Yeah flippers would be cool. Personally I would lose the Continental kit to add to the flow out back but I wouldn't say no to having in my driveway as is. I always loved the look of '40 Chev headlights molded into the fenders on '37 Chev's. Guess that's why I am doing it on my truck.
When I did the Kolorized photos for the Rodder's Journal article I was told it was a medium metallic green. The Barris books talk about this car in green, but even then I already heard one or two people say it might have been medium blue as well. At the GNRS I asked Jesse Lopez about Sam's Mercury. And he assured me it never was green, it was a light/medium blue with metallic powder added.
And how about this ABSOLUTELY perfect 1938-39 Lincoln convertible with a Hall padded top. Ron Brooks send me this photo. The story is that a fireman - who was a friend of Ron - took the photos from the Hall shop walls when the shop closed in 1965. There is no info on the Lincoln at all.... But all I can say is that it is perfect. I love the fact that the running board covers have been removed, and I have always been a huge fan of the stainless steel rock shields on the rear fenders. The shape of the rear fender is so nicely accentuated by this piece of bright metal... Now somebody needs to clone this car for sure!
Cool thanks. Interesting that both colors mentioned about it were medium colors and not dark didn't seem very common back then.
Jeff, I'm not sure if this photo was actually taken in the Ayala shop. As far as I know the Ayala shop was always packed with projects, and it was hard to move around. This "shop" does not looked packed at all.
Wow Rik what a great car! I love it and I am usually not a huge fan of cars without the running boards but this one works beautifully. Also wanted to mention I really like the way you are posting the pictures they look cool. Are they just photos of pictures in albums?
According to Ron Kellog it was taken inside the Ayala shop,he was telling me all about the racecar in the background.Who knows ...
Well it would be nice if it is... then this will be one of the very few photos shared that shows the Ayala shop from the inside.
When Ron showed me the pic,I even mentioned that I heard this was not in the Ayala brothers shop,I told him someone said that Gil had already sold his merc by this time.He said " Oh no that is inside of Gils shop" so he seemed pretty sure it was taken in the shop.
As I said before on some other thread, it is absolutely amazing to me how they just completely nailed the correct aesthetic on custom cars so long ago and so well. It is almost impossible,in my opinion,to improve on the decisions they made.
your so right!!! what i don't get is. with all this material available. how can someone screw up a car. the guys back in the day just went for it and made them look so much better.
Where were they getting the stainless or chrome covers for the fenders on the rear. I need a set for my 40 and dont know where to start.
i want on too, but since its looks to have been medium format( square format). how about a 10x10 print of it? i love square format.
Because too many people think you have to be different and you are lame if you do the same thing that guys did back in the day. Why mess with perfection?
I asked a friend of mine who used to visit the Ayala shop (1951 was his first year of visiting) and he mentioned that he thinks the guy in the photo is the guy that used to do all the buffing on Gil's lacquer paint jobs. But he also mentioned that the shop was indeed always full of paint spill's grindings and very crowded.
i agree, alot of people try to do something "different" and end up ruining a car, most of the time if something have not been done its for a reason its ugly, but not everytime once in a while you will see something nice
I accidently posted this in another Custom Car and subject related post... thinking Jeff mention the Ayala shop on that post... But now I realize I better show it here as well... so here is the thing I posted on the other HAMB thread.(Matranga at 1951 Oakland Roadster show post). Jeff showed this photo of the Gil Ayala 1940 Mercury before and mentioned that Ron Kellogg said that the car sat inside the Ayala Shop where this photo was taken. I had my doubts about this being inside the Ayala shop, since I had heard that show was always crowded with cars, and stuff. And this "shop" looks so clean, and large. I asked my friend Memo Ortega, who visited the Ayala shop from 1951 and up, and in 1958 bought Gil's 1942-46 Ford Coupe. He thought that he recognized the guy in the photo as the one that always buffed all of Gil's paint jobs, but that he did not really recognize anything else in the shop. Well last night I was looking for something else and I came across this photo of Jack Stewart's 1941 Ford (most work by Ayala, but finished by Barris) and it appears to me that these two photos where taken at the same location. The door in the back looks to be the same. The large stain on the bottom of the door which you can see behind Gil's rear fender, scan also be seen just behind the roadsters rear wheel in the Jack Stewart photo. According the Barris #2 book this photo was taken by Dean Moon at the Urich Motors shop in Whittier.... And there was a small car show. Which makes sence since Gil's 1940 Mercury has some sort of display card in the windshield.
Ron Brooks posted this Wes Collin's 1934 Ford in the Matranga 51 Oakland Roadster show thread... but I feel it belongs here just as well... Fantastic custom Car... and somebody really should built a nice early style Custom Car out a 1933-34 Ford... no matter what body style. From the Ron Brooks Collection. This Great Custom car has a very nice write up with some amazing photos in the new #51 of The Rodder's Journal.
The Jalopy Journal
