41 Mercury Sedan Conv

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Rik Hoving

Digital Restyling the 1941 Mercury Sedan. Inspired by the Barris Joe Urritta 1941 Ford and Harry Bradley Designs 41 Mercury Sedan Conv.

In 1949 Sam Barris restyled a 1941 Ford two door Sedan for owner Joe Urritta. The most exceptional concept of this car was that Sam turned it from a regular sedan to a convertible sedan, cutting off the top, adding a convertible cowl and doors and channeled the body over the frame creating an unique look. I have always really liked the Urritta Ford, which was also known as the “4 Foot Kustom”. And for many years I have been wondering why not more Sedans had been turned Convertible Sedans in the beautiful late 1940’s style.

**Side view of the original Sam Barris Restyled Joe Urritta 1941 Ford.**

In 1990 Car Designer and Custom Car enthusiast Harry Bradley set out to create an new age Custom based on the Joe Urritta 1941 Ford designs. A complete concept which included a brake down of the original car, how that was created step by step, to many design illustrations how the Bradley Tribute Ford would look like. An article with some of mr. Bradley’s concepts sketches appeared in an 90’s Street Rodder Magazine and made a HUGE impact on me.

**Harry Bradley created this beautiful side view of his Concept Tribute Ford with the top removed and an front/side/rear illustration of the original Joe Urritta Ford.**

Later Butch Hurley and Rod Powell were contracted to create a real car roughly based on the Harry Bradley Designs. That car was never meant to be an exact interpretation of the original Urritta Ford, nor the Bradley Tribute designs. Although very thrilled with the seldom seen gold painted Tribute Ford, I kept on wondering how a 41 Sedan might look with some of the Harry Bradley Designs incorporated, but still created as an late 40’s, early 50’s style Custom. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt that a longer wheel base ’41 Mercury Sedan might be an even better start for a project like this.

A little while ago I came across an nice side view image of an 1941 Mercury Sedan. (dead-on side view images are pretty rare, so I was very happy with this one, even though it was not as perfect as I had hoped for) Now my Digital Restyling of the Urritta/Bradley Inspired 1941 Mercury Sedan Convertible could start.

**Original photo I started with for the Digital Restyling.**

I wanted to create this car as how it could have been done back in the late 1940’s early 1950’s, but I wanted my version to be a little less radical as the Urritta Ford. Not channeled that much, and the hood not so much sectioned, to create a little more “practical” proportions. The ’41 Mercury hood always has the tendency to optically go down in the front, and to prevent this I decided to pie cut the whole body with more taken from the bottom of the body at the rear than the front during the angled channeling. There is no need to actually section the body, since the rear fenders will be raised, and the bottom of the body will be hidden by the fade away fenders.

The hood does need to be sectioned to fit in the new position, and will need to be sectioned a little more towards the back to get the right flow and slight nose up in the front look I’m after.

I cut off the top, and reshaped the tops of the body. I first added slightly curved up original convertible door tops and vent window’s but did not care for the look, so I decided to keep the tops level with the belt-line, and use different vent windows (49 Chevy in my case, but anything could made to work) I slightly angled the windshield back, to create a bit more optical speed.

I then set out to create the fade away fenders. I wanted to create full length fade-away fenders, unlike those used on the Urritta Ford which fade away into the doors. But I wanted mine to be less high than those on the Bradley Tribute Ford. I also wanted the bottom of the door to stop before the bottom of the body, leaving a small section of fender below the doors, making the door look a bit longer.

When I started on the roof shape I knew I had to make a lot of changes to the rear portion of the car. The rear of the body needs to be angled forward, the top of the trunk needs to be lowered, and the section from the belt-line up at the rear needs to be all reshaped. And to make this all work the best way, the rear top portion of the rear fenders need to be angled back and reshaped.

To create the look I was after I had to do quite a bit of work on the rear fender. the top portion was cut off, and moved forward, the rear portion was reshaped to create a bit more teardrop shape. The lower edge at the back was moved down a bit and at the front it was angled forwards towards the top. I have even thought about using an ’39-40 mercury fender to create the look I was after, but decided to work with the ’41 unit and just reshape it a lot. The character line on the fender was cut out and re-positioned to flow better with the fade-away fender line.

My original idea was to create one car with three different tops.
1 Original style padded top
2 Padded top with wrap around rear window
3 Metal top in a similar way as the Bertolucci created top for the Buddy Ohanesian 1940 Mercury.

But later I decided to change this idea a bit and create three different version, and not include the full metal top, but rather create a more streamlined hard-top looking unit using a wrap around window for that as well.

Digital Restyling Versions

Late 1940’s Version

The first version I did was a car that could have been done around 1948. The car was update with ’48 Ford bumpers, Appleton Spotlights, shortened side trim on the hood, stock taillights re-positioned to flow with the fender line. single bar flipper hubcaps on wide white wall tires. I added a dark green color to this version, as a tribute to the original Joe Urritta Ford version.

**First version is how it could have looked around 1948.**

Early 1950’s Version

The second version I did was actually the version I had in my mind all this time. The one with the wrap around rear window which was inspired by the harry Bradley Sketches. I really wanted to see how this more traditional looking wrap around rear window would look on an padded top, very much as how Bill Gaylord perhaps might have done it.

I choose to leave the belt-line trim at stock length for this version, to create a bit more optical length. The hubcaps were updated to Cadillac Sombrero units, and the bumpers are created from 1947 Cadillac units from which the bottom part was sectioned, as well as the bumper guards. This was inspired from the Harry Bradley design, but incorporated as period units.

**Second version from around the early 1950’s.**

Mid 1950’s version

The last version is created as a Custom that could have been done around 1954 perhaps. The top was created using 1950 Chevy Hard-Top metal which was stretched and reshaped to fit the lines of the ’41 Mercury. I added a small scoop in the leading edge of the rear fenders and added three small teeth. The bumpers are still the sectioned 1947 Cadillac units, but now with the complete bottom section removed, and discarding the guards all together for a much more sleeker look.

The hubcaps were updated with ’53 Cadillac units on tired with slightly smaller white wall section. And the center part of the ’53 hubcaps are replaced with the centers of the Cadillac Sombrero hubcaps. I added some teal paint to the main body and contrasting gold for the top.

**Last version** *(for now)* **as how it could have looked if created around 1954.**

The Harry Bradley Tribute

Below are a few of the many design sketched Harry Bradley created for his “Tribute” 1941 Ford design. His sketches inspired me a lot to create the car with the thin bumpers, wrap around rear window and full fade-away fenders. Perhaps one day I will create a Digital Version of the ’41 Mercury that is a lot closer to these Harry Bradley Designs than those I have done now. Time will tell…

**In progress photo of the Butch Hurley/Rod Powell creation from the Butch Hurley photo Albums.**

**The finished Tribute Ford in gold paint.**

1938 Ford Sedan Digital Restyling

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Rik Hoving

1938 FORD SEDAN DR

Digital Restyling the 1938 Ford Standard 2 door Sedan as an early Restyled Custom. Sedans from these years make such great Custom Cars, which one is your Favorite?

Sedan models from the mid 1930’s to the mid 1940’s have always had a special place in my heart. I love the overall shape of the body, and the idea that they make such neat family cruisers is really appealing to me. Sometimes these, a bit more boxy, body styles take a bit more effort or balls to turn into a good looking Custom. But they really do look good. And back in the late 1930’s and 1940’s these sedans were very often used as full Customs, much more often than we always thought.

I have created a few different versions, all based on the same 1938 Ford 2-door Standard Sedan, and all done as Early Restyled Custom from the late 1930’s early to mid 1940’s.

