Gil Ayala Ford Scrapbook photos
GIL AYALA FORD SCRAPBOOK PHOTOS
It is always excited when some early scrapbook material shows up. Especially if they are of the rarely photographed Gil Ayala 1942-46 Ford.
[dropcap]H[/dropcap]arley Peters from the UK shared these amazing snapshot with us. He visited El Mirage during his holiday to California. While there he started to talk to an older guy. They talked about the history and how much Harley loved this old stuff, and how his visit to El Mirage was like a long last dream come true. The the older guy says “do you guy’s want to see my dads old album from here.”
He told Harley he remembered these photo’s from when he was a kid. They were always in a shoebox and after his father passed he put them in the photo album to show people who were interested.
When Harley opened the album he nearly had a heart attack. In there were some of the best photo’s he had ever seen, real street scenes, of 40’s bikes and street roadsters and of course this ’46 Custom!
There was no way to copy or scan the pictures down there so all Harley could do was to photograph them with his phone. Hareley was so excited he even forgot to ask the guys or even his father name.
The guys father must have had some great friends back then. Judging the photos that were taken over a period of time, he hung out with Gil Ayala quite a bit.
The photos taken with the cell phone are not the best quality… but they are still amazing to see. Thank you Harley for sharing them.
The one below is really nice with the guys goofing around making Gil’s Ford look like a model.
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Here we can see Gil’s Ford with late 1940’s California plates and the 1946-48 Ford bumpers.
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And here the bumpers have been replaced with 1949 Plymouth units and the number on the 1951 plates have changed from the late 1940’s plates as well.
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I think this is the first time the engine of Gil Ayala’s Ford has even been seen in a photo. We know Gil’s Ford was fast, and he loved to drive it fast. Also great to see the interior thru the windshield.
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A guy and girl looking under the hood of Gil’s Ford. Could that be Gil on the left, and perhaps his girlfriend on the right. With the car sitting in his driveway? I wish the other photo was not blocking the bottom half of this photo.
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This 1949 Chevy convertible shows up in several photos. So perhaps it was owned by the guy who took the photos. Thats Gil’s Coupe behind it, with the hood removed.
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(This article is made possible by)
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HI, RIK–
REGARDING THIS ’42 FORD OF AYALA’S, I AM STRUCK BY HOW SIMILAR THE CHOP ON THIS CAR IS TO THE CHOP ON THE BLACK ’48 FORD YOU RECENTLY DISCUSSED HERE. I BOUGHT THE CAR, AND AM WAITING FOR IT TO BE DELIVERED. WHEN I HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK IT OVER, I’LL WRITE BACK AND TELL YOU WHAT I FIND. TALK SOON.
BEST REGARDS, KUSTOM KURT
So neat that you bought the Barris Merc, Kurt! Can’t wait to see what you do with it.
Great pictures of the Ayala Ford…thanks to Harley for taking them and to you, Rik, for posting them here for us. I love stuff like this- being in the right place at the right time and unlocking another piece of the past. It makes you wonder how many pictures like this have gone into the trash or were lost. It’s always wonderful to see old pictures of kustoms in an everyday setting.
Very cool post Rik and many thanks to Harley for sharing these amazing pictures! Kurt great to hear that you ended up with the black Barris car look forward to seeing it transformed back into a custom!!
These are incredible pictures,most we have ever seen of this car.
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing guys.
Wow,these pics are so nice to see on a screen bigger then my phone. Wow π