Some updates from King Kustoms
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HERE ARE SOME UPDATES 🙂
Greg’s ’50 Ford hit the road for the first time last weekend…still some things to finish up, but it is almost there! This has been a bittersweet build completion because it is the last kustom to roll out of my parents’ property in Temecula where I have been doing this work for the past 14 years. My wife and I bought a house and I am now working at our place in Lake Elsinore on one project at a time.
First picture is last week…I dug up some pictures of what it looked like when we started.
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King KustomsFinished up Sam’s Merc…it’s off to body and paint. Lots of metalwork on this one over the past few years! Mostly a clean up of the kustom work and a lot of refinement- added ’53 Merc bullets to the existing ’57 Chevy front bumper, added ’55 Buick front bumpers on the rear, Winfield bubble tail lights, molded the original quarter panels and added ’52 Merc quarter panels with kustom scoops and frenched spears, ’53 Merc front wheel lips, frenched in the front bumper and bullets with metal rod, ’56 Oldsmobile head lights, filled the beltline with handformed pieces of metal, added the driprail back on with 1/4″ rod, cleaned up a lot of “old school” work. I also removed the one-piece door glass and chopped some vent windows down to go back in, re-chopped an entire set of inside window frames and had them chrome-plated. I can’t wait to see this one finished!
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King KustomsMore of Sam’s Merc- forgot to mention the ’54 DeSoto grill, handmade flush-mounted rear skirts in kustom opening, and pop-out quarter windows 🙂
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King KustomsLast few pics of Sam’s ’49 Merc…really proud that I got to work on a car that I remember seeing in Custom Rodder in my early teens!
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King KustomsOctavio’s ’49 Ford “Buster Litton Panoramic Ford” tribute has hit the road, too…he finished the bodywork and shot it in some quick maroon satin paint. Chrome is all finished, vent windows are in, front seat is upholstered, and rear seat panels are made- we made them resemble an original convertible and they will get lots of rolls and pleats like the Mandy Holder Merc and original Buster Litton Ford interiors combined. We met at Mooneyes Christmas car show and then cruise to GNRS together a month later. Octavio and I finished modifying the Dick Dean Merc fiberglass top between the two shows. This will be in shiny paint soon!
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King KustomsMore of Octavio’s Ford. We’re using a ’46 Ford rear window that we got from Sam. I made a template and cut it where it looked right in comparison to the side window openings. This will have a breeze-way zipper down with the mail slot in it like a real Carson top. It is a Dick Dean fiberglass ’49-’51 Merc top from the ’80s that I shortened and made a metal skeleton for. The inner skeleton was made to fit the car with the right shape, then Octavio and I trimmed the fiberglass top and attached it to the metal skeleton.
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King KustomsHere’s some work I did a while ago on George’s ’51 Ford tudor sedan. It was chopped by my friend Anthony Castaneda. George brought me a ’54 Pontiac grill and I added ’51 Ford grill bullets to the ends, then mounted it in a Meteor grill shell- which is very similar to a ’49-’50 Merc grill shell but bolted into the Ford body (up in Canada, ehh!). I had to reshape the bottom edge of the hood to match the different contour of the Meteor shell, but the hood was full of rust and bondo anyway, so it all worked out when I made an entire new bottom edge.
I also added Appleton 552 spotlights and frenched a pair of ’49-’50 tail lights. It went home and George stuffed a 331 c.i. Cadillac motor under the hood…should be back on the road soon 🙂
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King KustomsThanks so much for sharing, Rob. Loving it all. And…WAIT! Have to pick my jaw up off the floor. That last image of Octavio is as real GOTCHA.
Here’s another ’51 Merc I did about 6-7 years ago. Needed full rockers in and out, quarter panel patches, floors, and lower cowl rust repairs. Then I frenched two sets of skirts so they can be swapped out- ’49-’50 style and ’51. Chop was a healthy 4″ with original length quarter windows, slanted B pillars, shaved driprails, and ’50 rear window. Up front, a ’51 DeSoto grill and pan were frenched under an extended and rounded ’51 Merc grill shell. Rounded hood corners, ’52 Merc head lights and a modified ’55 Dodge front bumper completed the look. Out back, we originally went with trimmed ’54 Merc lenses and stock bumper but right before the car left we got crazy with Hirohata-style ’52 Lincoln lenses and a very highly modified ’51 Cadillac rear bumper. My friend Sal Marchese and I teamed up to build a separate Merc frame with bags and boxed rails. The car is currently in epoxy primer awaiting bodywork and paint as the budget allows.
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King KustomsThe boxed and bagged frame…started with a Jiminez Bros. airbag kit and modified it a little…and pics of the stock frame when it arrived.
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King KustomsThanks so much for sharing, Rob. Loving it all. And…WAIT! Have to pick my jaw up off the floor. That last image of Octavio is as real GOTCHA.
I had to include it…hahaha…photoshop I made on my phone app 🙂
Robert A. Radcliffe III
King Kustoms
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