1959, the car had been painted blue with a scallop paint job and a chopped top.

Larry Ewing's 1950 Oldsmobile 88 Coupe of Redwood City, California. Larry got the Olds in April of 1959. A typical late 1950s street racer, he gave it a 1959 Cadillac Kensington Green paint job, chromed and reversed the wheels, and installed big and little tires. Larry still owned the car in 2020.

Larry Cooper's 1954 Ford of Lansing, Michigan. In 1959, after Jerry "Spider the Crazy Painter" Drake had been pinstriping for about a year, Larry Cooper approached him about scalloping his mildly restyled 1954 Ford. By then, Jerry had been pinstriping for about a year and eagerly took on all the jobs he could. Larry’s dad, Lloyd, ran Cooper Body Shop in Lansing, a traditional paint and body shop, that also took on some custom bodywork. After Jerry had masked up scallops on Larry’s car, Larry applied gold and silver faded scallops on the car in his dad’s paint booth. Satisfied with the result, Larry asked his dad if he and Jerry could do custom painting on the weekends when their body shop was closed. Lloyd gave them thumbs up, as long as they cleaned up and were out of the shop by the next Monday. Larry’s Ford was the first car Jerry ever scalloped. Photo from The Jerry Drake Photo Collection.

Ron Dulin's 1956 Plymouth Fury of Long Beach, California. Dulin was a member of the Cut Outs of Long Beach car club, and his Plymouth went through seven iterations between 1956 and 1962. This photo shows the car as it appeared early in 1959, after Larry Watson had given it a Candy Magneta and Pearl White panel paint job.

A photo of Dawn Smith and Linda Merillat taken in front of Dick and Dale's Auto Upholstery. The 1950 Mercury belonged to Dawn, and the photo appeared in an ad for Dick & Dale's in the 1959 Sequoia Hi Year Book.

Terry Sweem's 1925 Ford Model T Roadster Pickup was built in the late 1950s.

Tommy Ivo's 1925 Ford Model T-Bucket of Burbank, California. Tommy began building the car after seeing Norm Grabowski's 1922 Ford Model T-Bucket. He asked Norm if he would let him take some measurements off his car. Norm told him to fuck off, so Ivo took action on his own, and snuck into Grabowski’s garage so he could take all the critical measurements necessary to build his own version. The build was completed in 1956.

Gene Winfield's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster of Modesto, California. Gene was a member of the Modesto Century Toppers when he bought the car. After buying it, he rebuilt it using a Z-ed Model A frame. The build was completed in time for the 1950 National Roadster Show in Oakland, California.

Louis Banto and Jack Perre's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster of Los Angeles, California was completed around 1951/1952.

Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian's 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan of Fresno, California. Inspired by Blackie Gejeian's 1926 Ford Model T Roadster, the car was dressed up with a black paint job and plenty of chrome. This iteration was shown at the 1952 Oakland Roadster Show.

Louis Banto and Sal Macchia's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster of Los Angeles, California was completed around 1949/1950.

A photo of Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian with his 1934 Ford four-door sedan taken at United Automotive in Fresno, California in 1950. Gene was 15 years old when this photo was taken, and his mother had just sewed up quilted door panels in Naugahyde chartreuse for the car. "My father brought me home from the hospital in his just purchased 1934 4 door sedan," Gene told Kustomrama in December of 2020. "He purchased it in Fowler, California, just 10 miles from our home in Fresno, California. The car cost $640, a lot of money at the time. It was our family car until 1949 when he purchased a Lincoln Cosmopolitan, giving me the 34 to fix up." At age 14 Gene was able to have a driver's license, but no garage, so he had to remove their backyard fence to park the car in the dirt. "My father gave me the tool bag that came with the car, and piece by piece I removed all fenders, running boards, hood, bumpers, spare tire to build a Hot Rod." Photo by Richard Peters, from The Clean Gene Sadoian Collection.

Paul Sylva's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster was first completed in 1952. This version was later painted and pinstriped by Von Dutch in 1955.

An ad for Cadillac's concept cars for 1954. Both the El Camino and the La Espada featured quad headlights, and General Motors have often been credited for starting the four-headlight vogue.

A photo of the members of the Ann Arbor Timing Association taken in 1954. Dave Jenkins, who is kneeling, third from left in the photo, was a founding member of the club. Started by a bunch of high-school kids studying at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor the guys had a lot of fun, and they were treated like a bunch of rebels. The customized 1949 Ford in the photo belonged to Elwood Peterson, who appears kneeling second from left. According to Fred Thomas, Peterson's Ford was a visual treat with its chopped Carson style top. " Photo from The Dave Jenkins Photo Collection.

Bob Smith's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster of San Diego, California. Smith was a member of the San Diego Prowlers car club, and he bought the roadster from fellow Prowlers member Bob Smith. Smith tore the roadster down and rebuilt it, landing on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine March 1958 with his version.

Dan Wittenberg's 1928 Ford Model A Roadster Pick Up of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The build was started in 1954 and completed in 1958.

Ed Seltzer's 1929 Ford Roadster of Tarzana, California. The car was originally built by Kenny Smith of San Gabriel, California. Ed bought the hot rod around 1954. After owning the roadster for a year or so, he wrecked it badly one night, and he had to completely rebuild it. Seltzer was into foreign cars and sports cars, and he added some European sports car flavor to the traditional hot rod.

Bill Vogt's 1929 Ford Model A, of Los Angeles, California.

Buzz Pitzen's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster of Los Angeles, California. Buzz was a member of the Challengers of Los Angeles car club. The build was started around 1954, and completed in 1959. Shortly after it was completed, Buzz sold the roadster to Barons of Westchester member John Rasmussen of Westchester, California.

Bill Welch's 1929 Ford Roadster of Playa Del Ray, California. The car was originally built by Kenny Smith of San Gabriel, California. Bill bought the hot rod around 1953 and did some changes to the appearance and the mechanics of the car.

Carl Fleischmann's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster of Glendale, California was completed in 1953. The build took six years.

Ralph Stone's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster, of San Antonio, Texas. Ralph was a member of the San Antonio Road Runners. His roadster was built in the early 1950s, and it was featured in Rod & Custom February 1954.

An overview photo from the 1953 Detroit Autorama. Photo from The Robert Genat Photo Collection.

Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian's 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan of Fresno, California. The car went trough several iterations in the 1950s. In 1953, after attending the 1953 Oakland Roadster Show, Gene installed a 1950 Oldsmobile V-8 in the car. He also painted it fire engine red and had Tommy the Greek dress it up with pinstriping. Other modifications included a fully chromed and louvered hood, nerf bar bumpers, and copper-plated Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels.

Styled by Ghia in Italy, Motor Trend's Bob D'Olivio described the 1953 Dodge Firearrow I concept car as "the most successful meeting of European and U.S. designs." Featuring dual headlights mounted underneath the front bumper, the sporty roadster made its debut at the Turin Auto Show in April of 1953. The sporty roadster was introduced to the American public at Chrysler's New York showroom later that year, and an estimated 38,000 people came to check it out. The response was massive, and in January of 1954, Chrysler president L.L. Colbert announced in Motor Trend that the Firearrow could now be purchased on a special order. Unfortunately, that never happened, but the desire for the car was there, and in 1956 people who had drooled over the Firearrow could buy a Dual Ghia instead. Photo courtesy of Chrysler Corporation.

in April of 1954, the Storm Z-250 made its debut at the Turin Auto Show in Italy. Winning the first prize for style and design, the Storm Z-250 concept car was built by Sports Car Development Corp., a company founded by Fred M. Zeder Jr., and Gene Casaroll. Fred was the son of well-known Chrysler profile Frederick M. Zeder, and the car incorporated as many Chrysler components as possible, including a Dodge Hemi engine. A complete chassis was shipped to Italy, where Bertone fabricated a body for the car. The Storm Z-250 introduced dual headlights that were stacked on top of each other. Photo courtesy of Michael Lamm.

Jerry Woodward's 1929 Ford Model-A Roadster, "Thunder Road", of Utah was completed in 1957. The car was pinstriped by Tommy the Greek and it featured a mural on the glove box by Dean Jeffries. Jerry won the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award with the car at the 1957 National Roadster Show in Oakland.

Joe Brienza's 1929 Ford Model A Coupe of West Islip, New York was built in 1954.

Richard Peters' 1929 Ford Model A Pickup, The Ala Kart, won the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award at the 1958 National Roadster Show in Oakland.

The Outlaw was Ed Roth's first experience with fiberglass. The build was started in 1957, and it made it's debut two years later as the Excaliber at the 1959 Disneyland Car Club Day and Autocade.

The Cam Snappers of Newburyport's 1930 Ford Model A roadster was owned, built and raced by the Cam Snappers of newburyport car club of Newburyport, Massachusetts. The build was completed in 1954.

George Wiegand's 1930 Ford Model A Roadster Pick Up of Lansing, Michigan. Known as The Barracuda, Jerry "Spider the Crazy Painter" Drake gave the car its flame paint job in 1959.

Michael Lamm's 1930 Ford Model A Roadster of La Feria, Texas. In 1951, when he was 15 years old, Mike came across what was left of a hot rod that somebody had started to build a few years earlier. He bought an engine, transmission, Columbia axle and radiator at a local wrecking yard and had the car up and running within a few months. At the time it was the only hot rod roadster in La Feria.

Dick Dean's 1931 Ford Model A Victoria

The Alexander Brothers' 1931 Ford Model A Coupe of Detroit, Michigan. Built in Larry Alexander's two-car garage in the Brightmoor section of Detroit, the build was completed circa 1957.

Mike Brodski's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe of Clifton, New Jersey. Brodski started building the car back in 1957 or 1958. In 1962 he sold it to Bob Kovaly, who drove it to high school.

Quint Meland's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster of Oceanside, California. Quint bought the basic car, without an engine in 1956. After spending countless hours in school auto shop and at his father's gas station the roadster was finally ready for its first trip to the Paradise Mesa Drag Strip in 1957. In 1958 Quint was asked to join the Carlsbad Oilers car club and the Dragmaster racing team. He owned the car from 1956 to 1961, and he only lost two races with it.

Norman Kopp's 1932 Chevrolet Two Door Sedan of Beloit, Wisconsin. Norman, who was a member of the Road Gents of Beloit car club, bought the Chevrolet in 1957, when he was a high school sophomore.

Al and Dave Tarkanyi's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe. Al and Dave were members of the Downriver Modified car club of Michigan.

Allan Fielding's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Burriville, Rhode Island. Allan traded the car for a 1951 Oldsmobile around 1955. The coupe had already been hot rodded when Allan got it, and it ran a channeled 1932 Ford chassis. Allan and his friends George Summers and Ronnie Bouchard installed a 1934 Ford chassis and a Hemi in the car before they got it back on the strip.

Bert Mouron's 1932 Ford Roadster of San Marino, California. Bert bought and rebuilt Mac Schutt's 1932 Ford Roadster around 1951. Bert's version took two years to build, and the build was completed in 1953.

Bill Kelly's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Warminster, Pennsylvania. The first version of the coupe was built in 1948. As the car was fit with bigger and stronger engines during the 1950s, the appearance of the car remained almost the same. This show the car as it appeared in the 1950s.

Bosse Ericsson's 1932 Ford Roadster of Norrtälje in Stockholm, Sweden. Built in 1959, Bosse's Ford was one of the first hot rods in Sweden to run a Chevrolet V8 engine.

Bruce Olson's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Beach, North Dakota. The first version of Bruce's coupe was completed in 1955. In 1962 Bruce and his family moved to Fremont, California, bringing the coupe along. Bruce kept on to the car until he passed away in 1990, continuously upgrading the look of the car a little.

Clarence Catallo's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Dearborn, Michigan. Known as "Silver Sapphire," Clarence's coupe was originally restyled by the Alexander Brothers in 1959.

Clifford Ambrose's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Santa Clara, California. Cliff was a member of the San Jose Igniters.

Conrad W. Jacobs' 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Baltimore, Maryland. Built around 1956-1958, the car was known and shown as "The Klondyke Koupe".

Danny Schwartz' 1932 Ford 5-Window coupe, of Campbell, California, as it appeared in 1959.

Don Broyles' 1932 Ford roadster of Dayton, Ohio. The car was originally built in 1951. In 1956 Don installed a 1956 Chevrolet Corvette 283 engine in the roadster.

Gordy Kordowsky's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe of White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Gordy bought the coupe from South St. Paul in the 1950s, and it already had a chopped top when he got it.

Howard Leever & Fred Esser's 1932 Ford was completed around 1953.

Jack Schleich's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Oceanside, New York was first built in 1957. This is how it appeared in 1958.

Johnny Bierfeldt's 1932 Ford Roadster, of Norwalk, California was a Long Beach Qualifiers car. It was painted by Bart Root and upholstered by Don Hudson.

Laverne A. Stetzer's 1932 Ford 5-Window coupe of York, Pennsylvania. The car, known as the York Coupe was built by Glen "Rudy" Rudisill and his father at G.E. Rudisill & Sons in 1957.

Lew Wolff's 1932 Ford Roadster was built by Downriver Modified member Lew Wolff in the mid to late 1950s.

Per Røed's 1932 Ford Cabriolet as it appeared in 1958. Per's cabriolet was one of the first hot rods of Norway.

Bill Martin's 1933 Ford 5-Window Coupe, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, as it appeared in 1957.

Monte Trone's 1933 Ford 3-Window Coupe was completed around 1951.

Bill Smith's 1934 Ford Roadster Custom of Alameda, California. Bill was a member of the Shamrocks of Alameda car club, and he set out to build the roadster in 1955. Built from a retired Tudor Sedan, Bill modified the body by cutting off the roof and moving it down to form the trunk. He completed the build the same year, showing it at the 1956 National Roadster Show.

Dick Hanson's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe

Gil Lippincott's 1934 Ford Tudor was restyled in 1950.

