Ryan submitted a new blog post: A Repost: Jay Johnston's Shoebox Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Classy machine...a perfect addition to the cerebral collage of desires. Enjoy your day off... Pretty dreamy inside too... And some fine hammer and dolly work around the back window... http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Jay_Johnston's_1949_Ford
Absolutely perfect! And I always thought that it was coral and white, not coral and yellow! Still, spot on perfect. I love this car.
My eye is drawn to the roof. Ya know how convertible tops fill up with air on the highway and kinda "puff up" that's what it looks like to me.
I like the way the roofline flows into the rear trim. The customizer had great vision with this art project...smooth clean and not to over the top.
I've always loved that roof as goofy as it is in relation to the C pillar's... and its made from a business coupe right? I seem to recall... but maybe I'm wrong. Its one of my favorites. I still have my first car- its a 49, I've been obsessed with them for as long as I can remember. I always wondered how he got it to look like that- so balloon like- it all works... the whole thing. Perfect.
I always thought it was made from a convertible, but everything I've read says that it was building from a coupe... which is really hard for me to imagine.
Which version does everyone like best? I'm partial to the one with the Merc taillights and the Olds wheel openings, but either will do. In later years, I could almost see canted headlights as an addition (you know how it was almost required to change yearly). Hopefully, it never happened.
I always think and hope that cars such as this are still around, hidden away in an unsuspecting garage or barn. There's so much work into it and it is difficult to imagine someone having given it a change-over. I was a real estate appraiser in Los Angeles back in the 1970's and had to fully inspect the interiors of any house I appraised. I saw some very cool cars that had been long parked and looked forgotten. But everyone always had plans to get 'em back on the road.
I've ALWAYS wondered what happened to this car... This one doesn't seem like it would just disappear. And from what I've heard from guys that actually saw the car in person during the day, it was actually really nicely built. I don't think this is one that would be crushed. I gotta think it's out there somewhere. As far as the top goes, I don't hate it at all. It just doesn't look quite right to me. And I think that is because I'm predisposed by staring at so many Vickys. For example, do tops get much better than Mark's or George's?
At the end of the day though, I'm a coupe guy... and my top two coupes are actually contemporary builds: I've never seen this car in person, but I love the chop and I love the colors... It's just so tasteful: And then there's Lee's car... Probably my favorite shoebox of all time:
It just does not look as it should. It almost looks like it came from a different car. I do like the hood and headlight treatment.
Well... I couldn't make the obsession go away, the moons aligned, Lee called... and now I own one of my favorite shoebox Fords of all time: More next week...
Jay was a very good friend of mine. Unfortunately, in the last 2 years I've lost track of him. Last I heard he was in a hospital in Mississippi. I believe those photos of his car are the ones I provided Rik Several years ago. Jay gave me all the original photos of the car. He had no idea what ever became of the car. I am very proud to have possession of the last vehicle Jay ever painted.
The Jalopy Journal
