Ryan submitted a new blog post: The Felonious Bill Cushenbery Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Stared at pics of that car for hours when I was a kid...... Hours.... If I wasn't busy at work today, I could stare at it all day, again.
Such a great car. In my mind one of the few '40 Ford customs that works. I don't remember if it was Street Rodder or Rod&Custom that had the pictures of it after the fire. Truly a sad sight, but thankfully it was restored back to its former glory. Here's one of my favorite views the rear 3/4. Just beautiful.
100% agree. And I'll take it further - It's one of the very few radical customs of the 1960's that works for me.
El Matador is work of art that beautifully captures and fulfills the qualities of a true kustom. THANK GOODNESS Harold Murphy (RIP) brought it back to life. Here's a HAMB thread that provides a little history. History - Harold Murphy's "El Matador" Story, Pt. 1... | The H.A.M.B. (jalopyjournal.com)
The “hook” in the title worked like a charm, you drew me in like a moth to a flame. As it turned out Bill never was a hooligan but regardless, the man sure knew how to sling lead!
As much of a herculean effort that was put into bringing that car back after the fire, anyone who has seen the car recently knows that it is coming apart at the seams... sometimes "too far gone" means too far gone.... not that it isn't a (or wasn't) a great car but when a car is burnt that hard there are problems trying to restore it. believe me, I saw it just after Murphy redid it and it looked good and sold for 250 grand, A buddy of mine went to see it when it was recently advertised for sale for 75 grand and told me the bodywork was literally coming apart... pretty sad
Metal fatigue? Not long ago, I saw a Porsche 906 that was in a fire, got incredibly hot, and what it did to the aluminum was really interesting. It was warping, but in ways you wouldn't expect.... Almost like a wave through the metal.
I kinda doubt any cop would have correctly ID'd that car as a '40 Ford if it was him doing the terrorizing.
Yeah, @Squablow even though I knew Ryan wasn't actually connecting this car to the crime, that's where my mind went too. There is no way the call went out for a '40 Ford IF that was what they were chasing. It would have been described as 'some wild custom thing', not a Red '40 coupe. I too have spent untold hours staring at the photos. It's so far away from stock and has so many unique changes, but even after searching, there really isn't a line that jumps out as wrong or jarring.
Just possibly the best radical custom of its time. Interestingly though the man pictured with the car is Budd Anderson of AMT fame not Bill Cushenbery. Mick
Yeah the heat changes the metal somehow, it is susceptible to cracking and not to mention all the hidden rust that you can’t get at to fix….
Fire does terrible things to sheet-metal, I don't know of anyone that has been successful repairing a vehicle that has been seriously burned because the grain structure of the metal is changed, even if you can get it back into proper shape there always seems to be problems with rusting and paint adherence.
Always liked this car as it’s one of the few modified 40s that worked, but loved the 58 Impala Limelighter he built more. Although I’m a sucker for 58 Chevys.
when I saw the felonious Cushenbery title I first thought this was going to be about the Silhouette. I have nothing but rumor on this but the word on the street is it was reported stolen and insurance collected but in reality was buried underground.... too bad because it was a great car also. I have and restored the Cushenbery built Car Craft Dream Rod. While I will admit that I always thought the pictures of this car made it look kinda weird, But man when you see it in person it is a fucking cool son of a bitch
The first magazine I ever bought was Rod & Custom Nov 1961 . I was ten years old . I still have the magazine. El Matador still turns me on !!! Bill
Yup, I removed it from a Bug in a junkyard. When I restored it the original chassis was gone so I had to find a Jowett Jupiter chassis and install a VW beam just as Cushenbery did when he built it
Thanks for the interest , but I read this at least once a year. Don't think I could part with it . Bill
not my style but way cool in the day. I do remember looking at the magazines as a young man and thinking how cool the car was in its day. The craftmanship was phenomenal. The white interior and the color.
The Jalopy Journal