Joaquin Arnett's 1934 Ford 3-window coupe of San Diego, California was completed in 1951. Shortly after completing the build, Joaquin sold the coupe to Andy Granatelli

Joe Brienza's 1934 Ford Convertible of West Islip, New York was completed in 1958. The build took two years.

John Patterson's 1934 Ford Convertible

Pat Weise's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Texas. Pat was a member of the Chaparrals of Dallas Car club, and he was a teenager when this photo of his coupe was taken circa 1953. Photo from The Pat Weise Photo Collection.

Ron Maxwell's 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Salt Lake City, Utah. The build was started in 1954, when Ron was 15 years old. The first iteration of the coupe was completed in 1955. Ron's coupe ran under flathead and later Cadillac power, competing in B/Altered at strips around Utah.

Walter Leeman's 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe of East Los Angeles, California. Walt's coupe was completed in 1958.

Tore Tømmerås' 1935 Ford 5-Window Coupe was built in Oslo, Norway in the late 1950s and it is one of the first hot rods of Norway.

Bruce Rosengren's 1936 Ford Cabriolet as it looked after Bruce had fixed it up in 1956.

Delwyn Triska’s 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Kagel Canyon, California. Del's coupe was restyled in the late 1940 or the early 1950s. He bought it in 1948 or 1949, shortly after he had graduated high school. This photo shows the car as it appeared in 1953.

Hank Fournier's 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe

Joe Brienza's 1936 Ford 3-Window Coupe, of West Islip, New York, was restyled in 1956.

Rich Vachata's 1936 Ford Convertible of Berwyn, Illinois. Rich was a member of the Bearing Busters of Berwyn, and the other members in the club helped him build the car. The first version was completed in 1959. In 1960 fellow club member Dave Puhl gave the car a scallop paint job. This version of the car was named the Beach Comber.

Glenn Johnson's 1937 Ford Coupe of Las Vegas, Nevada. The build was started in 1947, and completed it in 1951.

Gene McCrickard's 1937 Lincoln Zephyr of Detroit, Michigan. Restyled in 1953, the car was Gene's first custom and high school ride.

Doug Osterman's 1937 Plymouth coupe of San Jose, California. Doug's coupe was completed in 1959 featuring body and paint work by Flyers Body Shop, custom upholstery by Kay Seat Covers and plenty of chrome by San Jose Plating.

John Bozio's 1939 Buick Century Convertible of East Hartford, Connecticut. The Buick was John's first car, and he bought it from his cousin in 1951. It was already mildly customized when he got it, but it didn't take long before John restyled it further.

Clarence Patterson's 1939 Ford convertible of Glen Allen, Virginia. Built by Glen, the build was started in 1948 and completed in 1951.

Ken Costello's 1939 Ford Coupe

Fred Crellar's 1940 Chevrolet convertible of Concord, California. The build was started in 1948, and completed around 1951-1952. In 1974 Satans Angels member Ron Brooks of Castro Valley, California bought the car and restyled it further.

Bob Brown's 1940 Ford Coupe of Pico, California sported a flame job done in organe, red and blacl. It was upholstered by John's Auto Top Shop of East Los Angeles

Clyde Walther's 1940 Ford Convertible of Stockton, California. Clyde bought the car off a used car lot in Stockton about 1953. It had already been customized when he bought it, and they never found out who did the job.

Dick Brooks' 1940 Ford Convertible, was originally restyled by Jean Sheppard of Seattle, Washington in 1952.

Dick Colarossi's 1940 Ford coupe of Glendale, California was restyled by Valley Custom Shop. The build was completed in 1954, and it made it's debut at the Motor Revue and Motorama in November of 1954.

Jon R. Ford's 1937 Ford convertible of La Porte, Indiana. The Ford was Jon's first car, and he got it in 1957 when he was 13 years old. The build was completed sometime between 1957 and 1959.

Manuel Gonzalez's 1940 Ford Coupe of Wilmington, California. Gonzalez was a member of the Pharaohs of Wilmington car club, and in 1956 his coupe received a flame paint job by Von Dutch.

Nick De Simon's 1940 Ford Coupe of Teaneck, New Jersey. Nick worked for his dad at De Simon Auto Body. He was a very talented body man and fabricator, and the coupe was built during weekends, nights, and in Nick's spare time. Featuring a chopped top and channeled body, the build was completed around 1957.

Paul McGill's 1940 Ford Convertible was restyled by Clusters of Grays Harbor member Paul McGill, of Aberdeen, Washington, in the early 1950s.

Nick Dunkavich's 1940 Hupmobile roadster of Meriden, Connecticut. Nick's Hupmobile was restyled in the early 1950s.

Maximilian King's 1940 Mercury convertible of Morristown, New Jersey was first restyled by Meekers Body Shop in 1946. In 1959 Korky's Kustom Shop restyled the car further for current owner Ray Henyon.

Mel Lehman's 1940 Mercury 4-Door Sedan as it appeared in 1954. Mel's sedan was restyled sometime before November 1954.

Nick Matranga's 1940 Mercury

Virgil Shuck's 1940 Mercury coupe of Pineville, West Virginia. Built by Virgil and his father at Shucks Body Shop, the build was started in 1957. It was completed sometime between 1957 and 1959. Virgil was a founding member of the Black Diamond Timing Association.

Dan and Ken Hiramoto's 1941 Buick Century convertible of Cleveland, Ohio. Built by Dan and Ken, the car went trough several iterations between 1951 and 1962. This photo shows the Raven version of the car as it appeared in 1958.

Bill Cole's 1941 Ford 4 Door Sedan of Redlands, California. Bill was a member of the Strokers of Whittier and his Ford was restyled in the late 1940s or 1950. This photo shows the Ford as it appeared in 1950.

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Frank Monteleon's 1941 Ford

Harry Costa's 1941 Ford Convertible of San Francisco, California was restyled between 1953 and 1956. Harry, who was a member of the San Francisco Pacers, did most of the work on the car himself.

Jack T. Chandler's 1941 Ford of Huntsville, Texas. Jack's Ford was restyled by Spohn Coachworks in Ravensburg, Germany. It was completed around 1951 - 1952, featured in Speed Age October 1952, and it is the first LeSabre inspired Spohn build we have found in print. The rear end of Jack's car was inspired by both the LeSabre and the Buick XP-300.

Jack Stewart's 1941 Ford

Joe Urritta's 1941 Ford was brought to Barris Kustoms in February of 1950. By July the same year, the completed build was featured in Motor Trend July 1950.

John Sak's Second 1941 Ford Convertible was restyled in Syracuse, New York in 1955.

Ray Furgal and Ron Seaver's 1941 Ford Convertible of Tokyo, Japan. Built from a wrecked convertible, Ray and Ron were stationed in Tokyo, Japan when they built the car. The completed build was featured in the "Letters" section of Car Craft January 1955.

Frank Layman's 1941 Lincoln Zephyr Convertible of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Restyled by Frank, the build was started in the late 1940s, and completed around 1950 - 1951.

George Contaoi's 1941 Mercury Coupe of San Bernardino, California. George was a member of the San Bernardino Krankers car club. He bought the Merc in 1952, began restyling it in 1953, and completed the build in 1956. The work was performed by George, Al Andrade, and Dick Richardson at Dick Richardson's Custom Shop. The car survived, and was still around in 2020. At the time it was located in Barstow, California.

Jack Telnack's 1941 Mercury Convertible of Detroit, Michigan. The build was started in 1954 and completed in 1955. After the build was completed, Jay moved to California, attending the Art Center Design School. He sold the car in California in the latter part of the 1950s. Jay went on to become head designer at Ford Motor Company where he is credited for the Taurus and the Sable.

Rudy Makela's 1942 Cadillac convertible of Indianapolis, Indiana. Built by Rudy at Indianapolis Power Hammer Works Inc, the build was started in 1942 and completed in 1950s.

Bud Unger's 1946 Ford Convertible, of Rockville, Maryland was restyled by Bud Unger of Unger Auto Body Company. The build was started in 1950 and completed in 1951.

Bob Hoshiko's 1946 Mercury was restyled by Valley Custom Shop in the mid 1950s.

Tony Sestito's 1947 Cadillac Convertible was restyled by Bertolucci's Body and Paint Shop in 1953.

Joe Hurst's 1947 Chevrolet Convertible of Torrance, California. The Chevrolet was Joe's first car, and he bought it for 75 USD in 1958. He was 15 years old, and a painter near North High had laid a Candy Red paint job with Pearl White scallops before Joe bought it. Mickey Vandervort pinstriped the car for Joe after he had bought it.

Sam Gates' 1947 Ford Club Coupe

Jerry Berg's 1947 Mercury Convertible, this was the car that Jerry drove in high school in Seattle, Washington in 1954.

Tommy Thornburgh's 1947 Studebaker of Gardena, California was restyled by Barris Kustoms. The build was completed late in 1952.

Jack Crabbs' 1948 Buick Roadmaster of Bettendorf, Iowa. Known as the "Black Flame", ack's intent was to build and market a low scale production custom car for wealthy people, like the Kurtis Cad and the Muntz of the same time. The build was started in 1953 and completed in 1956. It was restyled by Dunshee's Body Shop.

Frank Layman's 1948 Packard convertible of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Frank ran a body shop in Pittsburgh named Frank's Garage. The Packard was his personal driver, and it was restyled in 1953.

Arvi Hänninen's 1949 Checker Coupe was completed in 1956. Arvi's Checker is one of the first custom cars of Finland.

Bill Muehlstedt's 1949 Chevrolet of Long Beach, California. Bill was a member of the Long Beach Cavaliers car club from 1956 to 1964, and he owned the Chevrolet in the Summer of 1956.

Carl Abajian's 1949 Chevrolet Convertible was first restyled in 1949 for Marcia Campbell. In 1950 Carl Abajian had Barris Kustoms re-paint it dark blue.

Dick Ward's 1949 Chevrolet

The Donz Lancer was built by Donz Custom Shop in Orlando in 1952.

Frank Livingston's 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline as it looked when he bought it in 1952.

Frank Livingston's 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline as it appeared in 1955. This version was restyled by Shanklin's Custom Shop.

The Caribbean version of Frank Livingston's 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline as it appeared in 1956. This version was restyled by Bailon's Custom Shop.

Frank Livingston's 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline as it appeared in 1958. This version featured a third paint job by Pinoli Paint Shop.

Harold Johnson's 1949 Chevrolet

Ronald Asal's 1949 Chevrolet convertible of New Britain, Connecticut was restyled around 1956-1958.

Bill Irwin's 1949 Ford Convertible.

Buster Litton's 1949 Ford

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Chas Haggert's 1949 Ford Convertible

Joe Crisafulli's 1949 Ford Convertible as it looked in 1956.

John W. Britton's 1949 Ford, of Corona, California.

Lloyd C. Hammond's 1949 Ford of San Bernardino, California. Lloyd was a member of the San Bernardino Krankers and his car was known as "The Majestic Lady." The first iteration of his Ford was completed circa 1958.

Michael Violante's 1949 Ford Convertible

Milton Depuy's 1949 Ford of Cleveland, Ohio was restyled around 1956. Milton's Ford was sectioned 4 inches and fit with a 1951 Ford Victoria top.

Ray Duckworth's 1949 Ford Club Coupe

Vern LaCoursiere's 1949 Ford coupe of Tacoma, Washington. Vern is a member of the Tacoma Toppers car club. The Ford was his first car, and he bought it and restyled it in 1957, when he was 19 years old.

Duane Aspengren's 1949 Hudson - Night Train

Joe Brienza's 1949 Mercury of West Islip, New York. Joe bought the Mercury in 1951 and wasted no time transforming it. The original flathead was replaced with a powerful 1948 Cadillac engine. Six months later, seeking even more performance, he swapped that for a 1950 Oldsmobile engine paired with an automatic transmission—creating a combination he remembers as running exceptionally well. The Mercury’s exterior went through several transformations, from black to turquoise blue, eventually ending up in a striking two-tone. Joe experimented with grilles, first using the 1951 Ford grille seen here. This version did also feature a shaved hood and hooded headlights. Photo from The Joe Brienza Photo Collection.

Lloyd Myers' 1949 Mercury convertible of San Jose, California. Lloyd was a member of the San Jose Rod and Wheelers car club. The Merc was completed in 1959.

Paul Wood's 1949 Mercury Coupe of Richmond Hill, New York. Restyled around 1958, Woody’s Merc was built in the street in, in front of his girlfriend's house. Woody had acetylene and oxygen tanks in the trunk of the car that he would roll out whenever he was working on the car.

George Contaoi's 1949 Oldsmobile fastback of San Bernardino, California. George was a member of the San Bernardino Krankers, and the Olds was restyled in 1955.

Ed Rotzell's SCOLF is a sports custom built by Ed Rotzell of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built in the early 1950s, the rear end of the SCOLF was inspired by the 1951 GM LeSabre concept car.

Sam Barris' 1950 Buick Sedanette, restyled by Sam Barris of Barris Kustoms, was completed in 1953. The car was built from a burnt out wreck, and Sam used it as his daily driver for about a year.

Tony Alvez' 1950 Cadillac Convertible as it appeared in 1958.

Dave Jenkins' 1950 Chevrolet

Helen Manning's 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline

Howard Buysman's 1950 Chevrolet

Jim Musick's 1950 Chevrolet Bel Air of Modesto, California was restyled by Gene Winfield of Winfield's Custom Shop, and completed in 1954.

Larry Watson's 1950 Chevrolet of Bellflower, California. Watson started practicing pinstriping in 1956, at age 16, and he used his first car to practice on.

Larry Watson's 1950 Chevrolet of Bellflower, California. The Rose Mist version of Larry's Chevrolet featured bodywork by Ed Schelhaas of Schelhaas Custom Shop. The build was completed in 1956, and as Larry hadn't started painting complete cars yet he had Ed's painter, George Newton, paint it. George painted the car in an Ivory lacquer at the bottom, and a new Oldsmobile metallic color named Rose Mist on the top.

