Bob McCormick

A 1948 Hudson double-ender that Red owned. The car was built for advertising and parade use. Donald Moore purchased the car from Red in the late 1960s. Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

John Bozio's 1953 Buick Roadmaster of East Hartford, Connecticut was originally restyled between 1956 and 1957. Red bought the old custom in the late 1970s. At that time, the car hadn't been on the road since 1960. Red restored the car, and got it back on the road again in 1978.

Barry Atkins' 1955 Chevrolet of Columbia, Connecticut. The car was supposedly restyled in 1958, but the original owner and builder are unknown. Barry bought the old custom from Red McCormick in the early 1980s. He restored and restyled it further before he sold it in 1984.

Red McCormick's 1950 Cadillac Roadster. The design of the car was inspired by the 1953 Cadillac LeMans concept car, and according to later owner Charles Marshall it was supposedly built in New Jersey in the 1960s. Joe sold the car circa 1985 - 1987.

When Bengt Sjöberg restored the Bozio Buick he found Red's business card under one of the seats. Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

Bob "Red" McCormick was from East Hartford, Connecticut. He was known among friends for his method of tracking down old customs. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he would go through the 25-cent car magazines, find customs on covers, and look up the owners in the telephone book. He would buy the cars and sometimes resell them.

According to Ray Soff, who knew Bob for over 20 years, Bob did not have a paying job. His wife Maggie supported the family by selling hot dogs from a truck, a business she ran for 45 years.

In the 1970s or 1980s Red bought a 1955 Chevrolet that originally had been restyled in 1958. He sold the car to buy two Cadillac Eldorados that he chopped the tops on. After chopping the Cadillacs, Red and his wife Maggie drove them for a few years, before Red sold them both, along with John Bozio's 1953 Buick Roadmaster, to buy Burt Hamrol's 1950 Ford Club Coupe, another old custom car.

Bob briefly owned a gold Cadillac two-seater convertible built by the Barris shop. One day, his wife Maggie came home from work, and there was a new car in the driveway. A few months later, the garage was empty. When Maggie asked what happened, Bob told her, "I just got rid of it." He never explained whether he sold the car or gave it away. Ray Soff suspects Bob may have hidden the car in a rented garage during his divorce from Maggie. As of 2018, the car had never resurfaced.

Bob sent Ray three Polaroid photographs from the 1970s showing the car in his garage. The pictures showed the chrome, gold-painted dashboard with wires hanging, and the front end with pieces missing.

Red had a louver press, and he did hundreds of hoods, trunk lids, and everything else he could.

Bob had a Cadillac hearse with mag wheels and flame paint job that he drove around in.

Bob and Maggie eventually divorced. After the divorce, Bob lived in a beat-up trailer. He died from emphysema and lung cancer caused by heavy smoking, approximately around 2008.

Bob McCormick's Cars

Red McCormick's 1950 Cadillac Roadster
Burt Hamrol's 1950 Ford Club Coupe
John Bozio's 1953 Buick Roadmaster
Barry Atkins' 1955 Chevrolet