Original photo from an RM Auction of a very nicely restored factory stock 1938 Ford Standard 2 door Sedan.
[divider]

A) First version was done as an late 30’s, perhaps early 1940’s Restyled car with a chopped top, with slightly more taken out of the rear. These Sedans tend to have an optical slightly longer rear window, which is even more evident after the chop. So I moved the back of the rear window forward a few inches, and made the C-Pillars a bit wider than stock. Teardrop skirts, lowered suspension, black wall tires with ’38 Cadillac hubcaps and Spotlights.
[divider]

B) The second version is basically the same as the one above, but on this one I added nice wide white wall tires for a more classic look. I also replaced the stock bumpers with as set of 1937 DeSoto bumpers, the perfect set of for any early Custom. I also added a set of “Swirl” DuVall hubcaps.
[divider]

C) Making it a little more sleek on this version with a set of smooth hood sides, and the stock grille made place for a modified 1940 Nash grille that was flipped upside down, and removed door handles.
[divider]

D) This version is the most Classic Version, with the removal of the running boards, which was a very popular treatment in the early 1940’s. A panel was created to hide the frame rails, and three stainless steel ribs styled after the LaSalle’s, and a stainless steel shield protects the rear fender leading edge from rocks. I also added a 1936 Chevy hood side louver with trim piece to the smooth hood sides.
[divider]

E) this version is similar as C), but this time I chopped the top a bit more for that typical heavy chopped sedan look from the early 1940’s.
[divider]

F) This version is perhaps the most radical version. The body was channeled over the frame and the front and rear fenders raised so that the bottom of the fenders is now level with the bottom of the main body. To keep enough room inside I used the less heavy chopped top version for this one.
[divider]

G) This shows the ’38 Ford done a little later in time than the previous versions. Perhaps around 1948-49 done by the Barris or Ayala brothers. Heavy chop, but with the A-pillars leaned back for a bit more streamline effect. Shaved drip-rail, rounded top door corner, molded in rear fender, removed running boards, 1948 Ford bumpers with the taillights moved into the bumper-guards. Cadillac Sombrero hubcaps and a lower and slight speed-boat style stance.
[divider]

[box_light]

Are you day dreaming about your own perfect dream custom?

Do you wonder what your precious car would (or could!) look like, even before you start cutting on it?
Would you like to see different paint variations and styled on your custom car before you even start to mask the car, or order that expensive new paint?
Or would you like to see the difference of a 2, 3 or 4 inch chop and see the impact it will have on the rest of the car?
Maybe you want to see any other modification done to your custom car, without having to actually perform that modification and find out a different modification would have worked better with the rest of your car?

Do you suddenly see all the possibilities? Perhaps now is a good time to contact Rik Hoving and ask him about the possibilities of his digital Restyling options.

[/box_light]

[divider]

.

Vintage Photo Backgrounds

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Rik Hoving

VINTAGE PHOTO BACKGROUNDS

Adding vintage color photos to recently taken Custom Car photos gives the image a whole new feel, like they were photographed in the Golden Years of Customizing.

Some time ago I was asked if I had a good photo showing the original Carson Top Shop created headliner in the Bob Hirohata 1951 mercury. Well I had a few nice photos taken of the interior when Jim McNeil invited me for a short drive inside the Merc at the 2011 GNRS Customs Then & Now event. When I was looking at the photos, that were taken at the parking lot of the NHRA Museum, the background distracted me from looking at the topic of the photo, the headliner. Then I got the idea to find a suitable vintage Los Angeles color photo and see if I could past it in the photo so that the modern parking lot background would appear to be vintage Los Angeles. Almost like you would step back in time, like Jim was taking the Hirohata Merc for a spin in Los Angeles in the early 1950’s.

Visualizing Custom Car day-dreams…

The first Vintage Photo Background project was this headliner photo of Jim driving the Hirohata Mercury at the NHRA parking lot in 2011.
It now looks like Jim drives the Mercury in vintage Los Angeles.
[divider]

The Hirohata Mercury being driving to the Pan Pacific Auditorium in early 1955.
[divider]

A Steve Stanford design that I recreated with Digital Restyling, and then added it to the late 40’s Los Angeles color photo. How this 1940 Ford pick up with DuVall windshield and padded top was created can be seen here.
[divider]

For King Kustoms I created this poster with King Kustoms Rob Radcliff’s nearly finished Shoebox pasted into the famous Motor Trend cover photo of the Sam Barris Mercury taken in 1951.
[divider]

For our own 2015 Christmas Card I created this image based on an late 1940’s Los Angeles color photo. I removed a few of the signs on top of the building and replaced them with my own signs. Then I added the Jim Skonzakes 1949 Buick and Tim Kirkegaard’s Kevan Sledge created 1939 Mercury to the photofor the right Custom Car touch.
[divider]

Brian Holden shared a photo of his nearly finished 1936 Ford coupe, including one of the custom dash created by Laurie Peterson. I could not resist to add a nice late 1940’s California street scene to give the whole picture the perfect feel.
[divider]

Ron Martinez Dick & Keith Dean built, and later redone by Scott Guilder’s 1939 Mercury taking off in an early 1950’s Los Angeles photo.
[divider]

I took a photo of Tim Kirgekaard driving his chopped 1939 Mercury on a trip to Sweden, and was day-dreaming how it would have been driving this car in vintage California…
[divider]

In the summer of 2015 Palle Johansen invited me a trip to Sweden in his chopped padded topped 1947 Cadillac. Palle had just finished his restyled dash with a center positioned 1948 Cadillac gauge cluster. On our long journey we wondered how the Kustoms of Los Angeles car club would have felt driving their Customs in San Francisco in the early 1950’s…
[divider]

Perfectly proportions sectioned, chopped and padded topped 1940 Ford from Ralph Jilek was photographed at the Rodder’s Journal show in 2015. I was wondering how it would have looked in a more period perfect setting…
[divider]

After having don the first image of the Hirohata Mercury headliner with showing only a small portion of vintage Los Angeles, I wanted to do one that showed a bit more of the Hirohata Merc, as well as the Los Angles background. Although the small windows in the Mercury do not allow to see much for the vintage view. The image does bring you back in time…. daydreaming of these beautiful Customs d around in vintage California.
[divider]

Some of the original “recent” taken photos I used as base.
[divider]

[divider]

(this article is sponsored by)

Contact Rob Radcliffe at King Kustoms for more info on these T-Shirts Email Rob

[divider]

1936 Mercury Concept

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Rik Hoving

1936 MERCURY CONCEPT

What would have happened if Mercury had started production in 1936 instead of 1939. Imagine 3 inch longer wheelbase 36, with more streamlined top…

This Digital project started when Palle Johansen came across a nice 1936 Ford three window coupe project car. We started to talk about what could be done with the project. Palle wanted it to be a period Custom, but he was also interested in doing something a bit different. We started to discuss the chop of the coupe. And decided that unlike most chops this particular one should start with the actual window opening. Once that was right the rest of the top would need to be shaped accordingly. I had a few very nice side view images of Jon Fisher’s amazing 1936 Ford coupe chopped by Scott Guildner, so it made sense to start with that. The chop on Jon’s 36 Ford is perfect the way it is, but both Palle and me wanted to try something just a little different.