The second version of Santo Vasques' 1950 Chevrolet was scalloped by Larry Watson in 1957. According to Larry, it was the wildest scallop paint-job he did that year.

Ted Leventhal's 1950 Chevrolet Convertible of Oakland, California was restyled by Emory Robinson's Custom Shop in 1955. Painted in a green iridescent lacquer by Mel Pinoli's Body and Paint Shop, Ted's Chevrolet is known as the first car ever to receive a Candy paint job.

Al Twitchell's 1950 Ford Convertible

Bill Schott's 1950 Ford Coupe of Portland, Oregon. Bill was a charter member of The Kings of Portland. He bought the Ford late in 1958 and had Wilkenson’s Body Shop lower the car for him.

Bill Wentz's 1950 Ford "Ranchero" of Knoxville, Indiana. Bil'sl car-truck was restyled around 1955-1956.

Chuck DeWitt's 1950 Ford Convertible was restyled by Barris Kustoms for Chuck DeWitt in 1953.

Don Bliss' 1950 Ford Convertible

Doyle Bidwell's 1950 Ford Coupe of Torrance, California. Doyle bought the car in 1959, while he was a freshman in high school. After buying the Ford, he became a founding member of the Brahmans of Torrance car club. He started restyling the car, but lack of money and experience prevented the build from ever being completed.

George Egan's 1950 Ford Convertible of New Jersey. George was a member of the Drivin Deuces car club, and the first iteration of his Ford was restyled circa 1955.

Jerry Silvester's 1950 Ford of Inglewood, California. Jerry's Ford was restyled by Alex & West Body Shop circa 1957.

Merton Peterson's 1950 Ford of San Diego, California was restyled by Carrol "Red Eye" Gentry of Styler's Custom Shop. The build was completed in 1953.

Pete Millino's 1950 Ford Convertible

Richard Gregg's 1950 Ford Pickup of Sacramento, California. Restyled by Richard at Rick's Body Shop, the build was started in 1958 and completed early in 1959. The car was shown as "the Capri."

Robert Zepke's 1950 Ford Convertible of Hampden, Massachusetts. Robert was a member of the Strokers of Springfield hot rod club.

Roger Cunningham's 1950 Ford Convertible of Portland, Oregon was restyled around 1955/1956.

Ron Dunn's 1950 Ford of Glendale, California. Known as the "Monte Carlo", Ron's Ford was restyled by Valley Custom Shop. The first iteration of the car was completed in 1952.

Ron Dunn's 1950 Ford of Glendale, California. Known as the "Monte Carlo", Ron's Ford was restyled by Valley Custom Shop. The first iteration of the car was completed in 1952. In 1957 the car was involved in an accident, and it was brought back to Neil Emory and Clayton Jensen for a makeover. The second iteration of the "Monte Carlo" was completed sometime prior to June of 1957.

Vern LaCoursiere's 1950 Ford convertible of Tacoma, Washington. Vern was a member of the Tacoma Toppers. The Ford was his second car. Restyled in 1959, all work was done by Vern when he was 21 years old.

Buddy Alcorn's 1950 Mercury was originally restyled by the Ayala Brothers at Gil's Auto Body Works for an undisclosed owner in 1952. Buddy Alcorn of Dominguez, California acquired the car in 1955 and promptly took it to Barris Kustoms for further enhancements. 1957 marked another pivotal moment for the Merc when Buddy traded it for Dick Jackson's 1957 Ford. Jackson, who ran Advanced Custom Paints in Compton, California, infused new life into the Merc with a two-tone paint scheme, pinstriping, dual spotlights, and Oldsmobile Fiesta hubcaps.

Don Pulford's 1950 Mercury, of Burbank, California was restyled by Bill Babb's Custom Shop between 1950 and 1952. It was upholstered by L & L Upholstery Shop of Glendale

Gene Strieter's 1950 Mercury as it appeared in 1956.

George Mizzi Jr.'s 1950 Mercury Convertible of Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Mizzi was a member of the Driving Deuces car club, and his Mercury was restyled at Monego's Body Shop. Named the "Purple Bug," the build was completed circa 1958 - 1959.

Leo Lyons' Ultra Modern Merc of San Bernardino, California. The build was started in 1950, and completed in the Summer of 1959. Leo wanted to do something different. He wanted to build a custom car mostly from scratch. His initial plans called for building 10 identical custom Mercs, but only one, the prototype, was ever built.

Ralph Testa's 1950 Mercury

Sonny Morris' 1950 Mercury was restyled by Joe Bailon in 1956.

Wally Welch's 1950 Mercury

Bill Daniels' 1950 Oldsmobile of La Habra, California. Bill was a member of the Agitators of Fullerton car club. Jack Coughran helped Bill restyle and louver the car, before Von Dutch dressed it up with pinstriping in 1956.

Garret Walther's 1950 Oldsmobile Fastback of Stockton, California. Garret bought the car in 1958. About a year he gave it a scallop paint job. He painted the base color, masked off scallops, and had Gene Winfield paint them gold at Winfield's Custom Shop.

Jack Stewart's 1950 Oldsmobile - The Polynesian

Mel Gerrard's 1950 Oldsmobile 88 of Whittier, California. The car was restyled by Gil's Auto Body Works in the early 1950s. The total cost of the restyling was close to $700, and the work was spread over an eight-month period.

Paul Vona's 1950 Oldsmobile coupe of Salinas, California. Paul was a very talented customizer, pinstriper, and custom painter. He bought the Olds at age 19 in 1957, and he spent the next few months turning it into his dream custom.

Robert Martinez' 1950 Oldsmobile 98 of San Diego, California. Robert restyled the car while working at Styler's Custom Shop. The build was completed around 1955 - 1956.

Phil Macchiarella's 1950 Plymouth four-door of Santa Clara, California was restyled and painted by fellow San Jose Rod and Wheelers member Joe Crisafulli. The first version of the car was completed around 1955/1956.

Carl Szembrot's 1950 Studebaker convertible of Albany, New York was restyled by R. K. Body Works around 1951-1952. The rear end of the car was inspired by the 1951 Gm LeSabre concept car.

Harold Agresti's 1951 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe was restyled in the San Francisco Bay Area around 1956/1957.

Howard Tirban’s 1951 Chevrolet - "Lil’ Bitty Pretty One." In 1959 Howard's Chevrolet received a scallop paint job by Jerry "SPIDER the Crazy Painter" Drake.

Jake Bultsma's 1951 Chevrolet Bel Air was scalloped by Larry Watson in 1956.

Jerry Sahagon's 1951 Chevrolet Club Coupe

Norman Brown's 1951 Chevrolet of Bickleton, Washington. The build was started in 1952 and completed in 1955. In 1965 Norman sold the car to Bob MIkkelsen. Bob still owned it in 2017.

Richard Torres' 1951 Chevrolet of Lawndale, California. Restyled around 1957 - 1958, Richard's Chevrolet featured a scallop paint job by Bill Hines of Long Beach, California.

Ron Thronson's 1951 Chevrolet Fleetline of Costa Mesa, California was restyled by Branson's Custom Shop in Artesia, California. The build was completed sometime prior to 1957.

Ross Barnes' 1951 Chevrolet of Lynwood, California as it appeared in 1958.

Walter Leeman's 1951 Chevrolet Fleetline of East Los Angeles, California was restyled by Walt in the mid 1950s. The first version was completed in 1956.

Bill Collins' 1951 Ford Two-Door Sedan of Dallas, Texas. Bill lived in the Oak Cliff part of Dallas, and he was one of the early hot rodders there in the 1950s. Bill bought the Ford as a stocker, and he restyled and repainted it in the mid 1950s.

Don Tubbs' 1951 Ford Victoria of Glendale, California was restyled in 1951.

The Little Jewel is a sport custom built by Garner Jones and Herman Lawhon of Lamesa, Texas. The build was completed in 1953.

Joe Tocchini's 1951 Ford Victoria, The Mystery, won the Custom Car D'Elegance award at the 1958 National Roadster Show. It shared the first place with Bill Carr's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, The Aztec.

Pete Chiello's 1951 Ford Victoria

George E. Goodhead, Jr.'s 1951 Henry J Corsair convertible of Tulsa, Oklahoma. George's Henry J was restyled around 1955-1956.

Roy Hewitt's 1951 Mercury of Cadillac, Michigan. Restyled back in 1956-57, the car featured handmade bubble skirts by Roy.

Frank Airheart's 1951 Oldsmobile 98 Convertible

Jim Bowers' 1951 Oldsmobile 2 door post of Shawnee, Oklahoma. Jim was a member of the Apostles of Shawnee. His Olds was restyled in 1958, featuring a scallop paint job by Bud Smika.

Joe Crisafulli's 1951 Oldsmobile of San Jose, California. Joe, a founding member of the San Jose Rod and Wheelers car club restyled and painted the car himself late in 1959, while running J & J Auto Painting out of his dad's garage.

Bill Wolfe’s 1951 Mercury as it appeared in 1958

Don Tubbs' 1951 Mercury coupe of Glendale, California. Don was a member of the Glendale Esquires car club. In 1954 his mildly customized Mercury received a Metallic Maroon paint job by Johnny Hagan at Hagan's Body Shop.

Fred Rowe's 1951 Mercury Convertible, of Los Angeles, California was restyled by Barris Kustoms. The build was completed in 1953. A second version of the Merc, restyled in 1954 was featured in the movie Running Wild along with Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury.

Noal Johnston's 1951 Mercury of Ogden, Utah. Noal was a member of the Stags of Ogden car club. The Merc was restyled in 1957.

Ron Dragoo's 1951 Mercury coupe of Long Beach, California was restyled around 1955.

Chuck Sanders' 1951 Oldsmobile, The Black Panther, as it appeared in 1957.

The first version of Charles DeLacy's 1951 Studebaker Starlight Coupe was completed around 1952/1953.

Bob Martin's 1952 Chevrolet Convertible as it appeared in 1956.

Leon Welmas' 1952 Chevrolet Convertible, of Palm Springs, California was originally restyled by Al Andradeas for an unknown owner. Leon bought the under progress custom and completed the build. The top and interior were upholstered by Gaylord's Kustom Shop This version was featured in Rod & Custom April 1954.

Tommy D'Amico's 1952 Chevrolet Convertible of Lynwood, California. Tommy bought the car from Leon Welmas. After buying it, he restyled it further and had Gaylord's Kustom Shop stitch a new interior for it. This is how it appeared in April of 1955.

Al Twitchell's 1952 Ford Station Wagon

Chuck Johnson's 1952 Ford Victoria of Tacoma, Washington. Chuck was a member of the Tacoma Toppers, and the Victoria was has first car.

Jim Laughead's 1951 Chevrolet Bel-Air of Chicago, Illinois. Jim's Chevrolet was restyled by Vince Kane Body Shop sometime between 1955 and 1957.

Jim Genty's 1952 Ford Victoria of Miles City, Montana. Jim's Ford, named "Nugget", was restyled by Jim and some friends in 1957.

Keith Hunt's 1952 Ford convertible of Salt Lake City, Utah. The car was already customized when Keith bought it in the Winter of 1956. It had been damaged at a used car lot, so Keith had Tanner Body Shop fix it up. The build was completed early in 1957. During the build, Keith became a member of the Falcons of Salt Lake City car club.

Larry Ernst's 1952 Ford Convertible of Toledo, Ohio. Restyled by Clarkaiser Custom Shop, the first version of the car, named "Pharaoh's Pacer", was completed in 1955. Larry was a Roman Catholic priest who later became a monsignor. Owning a radical and famous custom car put him at some odds with senior members of the church, so he showed the car under the fake name Grant Macklin.

Nick Cozzitorto's 1952 Ford F-1 Pickup. In 1952, with barely 100 miles on the odometer, Nick brought the pickup to Gene Winfield at Winfield's Custom Shop for a full custom treatment.

Nick Cozzitorto's 1952 Ford F-1 Pickup. In 1952, with barely 100 miles on the odometer, Nick brought the pickup to Gene Winfield at Winfield's Custom Shop for a full custom treatment. In 1956 he returned for more work, and Winfield, sectioned, channeled, and reworked the front of the car amongst other changes.

Ron Fagundes' 1952 Ford Victoria of Napa, California. Ron's Ford, known as The Ronbardue Kart, was restyled by Barris Kustoms, A-1 Body Work, Hall's Top Shop and Andy Southard. The build was completed in 1958.

Ron Lerdahl's 1952 Ford Convertible, of Salt Lake City, Utah, as it appeared in 1958.

Ron Lerdahl's 1952 Ford Victoria of Salt Lake City, Utah as it appeared in the late 1950s.

Clark Gable's 1952 Jaguar XK 120 of Hollywood, California. The car was mildly restyled by Barris Kustoms in 1952 before it received a padded top by Carson Top Shop. This photo shows Gable in front of the Jaguar at Barris Kustoms.

Ken Foress' 1952 Mercury Convertible of Lansing, Michigan. In 1959 local pinstriper and custom painter Jerry Drake, aka Spider the Crazy Painter, gave the car a flame paint job at Cooper Body Shop.

Don Stone's 1952 Oldsmobile 88 Convertible, of San Francisco, California was built by Ted Lundquist of Lundquist Coach Craft in the winter of 1953/1954

Jack Nethercutt's 1952 Oldsmobile Holiday 98 of Santa Monica, California. Jack bought the Oldsmobile in 1953. He was 16 years old at the time, and he drove his brand new Oldsmobile straight from the Oldsmobile dealer to Barris Kustoms to have it restyled. Once completed, the car got its power from a gold-plated 1953 Cadillac engine. Because of its extensive use of gold plating, the Olds was often called the "Goldsmobile," although its real name was "Vienesse."

