History ICONIC CUSTOMS ~ WHAT COMES TO MIND?

Australian

 

Corrected, thank you. As that car is just amazing and he deserves all the credit he gets!!!

 

Having seen it in person, I can only agree.

 

The word custom regardless of how you spell it has become a very large tent that covers many different ideas. To the average car fan if pressed to name a brand of car that is the epitome of customs I would suspect that the 49 - 51 Mercs would come in first. Ask many custom car people what their dream custom would be and I suspect the Mercs would again lead the way. Ask many Custom car builders what their dream build would be and yes, There would be 49-52 Mercs in there but I believe many other cars as well.
To me custom cars are like Jazz. It means a little some thing different to everyone you ask.
JMHO
Torchie

 

Always thought the Predicta was amazing!
KK

 

I have always wondered what Chili Catallo was thinking when he built this car, I remember seeing it on the Beach Boys Little Deuce Coupe album and thought it was the ugliest 32 I had ever seen, years later I saw it again and my opinion has not changed.
I could never figure out if it was suppose to be a hot rod or a custom car.

 

For me it’s the one in your first post. I think it’s very tasteful and has stood the test of time.jmho. Snowman

 

John, me too. The Cadzilla was the first custom that I really "noticed." I had seen other customs, but when Cadzilla came out, I thought that it was the coolest car I had ever seen. It was only later that I began to appreciate traditional customs.

 

I agree, the car has been around long enough to be a icon, but is it a hot rod with the blower and 3 deuces or a custom car with Quad headlights ? HRP

 

I like the X-51, not just for the sleek looks, but the fact Ron Courtney didn't just stick a grille and tail lights from another car in it, he fabbed the pieces.

 

This car has always been my favorite- Hirohata and Sam Barris Merc are up there too

 

Beauty. HRP

 

It's cars like the Hirohata Merc and the one above that stand the test of time, a suggestion of the original shape still remains and in reality ether car could have be built now and they would still stand out in a crowd. HRP

 

Radical custom: anything by Ed Roth

 

Goulart Ford, my Blue Heaven, Busonic, the Blue Danube.....all iconic, as are all the ones listed previously

 

Of course my pick would be "Jade Idol"
and even though it's a chevy-"Miss Taboo", both now in the Northwest.

 

Yeah...but it's still ugly.

 

Hello,

I was trying to rewrite the whole idea of a cool custom car that was from Long Beach, CA back in the 1960s. It was designed, built and shown by Mox Miller. It was hard to write down what has not been written before, so here is the reason this 1958 Chevy Impala is my selection as an “ICONIC CUSTOM.” It was back then and today it still is in the same configuration as before.

ICONIC: widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence

Jnaki

I am a little swayed since I did own, drive and race a 1958 Impala (that I bought from my brother) for 6 years. But, the ideas were so well liked and had never been seen, before it started appearing in local car shows.

If a teenage bank account was quite full, ideas from this classic custom Impala would have been a part of my own 1958 black Impala. After saving for a year or two, I was able to afford a 5 rim set of Buick Skylark Wire Wheels and the necessary hub changes. This allowed me to be a fast, mild custom car in our neighborhood.


Previous post: ELEGANT CUSTOMS

Mox Miller Long Beach 1958 Impala

Hello,

When my brother owned the new, black 1958 Impala, I was envious of that relationship. But, as time rolled by and things just happened, that black 58 Impala became my own car. Being a teenager with an unlimited budget would have been nice, but just like all of our other friends in high school, custom touches on cars were limited to whatever we could afford at the time. Which was...not much.

Of course, maintenance was the number one thing for reliable daily driving to school and back. So, that kept me busy. But, in looking back to our early start of hanging around an old gas station in our neighborhood that serviced the local hot rods and trucks was a sight to experience. That was the starting point of “real” custom cars and hot rods. Sure, we had a collection of hot rod/custom car magazines or read all of the ones on the magazine racks.

It was the actual “touchy,” eagle-eying those early hot rods and customs that gave us the impetus for future designs and modifications. In high school, we saw a ton of different hot rods and customs as we ventured out of our comfort zone of Bixby Knolls. But, in our own backyard, was the coolest mild custom car we had ever seen. A friend knew about one custom Impala and wanted me to go see it with him. So, being invited along, we drove to the Eastside of Long Beach to see Mox Miller’s 1958 CUSTOM Impala.

Jnaki

What a treat it was, to be able to be up close and comfortable with such a cool car. There were tons of ideas that I wanted to incorporate into my own Impala and still keep it elegant, fast and very cool.

Https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/top-ten-kustom-icons-of-your-youth.1095355/page-2#post-12427337 Mox Miller Impala

Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjim01eouy8 Mox Miller Impala

 

The quintessential Hot Rod is a '32 Ford.
The quintessential Custom is a '49-51 Mercury.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quintessential

 

Wild Honey from New Zealand. 1939 Ford

 

The Hirohata Merc benefited from a lot of press and while I'd certainly crown it as 'King of the Mercs', given the ad nauseum variations-on-the-same-theme that has occurred on those since I don't feel it's influence is as high anymore. The last truly original custom 'Merc IMO was Winfield's 'Solar Scene', which isn't as popular as it doesn't comfortably fit the accepted mold.

If forced to choose only one, I'd have to go with the 'Ala Kart'. IMO the best pre-war custom ever, the design still looks fresh, and it was the first full-blown custom to win the AMBR and did it twice to boot. IMO also the best effort George ever did as it avoided most of the gimmicks and goo he tended to put on his cars. The earlier efforts out of his shop showed Sam's influence more and were more subtle/tasteful. The Ala Kart was pure George...

 

IMO 49-51 Mercury is the definition of a Kustom, your example is perfect the "Hirohata" Merc is the most recognized Kustom. There many great Kustoms, Hot Rods and we all have our favorite cars/style/etc.

 

Then 1953 Ruby Maroon and tooled interior, I like this Original look best.

Valley Custom Shop Ray Vega tub now Black, on Black, on Black

And mine, a Ray Vega tribute.