Here's a barn find lead.. '57 Oakland Roadster Show winner

Jeff , There must be some truth to your analogy. I always liked your PU better than the Airflow. Old coffin filled with cold brews in the back? Abstracta ..Yes, Airflow ..No. Hot pin up models posing in the back? Abstracta... Yes, Airflow... No, Drive to Hotrodarama? Abstracta ...Yes, Airflow... No. Let it park next to me at a show?, . Abstracta...Yes, Airflow...No. I'll vote Marylin Monroe any time.

 

I think its cool that its still around, and still in the hands of the original owner, the rear & side look great, I'm PERSONALLY not too keen on the front end, but it is a kustom, and
more importantly, a survivor with significant history. I'd love to see it restored.

 

This car has always haunted my mind ever since I saw it in the old magazines! i really envy old Rod Powell for getting to see this thing go down the road in its glory days. That brings up the fact that once your get a visual on that thing going down the road in your mind, don't forget to add the audio of that blower whinning and the loud exhaust, scaring little children at the car shows. That kind of thing must have made you not notice the styling that much when you saw it in motion. All we get to see is static old photos of it, I bet its a trip to see it going down the boulevard! I was born to late.

 

First off I will say that I'm not really a Custom guy, especially not a fan of "Show Rods" from the 50's and 60's. Wasn't really into the Roth type stuff when it was new and still am not now, although I have learned to appreciate it. So, that being said, I don't really care what people's opinion of this car is because I do think it has significant historical relevance and really should be restored as close to the original build as possible. And as for the folks that dig, that's even better.
I also noticed that a lot of the people who say it's UGLY should probably look long and hard in their own garage, they might be surprised what others are saying about their ride.

 

So, has anyone actually called and asked the price, or gone to see it?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

Yea, the planing was good alright, its the execution i m worried about!

 

Jerry is one very neat guy .. he bought the bird new-- he was a pin stripper and still is .. he had hoped to pass the bird on to his kids ... they told him they would not know what to do with it ..and maybe sell it for 10'gs ..
Jerry decided right then he'd better sell it now ( or find someone to restore it ..)
he has a ton of history with it- pics-and memrobiia from all the shows and racing ... the best pic is him driving in PA to a show with slicks on it ... and it's snowing out and of course it had no top..

I could spend hours listening to his tales .. he was saying Slonaker still owed him a trophy ... he beat out Don Tognottis bird ... had Ed Roth do some special work for him ...he's a walking car show history book..

buckle up guys ... history is expensive -- he's in the 150 range ---
and to see it will take a deposit .. he does not want to move it from where it's been sitting all these years in a special "Bird" barn .. it' s all original in it's current state and he HAS all the pieces to put it back to it original show state... which many say is ugly ... Jerry has a neat reply for those guys ..

I plan on doing an interview with him .. I will post up a podcast link soon.

and before you call it ugly -- remember it's 1957 and the new Edsel just came out ..and he built the car all by himself ...

 

Built himself.....awesome.....

 

awesome. thanks for sharing this info...

bummer that his kids aren't into carrying on the tradition.

-scott noteboom

 

Cool that it was stored so long because it didn't keep morphing...a lot of customs were ruined in the 70's due to unnecessary changes.

 

It's so ugly someone stuck it in a barn and left it. Should have burnt it.

 

It is awesome but 150K not to sure about that

 

Let's face it, that car is eighteen kinds of ugly. Really. Seriously. A face only a Momma could love. It amazes me that these customs (generally) are the cars with a ton and a half of work to make them ugly. A lot of time, effort, money, and planning went into building ugly. Sorry to say, most of the customs that are like this particular car are indeed, ugly. And, even the big names in this field, like Winfield and Starbird, for example, have built some ugly cars, too. Not all of them are works of art.

But, NOT EVERY CUSTOM IS UGLY! Many, many of them are, however. Big letters, for the folks who might be having kittens over this.

Let's face facts. A car like this has maybe a dozen potential buyers in the US and Canada together. Maybe three or four people that can really do the car justice and restore it to its 1957 days properly. Lots and lots of $$$ spent for a vehicle with a very limited overall value. Historic? Obviously. Pleasing to the eye? No way in hell. Should it be preserved? Absolutely. But the buyer should not be surprised when those people who will eventually see the car in a show somewhere and not exactly fall all over themselves with praise for this vehicle (yes, even Pebble Beach).

With all that said, I would own this car just to have what might be the ugliest car on Earth in my garage.

 

Fugly would be correct

 

Now I remember what that front end reminded me of:


You think GM was watching the custom world much?Maybe took notes from this Ford customizer way back when?