Bruce Brown's 1952 Packard convertible of Redwood City, California. Bruce's Packard was restyled sometime between 1952 and 1955.

Emory Bozzani's 1952 Plymouth Sedan was restyled in 1952.

1952 Spohn Palos

Anthony Heinsbergen's Muntz

John Bozio's 1953 Buick Roadmaster of East Hartford, Connecticut was restyled between 1956 and 1957.

Wally Troy's 1953 Buick Convertible, The Troy Custom, was built by Wally Troy of Springfield, Illinois. The build was completed in 1954.

Bill Hoffman's 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air was restyled by George Schultz and Von Hunter at Wilkenson's Body Shop of Portland, Oregon in 1958.

Bill Hoffman's 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air of Portland, Oregon as it appeared after it had received a flame paint job by Leroy Teeple in 1959.

Martin S. Papazian's Cordster of Worcester, Massachusetts. The first version of Martin's Cordster was completed in 1953. In 1955 the top was chopped and the car was fit with a widened laydown windshield from an MG. Martin’s objective in building the Cordster was to produce a “Sports Custom” family car. He felt that the two seater sports cars of the day were limited to people that could afford to own two cars, so he set out to create his own.

Frank and Charles Gilardone's 1953 Ford was restyled by Clarkaiser around 1953/1954.

Hayward Mendenhall's 1953 Ford Pickup

Howard Yoshimoto's 1953 Ford Pick Up of Maui, Hawaii. Howard was an expert body and fender man, and the pickup was built at Henry's Auto Body in Wailuku in 1953. It started life as a 1953 Ford two-door sedan front half, and a 1952 Ford station wagon back half. The front was grafted onto the rear end, forming a "Ranchero" type pick up, 4 years prior to Ford Motor Company.

Larry Cantor's 1953 Ford Club Coupe, of California was restyled by Stylers Custom & Jack's Auto Shop some time between 1955 and 1957.

Royce Blomberg's 1953 Ford was restyled some time between 1955 and 1957.

In 1953 Ford Motor Company debuted their Lincoln XL-500 concept car. The Lincoln XL-500 was presented to the public as a look into the near future, and one of the most striking features of the car was a Plexiglas bubble canopy roof. The press loved it, and they predicted that all cars soon would have transparent Plexiglas bubble roof for all-around driver visibility.

Jim Skonzakes' 1953 Lincoln Capri "The Golden Sahara" of Dayton, Ohio. The same year as Ford Motor Company debuted their futuristic 1953 Lincoln XL-500 concept car, George Barris and his crew at Barris Kustoms were busy restyling a futuristic 1953 Lincoln for Jim Skonzakes. Named the Golden Sahara, the first incarnation of Jim’s Lincoln featured a lift-off transparent roof with hinged panels above each door. A tinted T-bar kept it from becoming a full bubble top, and from the side, the roof reminds about the roof on the XL-500. The Golden Sahara made its debut at the 1954 Petersen Motorama in Los Angeles, and it appeared on the cover of the May 1955 issue of Motor Trend as “The $25,000 car.” Motor Trend Magazine had shown photos of the car to a group of people who were asked to give their impressions of it, and about half of the interviewees guessed wrongly that a Detroit manufacturer had built the car.

Jim Skonzakes' 1953 Lincoln Capri "The Golden Sahara" of Dayton, Ohio. In 1956 Jim had Indiana customizer Bob Metz and Ohio’s Delphos Machine and Tool modify the Golden Sahara further, turning it into the Golden Sahara II. This incarnation featured a custom half-bubble top.

W. H. Sees' 1953 Mercury as it looked in 1954.

Bruno and Reino Maki's 1953 Oldsmobile convertible of Fitchburg, Massachusetts was built sometime between 1953 and 1955. Bruno and Reino's father was a Finish immigrant.

Michael Malamphy's 1953 Plymouth Convertible, The Golden Aztec, of Ansonia, Connecticut was restyled around 1958.

Bruce Bartlett's 1953 Studebaker Starlight coupe of Long Beach, California. Bruce was a member of the Ramblers of Long Beach car club, and his Studebaker was restyled by Sam Barris at Barris Kustoms. The build was completed in 1954.

Dave Stuckey's 1953 Studebaker pickup of Wichita, Kansas. Dave ran Stuckey Kustom, and the pickup was his personal driver from 1958 to 1960. In 1960 he cut it up.

Jack Aberth's 1953 Studebaker of Copley, Ohio. Restyled by the Moorehead Bros of Akron, the build was completed sometime between 1953 and 1956.

The first version of Lee Talbot and Sam Chakries' 1953 Studebaker Pickup was completed in 1958.

The Manta Ray was built by Glen Hire and Vernon Antoine of Whittier, California, sometime between 1951 and 1953. Inspiration came from Harley Earl's 1951 GM LeSabre concept car.

Kenneth Kamp's Otter is a fiberglass bodies two-seater built by Kenneth Kamp of Norwood, Ohio. 9 Otters were built, the first one was completed in 1953.

The LeBlanc Special is a twin-Hemi streamliner designed by Eugene LeBlanc of Cupertino, California. The build was completed in 1953, and Gene ran it on Bonneville in 1953, 1954 and 1955.

Bob Schremp's 1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air of Norwalk, California was restyled by Branson's Custom Shop in the mid 1950s. In 1956 Bob's Chevrolet received a scallop paint job by Larry Watson. The paint job was done in the driveway of Watson's parents, and it was the first car Watson gave a scallop paint job.

The first version of Duane Steck's 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air, The Moonglow, made its debut in 1956.

The third version of Duane Steck's 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air, The Moonglow, was completed in 1957.

Duane Steck's 1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air of Lakewood, California. Duane was a member of the Long Beach Renegades car club, and his Chevrolet was well known around town as The Moonglow. Larry Watson painted the car at least three times, and in 1959 he gave it a Candy Blue paint job. A sparkling Silver Pearl was used as base color, and according to Larry, it was his best candy blue paint-job ever.

Gerald Twamley's 1954 Chevrolet 210

Louie Gaulrapp's 1954 Chevrolet was completed in 1956.

Andy Belusko's 1954 Ford of Whippany, New Jersey was restyled by Richard "Korky" Korkes of Korky's Kustom Shop in the mid 1950s.

Buzz McLeod's 1954 Ford Convertible of Seattle, Washington. Buzz was a member of the Draggin Sirs of Seattle car club, and the build, named "Little Star" was completed in 1958.

Herb Conway's 1954 Mercury of Lynwood, California. Herb bought the Merc in December of 1954. He had Kinch's Body Shop paint it, before Earl Harman and Dean Jeffries pinstriped it.

Jim Logue's 1954 Ford convertible of Long Beach, California. Completed in 1958, Jim's Ford might have been the first car ever to use hydraulic lifts from aircraft surplus parts to raise and lower the suspension.

Martin Srabian and Morris Srabian's 1954 Ford Pickup, The Wild Kat, was completed in 1956. Restyled by Barris Kustoms, the Wild Kat is known as the first vehicle ever to feature quad headlight styling, beating Detroit by two years.

Ralph Ehorn's 1954 Ford F-100

Rudy Rodriguez’s 1954 Ford of Lansing, Michigan. Rudy's Ford was restyled by Cooper Body Shop around 1956 - 1957.

Terry Smith's 1954 Ford of Lansing, Michigan. Terry was a member of the Capitol City Customs, and his Ford was restyled by Cooper Body Shop. The work was done sometime around 1956 - 1957.

Wally Knoch's 1954 Ford Convertible. Restyled sometime between 1954 and 1957, Wally's Ford was dressed up with a pair of Jimmy Jones Bubble Skirts.

Bobby Yamazaki's 1954 Mercury

Butch Flobeck's 1954 Mercury of Piedmont, New York made its debut in 1958.

The first version of John Nadzon's 1954 Mercury of Parsippany, New Jersey was restyled by Korky's Kustom Shop in 1957.

Ronnie Fossen's 1954 Studebaker of Compton, California. Ronnie's Studebaker was restyled in the mid or late 1950s.

The Strokers of Saginaw is a car club from Saginaw, Michighan. Established in 1955, the club was one of the NHRA charter clubs. The club was still active in 2020, celebrating its 65th anniversary as a club. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Russell.

A Strokers of Saginaw group photo taken at an indoor car show. Photo from The Strokers of Saginaw Collection.

Merlin Windham's 1955 Buick. Built in 1955, Merlin's Buick was dubbed the Dragon Wagon.

Tad Hirai's 1955 Buick Century was restyled in 1957.

Bill Carr's 1955 Chevrolet, The Aztec, won the Custom Car D'Elegance award at the 1958 National Roadster Show. It shared the first place with Joe Tocchini's 1951 Ford Victoria, The Mystery

Bill Sharpe's 1955 Chevrolet of Lynwood, California. Bill was a founding member and the first President of the Tridents of Southern California car club, and his Chevrolet was restyled in the late 1950s. The car was named "Dracula."

Jerry Feigner's 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air, of Wilmington, California. Jerry was a member of the Cut-Outs of Long Beach car club, and his Chevrolet was known as "Lil Honey Bee." In 1958 Mike Clines gave the car a scallop and pintripe paint job in his father's garage in Long Beach. Mike also added the chrome tape to the top of the car.

Jim Seaton's 1955 Chevrolet of Santa Maria, California. The car was restyled by Barris Kustoms 1957 - 1958.

Sharon Warner's 1955 Chevrolet as it appeared in 1958.

Stan Makrush's 1955 Chevrolet Convertible of Foxboro, Massachusetts was restyled around 1957/1958. The car is known as the Gypsy.

Bob McNulty's 1955 Chevrolet Corvette as it appeared in 1958.

George Barris' 1955 Chevrolet truck, the Kopper Kart, was built as a promotion vehicle for Barris Kustoms of Lynwood, California. The build was completed in 1957.

Milt Goodman's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Milt was a member of the British Columbia Custom Car Association. He bought the car new in 1955, and spent the next three years restyling it. The build was completed in 1958.

Tom McNamara's 1955 Chevrolet

Bill Burnett's 1955 Ford Crown Victoria was restyled around 1955/1956.

Bob Palmer's 1955 Ford Thunderbird, The Golden Bird, was restyled by Clarkaiser Custom Shop of Detroit, Michigan in 1955.

Don Ellis' 1955 Ford Thunderbird of Portland, Oregon. Ellis was a member of the Ramblers of Portland car club, and the Thunderbird was restyled by several of the guys in the club. The build was started in 1958 and completed in 1959.

Gil Ayala's 1955 Ford Thunderbird of East Los Angeles, California. Known as the Wild Bird, the car was restyled by Gil and Al Ayala at Gil's Auto Body Works. The first version was completed in 1956.

Jerry Drake's 1955 Ford Fairlane of Lansing, Michigan was restyled by Ed Blaisdell of Blaisdell Body Shop. Jerry is a well known Michigan pinstriper that operated under the name "Spider the Crazy Painter." He bought the Ford, known as "India Ivory" in 1957, and it went through several modifications between 1957 and 1959.

Joe Cirimele's 1955 Ford of the Satan's Angels in Oakland, California was restyled by Bailon Custom Shop in the 1950s.

Ralph Stefano's 1955 Lincoln Capri of Pueblo, Colorado was restyled by G&D Body and Paint in the late 1950s.

Bruce Olson's 1955 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door of Beach, North Dakota. This was Bruce's daily driver in the late 1950s.

Gary Ruddell's 1955 Pontiac of Norwalk, California. Gary was the President of the Seagrams of Norwalk car club, and the Pontiac was his first car. He bought it in 1959 and began restyling it shortly thereafter.

Dick Gonzales' 1955 Studebaker as it looked in 1956.

Dick Gonzales' 1955 Studebaker as it looked in 1957. This version was known as Strawberries and Cream.

Dick Gonzales' 1955 Studebaker as it looked in 1959. This version, painted by Larry Watson, was named the Yellow Pearl.

Eric Bracher's 1956 Chevrolet of San Jose, California was restyled by Joe Wilhelm at Wilhelm's Custom Shop in the late 1950s.

Helen Avila's 1956 Chevrolet, She Devil, as it appeared in 1958.

Spark Jumpers of Lincoln Park was a car club founded in Lincoln Park, Michigan in the 1950s. Photo courtesy of Jerry Sarkozi Jr.

Jerry Sarkozi's 1956 Chevrolet Delray of Lincoln Park, Michigan. Sarkozi was a member of the Spark Jumpers of Lincoln Park car club. He bought the Chevy brand new and had it restyled after being rear-ended in 1956.

J.R. Kovalski's 1956 Chevrolet of Long Beach, California. J.R. was a member of the Long Beach Cavaliers car club, and he owned the Chevy in 1958, when he graduated from Long Beach Poly High School.

Jim Doss' 1956 Chevrolet

Lenny Macchiarella's 1956 Chevrolet Pickup of San Jose, California.

The first version of Ron Aguirre's 1956 Chevrolet Corvette, The X-Sonic as it looked in 1957 after Ed Roth had painted and pinstriped it for the first time.

This version of Ron Aguirre's 1956 Chevrolet Corvette, The X-Sonic, made its debut at the Disneyland Car Club Day and Autocade, Septermber 5th, 1959.

Ron Luchs' 1956 Chevrolet 150 Sedan - Miss Taboo

George Barris' 1956 Continental Mark II was restyled by Barris Kustoms in 1956. The Lincoln was George's personal driver, and he owned it for about a year.

The first version of Don Von Dwingelo's 1956 Ford Thunderbird as it appeared in 1959.

Ed Roth's 1956 Ford F-100 truck of Maywood, California. Ed, who was a member of the Maywood Drag Wagons, bought the truck in 1957. He wanted to use it as a promotion vehicle for his custom paint and pinstripe business, so he gave it a red flame paint job the same year.

Larry DeLuca's 1956 Ford F-100 of Salt Lake City, Utah was restyled in 1956.

