LeRoy Goulart's 1951 Ford

LeRoy's Ford as it appeared when it was featured in Car Craft October 1957.

A later version of LeRoy's Ford featuring a huge pinstriping on the deck lid.

A photo of the Goulart shoebox after it had received pinstriping on the deck lid was featured in Motor Life May 1957.

LeRoy's Ford was nominated as one of "The 10 Best Customs" in Custom Cars January 1958.

What's new in quad headlights? "There’s only one styling for headlights these days and that's of the quad light variety," Custom Cars Magazine stated in their September 1958 issue. "It's predicted that if your custom doesn't now possess these dual lamps - it shortly will," they boldly claimed. Gene Winfield was an early adaptor of canted quads and a master of the trade, and one of his first canted quad jobs can be seen on the cover of Custom Cars September 1958. The car is a 1950 Ford that he restyled for LeRoy Goulart. Goulart's shoebox Ford was a groundbreaking custom, and Custom Cars described it as "One of the most unique adaptions we have encountered is this canted headlight/grille combination for a '50 Ford." Winfield had reworked the entire front end of the car to accept slanted 1957 Imperial headlights that were installed inside a well-thought-out grille cavity. A sinister look. The car was shown at the National Roadster Show in February of 1958, and according to Custom Cars June 1958, "spectators found LeRoy Goulart's latest treatment of quad headlight styling a treat in original custom work."

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1951 Ford coupe restyled by Winfield's Custom Shop for LeRoy Goulart of Stockton, California. Gene Winfield flared the front fenders, and molded and rolled the grille opening. Two 1956 Chrysler center bars were fit inside the new grille opening. Up front, the car was also fitted with a split 1955 Pontiac front bumper. The hood was shaved, peaked, and louvered, and the headlights were frenched. In the rear, ends from 1949 Pontiac grille bars were used to form the sculpturing around the 1956 Oldsmobile 98 taillight lenses. Fiberglass was used to form the shroud over license plate on rear deck. 1955 Dodge Lancer sidetrim was used to lower the car's appearance. The car was also heavily lowered by having the A-arms reworked, reversed spindles, and C-d frame. The car was also fitted with a sidepipe on the passenger side of the car, something that also gave the car a lower appearance. Once the bodywork was completed the car was painted in a green-gold paint with pinsitriping by Von Dutch. The interior was rolled and pleated. The car was powered by a 1954 Oldsmobile engine.

Custom Cars 10 Best Customs

Goulart's Ford was nominated as one of "The 10 Best Customs" in the January 1958 issue of Custom Cars Magazine. According to Garret Walther, LeRoy was quite well known in Stockton. "The car was so low the undercarriage made sparks as he cruised down Pacific Avenue," Garret recalled in 2020.

1958 National Roadster Show

In 1958, LeRoy's coupe was shown at the 9th annual National Roadster Show. It was shown in the Semi Custom Coupe class, and it came fourth in its class.

Canted Quad Headlights

After a while the car received canted quad headlights, wheelwell coves and a one-piece 1952 Ford windshield.

Pearl White With Green Fogging

The final version of the car was painted white pearl with green fogging around the wheel arches. In February of 1961 LeRoy and fellow customizer Lanny Erickson decided to drive the Ford from Modesto‚ California to Lanny's hometown in Minnesota in the winter. LeRoy raised the car before they took off. They slid off an icy road in Rawlins, Wyoming on the way home, and punched a hole in the hydro's trans pan. They left the car at a Chrysler dealership in town because it had an indoor garage. LeRoy planned to come back for the car and loaded his tools and boarded a Greyhound bus. By the time he got back 24 hours later, his mom had 10 calls from people in Rawlins that wanted to buy the car. In addition to the hole in the hydro trans pan, the freezing weather had started the lacquer paint to hairline crack in places, so he sold the car to the shop manager for $950. He painted it in a cheap green enamel and gave it to his son as a graduation gift.

Sold to Cheyenne, Wyoming

After selling the car, LeRoy lost track of it. The Rodder's Journal did a story on the car many years later. After seeing the story Curt Weber of Cheyenne, Wyoming contacted LeRoy to tell him that the car ended up in his hometown. Weber had seen the car at a local show in 1963 or 1964, entered by Ruben Valerio. Ruben ran a custom shop in Cheyenne. It was sold to Jesse Vasquez who drove it daily for a couple of years.

Flipped

It ended up with a guy known as "Borancho". He lost it on a tight curve around 1965 or 1966, flipping it into a ravine. Supposedly the smashed roof was cut off, and the interior ended up in a 1955 Ford. The relatively undamaged customized front end was sold to someone with a 1949 - 1951 Ford in Las Cruces. No one has according to the book Lost Hot Rods ever reported seeing a shoebox with that front end in that area.

Magazine Features

Motor Life May 1957
Car Craft October 1957
Trend Book 156 Custom Cars 1958 Annual
Custom Cars January 1958
Custom Cars October 1958
Rod & Custom September 1960