 

Sorry , but im not feeling it either..

 

I'd bet a beer it looks way kool in person. It looks like you need to see things in "iso" to get what was done since pics are 1 dimensional, especially old pics like the above. Now it's no Hirohata Merc to be sure. Certainly an aquired taste. I also think it's not worth the asking price since it's life span was so limited.

 

The car fucking rules......ugly or not....it's badass....and cars like this are what the HAMB is all about.

 

that things ugly as shit but id drive it all the funny looks would give me a good reason to flip people off

and i like flipping people off

 

1) Jerry built the car himself, from his own vision. He had balls, and didnt have a "traditional manual" to follow.

2) he built what *he* wanted, not what all the other sheep like. It's amazing how sheep follow each other in todays modern traditional snobbery.

3) he drove it across the country.... to the shows, to the drag strips, to the salt. everywhere..... without a roof, with a blower sticking out in the air. he probably almost spent as much time on the road as us idiots spend dramatizing on the internet.

4) he's held onto the tradition he helped create, whether you like it or not. he's held onto his tradition for over 50 years.

Go look in the mirror before you call names-- because insulting someones car can be as sensitive a topic as insulting someones mother. Also take into consideration that Jerry has years in the game and is an older dude--- thus, how about giving a little respect?

By the way--- what do you think the chances are that people will be talking about your car in 50 years?

I'd be stoked to see this thing on the road. I think it would excite kids to see this beast on the road. That to me, is a major part of what it's all about...

-scott noteboom

 

Fuckin-A Scott!!!!!

 

EXACTLY. This is what the HAMB is all about. Ugly or not this car was once a huge success. I would not call that car ugly. Different is a good term, but not ugly. It took a lot of love and work to get it were it was.
Ugly defines a car that is thrown together with no say or vision to what goes were or why. A lot of rat rods are "ugly". They have no sence of style, and usually have stupid shit hanging all over them just to have it bolted to the car. This car looks like it was well thought out, nicely crafted and definetly shows the styles of the time. Plus it won show and race events to boot. How many of you could build a roadster show winner, then go set a recored at Bonneville in the same car? Probably no too many on here, certainly not I. Sure, today is a different era, but thats the whole point.

How many of you guys try so hard to build a car of yesterday, the way guys did it back "in the day"? Now we have one staring us in the face and we cut it down. Bad charicter. We all need to flip through the little pages a little more offen, and remember were the roots of this came from.

 

Nicely said, Scott.

Ugly or not, the coolest thing I get from this is the fact that Jerry has kept it like it is, for nigh onto fifty years. It must have meant something to him, and that's priceless. He could have easily changed it, traded it or sold it at any time---but he didn't

 

I like it too, but more I respect the car and what the builder accomplished. Of course, like the saying goes "opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most of them stink" so I guess everyone here is entitled to theirs.

 

i love this car!!! and the caddy mill to boot!!! gotta go change my undergarments now....



this car is what the H.A.M.B. used to be about....prolly just me but seems to be the 'traditional' thing to do lately to do what everyone else thinks is kool

 

Thanks Scott........sounds like you have chatted with him........a heck of a good guy to chat with........and I agree with pretty much everything that you have said.........and it is kinda' funny that everyone can talk bad over the internet, but if you were chatting with "Jerry" in his open garage door, because you saw a car in there......I bet that alot of the above would keep their mouths shut and ears open.

Chris Nelson
Kansas

 

Here's an earlier/ milder version of Jerry's car.

If you think his car was weird you should see a couple of the other customized T-Birds in this August 1958 Car Craft.
RodP

 

Can I get an AMEN? AMEN!

 

I guess I am a bad guy because that car doesn't do it for me. The blown Caddy mill is truly a work of art, however! I'll grant the builder this, and that's the fact he DROVE the car, RACED the car, and SHOWED the car. How many current ISCA car owners can say that about their cars? I'm gonna guess...ZERO.

I don't care what happens to my car or what people say about it in 50 years, because I'll be dead and really won't give a sh!t, one way or the other. That's the way it goes.

 

Yes it IS cool he hung on to it.

Used to be? as in 2007 when you registered? Give me a break.

Chris, you know me, I would ask him WTF he was thinking to his face. It is a weird, fugly car built in a time when that was the norm. Stood out in its day. Dig the rear treatment, just not the front.

Rod, that version is cool. It is easy to see the ISCA "destruction" of a well thought out car. Add more mods to gain points next year.

Scott, relax, nobody is calling the guy Obama or some other derogetory statement Just stating our thoughts on an old survivor.