Roy Senior's 1956 Ford Victoria of West Haven, Connecticut was restyled around 1957-1958.

Chuck O'Malley's 1956 Dodge Convertible of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania was restyled at least three times between 1958 and 1963. This is the first version, that made its debut in 1958.

Danny Purinton's 1956 Mercury of Long Beach, California. Danny was a member of the Lakewood Creators car club, and his Mercury was restyled by Ed Schelhaas at Schelhaas Custom Shop. George Newton, Schelhaas' painter, painted the car in a lustrous Bahamas Blue Metallic nitro lacquer. Watson pinstriped the car in imitation Gold July 21, 1956, the night before the third annual Norwalk Motorcade. According to Larry, 22 pinstriped cars were entered in the show. Von Dutch had four, Dean Jeffries had seven, and Larry Watson had eleven.

This version of Jack Arnold's 1956 Mercury was completed in 1958.

Leroy Kemmerer's 1956 Mercury of Castro Valley, California. Leroy's Merc, also known as The Jade Idol, was restyled by Gene Winfield of Winfield's Custom Shop. The build was started in 1958, and completed in 1959. The Jade Idol became an instant hit at car shows all over the US, and it was the car that helped Gene gain national recognition as a custom car builder.

Mickey Ellis' 1956 Mercury of Ogden, Utah. Mickey was a member of the Stags of Ogden car club. He bought the Mercury in 1959 so he would have something to drive besides his hopped up fenderless Model A roadster.

Joe Crisafulli's 1956 Oldsmobile of San Jose, California. Joe was a member of the San Jose Rod and Wheelers car club, and the Olds was restyled during the summer of 1957.

Wayne Christensen's 1957 Ford Ranchero of Norwalk, California. Wayne purchased the Ranchero in 1957. It was a pristine powder blue, a sight to behold and a canvas ready for the youthful ingenuity of the Christensen brothers. Without missing a beat, Wayne and his older brother Keith immediately lowered it to the ground. It was then adorned with real Appleton spotlights and Oldsmobile fiesta hubcaps that added a touch of elegance. In 2023, Keith told Kustomrama that having the Ranchero lowered "on the ground" was "the most a kid in high school could afford back then." Photo from The Keith Christensen Collection.

Ken Sowers' 1956 Plymouth of San Jose, California was restyled by Wirth's Body Shop in 1958.

Dean Jeffries' 1956 Porsche 356 Carrera of Lynwood, California, was restyled by Dean. He bought the car after selling his 1947 Mercury in 1957. The build was completed around 1958/1959.

John Hychko's 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk of Waterbury, Connecticut was restyled by John at his Valley Auto Body in 1959.

Bob Palladino's 1957 Buick Century - The Candy Wagon

Jack James' 1957 Buick Special received a flame-paint-job by Larry Watson in 1957.

Bob Webster's 1957 Chevrolet of San Bernardino, California. Bob was a member of the San Bernardino Krankers car club, and his car was known as "El Tigere". It was restyled circa 1957-1958.

Carl Swenson's 1957 Chevrolet of Lynwood, California as it appeared in 1958.

The first version of Darol Jorgenson's 1957 Chevrolet Corvette was completed in 1957.

Dave Jenkins' 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air as it appeared in 1958.

Dick King's 1957 Chevrolet Four-Door Hardtop of Norwalk, California. Dick was a member of the Seagrams of Norwalk car club, and his car was restyled around 1958 - 1959. Once completed, the car was shown as Kings Royalty.

Doug Osterman's 1957 DeSoto of San Jose, California. Doug's Desoto was first restyled by Flyer Tabata at Flyers Body Shop in 1959. In 1960 it was taken to Joe Bailon of Bailon Custom Shop for a makeover. This version received one of Bailon's signature Candy Apple Red paint jobs.

Harry Okuda's 1957 Dodge of Norwalk, California. In 1957 Harry's Dodge received a scallop paint job by Larry Watson of Watson's House of Style.

Anglo Vacco's 1957 Ford convertible of Hamden, Connecticut was restyled around 1957-1958.

Bob Turgeon's 1957 Ford Thunderbird, "Le Perle", was restyled by Darry Starbird at Star Kustom Shop. The build was completed in 1959. It won the Sweepstakes and Top Custom Shop Achievement Awards at the NHRA National Championship Custom Car Show in Detroit. The win swept Darryl into national prominence and made him a definite figure to be reckoned with in future championship shows.

David Rolin's 1957 Ford of Sacramento, California. Dave's Ford was restyled by Dick Bertolucci of Bertolucci Body & Fender Shop and Harris' Body Shop between 1956 and 1958. Later on the same year, the car, named "Tormentor" received a paint job, pinstriping and eventually a scallop paint job by Dick Katayanagi of Katayanagi Custom Paint.

Dick Jackson's 1957 Ford of Compton, California was restyled late in 1956 or early in 1957. Dick, who started out at Barris Kustoms ran his own shop Advanced Custom Paints in Compton, California when the Ford was restyled. Later on in 1957, Dick traded the Ford with Buddy Alcorn for his 1950 Mercury.

George Mitobe's 1957 Ford Ranchero of Artesia, California was restyled by Branson's Custom Shop sometime between 1957 and 1959. Larry Watson of Watson's House of Style applied the scallops and striping.

Hilton Vail's 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 of San Bernardino, California. Hilton was an active member in the San Bernardino Krankers car club from 1958 to 1961. He bought the Ford brand new, and completed the build circa 1958.

Jack Smario's 1957 Ford, of Pittsburg, California, was restyled by Gene Winfield at Winfield's Custom Shop sometime between 1957 and 1959.

Jerry DeVito's 1957 Ford Fairlane of San Jose, California. The first version of Jerry's Ford, known as the Maze, was restyled in 1957, featuring custom body work and paint by Wirth's Body Shop, and a scallop paint job by Joe Crisafulli of J & J Auto Painting. Jerry was a member of the San Jose Rod and Wheelers car club.

Jerry DeVito's 1957 Ford Fairlane of San Jose, California. The second version of Jerry's Ford, known as the Maze, was completed in 1958, featuring a radical scallop paint job by Bob Heinrichs.

Jerry DeVito's 1957 Ford Fairlane of San Jose, California. The third version of Jerry's Ford, was completed in 1959. Jerry was a member of the San Jose Rod and Wheelers car club.

Russ Edgers' 1957 Ford Convertible of Lansing, Michigan. In 1959, Russ' Ford received a scallop paint job by Jerry "SPIDER" Drake and Larry Cooper at Cooper Body Shop.

Joar Kristiansen's LeSabre of Askim, Norway. Inspired by Harley Earl's 1951 GM LeSabre the build was started in 1953 and completed in 1957.

Chuck Burkart's 1958 Chevrolet Impala of San Jose, California. Chuck was a member of the San Jose Rod and Wheelers. In 1959 Joe Crisafulli gave the car a flame paint job at Flyers Body Shop.

The second version of Chuck Burkart's 1958 Chevrolet Impala, featuring a scallop paint job that Joe Crisafulli laid in 1959. Chuck was a member of the San Jose Rod and Wheelers.

Frank Goehring's 1958 Chevrolet Impala was restyled by Joe Crisafulli at Flyers Body Shop of San Jose, California. The build was completed in 1959.

Phil Sowa's 1958 Chevrolet Impala of Fall River, Massachusetts was restyled in 1958.

Dick Jackson's 1958 Ford Thunderbird was restyled by Dick in 1958. The car was later sold to Calvin Wiekamp.

Jerry Halak's 1958 Ford Convertible of Toledo, Ohio. Jerry was a founding member of the Pharaohs of Toledo car club. Restyled in 1958, it only took 42 days and $500 to transform Jerry's convertible into a nice custom.

Larry Watson's 1958 Ford Thunderbird. Larry bought the Thunderbird brand new in 1958, and he told a seller at Downey Ford to give him a call as soon as the first car with a tuck n' roll interior arrived. Larry brought it almost directly to Barris Kustoms for a mild job before he gave it a burgundy and silver panel paint job. Larry's Thunderbird was known as "Vino Pasiano" and "The Burgundy Bird," and the first iteration was completed in 1958.

Terry Browning's 1958 Ford Ranchero of Neptune City, New Jersey. Terry was a founding member of the Haulin' Gents, and the "The Ruby Ranch" version of his Ranchero was completed in 1959.

Doug Landwer's 1953 Plymouth, of Bakersfield, California was restyled in the late 1950s.

The Crazy Painters - Baron, Roth and Kelly. 50 years experience pinstriping. A business card that dates back to circa 1958. At the time, the trio operated out of a shop at 9001 Atlantic in Southgate, California. Photo from The Kustomrama Business Card Collection.

Bob Knessel's Sports Custom of Bell, California. Featuring a Fiberglass body, Bob and his dad spent three years constructing the car. According to an appearance in Fawcett Book 413 How to Build and Race Hot Rods, Ed Roth was involved in the build, and rumors has it that he gave it a Metallic pink paint job once the bodywork was done.

Jon Grinager's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Farmington, Michigan. Grinager acquired the Coupe in 1956 during his sophomore year at Farmington High School. What began as a school shop project soon became a local hot rod masterpiece. Years later, the car lay dormant for three decades after a 1980s restoration attempt that ended in heartbreak. However, its legacy was rejuvenated by Jon's nephews, Tanner and Logan Kucharek, who had it restored and showcased at the 2022 Detroit Autorama, where it clinched three awards. Amidst its revival, whispers emerged of its alleged ties to the Alexander Brothers, an iconic Detroit customizing duo. The quest for this connection remains alive, seeking evidence to validate these legendary claims.

Bill Merrill's 1959 Chevrolet Corvette of Thermopolis, Wyoming. Bill got the Corvette in 1959, while he was a junior in high school. He lived in La Jolla, California for a short while in the spring of 1959, and he had Dean Jeffris lay a panel paint job on the car. Unfortunately, the car was vandalized and the hood was damaged. Jeffries came down to La Jolla and picked up the car to fix the damage and painted the Corvette candy apple red with a gold underbase. The side panel was left gold with a clear coat covering it.

Ed Biggs' 1959 Chevrolet El Camino of Davenport, Iowa. Ed was a member of the Idlers of Davenport car club and he ran Biggs Automotive Service with his father. In the Summer of 1959, Ed decided to turn a brand new El Camino into a shop truck and rolling advertisement. He wanted to give it a custom paint job, so he ordered the car and had it delivered to a Gardena, California dealer so Joe Andersen of Joe Andersen's Custom Shop could pick it up and give it a panel paint job. Ed joined the US Air Force in September of 1959. He was stationed at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, and decided to have his custom shipped with him to Europe.

In 1959 Barris Kustoms debuted the futuristic XPAK 400, and according to George Barris, space styled customs was the latest rage of the year. Supposedly translated from Martian, the name meant air car, and that’s what it was. It had no wheels, transmission or rear end, but it moved on a five-inch cushion of air, and it was driveable on both land and water. In addition to huge fins and a groundbreaking sparkling Metalflake paint job, the XPAK 400 did also feature a plastic bubble top that had been vacuum formed over a male mold. A soft introduction, and a hint about what the future held.

A photo of Bill Krause's Maserati Type 61 "Birdcage" racecar taken at the 1959 Riverside Grand Prix. In February of 2021 Howard Miereanu told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that he met Billy Krause, as well as Dan Gurney, Richie Ginther and Phill Hill late in 1958, or early in 1959, when he was in his last semester at Art Center College of Design. "They all came to the school and wanted to see the auto designs we were creating. Our project was to design a futuristic race car. Billy liked one of my designs and asked if I would be interested in designing a paint scheme for his Birdcage. He told me that he was having Von Dutch paint the car. Wow…what an honor and I jumped at the chance and submitted a few designs and he selected the one you see on his car." Notice the flying eyeball that Von Dutch added to the nose of the car. Krause was Dutch's brother in law and in addition to the paint, he also lettered the Maserati. Photo from The Howard Miereanu Collection.

Ralph Lysell's Rally is a Norwegian bubble-top sports car built at Norwegian Aircraft Industries LTD in Oslo, Norway in 1951. The car was meant to be the first production sports car of Norway in the 1950s, but it never made it into production.

Almar Nordhaug's Dream Car was built at the Faroe Islands in the 1950s.

The 1951 Custom, Sports Car and Hot Rod Show was held April 12-15, 1951 at the Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois.

The Road Kings of Burbank car club was established in 1952

The first annual Pasadena Auto Show and Reliability Run was held March 30, 1952 at Victory Park in Pasadena, California.

Cotton's Paint & Body Shop of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was run and operated by Cotton Woodworth.

Lundquist Coach Craft of San Francisco, California was a custom body shop run and operated by Ted Lundquist.

An ad for Noble Paint & Body Shop of Indianapolis, Indiana from 1953.

Joe Wolf's Hollywood Speed Shop of Reading, Pennsylvania was started by Joe Wolf in the 1940s.

Wall Custom Cars of South Gate, California was a used car dealership specializing in customized cars. Forey and Glen Wall started the dealership in 1955.

Avenue Angels of East Rocakway, Long Island, New York. The club was formed at D & H Service Center in 1955.

The Wolf Hounds is an East Los Angeles, California car club. The club was an integrated club, including both whites and Latinos, and when George Gonzales won the presidency in 1954 it made front page news. Photo courtesy of Esteban E. Villegas.

The Shifters of Pontiac auto club was founded in 1955. The club is one of seven clubs that made up the Michigan Hot Rod Association. Photo courtesy of Bill Bryan.

A Norwalk Coachmen club shot taken in 1955. Keith Christensen was the first President and a founding member of the club. In 2016 Keith told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that the club started in the living room of his folks home in Norwalk late in 1952; "Our club had its beginning in my folk's living room in Norwalk." Norwalk is southeast of Los Angeles, approximately 22 miles. "It was an area of farms and dairies, which of course have faded due to rural buildup. This is why you will see many names of the two dominate nationalities, Dutch and Portuguese, as owners of many hot rods and low riders." Photo from The Keith Christensen Collection.

