Tom Hocker Barris 1940 Ford Restoration Progress
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Posts
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From John Canepa
“Icing on the cake. One of the nicer details…the NOS ‘57 sticker. Since the plate is the original, and the frame was handmade, I had no interest in settling for a reproduction sticker. A fresh NOS sticker in mint condition was found, and carefully applied. Completes the whole package, and is picture perfect to how it was in ‘57.”
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From John…
“Hocker ‘40 rear bumper in final chrome. Beyond pleased with the result. An absolute ton of work to get it looking like this. I blocked each section by hand to ensure the finish I was aiming for, in addition to filing the radius of guards (8 individual edges total) to achieve the quality fitment I was after. The backsides of guards are capped off, and it was critical to have them sit flush with bumper edge for a seamless reflection. The lenses are handmade and needed to fit the opening perfectly…something that I only trusted myself on, hence the reason I did all my own prep work on this particular bumper. If it was just a basic bumper blade with basic guards, I would’ve just let the plating shop handle it. The license plate and frame also have more work than most would realize, which I’ll show in another post.”
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From John…
“When I was presented with the opportunity to take on the restoration of the Tom Hocker ‘40 Ford, I aimed to make the most of it, not only in craftsmanship and quality of work, but also in properly researching the history behind it. I contacted several members of the Hocker family, which led me to Lois Hocker, Tom’s wife. She was thrilled to hear the car was being restored and has been extremely generous in providing me stories, info., and incredible memorabilia. She sent some amazing photos earlier this year, which I’ll share soon, but said the trophies were most likely gone. Well, fast forward a year, and to my and her surprise, she found them, along with some show signs to compliment. Priceless items that will be awesome to display with the car. I feel this will be one of the highest quality, properly documented Barris Kustom restorations to date. Very thankful for this rare and gratifying opportunity to bring this piece of California custom car history back to it’s former glory.”
This is how the material arrived at John’s home. He had no idea what was inside the box, so you can imagine his supersize when he opened it. (I can almost smell it from here 🙂
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From John….
“1953 National Roadster Show, Oakland, CA. Original memorabilia straight from Tom Hocker’s personal collection, withstanding the test of time for the past 67 years. For anyone that missed my post last week, Lois Hocker gifted all of Tom’s items in support of the restoration and historical documentation. Great to see these priceless treasures be reunited with the car.”
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From John…
“I’ve been working steadily on the Hocker ‘40 the past few months, but have done a poor job at posting updates. Time to catch up! So much work involved in a high level restoration, and it takes a while when you’re a one-man show and don’t rush things. Lots of time into the bodywork, color matching, paint, prepping the brightwork, replicating the hubcaps, researching & obtaining historical photos and info., and many other details that are important for this legendary car. I’m aiming for the best results possible in every area. I’ll start the update posts with some shots of the engine bay from bare metal, prime/smoothing, sealer, paint. I’ll follow up tomorrow with the finished results after polishing.”
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John had stopped sharing the progress on the car for some time, and is now catching up, posting pictures of all the progress he has made on the car. John was anxious to share some photos of the more finished work, like the chrome, and the painted fire wall first. Therefore some of the newer photos shared here are not in the right order.
From John…
“Various shots of final sanding prior to sealer. One of the most critical parts of a build, and also one of the most underrated. Lots of time, patience, and experience involved with proper sanding & sculpting . Clean metalwork is important, but it always will require surfacing & proper finishing. No mistakes allowed during this stage…gotta be on point.”
John is using Squeegs Kustoms Epoxy Primer and Mirka for guide coat.
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From John Canepa….
“Final prime on the Hocker ‘40 smooth & sharp before sealer. The hood was the most challenging panel to get aligned & functioning properly. Opens, closes, & lines up perfectly now.”
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