History 1932 ford von dutch prop from hot rod cafe in hi need history

This is a prop car that von dutch made for the hot rod cafe in hawaii back in the late 1970's and i would like to see some pictures of it in the cafe so i could put it back together.

 

I'll never get tired of looking at his handiwork. Sorry I'm unable to assist you in your endeavor to secure pictures "in situ", but this comment will at least bump it back to the top, and perhaps you'll get a more satisfactory and informative response.

dj

 

could you please post a picture of the pinstriping around the handle on the trunk?

sorry i can't offer any assistance as to pictures of it originally. thanks for the photos though!

 

I would be interested to see pictures of the car as well.I'm not trying to start a shitstorm here,but do you have any provenance to support that he actually did this? I ask this for a couple of reasons:
First of all;from what I can see of the striping(which looks good btw)it looks to be a bit thick for his work.
Second:One of his almost cardinal rules was that flame licks should never overlap one another.
Third:The "Harvey" on the trunk looks to have been copied line for line from the original;something I doubt Dutch would have ever done.
I hope it is original as I love to see original work preserved.

 

What color you gonna paint it?

 

Safariknut ,I feel the same about that car, and on another note I have always heard Dutch would never repeat any of his designs........................

 

The signature on the decklid seems kinda big.

The Brucker brothers MIGHT know something about the car.

 

what does the writing below harvey say ? wild hare up your ass ?

 

I went to the hotrod cafe one time, but don't remember seeing a roadster inside . what I do remember is that it was onAlaMoana blvd. and that there were two slicks mounted by the front doors that had black painted "burnout " all the way to the curb . BTW the food was'nt that good .

 

There was no Hot Rod Cafe in Hawaii back in the 70s. Or anything even remotely like one.

Hannah Bananas, The 23 Step, Pirate Bully Hayes', the Jazz Cellar, Pinky's Broiler ? None had hot rod decorations.

Not even in the 80s or early 90s. I'd re-check the history on the car.

 

Safarinut & Von Franco are right all the way, No way Is that real "Dutch"
Mike; sorry looks like ya got a fake.
FRITZ

 

I lived on oahu in that time period and I don't remember any hot rod cafe.

 

I do remember seeing a yellow roadster strapped totally upside down to a ceiling from somewhere. I also was in the HardRock on Oahu in about 81 or so but I don't remember for sure if it was the HardRock that I saw it in. I did not look at it too carefully. I do remember it because it made me a bit uncomfortable to walk under it.

Things are a bit foggy from that trip. As far as being Dutch, can't say.

 

I was there in about 1990 and I kinda remember it mounted up in the ceiling. I remember they had a blown Chrysler Hemi (early) mounted under glass with sign saying it was from the SWC Willys. I grabbed a menu for a souvenir and also bought a souvenir Hawaii lic plate that reads HOT ROD.

 

Hey, in a worst case scenario ya still have what looks to be a pretty clean roadster body to build and with no provenance to speak of you can get rid of that horrible paint job without feeling guilty. It's a win-win.

 

If I recall , it was across the street from and around the Hilton Hawaiian Village. I think it was in the 90's . Somewhere I've got some souviner badges with there logo on them , in and amongest all my other "treasures".

 

That doesn't look like Von Dutch to me, not even a good copy.

 

In the 80s there was a "HOT ROD CAFE" nightclub/bar/restaurant in both Fremont & Alameda, California ... I kinda remember that glass roadster in the Alameda club ... but don't remember if it had HAWAII plates.

BTW ... the owner of the two Bay Area HOT ROD CAFEs (Jerry Lee Harris) was murdered by 3 of his "business partners" in 1987 ... Mr. Harris also owned/operated several other nightclubs in the Bay Area and a couple in Fresno ... as well as a tool rental company in San Diego and a steel company in Monterey.

As for the authenticity of the striping ... I'm no expert, but IMHO, the lines seem way too thick to have been done by Dutch.

 

The lines there selves are very inconsistent, the hall mark of not that good a striper. Me thinks the others are right, at least you have a 32 body, hope you didn't pay Kenneth Howard collector level for it.
Doc

 

I did a quick search hoping to find some decent photos of his work but only seemed to find links to several books about him and no collection of photos of his actual striping.

If he actually did it I would think that there is a photo somewhere of him doing the work but as several mentioned there are signs that it may not be his work.

 

For what its worth. It could be a possible fake. But then again dont do anything untill you know for shure. PM me if you want with better photos of the signiture and I can see if it matches. He was never known for doing the same things all the time.

 

This may be a stupid question, but given the application....hanging from a restaurant roof as decoration.....would a pinstriper that's also a sign painter increase stripe weight? The car's gonna be viewed from 15-35 feet at all times.

 

Good point. The pinstripping I had from him had some wide lines and some funny ones to. He was ahead of his time on painting fades and candies.

 

his work was crude and not very clean there is a book out on his work i dont think anyone has enough knowledge of the man unless they knew him to say it is or is not his work i would get the book an compare how he applied his logo it is a signature it wiil give you a good idea not the size or what people think

 

In the 70's Howard was living with the Bruckers in Santa Paula, Ca and working for them at Movieland Cars of the Stars both in Oxnard and Buena Park. I remember him living in an old city bus and being drunk all the time, angry and not being fond of African Americans. This doesnt look like something he would do during that time period but I can maybe verify with Danny Brucker, who still lives in Santa Paula.

 

Is it possible that some of the striping was done before a yellow re-do? The decklid shows signs of a nice hand, but some of the rest (such as the grill shell) almost look like someone masked off the striping to repaint the yellow?? Just sayin' by looking at the pics. Or, perhaps the flames and some of the striping were done by someone other that whomever did the deck lid??? Food for thought.
Hope someone has some info. for you.

-Dave

 

If you SAVED the Orbitron then maybe you know a little more about the authenticity of this car than people give you credit. But then again maybe not

Book Em Dutch!!!!!!! MURDER ONE!

HURST RACING TIRES

 

Car is done and road worthy now!
This car is the real deal done by Von Dutch.
Vic Hernandez (owner) got confirmation today from one of Howard's long time friend, that this is his work. Vic will be taking the car to the LA ROADSTER SHOW, so come by and check it out

Body was untouched.Still bares the original paint and pin striping from Von Dutch
The roadster was done here www.streettoysmx.com
those guys do kick ass work
they are the ones that restored Nick Mura Willys




























When it was still @ the restaurant Ed Roth signed the photo one year before he passed away.

 

355bullet ...

Road worthy? ... it appears from the photos you posted that it's more of a "trailer queen"



EDIT: I see you added some pics of it off the trailer ... and this:

I guess I'm a bit confused ... perhaps you could elaborate on the Roth connection to this car