The second annual Tacoma Hot Rod Show was held March 2-4, 1956 at the Tacoma Armory in Tacoma, Washington.

The 2nd annual Portland Roadster Show was held October 18 thru 20, 1957 at the Multnomah County Fair Grounds in Gresham, Oregon.

The first annual Fresno Autorama was held March 7 thru 9, 1958 at the National Guard Armory in Fresno, California.

The program for the 4th annual International Motor Sports Show held in Des Moines, Iowa in 1958. The Rod & Custom Magazine’s Dream Truck was featured on the cover, and the truck was one of the main attractions that year. Unfortunatel it never made it to the show as it was wrecked on the way over to the show.

The 4th annual Bearing Busters Rod & Custom Show was held March 15, 1959.

The Dragettes was an all-girl hot rod club from Kansas City, Missouri. They were members of the Kansas City Timing Association, and according to The Southeast Missourian - Apr 21, 1959 the Dragettes was the only all-girl hot rod club in Kansas City. At the time, the club consisted of seven members. The members were either wives or sweethearts of members of other clubs.

The 1959 Pasadena Motor Pageant was held April 23 - 26, 1959 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calfiornia.

The 1st annual San Luis Obispo Motor Show was held May 1, 2, 3, 1959 at the National Guard Armory at Camp San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo, California.

The 1959 Mid-America Auto Spectacular was held October 10-11, 1959 in Topeka, Kansas.

The 1959 Bakersfield Motor & Boat Show was held November 26 - 29, 1959 at the Kern County Fair Grounds in Bakersfield, California.

Pinky's Custom Shop of Miami, Florida. The shop was owned by Charlie Naylor.

Avenue Auto Interiors of Bridgeport, Connecticut. A custom upholstery shop run and operated by Jim DeSalle. DeSalle started doing interiors in the early fifties, and his shop was known as one of the finest upholstery houses in the New England area. After operating Avenue Auto Interiors for fifteen years, Jim changed its name to Vantastics, turning it into a van customizer shop. The auto trim field had started slowing down, so Jim looked into other areas.

Lee Plastic Company was a company in Detroit, Michigan that fabricated and sold custom taillight lenses. The company was founded by Marvin D. Jarnagin in the 1950s. They stayed in business until the mid-1970s.

<-- 1940s - 1950 - 1951 - 1952 - 1953 - 1954 - 1955 - 1956 - 1957 - 1958 - 1959 - 1960s -->

Custom Cars of the 1950s

The 1950s stand out as the golden age of customs. A time when the craft evolved more in ten years than it would in the following five decades. Builders refined late-1940s techniques and pushed them to extremes, fueled by returning WWII veterans with disposable income and mechanical skills. Magazines like Motor Trend and Hot Rod Magazine provided national exposure, car clubs spread the gospel of customization, and by the decade’s end, custom cars had gone from mild restyles to futuristic showpieces.

Carrying Over the 1940s

As we entered 1950, customs still followed late-1940s principles: graceful lines, chopped or padded tops, and smooth bodywork. Lowering blocks and dropped shackles brought cars closer to the pavement. A defining build that hit the streets early in 1950 was Nick Matranga's 1940 Mercury, restyled by the Barris brothers. Inspired by Johnny Zaro's Merc, Nick had George and Sam Barris chop his roof in 1949, then decided he liked the look without the B-pillar. George replaced it with a chrome-plated channel, creating a hardtop arc that would be copied on countless Mercs. This single innovation jump-started the early 1950s custom scene.

According to historian Albert Drake, “Every Detroit car had outgrown what was a pre-war body shape,” prompting many owners to modernize older models with fender skirts, dual exhausts, and metallic paint. Meanwhile, new, lower factory cars spurred owners to personalize their rides even further, laying the groundwork for the explosive growth to come.

Defining “Custom” vs. “Restyled”

By 1951, the custom scene had grown so popular that Trend Book 101 Custom Cars was published to clarify the difference between a full custom, built from the ground up, and a restyled job, which involved modifying a stock car without radically altering its design.

Though Trend Book No. 101 didn’t feature any 1949 Mercurys, that same year, two iconic chopped ’49s debuted: Sam Barris' 1949 Mercury and Jerry Quesnel's 1949 Mercury. Their rivalry has since fueled countless debates over which was finished first, marking an important milestone for custom car culture. Magazines like Hot Rod Magazine and Motor Trend soon dedicated more space to customs, while new titles such as Hop Up and Rod & Custom prepared to carry the movement well beyond California.

Subtle Elegance, Sports Customs, The Hirohata Merc, and Show Car Influence

Many builders were refining understated modifications by 1952, often drawing inspiration from European sports cars. Valley Custom Shop set the tone with Ron Dunn's 1950 Ford, sectioned and fitted with radiused wheel wells for a near-factory elegance rather than an all-out show-car vibe.

Around the same time, a new trend emerged: the Sport Custom, born from enthusiasts who couldn’t afford British imports like the Jaguar XK-120. Charles Martz of Aurora, Montana, pioneered this idea by merging a 1940 Hudson sedan with an ambulance, creating a buttercup-yellow roadster that graced the cover of Motor Trend January 1952. Sport Customs were often bigger and more powerful than their European counterparts, yet less agile, some were simply cut-down coupes, while others featured entirely new metal or fiberglass bodies.

Detroit’s own show cars also left a mark. The 1951 GM LeSabre, designed by Harley Earl, was heavily imitated for its aircraft-inspired styling and fins, nudging customizers to adopt more futuristic lines. Yet the year’s biggest head-turner was the Hirohata Merc, built by George and Sam Barris. Borrowing the curved hardtop window idea from Matranga’s ’40 Merc, they took it further with a bold two-tone paint job. Wherever it appeared, crowds gathered, confirming that even amid subtle elegance and sports car influences, radical innovation thrived.

Creative Grilles, Concept Cars, and a Kross Kountry Kustom

In 1953, customizers grew bolder with grille designs, mixing pieces from multiple makes or fabricating entirely new assemblies. Detroit's futuristic concept cars, featuring plexiglass tops, dual headlights, and aircraft fins, filtered into the custom scene, pushing builders toward show-focused creations. Magazines like Rod & Custom and Car Craft were now established, feeding readers a steady stream of radical ideas.

One major story was the Hirohata Merc’s cross-country trip. Already a California show winner, Bob Hirohata drove his low-slung ’51 Mercury to the 4th annual Indianapolis Custom Show. Days before leaving, he replaced its Flathead with a 1953 Cadillac V8, chronicling the adventure in Rod & Custom as “Kross Kountry In A Kustom.” The Merc’s slammed stance caused minor clearance issues, but removing one set of lowering blocks solved the problem. That journey helped spread California’s sleek, low style nationwide.

Meanwhile, Rod & Custom launched its “Dream Truck” project, using Spencer Murray's 1950 Chevrolet as a rolling lab readers could help design. Shops across California contributed everything from chopped tops to quad headlights, and each stage was documented in the magazine. Custom culture was no longer confined to local clubs; its influence was crossing state lines as effortlessly as the cars themselves.

The Dawn of Radical Show Cars

By 1954, some builders were shifting from daily-driven cruisers to outlandish, purely show-focused customs. The Hirohata Merc remained Bob’s daily driver, but Jim Skonzakes' 1953 Lincoln Capri, known as the Golden Sahara, debuted at the Petersen Motorama as perhaps the world’s first true “show custom.” It boasted a lift-off transparent roof, hinged door panels, and an opulent interior with a built-in cocktail bar, TV, hi-fi radio, and gold-plated trim by Carson Top Shop. This extravagance proved that radical show cars could stand on their own, separate from the practical customs of earlier years.

Customs also began appearing more often in film and TV, bridging the gap between hot rod culture and mainstream America. The Hirohata Merc, for instance, appeared in the 1954 film Runnin' Wild alongside Fred Rowe’s 1951 Mercury. Meanwhile, single-color lacquer finishes, block-sanded to perfection, were still common, though candy and pearl paints were waiting in the wings to redefine show-car flamboyance.

Candy Paint, Pinstriping, and Mild vs. Radical

By 1955, paint took center stage in the custom world. Mel Pinoli's Body and Paint Shop in Oakland introduced the first documented candy paint job on Ted Leventhal's 1950 Chevrolet, ushering in a new era of deep, lustrous finishes. Von Dutch’s flame work and Larry Watson's pinstriping turned paint into an art form, and even the Hirohata Merc showcased Von Dutch’s dash striping, dubbed “This is the City,” proving that fine details mattered as much as sweeping body mods.

Meanwhile, the gap between mild and radical grew. Some owners stuck to nosed, decked, and lowered cars, while others pursued extreme modifications like sectioning, frenched lights, scoops, and ornate chrome. Magazines celebrated both ends of the spectrum, urging customizers to push boundaries in whichever direction suited their vision.

Quad Headlights, Bold Paint, and Kustomland

By 1956, candy, flames, and scallops lit up drive-ins across Southern California, while builders like the Barris brothers experimented with quad headlights, an idea Detroit would soon adopt on their production cars. Larry Watson, then 16, honed his pinstriping on his own ’50 Chevy, a stepping stone to the House of Style he’d open the following year.

One of the era’s most iconic customs was Duane Steck's 1954 Chevroley, nicknamed the Moonglow. Chopped, nosed, and decked, it showed refined elegance despite being built in a backyard. Duane’s brother heated Plexiglas for the rear window in their mother’s oven, and the car wore a crisp white-and-blue finish before Larry Watson added subtle pinstriped nudes. Duane was part of the Renegades of Long Beach, a powerhouse club in the LA suburbs collectively known as “Kustomland,” which produced legendary names like George and Sam Barris, Ed Roth, and Dean Jeffries.

Meanwhile, radical experimentation continued all over the world. Up in Oregon, Ron Courtney's X-51 Ford sported massive fins, and in Finland, Arvi Hänninen built one of Europe’s earliest customs. As 1956 rolled on, mild and wild builds both thrived. Some owners favored a simple, shaved look, while others craved trophies with radical fins and vibrant paint.

Paint Takes Center Stage

In 1957, paint reached a fever pitch. Larry Watson opened Watson's House of Style, turning out scalloped, paneled, flamed, and striped jobs daily, while Gene Winfield perfected his fade/blended candy technique. Youth culture, fueled by rock ’n’ roll, embraced customs wholeheartedly, updating older cars with bolder paint, bubble skirts, and wilder body mods.

Even Duane Steck's Moonglow returned to the spotlight with a fresh set of scallops by Watson in 1957. Drive-in parking lots across Southern California often resembled impromptu car shows, each ride competing for attention.

Show Cars Dominate—and Hydraulics Arrive

By 1958, George Barris and Joe Bailon were regarded as the West Coast’s top customizers. At the ninth annual Oakland Roadster Show in February, they clashed with two futuristic creations: Barris's Aztec and Bailon's Mystery. Both were so impressive they tied for the Custom Car D’Elegance Award, proving how far show cars had come.

At the same show, Richard Peters' Ala Kart, a ’29 Ford pickup built by Barris, won America's Most Beautiful Roadster Award. This really signaled the rise of meticulously finished customs designed for trophies and magazine covers rather than daily driving. Interiors grew ever more elaborate, with tuck-and-roll upholstery, chrome trim, and exotic materials matching increasingly wild paint jobs.

California Vehicle Code 24008, enacted in 1957 and enforced by 1958, targeted excessively low cars. Hot rodders and customizers responded by adapting hydraulic systems originally designed for aircraft or industrial tools, allowing them to raise their cars to legal heights, then drop them for shows or cruising. Two pioneers in this field were Jim Logue and Ron Aguirre. Jim’s “Fabulous X54,” a 1954 Ford, featured hydraulics at all four corners, while Ron’s Corvette, the X-Sonic, used a Port-A-Power-based system to lift the front end. Debate persists over who was first, but both introduced a revolutionary idea that would evolve into the lowrider movement.

With hydraulic lifts, radical show cars like the Ala Kart, and iconic builds tying at major events, 1958 underscored how far customs had progressed from their practical, street-driven roots. They were now spectacles of engineering and style, pushing boundaries both legally and creatively.

The End of an Era, The Start of Something New

As the ’50s drew to a close, some builders toned down busy paint jobs, preferring single-tone candy or metallic finishes. Gene Winfield's Jade Idol, a ’56 Mercury built for Leroy Kemmerer, garnered national acclaim with sculpted body mods and signature fade paint, while Larry Watson refined everything from subdued candies to dramatic panels. Meanwhile, muscle cars and drag racing began pulling attention away from customs.

Yet Duane Steck's Moonglow bridged the transition. Larry Watson repainted it several times, culminating in a candy blue finish over a sparkling silver pearl base in 1959, which Watson considered one of his finest. Although panel painting was still turning heads, simpler but striking single-color finishes hinted at the sleek, less-cluttered style about to define the early 1960s.

From understated customs in 1950 to space-age show rods by 1959, the 1950s witnessed an unprecedented surge in creativity. Builders refined every technique: leadwork, chopping, radical paint, and hydraulics, while magazines, car shows, and youth culture pushed the scene to national prominence. By 1960, customs had reached a peak of artistry and influence, setting the stage for the metalflake paint, bolder graphics, and wild show rods of the coming decade.