This is the photo that I used as a base. Jon Fisher’s 1936 Ford coupe chopped by Scott Guildner.
[divider]

However along the way… I started to think some more about what we had talked about, doing something different with the 1936 Ford. On one of my early morning walks with our dog I came up with an interesting though. What if Mercury would have started producing cars in 1936. Then the wheel base of the car would have been 3 inches longer, the nose could be made longer, which always helps the looks on Custom Car. I did a quick Digital Restyling to show Palle, and he loved the idea. At first I worked with the basic shapes of the 1936 Ford, with extended front end including the front fenders. But soon I had added flush fit Lincoln teardrop skirts, which Palle wanted to incorporate, smooth running boards, longer GM headlights and smooth hood sides.

The first version of the Concept 1936 Mercury was rather “simple”. The hood, hood sides and front fenders were extended by 3 inches. I used an 1938 LaSalle grille and the feners where extended down a little at the end for a better flowing line. The chop has been modified with a reshaped side window opening and a few inches extended behind the B-Pillars, to compensate for the longer hood.
[divider]

Similar as the number 1, but now with Lincoln fender skirts, side trim and Black Wall tires.
[divider]

For version number 3 I added the Nash grille and used 1937 Ford hood side inserts.
[divider]

After that I started to think about replacing the door window frames with units shapes similar to an 1939-40 Mercury, and raking the windshield back a little, just as the 39-40 Mercury has compared to the same year Fords. When I added the new door side window frames the coupe belt line did not look right anymore, so I changed it to look more like a 1936 Ford roadster, and convertible combined. At the time I was doing this Digital Restyling I had been very much in love with the Nash grille Kipp Winward was using on his 1936 Ford 5-Window Ford. So I found a picture of that which I could use. The nice rounded shape of the grille extended the nose a little more, which looked really good with the longer wheel base. Next phase was trying out a few different tire and hubcap variations and side trim and hood side options.

For version number 4 things really started to look like the concept Mercury I had in mind. A lot of work was needed to make the new door window frames work with the top. The top itself was chopped some more to get in balance with the rest of the body. Auburn hubcaps were added.
[divider]

Variation of the hood sides.
[divider]

After having done a few variations, I wanted to take the car one step further. I leaned back the windshield a little further, and thinned down the rather heavy 1936 Ford top. I found a nice side view photo of a 1939 Mercury and used a new window frame to create even smoother and more streamlined side window openings. I also reshaped the front fenders to make them a little more bulbous and shaped them a bit more like the rear fenders, or perhas like the 1937-38 Ford fenders look like. But the section where they meet the running boards would still remain very much 36 Ford. I used a modified 1939 Ford Standard side trim on the hood sides.

For the number 6 concept I changed the whole top once again. Leaned back windshield and completely reshaped side window opening. The front fenders have more bulge added at the rear section and a nice u-turn side trim styled after a 1939 Ford was added. I also added 1939 Mercury bumpers to fit the theme a little better.
[divider]

The last idea I wanted to see for myself was a 5-window body styled with elements of the Matranga 1940 Mercury. I wanted to keep the longer coupe doors instead of the shorter 5-window doors which required an extended and reshaped top, with a smaller trunk opening. Interesting, but perhaps not as elegant as the three window coupe version from number 6.
[divider]

Not to long after receiving the project 1936 Ford at his home in Denmark, Palle decided that it would be better to concentrate on the projects he already has going. 1947 Cadillac convertible and the Jack Stewart Ford restoration, so the hard decision to let go of the ’36 Ford Coupe was made. The car is now in Sweden and will be turned into a period Custom Car, but not as the 1936 Concept Mercury as we see in this article. Perhaps at one point Palle will find another 36 Ford, possibly a 5-window coupe, or sedan that could be turned in the 1936 Mercury Coupe Custom…

Rik Hoving

[box_light]

Are you day dreaming about your own perfect dream custom?

Do you wonder what your precious car would (or could!) look like, even before you start cutting on it?
Would you like to see different paint variations and styled on your custom car before you even start to mask the car, or order that expensive new paint?
Or would you like to see the difference of a 2, 3 or 4 inch chop and see the impact it will have on the rest of the car?
Maybe you want to see any other modification done to your custom car, without having to actually perform that modification and find out a different modification would have worked better with the rest of your car?

Do you suddenly see all the possibilities? Perhaps now is a good time to contact Rik Hoving and ask him about the possibilities of his digital Restyling options. Request are free of any obligations.

[/box_light]

[divider]

(this article is sponsored by)

[divider]

38 Graham Phaeton

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Rik Hoving

DIGITAL RESTYLED GRAHAM

I always like to create better looking Custom Cars created from odd body models or styles. The 1938 Graham is such a car, the front end is very attractive, but the rest far from that. Time for a Digital Restyling Session 38 Graham Phaeton.

A couple of decades ago my father bought a 1/34 scale model of a 1938 Graham for his collection. When he showed it to me I was really fascinated by the front end design of the car. Wonderful Art-Deco styling, with its pointy nose, oddly shaped fenders all designed to create instant speed. And beautiful details as the square headlights and taillights sitting high up in the body. One thing I could not really understood was why the main body was kind of ugly, as if it did not belong to the front end of the car.

Many years later I was fascinated by the Graham again when I hear that George Barris had designed a convertible Custom based on this car and that it was being built at that moment. The end result was far from what I had in mind… and back then I started to think about how a really nicely styled Custom based on the 1938 Graham could look like. A year or two ago I heard about the Lincoln coupe project at Steve’s Auto Restoration where they were going to use a 1938 Graham front end combined with the Lincoln body and back. Eric Black did a wonderful side view illustration on that, which was very inspiring. But my vision had always been an early 1940’s styled Graham Custom. About a year ago I was contacted by a client here in the Netherlands who had just bought a 1938 Graham four door project. And he hired me to do a few design proposals to show what would be possible. I did a few very interesting concepts for him, and while I was at it, I decided to created the 1938 Custom Graham that I have had in my mind for a long time. A 1938 Graham Phantom Phaeton. (Well, actually convertible sedan, but that name does not sound as good)

The advertising illustrations make the 1938 Graham look even more spectacular.
[divider]

This was the only perfect side view I was able to find… not good for a starting photo of the Digital Restyling process. However I would be using this photo after I was done with the project for my client to create a four door base for my Ultimate 1938 Four-Door Graham Phantom Custom.
[divider]

When I started with the project we had agreed that a side view would be the best way to show the lines of the new car. Well sometimes that is easier said than done. I could not use the actual project car for the Digital Restyling process, A because the car was still on the boat to the Netherlands, and B even if it had been available for photos, the rusty body and missing parts would not have worked as a starting base photo. So I searched the internet for a suitable side view photo. All I was able to find at the time was a un-restored rusty four door, just as my client had (although his project is slightly more rusted) and a nice side view of a rare two door coupe. Since the body styles I needed to create for my client were far from the four door body style, I decided to start with the Coupe. Which meant I had to recreate the four door style for my own project at one point.

This is the base photo I decided to use. A nice low angle side view that would show the lines of the design the best.
[divider]

Both the four door sedan as the two door coupe have kind of ugly rear sections of the body. The coupe has a very elegant top, while the four door body has rather heavy pillars making the car look rather cartoonish. I think it will be very hard to create a really beautiful custom out four door body style without going rather extreme. So for my ultimate Custom 1938 Graham Custom I decided to completely remove the thing I did not like, the top, and rebuilt the car as an four door convertible.

Since I started with the coupe body it was relatively easy for me to do. The A-pillars already had the shape I needed and the B- and C-pillars could also be uses. In real live it would mean quite a bit of custom fabrication to make this change. Possibly another brand wrecked convertible windshield could be adapted. And of course the frame would need to be reinforced. But I know of many four door to sedan convertible projects, so its not impossible to do. And basing this on an wonderfully styled 1938 Graham would create something really unique.

