Chuck Atwood's 1959 Ford Galaxie - My Blue Heaven

Far-Out Ford! Chuck's Ford was featured on the cover of Rod & Custom May 1960.

Rod & Custom May 1960 featured a 4-page story about "My Blue Heaven" by Peter Sukalac. The story was titled "Far-Out Ford," and it stated that Chuck had won "First in Class" trophies in its first two showings; The Portland Roadster Show, and a show in Medford, Oregon. It had also won two for "Peoples Choice," and "one giant size piece of hardware for "Sweepstakes."

Two construction photos of the car. These appeared in the Rod & Custom May 1960 story. Sukalac stated that the car spent six months under the snips and torch at Peatzold Body Shop in Portland, Oregon. This is a mystery for Bill Schoot, who visited Wilkenson’s Body Shop weekly with Chuck to check the car's progress. "I can still remember the first time we took the car for a drive prior to painting," Bill told Sondre. "Believe me we received many looks and comments, what did you do to the car." Sukalac also stated that Phil Shaffer painted it. Another mystery, as Bill can remember King Huggins painting. According to the Peter Sukalac story, the total build cost, including the original price of the car, was nearly $6000. Photo courtesy of Rod & Custom Magazine.

Chuck kept the stock trim but shaved away emblems and other chrome details. After the body had been sectioned, a scoop had to be added above the carburetor on the hood to clear the hoses leading from the pots down to the dry filter air cleaners at the side of the engine. Photo by Peter Sukalac, courtesy of Rod & Custom Magazine.

The rear of the car featured taillight arrangements made from 1959 Cadillac lenses that were set into hand-formed frames recessed into custom openings made from round rods. Photo by Peter Sukalac, courtesy of Rod & Custom Magazine.

Inside, Chuck's Ford featured a black and white Naugahyde interior by L. Oliver of Portland. The seats had to be sectioned to compensate for the body lowering. Photo by Peter Sukalac, courtesy of Rod & Custom Magazine.

A recent photo of "My Blue Heaven," showing the car as it appeared after Ron Sanders completed the restoration. Photo courtesy of Custom Rodder.

1959 Ford Custom owned by Chuck Atwood of Portland, Oregon. Chuck's Ford is also widely known and shown as "My Blue Heaven."

Chuck and Bill Schott were friends back in the 1950s. In 2019 Bill told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that his buddy purchased the car in Idaho. After buying it, he asked Bill what the most expensive alteration he could make to the car was, and Bill mentioned sectioning more as a joke; "Chuck had lots of money from a car accident in Idaho and didn't blink an eye about spending lots of money." Bill then recommended Chuck to take the car to Wilkenson’s Body Shop to have the job done. "The car only had about 3,000 miles at the time work started," Bill remembered.

Sectioned 4 Inches

The body of the car was sectioned 4 inches. Chuck kept the stock trim but shaved away emblems and other chrome details. After the body had been sectioned, a scoop had to be added above the carburetor on the hood to clear the hoses leading from the pots down to the dry filter air cleaners at the side of the engine. The stock grille was replaced with a simpler tube grille. A modification that added to the illusion of width-to-height proportion.

Royal Blue

The rear of the car featured taillight arrangements made from 1959 Cadillac lenses that were set into hand-formed frames recessed into custom openings made from round rods. Once the bodywork was completed, the car was given a 1956 Dodge Royal Blue paint job. The paint job featured multi-hued panels and scallops. Bill Schott recalled that the bodywork on the car was completed by Von Hunter at Wilkenson’s Body Shop, and that it was painted by King Huggins.

Lowered 5 Inches

Inside, the car featured a black and white Naugahyde interior by L. Oliver of Portland. The seats had to be sectioned to compensate for the body lowering. It ran a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette floor-shift. The car was lowered an additional 5 inches by installing lowering blocks in the rear, and by cutting two coils from the front springs.

Far-Out Ford

Once completed, two photos of Chuck's Ford were featured on the cover of Rod & Custom May 1960. The inside of the magazine featured a 4-page story by Peter Sukalac. The story was titled "Far-Out Ford," and it stated that Chuck had won "First in Class" trophies in its first two showings; The Portland Roadster Show, and a show in Medford, Oregon. It had also won two for "Peoples Choice," and "one giant size piece of hardware for "Sweepstakes." Sukalac also stated that the car spent six months under the snips and torch at Peatzold Body Shop in Portland, Oregon. This is a mystery for Bill Schoot, who visited Wilkenson’s Body Shop weekly with Chuck to check the car's progress. "I can still remember the first time we took the car for a drive prior to painting," Bill told Sondre. "Believe me we received many looks and comments, what did you do to the car." Sukalac also stated that Phil Shaffer painted it. Another mystery, as Bill can remember King Huggins painting. According to the Peter Sukalac story, the total build cost, including the original price of the car, was nearly $6000.

Priceless

Bill remembers that they used to cruise the car around Portland; "I remember the time at a red light a stock 59 Ford pulled up next to us. The look on the guy's face was priceless, we sat about a foot lower."

Restored

The car was later owned and restored by Ron Sanders of Puget Sound, Washington. Later on, Ron moved to Savannah, Georgia, bringing the car along. Ron still owned it in 2012.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Rod & Custom May 1960