Custom Cars of the Early 1950s

According to Portland, Oregon hot rodder, historian and author Albert Drake, a revolution occurred in terms of styling and customizing in the late 1940s and the early 1950s. "Every Detroit car had outgrown what was a pre-war body shape, and the new cars were longer, lower, sleeker. Therefore, many people wanted to make their older cars look more modern, or at least a bit nicer." In 1982 Drake wrote an excerpt about the roots of hot rodding where he pointed out that; "Today we look back at pre-1949 cars with a wistful eye but at the time they seemed drab; high and boxy, with plain interiors, and painted a few standard colors (usually black, dark blue, or grey). It didn't, however, take much to make them more interesting: lowering blocks or shackles, fender skirts, dual exhausts with chrome 'echo cans,' deluxe seat covers and a metallic paint job would cause the guy beside you at the light to sit up and take notice." The owners of older cars wanted to update them, while owners of new cars wanted to individualize them. According to Drake, a 1936 Ford could be bought for under $75. Shackles, solid side panels, dual exhausts, and whitewall tires might cost another $50 bucks, and the result was a neat-looking car. "For a few bucks more the spare tire bracket could be cut so the tire rode close to the deck, and dual spotlights added. If the owner was lucky enough to find a pair of '37 DeSoto bumpers he'd be traveling in style."

Customizing vs Restyling

In 1951, Trend Book 101 Custom Cars was published by Trend, Inc as a result of the growing interest in customized cars. The introduction in the book stated early that restyling and customizing are two things that, like the arts, are better left for the masters. The book defined a custom job as a job that had been custom-built, from the ground up as it were and to order. A restyled job was defined as a stock auto that had been altered somewhat from the original design. Therefore, if you were going to customize a car you would practically start from scratch ending up with a hand-built, totally different creation. If you were to restyle a car, you would change the outside appearance, without evolving a drastically-modified car. The terms were often misused, and in order to explain where the restyled car leaves off and a custom job begins, the following definition was explained in the book: "A restyled car can include any or all of the following modifications without actually being a custom job: a bull-nose, a deck job, fadeaways, a new grille, and/or new bumpers. When it gets to chopped tops and channeling, the car would more properly be termed a custom job." With these two terms defined, the purpose of the book was to show readers the latest trends of customized and restyled cars from coast to coast.

West Coast Restyling of the Early 1950s

Common and favored restyling-features on many West Coast custom jobs in the early 1950s included body modifications such as nosing and decking, license plate set on bumper, tail lights set in bumper guards, dual spotlights and fender skirts.

Deck Out

In the early 1950s, "Deck Out" was a term for restyling a car by adding extra ornamentation such as metal sun visors, chrome exhaust stacks, port holes, extra lights forward and aft, fender flaps, extra radio aerials, bumper guards and more accessories you could buy from your local accessory shop. In the other end were motorists that believed in restyling by smoothing off their cars. This process span from simple modifications such as removal of ornamentation, dechroming and sealing of the car to give a port less, louver-less, one-piece look to chopping the top or channeling the body over the frame.

Aftermarket Accessory Businesses

The aftermarket accessory business boomed in the 1950s as the demand for popular custom bolt-on times such as fender skirts, lowering blocks, hubcaps, and spotlights increased.

Juvenile Delinquency

The total number of teenagers arrested in the country in 1947 was 34,376. By 1957 the number had climbed to 253,817. As early as 1953 a Boston judge was quoted saying; "We have the spectacle of an entire city terrorized by one-half of one percent of its resident. And the terrorists are children."

Hot Rods of the 1950s

Jim Hill's 1921 Dodge Truck
Norm Grabowski's 1922 Ford Model T Bucket - The Lightning Bug / The Kookie T
John Lane's 1924 Ford Model T Roadster Pickup
Terry Sweem's 1925 Ford Model T Roadster Pickup
Tommy Ivo's 1925 Ford Model T-Bucket
Bob Smith's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Carl Burnett's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Gene Winfield's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Louis Banto and Jack Perre's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Louis Banto and Jack Perre's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Paul Sylva's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Dan Wittenberg's 1928 Ford Model A Pick Up
Pat McNamara's 1928 Ford Model A Pick-Up
Bill Vogt's 1929 Ford Model A
Bill Welch's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Buzz Pitzen's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Carl Fleischmann's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Duane Dewey's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Ed Seltzer's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Hugh Nutting's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Jerry Woodward's 1929 Ford Model-A Roadster - Thunder Rod
Joe Brienza's 1929 Ford Model A Coupe
Kenny Smith's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Richard Peters' 1929 Ford Model A Pickup - The Ala Kart
Cam Snappers of Newburyport's 1930 Ford Model A Roadster
George Wiegand's 1930 Ford Model A Roadster Pick Up - The Barracuda
Michael Lamm's 1930 Ford Model A Roadster
Dick Dean's 1931 Ford Model A Victoria
Joe Tully's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe
Mike Brodski's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe
Quint Meland's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster - The RoadStar
Ralph Stone's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster
The Alexander Brothers' 1931 Ford Model A Coupe
Norman Kopp's 1932 Chevrolet Two Door Sedan
Al and Dave Tarkanyi's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Allan Fielding's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Bert Mouron's 1932 Ford Roadster
Bill Jerry's 1932 Ford Roadster
Bill Kelly's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Bill Peterson's 1932 Ford Roadster
Bosse Ericsson's 1932 Ford Roadster
Bruce Olson's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Clarence Catallo's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe - Silver Sapphire/Little Deuce Coupe
Clifford Ambrose's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Conrad W. Jacobs' 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe - "The Klondyke Koupe"
Danny Schwartz' 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Don Broyles' 1932 Ford Roadster
Ed Ward's 1932 Ford Roadster
Gordy Kordowsky's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Howard Leever & Fred Esser's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Jack Schleich's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Johnny Bierfeldt's 1932 Ford Roadster
Jon Grinager's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Laverne A. Stetzer's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe - The York Coupe
Lew Wolff's 1932 Ford Roadster
Per Røed's 1932 Ford Cabriolet
Ted Sitterley's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Wayne Knudsen's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Bill Martin's 1933 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Deaner Probst's 1933 Ford Cabriolet - Lil' Dough
Gary Stermer's 1933 Ford 3-Window Coupe
George Smaldone's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Joaquin Arnett's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Joe Brienza's 1934 Ford Convertible - The Brienza Special
Monte Trone's 1933 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Dick Hanson's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian's 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan
Gil Lippincott's 1934 Ford Tudor
Pat Weise's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Ron Maxwell's 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Tommy Henderson's 1934 Ford Cabriolet
Walter Leeman's 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Solon Pierce's 1935 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Tore Tømmerås' 1935 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Jon R. Ford's 1937 Ford Convertible
Garret Walther's 1940 Ford Coupe
Larry Ewing's 1940 Ford DeLuxe Coupe
Larry Ewing's 1950 Oldsmobile 88 Coupe
Ed Roth's Outlaw

