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EARLY CUSTOMS Pre 1950 build Customs

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Viewing 13 posts - 61 through 73 (of 73 total)
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  • #75049
    Craig Thorson
    Participant

    Itā€™s a 1937 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe.

    #75050
    Michu
    Participant

    Hereā€˜s another ebay find, a 41 Mercury with Carson Top and at least one spotlight. The California license plate on the 41 Dodge seems to be from 1942, so the cars are near new:

    IMG_0089

    #75141
    Michu
    Participant

    IMG_0214

    #75155
    Michu
    Participant

    One more, the hood looks to be sectioned but the body not channeled, so the body is sectioned too? And the roof seems to be not choppedā€¦

    IMG_0380

    • This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Michu.
    • This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Michu.
    #75195
    Rik Hoving
    Keymaster

    Okay… these photos are not fitting the theme of this post since they were taken in the 1960’s. But the car in the photos was originally restyled around 1947…

    Dean Ekdahl send me a couple of photos he got from a friend some 25 years ago and was wondering if I could help him identify the Ford Custom in the photos. His friend ā€“ Norm Morrison ā€“ who passed away in the early 2000ā€™s always mentioned that his old ā€˜47 Ford was a Barris Custom from 1946-47. But Dean was not sure about that, he had not been able to find any other info on it.

    The photos Dean send of the car were all from the early 1960ā€™s, when Norm owned the car. Norm had mentioned ā€œwhat a piece of shitā€ that car was, but he did take photos of it, and did hold on to them until he gave them to Dean 25 years ago. So the car must have meant something to him.
    When Dean send me the first very small photos I recognised the shape of the padded top, and a few other details, and wondered if it could be the one that was photographed in front of the Barris Compton Ave shop back in 1947, and the same one that George Barris photographed in the early 1960ā€™s. When Dean send me larger versions of the photos I could read the license plate, and it sure was the same car as George photographed in the 1960ā€™s. The great news is that this one is still alive and well.

    Thank you for sharing these Dean, another piece of the puzzle for an original Barris related Custom. According to the Kustoms Illustrated article on this car, it was a guy named Fuzzy who worked for Barris who actually created the car. Possibly after work at the Barris shop?

    IG Barris-47-Ford-03

    IG Barris-47-Ford-04

    IG Barris-47-Ford-05

    IG Barris-47-Ford-07

    IG Barris-47-Ford-06

    IG Barris-47-Ford-08

    IG Barris-47-Ford-01

    IG Barris-47-Ford-02

    Enjoy the beauty of Customizing

    #75382
    Rik Hoving
    Keymaster

    Jimmy Barter shared these neat photos on Facebook. I know, two hot rods, but at least one Custom as well šŸ™‚

     

    “Taken at D & B Auto Sales, no date so late 40s, possibly early 50s”

    442407330_7801266489895295_9026113258100219061_n440941985_7801266506561960_4805946084620031769_n436305737_7801266433228634_9189783025053629338_n

    Enjoy the beauty of Customizing

    #75537
    Michu
    Participant

    Saw this photo on ebay recently, it looks to be pre 1950:

    IMG_3151

    #75538
    Rik Hoving
    Keymaster

    Very nice photo Michu. Clean and simple mild custom with all the right touches.

     

    Enjoy the beauty of Customizing

    #75544
    Michu
    Participant

    Definitely not the most elegant custom and i donā€˜t know if this has been discussed elsewhere before, but i wonder if this 40 Ford is an early Barris K/Custom, because in an small picture from an 1949 Motor Trend magazine it is definitely in the front of the Barris shop in Compton (see comparsion picture with the 40 Ford coupe in front of the shop). On the picture where it is painted dark it has a 1947 license plate, so the pictures taken in front of the shop seem to be earlier than 1947 because the car has black walls, is painted white (primer?) and the top is black. Maybe they shaped the top at the Barris shop, covered it with some black material and brought it later to Gaylords or Carson Top Shop for finishing upholstery? Does anybody know?

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    #75545
    Mild Mitch
    Participant

    I believe this car still exists and has been restored. I remember it from the old books and saw it some years ago at the Sacramento Autorama. Like maybe 2010 or so. Maybe more recent even.