For my ultimate 1938 Graham Phaeton version I added four doors to the two door donor body. The whole body was lowered, the windshield was reshaped to look like a convertible top would look. The side windows were chopped and the B-pillar from the coupe thinned reduced in width by about half the size. I lowered the taillight and moved it a bit further to the rear sitting just behind the side trip. The gas filler cap was shaved and I added running boards as the four door model has, but shaved the top and added some stainless strips to them. This was my base which I would use for a few small variations on the theme.

My first version was created as an late 1930’s early 1940’s styled phaeton. Dark colored padded top with the rear of the top matching the shape of the rear side window. Single bar flipper hubcaps on early style ribbed white wall tires.
[divider]

Second version used a white colored padded top, which changed the looks completely. On this version I used the removed running boards from the coupe, and I added a chrome plated rock shield to the rear fender. I used 1937 Cadillac hubcaps and added 1937 DeSoto bumpers.
[divider]

Third version uses a slightly different shaped padded top, one that flows more in the back, for a more streamlined look. I added 1941 Cadillac hubcaps with beauty rings and updated the white wall tires to a set of smooth white wall tires.
[divider]

The fourth version is done as if it could have been updated in the later part of the 1940’s. Still the same body mods, but the body has been lowered a bit more and set on a more speed boat stance. I have also added a set of Appleton spotlights, Cadillac Sombrero hubcaps, and custom made bumpers. (the bumpers are actually modified pieces from the Eric Black artwork mentioned earlier in this article)
[divider]

The fifth version is a phaeton with a removable hard top, obviously inspired by the Harry Westergard / Dick Bertolucci created Buddy Ohanesian 1940 Mercury.
[divider]

There are of course many other ways of Customizing the 1938 Graham, and I have some other really neat ideas in my mind. But for this one I wanted to keep it relatively simple, and most of all something that could have been created in the late 1930’s early/mid 1940’s. I wanted to show that these Grahams are great subjects for Customs Cars with their unique nose and front fenders.

Rik Hoving

[box_light]

Are you day dreaming about your own perfect dream custom?

Do you wonder what your precious car would (or could!) look like, even before you start cutting on it?
Would you like to see different paint variations and styled on your custom car before you even start to mask the car, or order that expensive new paint?
Or would you like to see the difference of a 2, 3 or 4 inch chop and see the impact it will have on the rest of the car?
Maybe you want to see any other modification done to your custom car, without having to actually perform that modification and find out a different modification would have worked better with the rest of your car?

[/box_light]

Digital Restyling 1947 Cadillac Coupe

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Rik Hoving

PHANTOM 47 CADILLAC COUPE

For the 1946-’47 year Cadillac did not offer an Coupe model in their line. For this Digital Restyling article I wanted to see how a coupe model would look like, and how well it could have been used as a full Custom Car.

Several years ago I was working on a Digital Restyling project for a client, and when the project was nearly finished the client mentioned he had an 1947 Cadillac Series 60 Special Fleetwood four door. And asked me if I had any ideas on how to customized it. Well I had, in fact I have always really liked the 1946-47 Cadillac’s a lot. I absolutely love the pontoon fenders and the shape of the whole body, no matter which body style. So I had already a lot of ideas in my mind for a full custom version of one of these 46-47 Cadillac’s. Although I had never really thought to much about using the four door as a base, but I did like the shape of the top on those. Sadly the client decided to let go of his Cadillac before the Digital Restyling project had started, so back then I never did the visuals I had in my head.

Some time ago I came across a nice photo, near dead on side view showing a 1947 Cadillac Series 60 Fleetwood a little from behind, and thought it would be perfect for the designs I had carried with me for all these years.

This was the photo I found online that I though had potential. I like the way the car looked in the photo, showing it slightly from the real, which would help showing the roof shape I had in mind a little better. I also like the slightly lower than eye height view, which would also help with the Digital Restyling process. The one thing I did not care for was the background… so that was the first thing I removed.
[divider]

The concept of a 1947 Cadillac coupe is not really new. I have seen one photo of one done in the late 1940’s early 1950’s that was published in the Rodder’s Journal Scrapbook. And Finish Designer and Illustrator Janne Kutja did a version of an Matranga styled coupe, which was published in a Rod & Custom Magazine a couple of years ago.

My ideas are a bit different from what I had seen. I wanted it to look like a factory built car, as something that really could have rolled out of the Cadillac Factory in 1947. And from there I would start with the customizing. When I started the project I decided to not do the factory stock version. with the stock height top, but go straight for a factory custom with a chopped top. Something that perhaps could have been built by Don Lee for a famous movie star in 1947. Don Lee built several early 1940’s Cadillac and LaSalle based Customs for Movie Stars. These were base on coupe models, and some had the rear quarter windows filled in.

Of course I was also very much inspired to do this project since I had been doing some Digital work on my friend Palle johansen’s 1947 Cadillac Convertible with Padded top. And figured that my version(s) of the 1947 Coupe would be a perfect car to be parked next to Palle’s Custom.

The Phantom 5-Window Coupe

Version 00 – First version is conservative, as if it was built by a shop like Don Lee in California for a famous Movie Start who wanted something different.
[divider]

I first started with lowering the body a little in the front and a bit more in the back. Then I transformed the car into a two door by filling in the door lines and moving the front door line further to the rear. I figured out where I wanted to have the rear base of the new coupe style roof on the body, moved everything forward and extended and reshaped the trunk to fit the new lines. I really like the shape of the windows on the four door Fleetwood, and wanted to use those, at least in the first more conservative version. I chopped the top until I had a nice profile. I’m not sure how much the top is chopped, but my guess is between two and thee inches. These Cadillacs do not need to be chopped too much to look good.

Version 5-W-01 – The second version was cleaned up a little. Its basically the same as the first image, but I shaved the trunk, removed the stock taillights and created bumper guard taillights.
[divider]

Version 5-W-01b – I wanted to see one more variation on this version, stretched front fenders. Not fade aways all the way to the rear fender, I was going to do those later as well, but rather extended pontoon door pieces with a less rounded bottom section.
[divider]

Version 5-W-02 – Next up was a slightly different side window and B-pillar shape. I loved the large radius on the stock version, but the dip in the drip-rails take a little bit of “speed” away from the overall look. So I created a more traditional drip rail, and reshaped the window corners and top section of the B-Pillar.
[divider]

Version 5-W-03 – Another version based on the same design is 03 where I added full fade-way fenders. This created a completely different look. I think that the 1940-47 Cadillac’s look really great with full fade-away fenders, and they really enhance the lines on this coupe version. One thing I did not try on this style was one with the drip rails shaved. Perhaps I will add it later.
[divider]

Version 5-W-04 – A variation on the 5-window them shows the usage of the doors I had designed for the three window coupe, with the long curved B-Pillar. The rear quarter window follow the shape of the door lines. I think this version looks the best with the drip rails in place, since it ties all the lines together.
[divider]

Version 5-W-05 – Same as above, but now with the drip rail above rear quarter window removed and only used around the door opening.
[divider]

Version 5-W-06 – This is version of the 5-window Coupe with the b-pillars angled forward. I Did not want the side windows to become to short at the top after reshaping the B-Pillars, so I ended up widening the doors to the three window width. This created the side window profile and proportions I was looking for. This version has drip rails and stock taillights.
[divider]

Version 5-W-07 – Same 5-window coupe version as above, only difference is that this version has the drip rails shaved, full fade-away fenders and the stock taillights shaved.
[divider]