Custom Cars of the 1950s

Herman Broome's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster
Bill Smith's 1934 Ford Roadster Custom
John Patterson's 1934 Ford Convertible
Bruce Rosengren's 1936 Ford Cabriolet
Delwyn Triska’s 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Hank Fournier's 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Joe Brienza's 1936 Ford 3-Window Coupe
R.I. Steere's 1936 Ford Convertible
Rich Vachata's 1936 Ford Convertible
Sam Benton's 1936 Ford Coupe
Glenn Johnson's 1937 Ford Coupe
Gene McCrickard's 1937 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe
Doug Osterman's 1937 Plymouth Coupe
Dick Jackson's 1938 Chevrolet Sedan
John Bozio's 1939 Buick Century Convertible
Bill Collins' 1939 Ford Convertible
Clarence Patterson's 1939 Ford Convertible
Ken Costello's 1939 Ford Coupe
Fred Crellar's 1940 Chevrolet Convertible
Bob Brown's 1940 Ford Coupe
Clyde Walther's 1940 Ford Convertible
Dick Brooks' 1940 Ford Convertible
Dick Colarossi's 1940 Ford Coupe
Manuel Gonzalez's 1940 Ford Coupe
Nick De Simon's 1940 Ford Coupe
Paul McGill's 1940 Ford Convertible
Nick Dunkavich's 1940 Hupmobile Roadster
Maximilian King's 1940 Mercury Convertible
Mel Lehman's 1940 Mercury 4-Door Sedan
Nick Matranga's 1940 Mercury
Virgil Shuck's 1940 Mercury Coupe
Dan and Ken Hiramoto's 1941 Buick Century Convertible - Raven
Bill Cole's 1941 Ford 4 Door Sedan
Frank Monteleone's 1941 Ford
Harry Costa's 1941 Ford Convertible
Jack Stewart's 1941 Ford Coupe
Jack T. Chandler's 1941 Ford
Joe Urritta's 1941 Ford
John Sak's Second 1941 Ford Convertible
Ray Furgal and Ron Seaver's 1941 Ford Convertible
Frank Layman's 1941 Lincoln Zephyr Convertible
George Contaoi's 1941 Mercury Coupe
Jack Telnack's 1941 Mercury Convertible
Rudy Makela's 1942 Cadillac Convertible - "WOW"
Bud Unger's 1946 Ford Convertible
Bob Hoshiko's 1946 Mercury
Tony Sestito's 1947 Cadillac Convertible
Fred Thomas' 1947 Chevrolet Four-Door Sedan
Joe Hurst's 1947 Chevrolet Convertible
Sam Gates' 1947 Ford Club Coupe
Jerry Berg's 1947 Mercury Convertible
Tommy Thornburgh's 1947 Studebaker Champion Convertible
Jack Crabbs' 1948 Buick Roadmaster - The Black Flame
Art Jones' 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan
Jerry Campbell's 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan
Frank Layman's 1948 Packard Convertible<be> William J. Unger's 1949 Cadillac Convertible
Bill Muehlstedt's 1949 Chevrolet
Carl Abajian's 1949 Chevrolet Convertible
Dick Ward's 1949 Chevrolet
Frank Livingston's 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline - The Caribbean
Harold Johnson's 1949 Chevrolet
Ronald Asal's 1949 Chevrolet Convertible
Spencer Murray's 1949 Chevrolet
Arvi Hänninen's 1949 Checker Coupe
Bill Irwin's 1949 Ford Convertible
Buster Litton's 1949 Ford
Chas Haggert's 1949 Ford Convertible
Jim Galvin's 1949 Ford Tudor
Joe Crisafulli's 1949 Ford Convertible
John W. Britton's 1949 Ford
Lloyd C. Hammond's 1949 Ford - The Majestic Lady
Michael Violante's 1949 Ford Convertible
Milton Depuy's 1949 Ford
Ray Duckworth's 1949 Ford Club Coupe
Vern LaCoursiere's 1949 Ford Coupe
Duane Aspengren's 1949 Hudson - Night Train
Joe Brienza's 1949 Mercury
Lloyd Myers' 1949 Mercury Convertible
Paul Wood's 1949 Mercury Coupe
George Contaoi's 1949 Oldsmobile Fastback
Sam Barris' 1950 Buick Sedanette
Tony Alvez' 1950 Cadillac Convertible
Dave Jenkins' 1950 Chevrolet
Helen Manning's 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline
Howard Buysman's 1950 Chevrolet
Jim Musick's 1950 Chevrolet Bel Air
Larry Watson's 1950 Chevrolet - The Rose Mist
Santo Vasques' 1950 Chevrolet
Ted Leventhal's 1950 Chevrolet Convertible
Al Twitchell's 1950 Ford Convertible
Bill Hines' 1950 Ford - The Bat
Bill Schott's 1950 Ford Coupe
Bill Wentz's 1950 Ford "Ranchero"
Chuck DeWitt's 1950 Ford Convertible
Don Bliss' 1950 Ford Convertible
Doyle Bidwell's 1950 Ford Coupe
Fred Thomas' 1950 Ford Two-Door
George Egan's 1950 Ford Convertible - The Apollo
Jerry Silvester's 1950 Ford
Merton Peterson's 1950 Ford
Pete Millino's 1950 Ford Convertible
Richard Gregg's 1950 Ford Pickup - The Capri
Robert Zepke's 1950 Ford Convertible
Vern LaCoursiere's 1950 Ford Convertible
Buddy Alcorn's 1950 Mercury
Don Pulford's 1950 Mercury
Gene Strieter's 1950 Mercury
George Mizzi Jr.'s 1950 Mercury Convertible - The Purple Bug
Leo Lyons' Ultra Modern Merc
Ralph Testa's 1950 Mercury
Sonny Morris' 1950 Mercury
Wally Welch's 1950 Mercury
Bill Daniels' 1950 Oldsmobile
Garret Walther's 1950 Oldsmobile Fastback
Jack Stewart's 1950 Oldsmobile - The Polynesian
Mel Gerrard's 1950 Oldsmobile 88
Paul Vona's 1950 Oldsmobile Coupe
Robert Martinez' 1950 Oldsmobile 98
Phil Macchiarella's 1950 Plymouth four-door
Carl Szembrot's 1950 Studebaker Convertible
Harold Agresti's 1951 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe
Howard Tirban’s 1951 Chevrolet - “Lil’ Bitty Pretty One”
Jake Bultsma's 1951 Chevrolet Bel Air
Jerry Sahagon's 1951 Chevrolet Club Coupe
Jim Laughead's 1951 Chevrolet Bel-Air Hardtop
Norman Brown's 1951 Chevrolet Fleetline
Richard Torres' 1951 Chevrolet
Ross Barnes' 1951 Chevrolet
Walter Leeman's 1951 Chevrolet Fleetline
Bill Collins' 1951 Ford Two-Door Sedan
Don Blake's 1951 Ford 4-Door
Don Tubbs' 1951 Ford Victoria
Joe Tocchini's 1951 Ford Victoria - The Mystery
Pete Chiello's 1951 Ford Victoria
Ron Hart's 1951 Ford Club Coupe
George E. Goodhead, Jr.'s 1951 Henry J Corsair Convertible
Bill Wolfe’s 1951 Mercury
Don Tubbs' 1951 Mercury Coupe
Henry Dominguez's 1951 Mercury
Noal Johnston's 1951 Mercury
Ron Dragoo's 1951 Mercury Coupe
Roy Hewitt's 1951 Mercury
Bill Collins' 1951 Oldsmobile
Chuck Sanders' 1951 Oldsmobile - The Black Panther
Frank Airheart's 1951 Oldsmobile 98 Convertible
Jim Bowers' 1951 Oldsmobile
Joe Crisafulli's 1951 Oldsmobile
Charles DeLacy's 1951 Studebaker Starlight Coupe
Bob Martin's 1952 Chevrolet Convertible
Leon Welmas' 1952 Chevrolet Convertible
Tommy D'Amico's 1952 Chevrolet Convertible
Al Twitchell's 1952 Ford Station Wagon
Chuck Johnson's 1952 Ford Victoria
Jim Genty's 1952 Ford Victoria - Nugget
Keith Hunt's 1952 Ford Convertible
Larry Ernst's 1952 Ford Convertible - Pharaoh's Pacer
Nick Cozzitorto's 1952 Ford F-1 Pickup
Ron Fagundes' 1952 Ford Victoria - The Ronbardue Kart
Ron Lerdahl's 1952 Ford Convertible
Ron Lerdahl's 1952 Ford Victoria
Clark Gable's 1952 Jaguar XK 120
Loma O. Johnson's 1952 Kaiser - The Johnson Special
Ken Foress' 1952 Mercury Convertible
Don Stone's 1952 Oldsmobile 88 Convertible
Jack Nethercutt's 1952 Oldsmobile Holiday 98 - The Vienesse
Bruce Brown's 1952 Packard Convertible
Emory Bozzani's 1952 Plymouth Sedan
1952 Spohn Palos
Anthony Heinsbergen's Muntz
John Bozio's 1953 Buick Roadmaster
Wally Troy's 1953 Buick - The Troy Custom
Bill Hoffman's 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air
Frank and Charles Gilardone's 1953 Ford
Hayward Mendenhall's 1953 Ford Pickup
Howard Yoshimoto's 1953 Ford Pick Up
Larry Cantor's 1953 Ford Club Coupe
Royce Blomberg's 1953 Ford
Vince Ciganik's 1953 Ford Convertible
Jim Skonzakes' 1953 Lincoln Capri - The Golden Sahara
W. H. Sees' 1953 Mercury
Bill and Bob Glazier's 1953 Oldsmobile Super 88 Convertible - The Candy Wagon
Bruno and Reino Maki's 1953 Oldsmobile Convertible
Doug Landwer's 1953 Plymouth
Michael Malamphy's 1953 Plymouth Convertible - The Golden Aztec
Bruce Bartlett's 1953 Studebaker Starlight Coupe
Jack Aberth's 1953 Studebaker
Lee Talbot and Sam Chakries' 1953 Studebaker Pickup
Bob Schremp's 1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air
Duane Steck's 1954 Chevrolet - The Moonglow
Gerald Twamley's 1954 Chevrolet
Louie Gaulrapp's 1954 Chevrolet
Andy Belusko's 1954 Ford
Buzz McLeod's 1954 Ford Convertible
Jim Logue's 1954 Ford Convertible
Larry Cooper's 1954 Ford
Martin Srabian and Morris Srabian's 1954 Ford Pickup - The Wild Kat
Ralph Ehorn's 1954 Ford F-100
Rudy Rodriguez’s 1954 Ford
Terry Smith's 1954 Ford
Wally Knoch's 1954 Ford Convertible
Bobby Yamazaki's 1954 Mercury
Butch Flobeck's 1954 Mercury
Herb Conway's 1954 Mercury
John Nadzon's 1954 Mercury - The Mysterian
Ronnie Fossen's 1954 Studebaker Starlight Coupe
Delmar McCutcheon's 1955 Buick - The Kandy Kane
Merlin Windham's 1955 Buick - "Dragon Wagon"
Tad Hirai's 1955 Buick Century
Bill Carr's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air - The Aztec
Bill Sharpe's 1955 Chevrolet
Bob McNulty's 1955 Chevrolet Corvette
George Barris' 1955 Chevrolet Truck - The Kopper Kart
Jerry Feigner's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air - Lil Honey Bee
Jim Seaton's 1955 Chevrolet
Milt Goodman's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
Sharon Warner's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
Stan Makrush's 1955 Chevrolet Convertible
Tom McNamara's 1955 Chevrolet
Bill Burnett's 1955 Ford Crown Victoria
Bob Palmer's 1955 Ford Thunderbird - The Golden Bird
Don Ellis' 1955 Ford Thunderbird
Gil Ayala's 1955 Ford Thunderbird - The Wild Bird
Jerry Drake's 1955 Ford Fairlane - India Ivory
Joe Castro's 1955 Ford Thunderbird - The CandyBird
Joe Cirimele's 1955 Ford
Bruce Olson's 1955 Plymouth Belvedere 4 Door
Gary Ruddell's 1955 Pontiac
Dick Gonzales' 1955 Studebaker
Ivan Peroff's 1956 Buick Century
Eric Bracher's 1956 Chevrolet
Helen Avila's 1956 Chevrolet - She Devil
J.R. Kovalski's 1956 Chevrolet
Jerry Sarkozi's 1956 Chevrolet Delray
Jim Doss' 1956 Chevrolet
Lenny Macchiarella's 1956 Chevrolet Pickup
Ron Aguirre's 1956 Chevrolet Corvette - The X-Sonic
Ron Luchs' 1956 Chevrolet 150 Sedan - Miss Taboo
George Barris' 1956 Continental Mark II
Chuck O'Malley's 1956 Dodge
Ed Roth's 1956 Ford F-100
Larry DeLuca's 1956 Ford F-100
Don Von Dwingelo's 1956 Ford Thunderbird
Roy Senior's 1956 Ford Victoria
Danny Purinton's 1956 Mercury
Jack Arnold's 1956 Mercury
Leroy Kemmerer's 1956 Mercury - The Jade Idol
Mickey Ellis' 1956 Mercury
Al Neblett's 1956 Oldsmobile Four-Door - The Batmobile
Joe Crisafulli's 1956 Oldsmobile
Ken Sowers' 1956 Plymouth
Ron Dulin's 1956 Plymouth Fury
Dean Jeffries' 1956 Porsche 356 Carrera
John Hychko's 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk - The Polynesian
Ed Larsen's Barracuda
Bob Palladino's 1957 Buick Century - The Candy Wagon
Jack James' 1957 Buick Special
Bob Webster's 1957 Chevrolet
Carl Swenson's 1957 Chevrolet
Darol Jorgenson's 1957 Chevrolet Corvette
Dave Jenkins' 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air
Dick King's 1957 Chevrolet Four-Door Hardtop - Kings Royalty
Doug Osterman's 1957 DeSoto
Harry Okuda's 1957 Dodge
Anglo Vacco's 1957 Ford Convertible
Bob Turgeon's 1957 Ford Thunderbird - "Le Perle"
David Rolin's 1957 Ford - The Tormentor
Dick Jackson's 1957 Ford
Don Provance's 1957 Ford Fairlane Victoria - Gold Digger
George Mitobe's 1957 Ford Ranchero
Hilton Vail's 1957 Ford Fairlane 500
Jack Smario's 1957 Ford
Jerry DeVito's 1957 Ford Fairlane - The Maze
Russ Edgers' 1957 Ford Convertible
Wayne Christensen's 1957 Ford Ranchero
Chuck Burkart's 1958 Chevrolet Impala
Frank Goehring's 1958 Chevrolet Impala
Phil Sowa's 1958 Chevrolet Impala
Dick Jackson's 1958 Ford Thunderbird
Jerry Halak's 1958 Ford Convertible
Larry Watson's 1958 Ford Thunderbird - Vino Pasiano / The Burgundy Bird
Terry Browning's 1958 Ford Ranchero - "The Ruby Ranch"
Bill Merrill's 1959 Chevrolet Corvette
Ed Biggs' 1959 Chevrolet El Camino

Sport Customs of the 1950s

Bob Knessel's Sports Custom
The Donz Lancer
Ed Rotzell's SCOLF
Garner Jones' 1951 Ford Sport Custom - The Little Jewel
1952 Fageol Pataray Roadster
The Manta Ray
Martin S. Papazian's Cordster
1956 Volante

Sport Cars of the 1950s

1953 Kurtis Sorrel SR-100 Roadster
1954 Edwards America Convertible
1955 Debonnaire Convertible
1958 MacMinn Le Mans Coupe

Show Cars of the 1950s

The XPAK 400

Streamliners of the 1950s

The LeBlanc Special

Dream Cars of the 1950s

Ralph Lysell's Rally
Almar Nordhaug's Dream Car
Joar Kristiansen's LeSabre
Kenneth Kamp's Otter

Custom, Body, Paint, and Repair Shops of the 1950s

A-1 Body Work
Advanced Custom Paints
Alexander Brothers
Bailon's Custom Shop
Barris Kustoms
Bertolucci Body & Fender Shop
Bill Babb's Custom Shop
Bob's Body Shop
Branson's Custom Shop
Clayton Metal Shop
Clyde's Body Shop
Cooper Body Shop
Cotton's Paint & Body Shop
Custom Painting and Repair, Automotive Refinishing Body And Fender Work
Don's Body Shop
Donz Custom Shop
Flyers Body Shop
Frank's Garage
G.E. Rudisill & Sons
Gene's Custom Shop
Heinrichs Auto
Jerry's Auto Body
Joe Andersen's Custom Shop
J & J Auto Painting
Katayanagi Custom Paint
Korky's Kustom Shop
Lundquist Coach Craft
Moorehead Bros
Neal McCarn Auto Body
Noble Paint & Body Shop
Pat's Auto Body
Pinky's Custom Shop
Pinoli Paint Shop
R. K. Body Works
Shanklin's Custom Shop
Shucks Body Shop
Spohn Coachworks
Star Kustom Shop
Stuckey Kustom
Unger Auto Body Company
Vallejo Auto Body
Valley Auto Body
Valley Custom Shop
Vince Kane Body Shop
Wally's Garage
Winfield's Custom Shop
Wreck-Nu Collision

Speed Shops of the 1950s

Bill Frick Motors
Joe Wolf's Hollywood Speed Shop
Stewart Speed Automotive

Custom Upholstery Shops and Upholsterers of the 1950s

Avenue Auto Interiors
Dick and Dale's Auto Upholstery
Duke Custom Shop
Dukes & Duchess Trim Shop
Fremont Trim Shop
Hall Upholstery
Harold Block
Joe's Auto Trim Shop
Kay Seat Covers
L & L Upholstery Shop of Glendale
Lee's Golden Needle
Pacific Custom Upholstery
San Leandro Seat Cover Center
Scott's Top Shop
Temme Top & Trim

Pinstripers of the 1950s

Andy Southard
Dean Jeffries
Dick Katayanagi
Ed Roth
Pat Eskibar
Von Dutch
Walt Prey
Walter Leeman

Custom Car Dealerships of the 1950s

Wall Custom Cars

Custom Car and Hot Rod Clubs of the 1950s

Aces
Agitators of Fullerton
Adaptors of Hartford
Alberni Valley Rod and Custom Association
Ann Arbor Timing Association
Apostles of Shawnee
Aristocrats of Portland
Avenue Angels of East Rocakway
Bay Buggies
Bean Bandits
Bearing Busters of Berwyn
Black Diamond Timing Association
Blue Hills Road Runners
Brahmans of Torrance
Carbs of Hartford
Carlsbad Oilers
Cam Snappers of Newburyport
Cams of Connecticut
Casuals of San Fernando Valley
Chaparrals of Dallas
Counts of the Cobblestone
Coupes of Tulsa
Clusters of Grays Harbor
Cut-Outs of Long Beach
Davenport Idlers
Dearborn Custom Auto Club
Downriver Modified
Downshifters of Westport
Draggin Sirs of Seattle
Drivin Deuces
Dutchmen of Paramount
Gladiators of Redlands
Glendale Esquires
Haulin' Gents
Headers of West Hartford
Hot Heads of East Hartford
Hot Heads of Inglewood
Hot Heads of San Fernando Valley
Iowa Sinners
Kansas City Dragettes
Kingsmen of Miles City
Long Beach Renegades
Long Beach Searchers
Lords of Wilmington
Motor Masters
Motor Mounts of Bloomfield
Nomads of Deerfield
North Bay Rodsters
Norwalk Coachmen
Oakland Swanx
Qaurter Milers of Dallas
Pharaohs of Toledo
Pharaohs of Wilmington
Ramblers of Portland
Road Devils of Hawaii
Road Kings of Burbank
Roadents of Fontana
Rock Island Piston Pushers
San Antonio Road Runners
San Jose Igniters
San Jose Rod and Wheelers
San Leandro Cranks
Saints of Sydney
Shamrocks of Alameda
Shifters of Pontiac
Spark Jumpers of Lincoln Park
Squires of Chatham
Stags of Ogden
Stockers of Oakland
Strokers of Baldwin
Strokers of Saginaw
Strokers of Springfield
Swanx of Oakland
T-Timers of El Monte
Tacoma Toppers
The Kings of Portland
Throttle Tamers of Midland
Townsmen of East Long Beach
Ty-Rods of Rockville
Vagabonds of Deerfield
Wolf Hounds of East Los Angeles

Racing and Timing Associations of the 1950s

Kansas City Timing Association
Nebraska Hot Rod Racing Association
Southern California Timing Association

Custom Car and Hot Rod Shows of the 1950s

Bakersfield Motor & Boat Show
Bearing Busters Rod & Custom Show
Custom, Sports Car and Hot Rod Show
Fresno Autorama
Hot Rod & Custom Car World's Fair
Indianapolis Custom Auto Show
International Motor Sports Show
Oakland Roadster Show
Mid-America Auto Spectacular
Pasadena Auto Show and Reliability Run
Pasadena Motor Pageant
Portland Roadster Show
San Luis Obispo Motor Show
Speedorama Auto Sports Show
Tacoma Hot Rod Show

Custom Accessory Manufacturers of the 1950s

Lee Plastic Company