Australia

Dale Fisher's 1932 Chevrolet Moonlite Speedster of Sydney, Australia. Fisher purchased this rare 1932 Chevrolet Moonlite Speedster while still an apprentice panel beater in the early 1950s. The red, coachbuilt roadster immediately captivated him with its sculpted lines, rear scoops, and distinctive central ridge, features that deeply influenced his later custom work. Although he only owned it briefly, the car left a lasting impact on Dale’s design philosophy. He sold it after just two months in 1953 due to a blown differential and limited funds, but encountered it again in 1956, now white and loaned to him for a weekend. To Dale, it was a defining car, an early spark that shaped his future as one of Australia’s most respected customizers.

Widely regarded as Australia’s answer to George Barris, Dale Fisher was a trailblazing customizer whose career stretched from the 1950s into the 1980s. Based in Sydney, Fisher became famous for turning ordinary cars into clean, factory-style customs, with a specialty in convertible conversions. His builds weren’t wild showpieces; they were tasteful, well-proportioned, and engineered to perfection, always giving the illusion they could’ve rolled off a Detroit assembly line. Raised in Gundagai, Fisher’s fascination with design led him to Sydney at 16, where he apprenticed as a panel beater and began experimenting with fender skirts, trims, and body mods. His first big breakthrough came with Rolly Huyshe’s FJ Holden convertible, a backyard build that helped ignite a local trend. From there, Dale built hundreds of customs, Holdens, Plymouths, Pontiacs, Falcons, often creating his own tools and steel panels from scratch.

Dale Fisher's 1931 Chevrolet Moonlite Speedster of Sydney, Australia. This was the first car Dale fully restored, and a turning point in his journey as a craftsman. Purchased in 1957, the red Speedster was in good shape but missing its hubcaps. Dale repainted it in its original color, rechromed the bumpers, and even hand-painted whitewalls using a special flexible paint. It was his first serious restoration, done after hours with help from seasoned mentors. The project taught him the importance of proportion, finish, and factory-correct detailing—principles that guided his later work as one of Australia’s most respected custom car builders.

Dale Fisher's 1956 FJ Holden Special of Sydney, Australia. Dale Fisher’s Holden Special was the first Holden he fully customized, and a breakthrough that marked his transition from apprentice to master craftsman. Acquired as a low-mileage repossession while working for Harvey and Berwick, Dale transformed the car into one of Australia’s earliest homebuilt Holden convertibles. Working nights and weekends, he engineered the chop to retain factory proportions and structure, adding custom touches like peaked headlamps, fins, a continental kit, and leaded seams. The car was completed in 1958 and sold for more than the cost of a new Holden, cementing Fisher’s reputation for refined, factory-style conversions. It became a blueprint for his later work, setting a standard for subtlety, structural integrity, and custom craftsmanship in Australian car culture.

Dale Fisher's 1950 Pontiac Convertible of Sydney, Australia. Dale's Pontiac was a personal driver turned experiment in subtle styling and convertible engineering. Restyled after his full custom FJ Holden and a mild 1950 Plymouth, the Pontiac showcased Fisher’s evolving philosophy: clean lines, factory-like execution, and tasteful modifications. Painted yellow and black, it wore a mild custom look until Easter 1960, when Fisher boldly cut off the roof to convert it into an open car, just as his wife Yvonne was expecting a child. While not the most practical move, it highlighted Fisher’s dedication to creative craftsmanship over convention. Sold in 1961 to a buyer in Newcastle, the car helped bridge Fisher’s early customs and his later mastery of convertible conversions.

Gary Wright's 1932 Ford Roadster.

Glenn Tronc's 1932 Ford Tourer of Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia.

John Anderson's 1932 Ford Roadster.

John Caldwell's 1932 Ford Four-Door Sedan of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Being an early member of the Road Knights of Sydney car club, Caldwell bought the 32 late in 1964. Shortly after buying it, he gave it a Metalflake pain job. One of the first Metalflake paint jobs in the area.

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Robert Lane's 1932 Ford Roadster of Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia.

