I took the pictures of this 49' Chopped Ford back in the late fiftys, it belong to Jim Galvin of Ottawa , Illinois then it went to Tom Gibb of Morris, after that nobody knows, probaly in a barn ??????
Old and Krusty, you are correct sir.The white "56" Chevy belonged to Carol Lewis. That was Dean's girl back in the day. It was one of the very few saved that dark day in Kustom history.
Auctions America by RM's will be auctioning Frank Kurtis "Buick Special" at Auburn Fall Collector Car Auction, Swap Meet and Car Corral, September 1,2011-Sept. 4, 2011 Location Auburn,Indiana Bid at Auction or Contact seller below. Contact Seller Either by phone or email. Phone First. Please call : 317- 402- 2222 Email: rasllc@sbcglobal.net
Buster Litton ford at Long Beach marine stadium,this is such a great picture of a custom parked around a bunch of other cars.I was here watching some boat races last month and wondering where exactly this picture was taken. Thanks Rik for reworking this shot so we dont dont see the center of the binding.
What an incredible shot! Could you imagine walking through a parking lot and seeing that car just sitting there?
I really like this,of coarse I would change some minor things but I think is a great looking car right here.
I think that it would be kool to see where all of the 90's built "trendy' kustoms are at today. Hopefully some of them were repaired back to Koolness. A lot of 90 whatever Caddys lost there tailights to Kustoms back then. Tradition never goes out of style, it will always be kool. Happy Trails, Mick
I've got photos of that car taken at the Carlisle, PA Swap Meet sometime late '70-early '80s. Will try to find 'em when I get home tonight.
That car was in Connecticut for the longest time. These pictures were taken in '02... the last time I saw it. I had heard a story once that the parents of the kid who owned it back in the day, had it built for him while he was in the service because they knew he liked custom cars. Apparently he disliked it because it was a four door and sold it almost immediately. Not sure if that's true or not, but that is what I had heard years ago. PM me and I will give you the old Conn. owners contact info. He will have a lot of info on the car.
Here are a few more photos of the Tom Nielsen Collection... Another photo from the Tom Nielsen Collection is this great looking 1940 Ford Coupe belonging to Tom's Neighbor, Bill Fleenor Bill built the car himself in 1955 and had the car till 1958. It has some very tasteful modifications as this 3/4 view shows. smoothed decklid, 1941 Stude tailights, 1946 Ford gas flap in the rear fender, 1948 Chevy smoothed bumpers an a nice black lacquer paint job. The stance was perfect for the car in that period, and it still looks great and it can go both as a Street Rod or Custom, but the smooth hubcaps, wide whites and Appleton Spotlights qualify this one as a Custom. This was the car got Tom into Custom Cars. I can surely imagine that if you see this in the drive way every day of the week! Another photo from the Tom Nielsen Collection is this interior photo of Tom's brothers 1940 Ford coupe. The care was painted white lacquer and they used two 1940 Ford dashboards to create this Custom Dash which looks really great. This photo must have been taken during the installation of the new dash for the car. Note that the handles of the Appleton spotlights where removed, and the ashtray's are not in place either. This photo of this 1955 Ford was taken by Tom at a parade in Everett, Wa. when he was about twelve years old. It had been a nearly new four door and the owner made into a two door and added '56 Buick tailights. Great snapshot from the Tom Nielsen Collection. This time a color photo of the Spokane, Washington's David Johnson 1953 Chevy. David Chopped his Chevy 3,5 inches, sectioned the body another 3 inches and lowered the suspension a couple of inches as well. The side trim which is hard to tell from this photo comes from a 1954 Pontiac. The grille from a 1956 Chrysler and the canted quad headlights from a 1957 Chrysler. The split front bumper is 1955 Pontiac, and the Purple paint amazing. The car won the Full Custom Award at the 1962 World's Fair car show in Seattle, where this photo was taken. Another photo from the Tom Nielsen Collection is this very nice 1956 Plymouth. Tom took this photo at a local dragstrip in the later parts of the 1950's. The 1954 Chevy grille looks amazingly well in this otherwise mild custom. Tom could not remember much about this car, so we don't know a color or a name of the owner/builder. All we know is that this 1956 Plymouth mild custom looks really well.
Two more photos from the Tom Nielsen photo albums... This time a very nicely done 1940 Ford four door. The car was from from Vancouver, BC and owned by Fred Welsh. This photo was taken outside of a show at the Arlington dragstrip. A pretty rare photo since the car was a real show car with a chromed undercarriage which included the frame. The wheel wells where painted white with Purple fogging. The door handles where shaved, the license plate set into the trunk. A set of canted Lincoln headlights was set into the front fenders. And both and rear the car use 1937 DeSoto bumpers. Here is another photo of Fred Welsh his 1940 Ford four door show Custom. This photo shows the car was constantly updated for a new show car season. This time the car was updated with among many other details dual 1959 Cadillac taillights canted - just like the Lincoln headlights - into the rear fenders. The purple paint with contrasting white interior is looking really great. And so are all the chrome chassis details.
The Jalopy Journal