The Phantom 3-Window Coupe

Version 04 – Inspired by the Don Lee creations and a 1939 Cadillac I had designed for Quentin Hall, I also wanted to try a three window coupe version based on this 1947 Cadillac as well. I extended the door a bit more, and reshaped the rear of the door windows using the rear portion of the rear doors from the four door. I had to reshape the rear a bit here and there to make it all work together, but once done I really liked the feeling of this one.
[divider]

Version 04b – This version is basically the same as the number 04 above, but now the whole body has been shaved. Door handles and antenna removed. But I did keep the lady on the hood. I think that hood ornament looks so great on these cars. I also changed the back-groud photo… just for fun.
[divider]

Version 04c – One more variation on the three window theme is this one with the stock fenders which gives the car a completely different look. The use of 1953 Cadillac hubcaps also make a huge difference. Hard to say which body style version I prefer.
[divider]

Version 04d – Another version of the three window coupe shows a shorter top and longer trunk, giving the car a more sporty look.
[divider]

The Phantom Hard-Top Coupe

Version 05 – The final version I wanted to see was a Hard-Topped version. The first one I did has a new side window opening. It is based on the 5-window coupe side windows, but was reshaped to look better for this version. It is not a real Hard-Top since the doors still have a frame around it, but the looks are all Hard-Top.
[divider]

Version 05b – Same as Number 05 above, but now with full fade away fenders.
[divider]

Version 06 – The next variation was another “fake” Hard-Topped version with Matranga/Hirohata Merc styled side window. For this I reshaped the roof a bit more. I chopped it a little further and made it flow more in the back. Compared to the Hirohata Merc this Cadillac has much taller side windows. I did not want to create a too “cartoonish” car out of it for this project. The full fade-away fenders look really well on this side window style also. Another version with the 1953 hubcaps.
[divider]

Version 06b – Same as above, but now with the stock fenders.
[divider]

Version 06c – So far all the versions I had created used the stock, but shortened Cadillac belt line trim which wraps around under the rear window. I really like that look, especially on these Cadillacs, since they give it a certain style element. But I did want to see how it would look with the top molded into the rear of the body and the lines from the trunk nicely flowing into the roof. I did want to keep the belt line trim, so I shortened it and let it stop slightly further on the belt line than where the rear window ends.
[divider]

Version 06d – Last version I created is similar as above, but then with the stock fender, and I used the 1953 Cadillac hubcaps again on this version.
[divider]

I hope you have enjoyed looking at these Digital Restyled versions of the 1947 Cadillac Phantom Coupe as much I as had creating them. Now hopefully somebody gets inspired enough to turn their 1946-47 Cadillac Four door Fleetwood into one of these versions shown on the Custom Car Chronicle. If you do… please let us know. I would love to see one of these come to live in metal.

Rik Hoving

[box_light]

Are you day dreaming about your own perfect dream custom?

Do you wonder what your precious car would (or could!) look like, even before you start cutting on it?
Would you like to see different paint variations and styled on your custom car before you even start to mask the car, or order that expensive new paint?
Or would you like to see the difference of a 2, 3 or 4 inch chop and see the impact it will have on the rest of the car?
Maybe you want to see any other modification done to your custom car, without having to actually perform that modification and find out a different modification would have worked better with the rest of your car?

[/box_light]

[divider]

[divider]

.

Digital Restyling Tony Miller 40 Ford

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Rik Hoving

RESTYLING TONY MILLER 40 FORD

Well thought out designing, planning, Digital Restyling and construction, resulted in Tony Miller’s breathtaking 1940 Ford convertible. And the car is not even finished yet!

In October 2008 Tony Miller contacted me about a new project he was planning for some time. It was going to be his ultimate dream convertible based on a 1940 Ford. The time was right, and the planning stages would soon move into actual production stages. But before the actual 1940 Ford would be delivered to Don Dillard‘s Highway 99 Hot Rod shop, quite a few details needed to be sorted out. Tony asked me to help him with the fine details, figuring out some measurements and create and inspiration visual for both Tony as well as for Don who would build the car.

Tony Miller has been building several cars over the past few decades, and all of them have been rather subtle with a lot of attention to small details and a mix of parts. Tony seems to pick the best looking part from the model years surrounding the car he is building. Creating phantom models that have a lot of people scratching their head. For this 1940 Project these same ideas will still apply, but overall this car will have a lot more body work and customizing going on than any of Tony’s previous cars. We are talking about sectioning, chopping and reshaping.

When Tony started his project he contacted John Vernon for some initial visuals, which helped Tony a lot getting the rest of the project planned. Tony sent me an long email with ideas for the car including the original visuals by John.

John Vernon created the initial Photoshopped visual for Tony. Sectioned body, with a mild chop and 46-48 style looking top and window frames. The top photo shows where John based it on. The original image showed that Tony wanted to move the front wheels and openings forward with an inch and a half for better proportions.
[divider]

[box_light]

Hello Rik,

I think you’re aware that Don Dillard will be starting a project for me shortly. The starting point is a ’40 Standard coupe, and Don will be sectioning it a little and replacing the coupe roof with a Carson top, adding quarter windows like a postwar Ford convert. I think your Photoshop skills may be able to help us with some of the decisions; I’ll give you some of the background and you can let me know if you’re interested.

The car I bought is a Standard. Don strongly favors the DeLuxe front end; I have always preferred it too, although in recent years I’ve come to like the Standard hood and grille equally as well. Of course the DeLuxe is very sheer and straight lined, while the Standard is more curvaceous and has a prow like a boat. I have not yet made up my mind which to pursue; among the considerations are that I already own a Standard hood, and I have a little concern about the design line on the side of the DeLuxe hood crowding the stainless trim after it’s been sectioned. More about that in a minute.

The second issue concerns the grille, regardless of DeLuxe or Standard. Don and I are in agreement that most sectioned ’40s are least successful in the grille area, because as the top of the hood is lowered toward the headlights, the mouth becomes too large for the face.

What Don and I have discussed is this: When sectioning the hood, to step the cut at the trailing edge of the grille, so that more of the stock nose is preserved, and to remove an amount equal to the section (or maybe half that) from the height of the grille. That is, the hood/grille joint is moved down an inch or two relative to the position of the headlights. Our hope is that the nice proportions of the stock front end is thus restored.

So, my request of you is this: try both the Standard and DeLuxe front ends on the same sectioned body, and adjust the hood/grille joint downward until the proportions look right. If you’re able to tell us the approximate dimension of that adjustment, so much the better. I will be using a bumper; feel free to place it where it looks best to you.

Here’s where we think we’re going. This represents about a 2″ section, a slight chop to make the side windows the same height as a ’40 convert, and a Carson top made to look like a folding top from a ’42-’48 Ford Convert (also a little lower than stock). The front wheels and wheel wells have been moved forward about 2″, and the wheel wells have been radiused to match the chosen tire sizes:

I think that a front 3/4 view would illustrate the options best.
The questions, then, are: Would you like to play?

Many thanks
Tony Miller

[/box_light]

Digital Restyling Tony Miller 40 Ford
I have always been very impressed with Tony’s cars, so I was very happy he approached me to help him out with his new project. I emailed him back I was IN and started thinking about the project. I started searching for the best photos to use and figured it would be best to start with a dead on front view of a 1940 Ford standard to figure out the best amount of sectioning. I could not find a dead on front view of a convertible, but in this stage that was not really important. We used the size of the side trim to figure out the amount to section the car.