Rod Foote's 1932 Ford roadster of Australia.

Darrol Finger's 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Wantirna in Victoria, Australia.

Darryl Harvey's 1934 Ford Roadster of Melbourne, Australia.

Ray Ellis' 1934 Ford 5-window coupe of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The build was started in 1966, and completed in 1972.

Justin Hills' 1949 Buick

Justin Hocking's 1951 Ford Coupe of Melbourne, Australia. Originally owned by California customizer Johnny Miranda in 1980s, the car was sold to Australia in 2015. Rumored to be an old Barris Kustom, it came with a Certificate of Authenticy signed by George Barris.

Shane Monopoli's 1955 Buick

Mario Colalillo's 1959 Cadillac - WildCad

Justin Hills' 1960 Dodge

George Barris meeting Australian custom pioneer Dale Fisher in Sydney, July 2015. Fisher, one of Australia’s earliest custom builders and a key figure in bringing American-style customizing to Sydney, was invited to meet Barris during his visit to Meguiar's MotorEx. The two spent time discussing cars and craftsmanship, a meaningful exchange between the “King of Kustoms” and one of Australia’s original custom innovators. Photo from The Dale Fisher Collection.

The second annual Gold Coast Reliability Run was held September 14, 2019 in Queensland, Australia.

Australia has a long and rich hot rod history. Many people tend to compare old Australian hot rods with East Coast American built hot rods of the 1950s and the 1960s. The first Australian hot rods were often unchopped and channeled. They were also powered by Flathead Ford V-8 engines as that was what they had available at the time.^[1]According to John Caldwell the Aussie hot rod and custom scene started in the Southern state of Victoria in the 1950s.^[2]

1 Customs were rare in the 1950s
2 V-8 OHV's
3 Fancy paint jobs
4 Hot Rods of Australia
5 Custom Cars of Australia
6 Hot Rod and Custom Car Clubs of Australia
7 Custom Body Shops of Australia
8 Speed Equipment Manufacturers of Australia
9 Traditional Hot Rod and Custom Car Shows of Australia
10 People of Australia
11 References

Customs were rare in the 1950s

John Caldwell remembers a lot of people still driving 1930s cars in Australia in the late 1950s. "And a lot of European cars," he told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2020. "We didn't have the population, like the US, and new cars were expensive. Customs were rare," he recalled. "We liked them, but they were kind of "out there" to us rodders."^[2]

V-8 OHV's

As Ford Customlines, Mainlines, and trucks powered by the Y Block Ford were sold in considerable numbers through the 1950s, the move to overhead engines gained pace in Australia in the 1960s. Chevrolet cars and trucks sold in Australia in the 1950s were almost all powered by inline six-cylinder engines. When Y block powered cars became available in the second-hand market, they became the hot rodders number one choice. The first Chevrolet V-8's weren't sold until 1961, so they didn't become available until the late 1960s and the early 1970s.^[1] John Caldwell recalled Chevrolet 265 engines being rare and expensive in wrecking yards. The Ford Y-block on the other hand were plentiful and reasonable cheap. "That's why you see most Aussie hot rods with Y-block 272 motors when going from Flatheads to OHV." In 1965 Caldwell bought a 1935 Ford Coupe for US $80. "It was a bit rough." He came across it in the local wrecking yard. "They had a 283 Chevy motor," he recalled. It came fresh out of a wreck, and they were asking US $200 for it. Caldwell was making US $40 a week back then, so he had to pass on the deal and the engine ended up in a jalopy track racer.^[2]

Fancy paint jobs

In the 1960s several cars with fancy paint jobs started appearing on the Australian scene. John Caldwell recalls many customized Holden's, Aussie Chevies, and various hot rods gracing them. "Many car guys were from Malta, Italy and Greece, and once these guys learned how to do these fancy paint jobs they went wild with paint." According to John, body shops started popping up everywhere. "You could do a 6-week course of spray painting at our local tech school, at night, for free if you applied early." John attended one of those in 1983. Candy and Metalflake paint jobs were popular in the 1960s, then in the 1970s lace jobs came in.^[2]