Herbert Gary

From Kustomrama
(Redirected from Herb Gary)
Jump to: navigation, search
A photo of Herb with The Aztec from The Ray Soff Photo Collection.
Gary receives a trophy for The Aztec at the Hartford Autorama in the late 50's.
A construction photo of Harry Bradley's 1951 Chevrolet Bel Air taken at Herb's shop. Gary was known for hand-making panels from sheet stock and hammer-welding them in place, and when this photo was taken, he was chopping the top of the iconic custom. Photo from The Ray Soff Photo Collection.

Herbert "Herb" Gary was a legendary East Coast customizer who owned and operated Gary's Auto Body in Sea Cliff, New York. He learned his trade entirely on his own, primarily from reading magazines. His abilities included a range of skills, such as hammer-welding and sectioning. He was known for hand-making panels from sheet stock and hammer-welding them in place. He never used any filler of any kind, whether plastic or lead and was well-known for flawless results


Career

Gary's Auto Body was a custom shop that produced a variety of iconic vehicles. Some of these vehicles included Herb Gary's 1949 Plymouth, named "The Aztec," Harry Bradley's 1951 Chevrolet Bel Air, named "La Jolla," Steve Scrivani's 1955 Oldsmobile, named "Celestial I," Russell Grady's 1957 Oldsmobile, named "The Oriental," Andy Southard's 1958 Chevrolet Impala, and Hank Bornstein's 1959 Chevrolet Corvette, named "The Pinapple Pearl."​


Inspired by Valley Custom Shop

According to an article in Street Rodder January 1976, Herb's work was inspired by the creations of Neil Emory and Clayton Jensen of Valley Custom Shop, such as The Polynesian.[1]


Luxury Cars

During the 1970s, when customizing was not as popular, Herb began doing bodywork on automobiles such as Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz​.[1]


Death

Herb Gary passed away on August 27, 2017, at the age of 91​​.[2]


Legacy

Herb Gary's work was highly respected in the customizing community. His work has been compared to that of West Coast customizer Sam Barris, and it has been suggested that if he had been based in California, he would have been ranked among the "Legends" of car customizing​.[3]


Herbert Gary's Cars

Herb Gary's 1949 Plymouth - The Aztec


Cars Restyled by Herbert Gary

Click here to see more cars restyled by Herb Gary at Gary's Auto Body


References




 

Did you enjoy this article?

Kustomrama is an encyclopedia dedicated to preserve, share and protect traditional hot rod and custom car history from all over the world.




Can you help us make this article better?

Please get in touch with us at mail@kustomrama.com if you have additional information or photos to share about Herbert Gary.


This article was made possible by:

SunTec Auto Glass - Auto Glass Services on Vintage and Classic Cars
Finding a replacement windshield, back or side glass can be a difficult task when restoring your vintage or custom classic car. It doesn't have to be though now with auto glass specialist companies like www.suntecautoglass.com. They can source OEM or OEM-equivalent glass for older makes/models; which will ensure a proper fit every time. Check them out for more details!

Do you want to see your company here? Click here for more info about how you can advertise your business on Kustomrama.


Personal tools
Help us
facebook