History Larry Watson's Personal Photo Collection

This is one of my favorite photos of the Larry Watson Personal Collection. The brilliant and creative colors on the cars in the photo, the way they are parked, its all so great and makes me want to go back in time and be able to walk around Larry's Rosecrans Blvd shop in the late 1950's.

In this photo we can see the bright candy root beer Gull-wing Mercedes owned by TV and film producer Jack Laird. A candy plum painted 1955 Chevy, Dave Kyte chopped multi colored 1955 Mercury, Jack Van Tassel’s Pearl lime 1957 Pontiac, and an unidentified Candy dark red 1957 Ford parked in front of Larry’s shop. As can be seen in this photo the parking space at this shop was perfect for a small colorful Custom Car show. The Peanut House in the background, was a bar were they served a big bowl of Peanuts with the order and the floor was covered with peanut shells, hence the name.

 

Thanks Rik for keeping Larry alive!
We all look so forward to your posts.

 

Awsomw colors. Thanks Rik for not letting this thread die.

 

Custom painted 300SL Coupe, frickin' awesome!

 

Rik,

The quality of this thread is outstanding!

I thoroughly enjoyed the previous 1112 posts, but 1113 might be the best of all. I would love to join you in that time machine and buy you a beer, or two, or more, at the Peanut House.

Thanks again for sharing.

 

Awesome Rik,the gullwing is plain killer ...keep it up amigo

 

1960 at Bill DeCarr / Larry Watson Artesia Boulevard in Bellflower. This snapshot of the rear wheel/tire on a black 1955 T-bird shows some of the period custom details.

 

Years before I got my first car, my Dad let me keep his cars cleaned and fresh with my bottle of Testors Enamel and a paintbrush.....still brings back good memories of a simpler time....Thanks Rik.....Centurion9

 

I came across an article about a candy rootbeer Gullwing owned by Los Angeles restaurant owner Earl Bruce. It had been custom painted but had faded in the California sun.

Bruce had Von Dutch do a flame job over the faded panels.
Wonder if it was the same car with a later owner?
http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/magazine/3200.asp?id=16662

 

I'll bet that had the M-B and Gullwing Group people mumbling and grinding their teeth !!

 

Hi Rik, I think that's Bruce standing next to his flamed & famed Gullwing.

Hello Bill, YES Mr Earl really rattled the MB peoples cage with all that stuff painted on that Gullwing!

 

Different car.
Earl had Barris paint his gullwing in an early candy Sam Bronze. A paint that faded really fast. He then had Von Dutch add the white flames.

 

I always thought the Von Dutch flamed Gullwing was hideous. The candy root beer one that Larry painted was absolutely beautiful. Great color on that car.

LOVE the candy plum '55!!

 

I really like this photo of a Jaguar Xk convertible painted by Larry Watson. The photo was taken in front of Larry's 5576 Melrose Hollywood shop in the early 1970's. The building in the background - looks to be Paramount Studios - is still there today, and so is the shop were Larry worked at the time.

Larry painted this Jaguar in a striking white pearl with a fuchsia pink pearl on top creating a very much custom feel of this mostly stock Jaguar. I do not know much about Jaguar's, but I guess its great Watson paint job would upset many Jaguar purists today. However I love it and I wish we saw more classic painted like this today, like it was done in back in the day.

Another great photo from the Larry Watson Personal Collection.

 

That is a great choice of colour and lines on the Jaguar. Looks way better than a boring British Racing Green finish.

 

This thread is good. The only thing that makes me sad is that most of these cars aren't around or at least not in the form they are pictured here. All I know is more people should build cars like these!

 

Watson COLORS…
Another photo with the Watson shop wall in the background shows some rally neat parked Customs.
From let to right; Jack Van Tassel’s 1957 Pontiac, unidentified candy red with light gold outlined 1957 Ford, Dave Kyte Mercury, Terry Holloway’s 1957 Plymouth, then an unidentified 1958 T-Bird with similar panels as Larry's own car, a candy dark blue 1957 Ford Ranchero and the top of the root beer Mercedes from Jack Laird as can be seen pecking out above the ranchero. Another T-Bird is driven into the paint booth for a fresh Larry Watson Paint job all the way on the top right of the photo.

How great must it have been to park these cars in line, step out and view this spectacle for some distance.

 

I agree!!!
I get inspired everytime I check this thread out

 

Rikster hits it square on the head! COLOR!!! So many car's today lack COLOR!

 

Ya'know what's even sadder...is that when you try to get guys to let you paint their car like that, they won't let you!
I'd been trying to get someone to have me do a wild panel paint job for many years, finally got a car that would look good in "panels" myself, so I did it for me, back about 7-8 years ago.!
Most people are too conservative, or lack imagination, or trust in the painter to let them do a really wild paint job like Watson!

 

Hey,

Most of the real painters I've known over the years have been pretty good mechanics i.e. painters, but they had no taste or knew anything 'bout makin' colour work- Larry Watson had it all, taste and knowledge.

 

That '57 Fairlane 500 looks very tasty! That version of the Holloway Plymouth is pure perfection!

 

Rik,
Do you have any more photo's of the Green and White 1957 Plymouth??? Feel free to tell me to get off my ass and read through the rest of the thread.

Thanks

 

Great thread, great pics!

 

I'm in AWE

I've been sitting here in front of my computer for the last ten minutes trying to take it all in.
I can not imagine how COOL that would have been in real life.

 

Another nice snapshot - taken by Bill DeCarr - from the Larry Watson Personal Collection shows Larry recently finished 1957 Cadillac Brougham being driven out of the Artesia Blvd shop. Bill DeCarr and Larry share this shop, and Bill had also done all the body work on Larry's Caddy before he added the wonderful candy raspberry of a bright pearl silver base. The fine and brilliant pearls from the base showed wonderful in the candy raspberry paint, creating one of Larry's most wonderful candy paint jobs ever.

I always love to see photos of these customs on the road, where they belong. Larry was taking his Cadillac to its first show held at the LA Shrine Auditorium in January 1961. This photo shows the reshaped - in lead - rear fender fins by Bill DeCarr really well.

 

Chopolds, I've got a car you can go wild on and paint anyway you want... But I'm in Australia dammit!


Thanks Rik, good to get caught up on this thread

 

WOW! 'bet that raspberry lacquer had a glow in broad daylight, and good thing that gasoline was only 29 cents a gallon @ the " T& H " cuz I'll bet Larry burned plenty drivin that Caddy to the Shrine

 

nice shot of the back of the car great color. not many realize that the brougham was a four door with the rear suicide doors very cool car designed under Harley Earl

 

Rik thats's Gary Mcnaught moving it for Larry