Custom Car Builders Archives - Page 4 of 31 - Custom Car ChronicleCustom Car Chronicle

Richard Aguirre 55 Mercury

RICHARD AQUIRRE 55 MERCURY After failing to buy a famous Barris Custom, Richard Aguirre buys a brand new 1955 Mercury and drives it straight to the Ayala Shop for some Custom ...

by Rik Hoving

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1950 Oakland Roadster show

1950 OAKLAND ROADSTER SHOW In 1950 Al and Mary Slonaker organized the first Annual National Roadster Show. Mostly entered by Hot Rods, but the Custom entries in this show has always ...

by Rik Hoving

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Ayala Body Shop

AYALA BODY SHOP The Ayala Body Shop on East Olympic Ave opened in 1945. Gil Ayala would keep this shop open for around 40 year, at the same location, crating Custom Car Mag...

by Rik Hoving

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Gil Ayala on Restyling

GIL AYALA on RESTYLING The April 1950 issue of Motor Trend magazine shared an story on Custom restyling. Part of the article was an unique interview with Gil Ayala… In t...

by Rik Hoving

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Barris Bell Shop

BARRIS BELL SHOP After establishing a name in the Custom world in the Barris Compton Ave shop in Los Angeles, the shop was relocated in Bell for a short period. Very little is...

by Rik Hoving

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Mystery Ayala 40 Mercury

MYSTERY AYALA 40 MERCURY This 1940 Mercury chopped convertible was supposedly restyled by the Ayalas in the early 1950s. It was shown in the 80s, but what happened with it a...

by Rik Hoving

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The Carson Top Shop Part 1

CARSON TOP SHOP part 1 The birth of the Traditional Custom Car in the late 1930s was influenced by one big event. The design of the Carson padded top by Glen Houser in 1935. T...

by Rik Hoving

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Lynn Yakel 1936 Ford

LYNN YAKEL 1936 FORD This beautiful 1936 Ford chopped 3-window coupe was restyled by the Ayalas and owned – at one point- by Lynn Yakel. Another Ayala Mystery The Ayala ...

by Rik Hoving

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1952 Scintillating Custom Colors

SCINTILLATING CUSTOM COLORS We have all read about the deep organic and scintillating Metallic Colors used by the customizers in the early 1950’s. But how did these colo...

by Rik Hoving

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Bistagne Bros Auto Shop

Bistagne Brothers Brothers George and Tom Bistagne operated Bistagne Bros Custom Auto Body in Glendale Ca from 1946. It is of those shops that shaped the history of the Custo...

by Rik Hoving

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Larry Watson Lace Painting

WATSON LACE PAINTING Larry Watson often gets credits for inventing the lace paint job on cars. But it was actually a Von Dutch story that inspired Larry to start experimenting...

by Rik Hoving

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Barris Compton Ave Shop

BARRIS COMPTON SHOP George and Sam Barris worked out of this small shop on Compton Avenue in Los Angeles for 3 years. In those years, they created Custom Car Magic, and establ...

by Rik Hoving

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George Barris’ 1941 Buick

A CAR WORTH FIGHTING FOR When George Barris moved from Sacramento to Los Angeles he drove a 1936 Ford Cabriolet. A nice custom. But George soon understood that when he wanted ...

by Rik Hoving

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Westergard Ford Memories

WESTERGARD FORD MEMORIES Anthony from Sacramento Ca. remembers how he worked on Vern Simons Harry Westergard restyled 1936 Ford Roadster in the 1940s. In 2010 I was in contac...

by Rik Hoving

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Joe Urritta 41 Ford

JOE URRITTA 41 FORD Joe Urrittas 1941 Ford Sedan was restyled in 1949 by Sam Barris. No panel on the car was left untouched. The end result was a stunning looking Masterpiece....

by Rik Hoving

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Larry Watson 57 Fords

LARRY WATSON 57 FORDS The 1957 Ford was a popular base for mild Customs, they did not need much to look really great. Larry Watson painted several of them, from mile two tone...

by Rik Hoving

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KUSTOMS LA Display Cards

KUSTOMS LA DISPLAY CARDS A selective group of Barris Kustom car owners was part of the Kustoms of Los Angeles car club. One of the items Barris created for this club was a car...

by Rik Hoving

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About CCC

Custom Car Chronicle: THE BEAUTY OF CUSTOMIZING

Custom Car Chronicle is a online magazine and forum, for custom car and hot rod people who are looking for inspiration, historical knowledge, and a place were their passion can be shared.

CCC is created by a small, international group of custom car, hot rod, model car, art, design-, photography-, and architecture enthusiasts.
Editor in chief is custom car historian- Rik Hoving.

For centuries people are inspired to built beautiful cars. CCC focuses on everything that ignites that special inspiration: design, history, technology, perfect proportions, the right feeling, and amazing personal stories.

Richard Aguirre 55 Mercury

1950 Oakland Roadster show

Ayala Body Shop

Gil Ayala on Restyling

Barris Bell Shop

Mystery Ayala 40 Mercury

The Carson Top Shop Part 1

Lynn Yakel 1936 Ford

1952 Scintillating Custom Colors

Bistagne Bros Auto Shop

Larry Watson Lace Painting

Barris Compton Ave Shop

George Barris’ 1941 Buick

Westergard Ford Memories

Joe Urritta 41 Ford

Larry Watson 57 Fords

KUSTOMS LA Display Cards

CONTACT CCC

About CCC

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