i have a question about the owner of the car..i have heard that the car got crushed..did the builder of the car ever build anything else or was moonglow a 1 hit wonder then crushed..was curious about that...if he built other cars any pics to see?...my thoughts is if there is 1 master peice there would be more... Eddie
i believe that was the only car he did, i think he got into like sports cars or something after the moonglow. someone correct me if im wrong?
He did a great job on it but it was all driveway built. He was a kid without a garage or shop. I recall a story where he used his mothers oven (unknown to her LOL) to heat the plexiglass for the rear window. Too my knowledge he never built anything else
........traded, lost and eventually crushed. How do we know it was crushed? That's the story I've heard for ever. If it was lost...hod do we know it was found to be crushed??? Who has documented that it was crushed? Who saw it?.......YA never know!
How many times did it change color??...I've seen pics of it blue which i almost like more than the white...
According to my book it was white, then a metallic silver then a brilliant candy blue. My book also confirms he built it in his driveway and that was the only custom he did. It also states there is at least six clones of the moonglow in its various stages including the original white version built by Charles Brewer of Hamilton, Ohio in the early eighties. This info I pulled from the Hot Rod & Custom Chronicle by Thom Taylor.
O.k. beat by the Rikster. The completed car appeared on the cover of the Jan. 1957 Car Craft also and that would become the most famous form.
Wow! Thanks for all the pics! That silver version really does it for me. History is a funny thing. NO ONE at the time knew they were crushing a million dollar baby and one of the most revered customs of all time.
There has been a clone of "Moonglow" in Central Oregon for years. It has a red blaze instead of the blue. I have picture's but no scanner. Sorry.
If hes still around somebody should find him and Interview him about it.................. that would be really cool hear more stories about building and showing the car
Didn't I read somewhere that the first version was painted in the driveway using his mother's vacuum cleaner?
Great post. I turned 16 in 1957 and started looking for a 54 Chevy hardtop to copy the famous Moonglow. I found a 1953 I could afford ($300) and proceeded to build my version. I too won lots of awards and the car was totaled after I sold it to go to college. Thanks for all the great pictures and for the instant recall I had when I saw the post today. I will scan some pictures later. Several clones have been built but they never captured the same look in my mind.
I still don't understand how a award wining magazine cover car can go from a show only car to being crushed in just a handful of years.
Kustomize a 53-54 and become a overnight ROCKSTAR hamb sensation! Growing up there were 2 cars locally that were cloned after that car and the reason why i'm into kustoms...One was black & the other was done red....The black one was sold shortly after it was completed and i finally located it approx 1 1/2 ago. I had the oppurtunity to purchase the car which i've always dreamed of but like most dreams it was broken!....I can only hope he still has the car and maybe at some point i can finally make it a reality. I collect anything and everything that has to do with that car...It hurts to know it was crushed...
The same way the Hirohata Mercury ended up on the back of used car lot in '57 or '59 nearly forgotten. Early customs had simply fallen out of favor.
of course i am biased i have a 53 chevy but this car was just very well done in the details. It's hard to believe that the builder of the car only built moonglow and nothing else.
Kind of the James Dean of customs. One of my favorite cars of all time. I like the white one, but the scallops on the silver one are perfect.
Ron Johnson formerly of Bellingham, Washington, built a convertible Moonglow for Gordon Apker about 15 years ago when he had a shop in Sedro Wooley, Wa. Wish I had a pic of it. May still be in Apker's collection. Same as Moonglow, but a ragtop. Was a beauty. Ron Johnson built "Party Doll" a custom 53 Chevy back in the sixties, still owned by Sandi Lankaar of Bellingham. Pat.
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