Long LOST Customs/Hotrods.....let's start a list.

I would really like to see the Chicken Coupe Chevy.

Who has the pics?

Someone is bound to...

 

I would like to know what happened to Dave Puhl's "ILLUSION"

BB

 

Frank and Charlie Smith's "plain vanilla" drag car.

 

According to the Hot Rod and Custom chronicle by Thom Taylor, "Soon military duty called and Nick shipped off to Korea. Uncertain of his future, Matranga sent word back to the state for Barris to sell the car. The new owner was allegedly street racing it on a rainy night in early '52, lost control over some railroad tracks, and hit a telephone pole. The owner walked away, but the Matranga merc was totaled."

The same book mentions that Duane traded the Moonglow in the early sixties for a sports car but within a few years that it was crushed.

 

Garlits museum in Florida, but I was talking about a chopped 34 bonneville car, not the 36 Custom. I just remember the plating part and it may not be SoCal.

 

Ah yes...the Buster Litton Ford......my favorite shoebox ever! Where can it be???? Has a clone ever been attempted?
I'd imagine a car like the Lopez '41 being still around......probably disguised as an 80's street rod, having gone through numerous "updates"? with it's original identity 'hidden', and the current owner having no idea what his car once was.
Think about it the next time ya see a nicely chopped coupe but prostreet with baby blue paint and pink heartbeat graphics.....ya never know.....

 

This is about the so-cal '34 coupe. Tragedy struck late in 1954 when the clutch blew up at the starting line, setting the car on fire and severely burning the driver Dave Delangton. Dave died a month later. Xydias gave up racing after the tragedy and sold the car to John Moxley.

Moxley ran the car, now called "Miss 400", at bonneville, setting records. He sold it to Jerry Eisert in 1956, who raced until '60, then put up on blocks. Jim Travis, a long time fan of the car, convinced Eisert to sell it to him in '69.

travis raced the car at the drags and Bonniville in the early '70's and continued to race at Bonniville until '96, which makes it the most raced car in history. Then Dan Orosco purchased it in 1996. Again this info came out of the Hot Rod Chronicle.

 

1. Cover car from Hop Up V1N1 (Aug '51): '22 Dodge roadster built by Barris for Les Callahan. Deuce frame, track nose, belly pan, flathead.

2. Bantam coupe I saw at Petersen Motorama circa 1953: fenderless, flathead, deuce grille, bright yellow paint.

Both these cars were perfect in my eyes, and I have never seen them other than as mentioned above.

...and I second Rikster's nominations of the Litton and Quesnel cars.

 

How about the Bugarin Merc?

 

Amen on this. Just a plug for Garlits museum, If you have any reason to be close to it and don't go, your really missin out.

 

hey rixrex I remember seeing a chopped Quad headlight 55 outside of austin, I think highway 290 going toward manor & houston.

 

In the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver BC there is a car I would like to find. Chopped and sectioned 51 Ford 4-door owned by Ted Baxter. I heard Ted died in the last few years, but rumors of the car still surviving are still around. Also in the Vancouver area was Gary Joe's shoebox convert with quad headlites and radiused wheel wells and Cliff Rich's Lemon Street T coupe. Full fendered and about 3 feet high. Great 50's cars that need to surfave. Also would like to see Tognotti's King T found.

 

the golden rod

 

How about the Von Hunter built, 1962 Car Craft top 10, full custom 57 Ford from Gresham, Oregon or the early 50s, dark green, full custom, fast back Chev with 58 Lincoln headlights and 56 Packard tail lights from Vancouver, BC.

 

The chevy out of Vancouver was several colors over the years. Here is my favorite. It still exists in Vancouver and is in primer at this point. Nothing else has changed on it. Needs a full redo. It is also a 2-door, not a fastback. Terry Kong has owned it for years. Sat stored in my shop for years when it was painted green. Cliff Rich's full fendered T coupe that I would like to find is behind the chevy in the picture. Pat.

 

How about Jerry Moreland's '40 Ford Sedan? I know it's not that old but I love that car!

 

How about "The Shark" built by Bob McNulty?? That was one righteous early Vette!

-John

 

Big John Mazmanians willys coupe. Even the man himself was never able to locate it.
Gasser Girl

 

There was a 57 Buick in R&C or Custom Rodder a long time ago, cant remember for sure but i think it was a Bailon built car, they showed it sitting behind some farmers house missing a rear wheel and COVERED in chicken shit! Said it was not for sale, but I could have sworn I saw something about it being restored several years later....it had chrysler "boomerang" tailites (I believe) and every pic Ive ever seen of it was shot from the rear.

 

Fordnutz...those cars you posted are WAYYYY cool man......more customs these days need quad headlights!
That Chevy is a jaw-dropper.......

 

How about Juniors 49 ford is it still around?

 

these would be at the top of my list. dave bugarins 51 being #1. the matranga merc could very much still be hidden somewhere. could you imagine finding that?! the jack james buick has been one of my favorite since i was a kid. it would be hard to determine though as it is mostly a stock buick. the leroy goulart ford is also one of my favorites. winfield told me at a car show a few years ago that leroy is trying to find it. the last time he knew anything of it, it was in nebraska. he may get winfield to build him a clone. there are many many kustoms unaccounted for. you know there have to be many still out there some where. like the hirohata "lost" for so long. it was in jim mcneils garage the whole time.

 

unfortunately the matranga merc was totalled...

 

Lots of wrecked cars were put away to surface years later. Some people can't bear to let something go, even thought they can't fix it. I know of several found wrecked, but stored. Pat.

 

i read about 7 all aluminum flatheads that Ford built in the 1940's, all of them have disappeared... i think one was maybe on the cover of a mag in around 1950 or so

 

I thought you had built the Futurian.

So what did Casper do with the old body or did he have to destroy it to rebody it. It was a monocoque with the framework welded to the frame and the skin formed over that so I imagine he had to destroy it.

Do you have any pics of the Illusion other than the ones that were in that magazine road test.

Do you have any pics of the rebodied car, I am almost afraid to see those.

BB

 

the futurian is now a bubble top same body with lots of changes. I have been trying to find this car for the original owner, also built by dave puhl at the house of customs.

 

Joe Gemsa's banger T-bucket (?)

 

my old bonneville. DADDY LOVES YOU STILL!!!!!WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!!!!!