The first images I did showed a dead on front view to figure out the amount the hood needed to be sectioned and how much less the grille should be sectioned to keep the right balance. I have added three lines to show what I did in these photos. Line A shows how the height was reduced after the main body was sectioned. Line B is located at the top of the side trim on the stock location and shows how much the trim has dropped. Line C shows how much the grille height was reduced after the sectioning of the hood.
[divider]

Next up was an new version of the side view with a more sectioned body, and reshaped/raised wheel openings to get the car lower to the ground and still have a nice space around the tires.
[divider]

At the time I had a hard time finding a good 3/4 front view photo of a 1940 Ford Convertible. I ended up using this rainy picture because the angle of the car was as good as perfect for our needs.
[divider]

Since Tony wanted to see both the DeLuxe and the Standard hood and grille options I found an photo of a Standard at about the same angle and copied the hood and grille parts of that photo. I also copied a 1948 Ford convertible cowl, windshield and top from another photo and pasted in my base photo. At this time the main body has already been sectioned hence the ill fitting standard hood.
[divider]

The 1940 Ford DeLuxe with the stock height 1948 Ford windshield. The body and hood have been sectioned and the “soft” top reshaped to look more like the side view that was done previously. The overall look is very subtile.
[divider]

This image is the same as above, only now with the standard hood and grille grafted on.
[divider]

Next up was a version with a slightly chopped windshield for the Standard version.
[divider]

I did the same for the DeLuxe version, and changed the background to make the car stand out better. The first color choice was a dark gray with orange steel wheels with stock hubcaps and beauty rings.
[divider]

I did the same thing for the Standard version. Tony liked the chopped windshield, but not so much the lower side window openings. This was changed in the final image I did a bit later.
[divider]

When the side view and front 3/4 view of Tony’s dream convertible were at this stage Tony felt confident to start the actual build of the project. Tony delivered the 1940 Ford coupe and all the parts needed for the project to Don Dillard’s Highway 99 Hot Rods show. Don had followed the discussions Tony and I have had about the car and with the printed visuals handy Don started the project. The first order was to get the frame done with all new suspension setting the frame at the perfect ride height. Installing the engine and then place the coupe body back onto the frame. Now it was time for the fun stuff. Section the body, reshape the wheel openings an cut off the top to create an convertible body. Tony decided to go for the Standard hood and grille, just because they made the car look a bit tougher.

In progress photos from Don Dillard’s Highway 99 Hot Rod shop. The first image, top left, shows the starting stages of the project. The top right shows the freshly sectioned body sitting on the completed frame. The hood is being sectioned at this moment. Lower left shows the car with the top cut off, the longer sedan doors installed and cardboard templates in place to get the right shapes for the placing of the windshield and side window frames. The lower right photo shows how Don completely had to reshape the 1951 Ford windshield. He ended up hand shaping most of it.
[divider]

During the real progress of the car Tony always kept me posted on the project and from time to time I stepped in to visualize some of the steps. This way a lot of time could be saved and new decisions could be made to solve problems that could not have been foreseen in an earlier stage. When the coupe body was roughly sectioned and all the parts were place back on the frame the car looked really attractive. And of course the question was asked, and what if we keep it a coupe, or what if we do not extend the doors. Digital Restyling to the rescue…

Tony send me and side view image of how the car looked. Don had build the frame with the perfect ride height. The initial sectioning on the body was done and everything was put together for a mock up to see how it all looked.
[divider]

Tony wanted to know how the real car (still a coupe at this moment) would look with the photoshopped convertible top on it. One of the reasons for this was to see what would happen if the shorter coupe doors would remain in place. This photo shows the difference between the short coupe doors with the window frames from the longer doored convertible.
[divider]

This image shows what would happen when the window frames would fit the short doors. Resulting in odd proportions with a rear side window looking longer than the door windows. Not a good idea.
[divider]

And this image shows how it all will look, longer sedan doors and the window frames to fit the doors. Everybody on the team was convinced this was the way to go.
[divider]

The Digital Restyled side view images based on the coupe version of the project car with the Photoshopped convertible roof section looks so good that the team was once again convinced the initial plan was still the best plan. So work continued and the coupe top was cut off, and longer two door sedan doors put in place of the shorter coupe doors.

The original plan was to use a 1946 – 48 Ford convertible cowl, windshield and side windows. But Tony was unable to find it for a decent price. So he went with plan B and used an 1951 Ford Victoria windshield and side window frames. The shaped of these units are very similar in shape and the way they work to the 46-48 units, but would require a lot more work than thought at first. Tony asked me to make some visuals to show the side view with the 1951 Ford Victoria windshield and side windows.

I created this image for Tony to show how the 1951 Ford Victoria windshield and side window frames would look on the 1940 Ford. I left the chopped 1940 Ford windshield in place to show the different angles of the two.
[divider]

The second image for this step was to show how the Victoria windshield and side window frames would look after they were modified to fit the rest of the car.
[divider]

More progress work from Don’s shop. Top left, reshaped and raised front wheel openings make sure the wheels fit the opening perfectly. Notice how the lower front corner was extended. Top right shows the 1951 Ford vent window with the stock unit on the right, and the chopped and reshaped to fir the steeper angled windshield version on the left. The bottom two photos shows how great the car is looking already. The raised rear fenders with larger opening looks perfectly in place.
[divider]

During this stage of the build Tony was starting to wonder how the the front end of the car could be restyled to look a bit more elegant. Tony has always loved the looks of the 1940 Mercury hood and grille, and was wondering how a Mercury grille would look on his car. I created another version of the Convertible, and used a narrowed 1940 Mercury grille to fir the car. I slightly reshaped the hood to make it all work. Tony loved the new look. At this stage I also changed the looks of the top a little by raising the side windows a little bit so that they now would match the height of the windshield better and the side profile would become more elegant. Tony started his search for a 1940 Mercury grille and when Don mentioned since it has to be reshaped to fit the Ford why don’t you let me build one from scratch…

Tony asked me to create a more lighter metallic gray version with a modified 1940 Mercury grille and a reshaped top with less chopped side windows. This version also shows the final wheel hubcap choice.
[divider]

Don was very busy in the shop recreating the Digital Restyled images. The top left photo shows how the hood had to be reshaped to fit better with the Mercury style grille. The hood was actually extended forward a bit to make it all flow better. The sides were reshaped to fit the fenders perfectly. Top right photo shows the jig Don and his team created to build the Mercury grille. Individual grille bars were cut based on a drawing made from an original Mercury grille bar. The new grille is half way done in this photo. The lower left photo shows how much lower the car looks compared to a stock 1940 Ford DeLuxe. The lower right photo shows the hand made “eye brows” Don created and the red clay shows much the lower edge of the hood needs to be changed to make it all work.
[divider]

For the 2014 Santa Maria show the car was primered with gray primer and the car was put back together for the first time. Tony showed the car at the show and the people seemed to really like the car, even though it was still in progress and far from done. When I saw some photos of the car online there was one thing that caught my eyes. I really liked the way the wheel openings had been changed to make the car sit lower without the tops of the tires being covered. But the changed made to the lower front corner of the front wheels, initially done to make all corners of the fenders look the same, made the front look like an airdam/spoiler. I pointed this out to Tony and he asked me to show him how it would look with more rounded corners.

The top image in gray primer shows how the car was finished for the Santa Maria show. The bottom image shows the front fenders with the more rounded front corners. Much more elegant. Tony eventually decided to change the fenders to look more like the Digital Restyled image.
[divider]

Tony was invited the the 40 ’40 Fords special exhibit at the 2015 Grand National Roadster show. So Don and his team went hard at work to get the car ready for the show. Tony knew the car would not be completely finished with paint and interior. A lot of work was done on creating a hand made nose trim piece, get the side trim to fit and the windshield frame trim lice cut to size. Once all the hard work was done the car was painted in a dark red primer. This is how the car was show at the 2015 GNRS. And the good thing about this show was that there were all stock bodied 1940 Ford around Tony’s heavily reshaped Convertible, so the spectators could compare them and see how much work was done to create this very stylish convertible. A perfect mix between Valley Custom Shop styling and more modern Hot Rod looks with the forward rake and chrome wheels.

