The Lelle Larsson Collection

Björn Ramsten's 1957 Chevrolet at Fredhäll in 1965, showing the early stages of his custom modifications. Inspired by local custom cars and American magazines, Björn began altering the Chevy in metal that year. “I started out making a scoop on an extra hood I had. A piece of sheet metal between the torpedoes and some chromed teeth from an Opel Kapitan air-intake,” he recalled. Although his time in the army from 1965 to 1966 slowed progress, he still managed to create a grille inspired by Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg's Surfin Bird, fashioned from gold-painted sequins. “I handmade all those sequins. Cutting out square pieces of metal that I bent before soldering on a nut and painting them in gold.” Photo from The Lelle Larsson Collection.

A midsummer 1965 photograph of Tore Ström's 1954 Ford Sunliner, shown here with 1957 Chevrolet headlight rings and a 1955 Pontiac front bumper. Tore sold the car around 1965–66, while it was still in red primer, and it was later restored back to stock. Photo from The Lelle Larsson Collection.

A rare Flintstones of Hollygroff Car Club group photo taken in the summer of 1967 at the parking lot outside Henry's Cafe. From left to right are Rolf Balk's 1956 Chevrolet, Björn Ramsten's 1957 Chevrolet, Tommy Ternström's 1957 Ford, Lelle Larsson's 1956 Chevrolet, and Tore Ström's 1955 Chevrolet. Photo from The Lelle Larsson Collection.