    I can’t recall if it was a Barris car or not. But it’s quite possible, and if not, they probably worked on it at some point.

    It’s much prettier in person!

    Mitch

    #75546
    Rik Hoving
    Keymaster

    Nice Find Michu, I had not seen the white version of the car parked in front of the Barris Shop.

    The Throther MacMinn book published by the Rodder’s Journal had two photo’s of the car, the one you posted and a rear angle view.
    And below is what they wrote about it… Not much new info, but the info that is came from Sacramento might perhaps be a further indication Barris might have something to do with the car. Perhaps George and Sam worked on it while still in Sacramento during WWII?

    Nice Try

    In the early custom car era. There were no definitive guidelines or precedents. The seminal volume on the subject, Dan Postā€™s Original Blue Book of Custom Restyling, first published in 1944, illustrated many of the techniques and ideas, but it did not make any judgements on what was right or wrong. This attempt, built apparently from a ā€™40 Ford Tudor sedan, with what appear to be fine metalworking skills, albeit questionable design taste, utilized many custom touches that would soon become universal: a smoothed body that was devoid of unnecessary trim, a chopped and padded top, ā€™37 De Soto ribbed bumpers, even a spare tire insert in the decklid. Itā€™s shown in three views on the inside front cover of Dan Postā€™s book, unfortunately, with no label to identify the builder. But trust us, this rear three quarter-view is the carā€™s best aspect. Seen from the front, in this 1947 photo, thereā€™s a chromed Cyclopean ā€œeyeā€ center headlamp in the hood that reportedly turned with the wheels; itā€™s decidedly ugly.

    That cut-down door line flows at too abrupt an angle from the hood plane, and the grille itself, although hand-formed and apparently functional, is far too massive for this application. In Motor Trendā€™s first issue, dated September, 1949, this same car is shown, in a lighter color, with this unflattering caption: ā€œWeird-looking car from Sacramento features a Cyclops eye that turns with the wheels, and a grille that works like a venetian blind to regulate the airflow through the radiator.ā€

    We canā€™t help but wonder what Mac thought.

    40FordConvertible01

     

    I do not recall ever seeing this again in more recent days, as Mitch mentioned. A new hood and grille would do wonders for the car for sure. But I guess this one was done in the “experimentation phase” of the builder.

    Enjoy the beauty of Customizing

    #75547
    Michu
    Participant

    That would be nice to see a picture of it how it looks now! Iā€˜ve seen the small Motor Trend picture in an thread about Carson Tops on the Hamb and recognized the Lettering on the wall. Maybe itā€˜s a bit unfair to say itā€˜s ā€šnot the most elegantā€˜ or like in the book, of ā€šquestionable design tasteā€˜. It really sounds better to say it is an early custom with an experimental factor.

    #75554
    Michu
    Participant

    Hereā€˜s another interesting photo of a Mild Custom Ford. The license plate seems to be a 1947 California plate, the upper right corner is out of sight, so it maybe has a 48/49 or 50 Tag on it. On the back of the photo is some writing. Of course itā€˜s not a Club Coupe but yes, it is a 41 Ford (the running board confirms this), and itā€˜s a Deluxe (no windshield trim and painted vent window frames). As it is written on the back of the photo,Ā  it has a 47 Ford front attached to it. It looks like they also used the front axle of the 47, because the 41 axle is narrower and would look not so good with the new, wider front. Maybe the car had an accident before and that was the start of the customizing. The chrome trim from the upper grill bar is removed and replaced by a matching stainless piece like the lower ones, but it sticks out into the headlights! The bumpers seem to be 42/46 Ford, at least the guards. They retained the 41 Ford side trim and shortened it a bit on the newer hood. Also the Ford seems to be repainted completely. It is lowered in the back, and has, i believe, 46/48 skirts. On the back of the photo is written ā€žlowered rear, and plainā€œ, i believe this means it is decked too, matching to the nosed hood. And the Ford has reversed door handles! Iā€˜ve only seen that on earlier customs until now. I love those ā€žunspectacularā€œ street customs!
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