Dave Lindsay took this great photo of Tony’s car on Set-Up day at the GNRS. The stance the shape and overall looks and balance of the car is absolutely stunning. kudos for the team at Don Dillard’s Highway 99 Hot Rod shop.
[divider]

That is Don Dillard backing up the car on Sunday night after the GNRS show has ended. This rear view shows how well balanced this car is, no matter from which side you look at it.
[divider]

[box_light]

Are you day dreaming about your own perfect dream custom?

Do you wonder what your precious car would (or could!) look like, even before you start cutting on it?
Would you like to see different paint variations and styled on your custom car before you even start to mask the car, or order that expensive new paint?
Or would you like to see the difference of a 2, 3 or 4 inch chop and see the impact it will have on the rest of the car?
Maybe you want to see any other modification done to your custom car, without having to actually perform that modification and find out a different modification would have worked better with the rest of your car?

[/box_light]

Digital Restyling ’40 Ford Pick-Up

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Rik Hoving

RESTYLING ’40 FORD PICK-UP

In the 1980’s Automotive Illustrator Steve Stanford created one of my all time favorite design sketches. A 1940 Ford Roadster Pick up as early 1950’s Kustom.

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]teve Stanford’s Illustration appeared full page in Street Rodder magazine. It was absolute perfection in my eyes then, and it still is today. Steve designed a teardrop shaped ’40 Ford Roadster as how it could have been built in the late 1940’s as a Californian shop truck. Edsel Ford’s design restyled to the max. In the early 1990’s I even set out to built a 1/25 scale model car of this Ford, and I named it the Streamliner Pick-Up Truck. I studied Steve’s design for a long time. Looking at the long doors I assumed Steve started with a two door sedan body with the rear cut off. I figured that to make it look really good the wheel base had to be lengthened, and to make the body looks as long as it did in Steve’s Illustration, the body also needed to be sectioned, one or two inches. Obviously the front fenders are lengthened, but upon close inspection the rear fenders are also quite a bit longer. The top of the sedan was removed and a ’36 Ford restyled cowl and door tops added. The running boards removed and replaced with metal units with stainless protection bars on them. The pick up bed was something that needed to be made from scratch, or possibly an 1940’s trailer body. For the model I created I decided to use the sedan roof, reshaped a lot.

I had always hoped that somebody would be inspired to built a real car based on Steve’s designs. And at one point I believe George Poteet started the project. But I never saw it finished. Until a year or so ago I saw photos of an indoor show with a light gray-green colored 1940 Ford Pick-Up Truck based on Steve’s design. But sadly it was restyled as a Street Rod, and to me lost a lot of beauty in that process. Even though there is an amazing amount of work done on this car, a lot of the wonderful styling Steve did in his Illustration was not copied into the real car.

So… when I found a nice outdoor photo of this car online (there was no photographer mentioned, so unfortunately I cannot give credits to who took the original photo) I decided it was time to Digital Restyle the car to much closer to Steve Stanford’s original Illustration. My digital version is still not a 100% copy of Steve’s design, but it comes very close. My changes include the use of the DuVall windshield that came on the real car, and the addition of a Padded top. As for the last, I had always wondered how Steve’s version would have looked with a padded top on it, so this was a good time to create it.

Steve Stanford’s original design as it appeared in Street Rodder Magazine in the late 1980’s.
[divider]

This is the real car as it was built inspired by Steve’s design. Nice, but to much Street Roddish and a little to boxy for my taste.
[divider]

And this is the version I created styled more after Steve’s original design.
[divider]

Digital Restyled

For my Digital Restyled version I started with dropping the body in the rear. I added white wall tires with Cadillac Sombrero hubcaps and ’37 DeSoto bumpers replace the thin Brizz units. Next up was the extension of the front fender, reshaping the running board, extending the rear fender and adding a long teardrop shaped fender skirt. Next I sectioned the body a little to make the body look less boxy and the car appear much longer overall. The doors where shortened compared to the real car, this would leave more space for the padded top B-Pillar. The pick up bed was reshaped, rounded more and extended in the back. The top of the front door line was reshaped to fit better with the angle of the DuVall windshield and the door tops were slightly reshaped to look more elegant, and not so flat as on the real car.
As last I created the padded top, which was actually pretty hard to get just right. It is a very short top compared to regular Padded Tops, plus it had to be mounted to the V-shaped DuVall windshield.

Once my Digital version of Steve’s Design was finished I decided to make it look a bit more like Steve’s original sketch and included the airplane in the background.
[divider]

While at it I decided to make one more image with the same base elements, but with a bit more realistic background. I changed the color on the Pick-Up to a sea-foam teal color, a hint to the SoCali Plating Comp. 1935 Ford Shop Truck.
[divider]

And one more color variation, just for fun.
[divider]

Now its time for somebody to actually built Steve Stanford’s version of the 1940 Ford Streamliner Pick-Up Truck. I’m looking forward to see the in progress photos…

[divider]

(advertisement)

[divider]

Digital Restyling 1939 Cadillac 60

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Rik Hoving

RESTYLING 1939 CADILLAC

Quentin Hall owns a 1939 Cadillac four door series 60, his dream is to create a Coachcraft styled custom coupe from it. with Digital Restyling we can show the possibilities, before he starts to cut up his car.

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ome time ago Quentin Hall, a fabricator by trade, from Brisbane, Australia, posted his latest project on the CCC-Forum. It was a 1939 Cadillac four door series 60. A rather squire car to start with, but Quentin saw its potential, and was aiming for a Custom / Coachcraft styled coupe, or convertible. He had created an old fashion cut/tape and ink restyled version which he posted on the Forum. The moment I saw this illustration I was inspired. I really liked the look Quentin had captured, my head was already spinning with ideas, and I was looking forward to see Quentin’s project evolve.

A couple of month after showing his project on the CCC, Quentin approached me about doing some Digital Restyling ideas for his project. I have always loved these late 30’s early 1940’s Cadillac, and Quentin’s ideas of creating a upperclass coachbuilt/coachcraft inspired custom really got me going. We agreed that for Quentin’s plans it would be best to create a dead on side view of the project. So I searched for a suitable photo, which was easier said that done for this car. Eventually I found a nice photo that would work for the Digital Restyling 1939 Cadillac project.

The old fashion cut and taped version Quentin had created to get a good feel for his project.
[divider]

This is the original image I found online. A nice side view, not too large, but it worked for the design studies I planned to create for Quentin.
[divider]

As with most of my digital projects, I start with cleaning up the image so that the work later on will be a bit easier. The original image was cropped to close to the bumpers, so I added material on both sides to be able to show the bumpers. I also removed the red car in the background since it was only distracting from the Cadillac. Then I started with the base restyling. Elements that would be the same for the several versions I had in mind. The car was lowered, and a Cadillac sombrero hubcap was added. Quentin already had cut up a set of 1946 Cadillac bumpers to use on his car, so I did the same. I cut of the bottom section to make a nice elegant shaped bumper. The hood sides were smoothed and skirts were created for the rear fenders. Then it was time to start playing with the several versions.

(photo A)The first very quick sketch of a coupe with xtended front door, filled rear door, chopped top converted to a 5-window coupe and a longer trunk.
[divider]

To get a good feel for the project and to see what would be possible, I started by doing a very quick sketch of a streamlined coupe. I filled in the rear door lines, extended the front door and chopped top which I converted to a 5-window coupe with radically reshaped rear portion of the roof and emailed this sketch to Quentin. He already loved this first really quick sketch. His reply to my email.
“I’ve gotta say that already that first proposal is incredible. So so elegant. WOW. That is the car they never made but should have. That b pillar is the styling feature that ties it to the original 60 special design. I love it. You know this is exactly why I wanted you to do this.”

So now we already have a rather radical restyled Cadillac, now its time to take a step back and create a few different versions. I did a more fine tuned version of the original quick sketch, but there is no reason to show it here. Next I wanted to see how this 5-window coupe would look with a little less radical reshaped top. Something that could be created more easily from the original 4-door top. In the meantime I have also lowered the headlights an inch or two.

(photo B) The next version is also a 5-window coupe, but more conservative, more styled along the lines of the series 60. The rear quarter windows use the chopped but otherwise unchanged stainless trim pieces from the original rear door windows.
[divider]

(photo C) A sliglty more radical version shows a reshaped rear portion of the top and rear side windows. I also angled the back of the door window forward at the top creating an interesting V-shape on the B-Pillar. For the different versions I switched hubcaps, just for fun. This version, having a more classic feel to it has the original 1939 Cadillac hubcaps, with additional beauty rings.
[divider]

(photo D) Then it was time to create the ultimate car I had in my mind ever since Quentin has shared his photocopied design sketch on the CCC-Forum. The three window coupe.
[divider]

To get the balance right for this version I had to stretch the doors some more and shortened the top, thus lengthening the trunk. I also raised the windshield up into the top a little to get a better balance there as well. Quentin is in Australia, and I’m in the Netherlands, so there is quite a bit of time difference. Before I had started this three window coupe version I had emailed with Quentin about it and that it was getting late for him and he would check it out in the morning. some time after I had emailed him this versions I get the following response back from him…

“It’s the middle of night. Cant sleep….I had to see the new additions and watched them, each design evolve and grow. Loved the newer versions of the 5-window coupes. Little bit more flow and lost that squareness, but not too much, just right. …..looked at the next two 3 windows…..
Then the last one you did. I fell…..fell madly in love. Madly truly deeply. The simplicity, the three forms. Engine. Cockpit, tail. The balance of the window curve front and rear. The long deck.
I think it is that raw instinct that tells me. There is that selfish indulgence of it being (possibly) a two seater. Maybe no back seat at all. Also it is because it best lends itself to being a lift off top . No tricky rear side windows to deal with.
Most of all if you were walking along and saw that parked on the street you would be speechless……
I’m speechless……”

That made me feel very good, a happy customer, and even better I loved it myself as well. But I was not done yet. I had a few more things I wanted to see and needed to try.
Earlier, I had also done a very rough sketch of a Padded topped version based on the 5-window coupe dimantions. It was too crude to show here, but it did show this version had some potential as well. So with the balance of the three window coupe I created a padded topped version.

(photo E) Padded topped version was nice, but the original Padded top look with the large rolls at the bottom edges did not really work too well for me. A more smoothed perhaps canvas covered metal top would suite this car much better.
[divider]

The Ultimate Version

The last version I had in mind was a convertible version, with chrome plated v-windshield and removable top. In the beginning Quentin had opted his desire to possibly have several different tops for his car. So that he change the looks of his car from time to time. With this in mind I designed this version of the car in such a way that it looked good with both a painted metal top, as well as with a canvas covered, near padded top looking top. Bot tops were shaped rather similar, but the texture will create a completely different look. For this version I also added the three bar Cadillac stainless trim on the rocker panel, and 1938 Cadillac hubcaps with beauty rings.

(photo F) The chrome plated v-windshield gave the car even more the so desired Coachbuilt/coachcraft styled custom look.
[divider]

(photo G) The padded top version for the convertible with chrome windshield was made much cleaner than the typical Carson/Gaylord/Hall top.
[divider]

(photo H) This was the last version I did, with the top removed and the rear portion of the interior covered with a body colored tonneau cover
[divider]

Below is Quentin’s 1939 Cadillac series 60 he based this project one. As you can see he has already started with the cut down 1946 Cadillac bumpers. Check out the CCC-Forum Post from Quentin to see the progress on his 1939 Cadillac 60. We are looking forward to see Quentin turn his four door series 60’s in his dream coupe/convertible from this Digital Restyling 1939 Cadillac project. Quentin already created some skirts from scratch for this project. How he did that, and how they look can be seen on this CCC-Forum Post.

[divider]

[box_light]

Are you day dreaming about your own perfect dream custom?

Do you wonder what your precious car would (or could!) look like, even before you start cutting on it?
Would you like to see different paint variations and styled on your custom car before you even start to mask the car, or order that expensive new paint?
Or would you like to see the difference of a 2, 3 or 4 inch chop and see the impact it will have on the rest of the car?
Maybe you want to see any other modification done to your custom car, without having to actually perform that modification and find out a different modification would have worked better with the rest of your car?

[/box_light]

[divider]

Digital Restyling: 1949 Cadillac

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Rik Hoving

DIGITAL RESTYLING: 1949 CADILLAC

Being a fan of customized sedan delivery’s, I started to wonder how a 1949 Cadillac would look like as a sedan delivery with the use of Sedanette side windows.

I was searching for a nice photo of a rear view of a 1949 Cadillac to use for taillights on another Digital Restyling project, when I came across this nice front 3/4 photo of a Cadillac Sedanette. I downloaded it from the internet to use at a later date. Not to long after that I was walking our dog and started to day-dream about this 1949 Cadillac, and wondered how it would look with a full sedan delivery body created. But then with theside windows of the Sedanette model left in place. I thought this could create a nice style of side windows in the huge blanked out delivery section of the car.

So back home I went to work on this new Digital Restyling project.
I started with lowering the car to a nice slight speed boat stance. I shaved the emblems and door handles and chopped the front portion of the top. Then I created the rear portions using other body elements of this caddy. It took a few efforts before I was happy with the back portion of the delivery body. At first I had it too long, with an rather upright rear section. But that did not work. The body became too heavy in the back. It turned out the drip rail was also something that was important in guiding your eyes. Once this base shape was created I made a few variations. The photo captions give some more details on each version.

My base photo, found on the internet. (no photographer was listed.)
[divider]

The first version (1) had a chopped top, and sedan delivery body created behind the chopped Sedanette side window design.
[divider]

Next version (2) was a real sedan delivery with complete blanked out sides.
[divider]

(3) Not entirely happy with the overall proportions I decided to section the body just above the beltline. The hood became lower and this created the nice long look I was after. And I wanted to see the Sedanette side windows with the lower body again.
[divider]

(4) Same as above, but now with blanked out sides. I also reshaped the front side window opening to make it look better proportioned and more in style with the delivery body. The versions below are the same, just a few different color samples.
[divider]

[box_light]Want to see more? Take a look at some other Digital Restyling projects by Rik Hoving Kustoms on the Custom Car Chronicle site.[/box_light]

[divider]

Are you day dreaming about your own perfect dream custom?

Do you wonder what your precious car would (or could!) look like, even before you start cutting on it?
Would you like to see different paint variations and styled on your custom car before you even start to mask the car, or order that expensive new paint?
Or would you like to see the difference of a 2, 3 or 4 inch chop and see the impact it will have on the rest of the car?
Maybe you want to see any other modification done to your custom car, without having to actually perform that modification and find out a different modification would have worked better with the rest of your car?

(this article is sponsored by)

[divider]