Any FL HAMBers going to the Concours? We're taking a break from the show schedule to see Florida in March...gotta be better weather than Detroit! Even though it's not 100% on-topic, they do seem to pull in some fantastic era perfect racers, as well as great coachbuilt one-off cars. You really get inspired by these pieces of machinery when you realize how long ago they were created, with few of our "modern" tools. No Mig's, power hammers, plasma cutters, or a million and one air tools for these builders! The creativity and style that the old coachbuilders had still amazes me today. Very inspiring. Remember, early customs were just backyard versions of what Coachcraft, Bohman and Schwartz, and Harley Earl's Dad were doing in the 30's and 40's.
Hey, Sheeeeeh! I wish I was going! Have any "real" kustoms been invited as was the case at Pebbel Beach awhile back? Mark, if you look at some of the late 30s coachbuilt "stuff" you see alot of where Harry Westergard and Jimmy Summers musta been lookin' for ideas about "flow & form". Enjoy yourself. Swankey Devils C.C. " Spending A Nation Into National Debt Is Not An Act Of Compassion !"
When talking to Gary last night he had tickets to The Great Customizers, on Friday, March 13th, in The Ritz-Carltons grand ballroom. George Barris, Dean Jeffries, Darryl Starbird, Chip Foose and Steve Pasteiner are the speakers.
We're flying in a bit too late to catch the customizers, too bad! Amelia once had a class of Barris Ford/Merc's if I remember correctly, 4-5 years ago. They have been talking about doing a Barris GM class for a while, Barry's got the Aztec down there. I wonder if we could bring our truck, seeing it's a copy, not the real thing? That is, if it does happen. I've been an admirer of coachbuilt car for a long time. Ron, one of my customers, who's become a good friend, and helps at the shop, is interested in building a modern version of a French Streamline car. so we go to these shows for inspiration, and to get some ideas of how to execute the car. We'll probably base it on an available chassis, with modern V-12 power (BMW) and a handformed body. The "practice" we did on the Kopper Kart is one step in that direction, and we are planning another radical custom, with more handformed panels to go a step further. Then, buy another piece of equipment or 2, probably a Kent White mini-power hammer, and we'll jump into it.
My friend Rex will be at Amelia with his Black 193? Chrysler Imperial Airflow two door. Beautiful car that gets driven often. Stop by and say hi! Tell him Phil with the brown Vicky sent you. Rex and I cruise together a lot. Phil Prather brown '31 Vicky
Check out the trophies while you're there. Look for one that looks like a flower in a flower pot made out of all parts. It was done by a good buddy of mine!
Ron will be right at home with all the goldchainers and pimps! Remember Mark, when you're there, drink your beer with your pinky up! Have fun buddy, bout time you took more than one wknd off per year.
think about using 39 Caddy front fenders. take the hood out of the middle, or section it way down and you've got a REALLY good start on a front end. here is a 1939 Delgae for comparison. 1949 Delehaye 1939 Delehaye and the not quite HAMB friendly Boyd "whatthehaye"
Hey, An Amelia Island type show featuring all Barris built kustoms ,built before the hideous/profitable 60's show car thing hit, would be quite a show! I hope, now that Ron Kellogg ( the gent who owns the Dean Batchelor photo collection) is here on the HAMB, that he will feature his coachbuilt Art Deco-streamlined handbuilt Jaguar. I saw the vehicle while it was just a plywood buck and some hammered steel panels, before Ron bought it and had someone finish and paint it. The original builder passed on before he could finish it, and I can't remember who the final builder/painter was, but I last saw the finished vehicle at an Art Center Design open house/show. If you like coachbuilt ArtDeco/Streamlined, you're gonna love Ron's Jag! Picture Frog/Swiss and maybe just a touch of English coachbuilder lines in one package, rendered in deep, dark bleu. If I were lookin' to add to my metalshaping tool collection, I'd probably scale up from Kent's mini hammer and build something along the lines of an old Grumman pattern style power hammer. Bigger tools produce bigger parts, faster. If speed wern't the desiding factor, I'd fall back to a large English wheel. Low noise, but very usefull in skilled hands. Swankey Devils C.C. " Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Compassion !"
Just got back in from the show site. Saw the panel discussion featuring George Barris, Dean Jeffries, Wayne Cherry, Chip Foose and Steve Pasteiner are the speakers. Great stuff; at the end, they surprised Dean Jeffries by revealing the restoration-in-process Porsche he did in the 50's. The man was overcome with emotion seeing the car coming back after all these years. Saw Foose afterward and talked for a few minutes; what a nice guy. He asked what we drove and I mentioned the upgraded steering box in the 59. He was very interested. He's doing a 65 Impala that will be shortened and riding on a 09 Vette chassis. Hope the weather tomorrow features more sun and less wind. Big show on Sunday Gary
If anyone goes to the RM auction tommorrow, I would appreciate hearing how much the Duesenberg goes for. Thanks, Joel
We're here now. Just got back from getting our credentials for tomorrow. In the hotel lobby, Jeffries was sitting, signing his books, along with author, Tom Cotter. what a nice guy! Talked with us or about 20 minutes, about the Kart, as he is the guy who originally striped it. Also got to talk to Ken Gross and Peter, who were signing their book "The Art of the Hot Rod". Also very nice fellow. Can't wait for tomorrow!
Gary,,if you see Chip Foose tomorrow,,tell him you have a friend in South Carolina that needs him to overhaul his wifes wagon,,,that should at least get a good laugh for both of you! HRP
Look for the tall guy in the black and white Ska Pork Pie hat... thats me. Walk up and say "howdy". I only look scary.
Choptop sorry we missed you......hard to pics you out from the thousands of friends you brought with you. Damn! what a crowd of people. Did meet Jack Nethercutt, son of the man who established the Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar, CA. Didyou see the stone guard on this Chrysler. The restorer built it from scratch from a photo in an OEM option catalog. Flawless.
I saw choptop! I didin't know who it was at the time, just read your post this morning...but I thought you looked like a HAMB type dude! Not a whole lot of them at this event.
I'm hard to miss What a great show. Hats off to Bill and his large crew of volunteers that put this show on. As big as Billetproof shows are, I cant imagine putting on a show of this magnitude. Perfect day, lots of great cars, met lots of new friends and had a blast... even though you couldnt buy a beer until noon.... I nearly got the shakes!!!! .
We went to the auction on Saturday and the show on Sunday. Some amazing automobiles were on display including a lot of Bohman & Schwartz custom bodied cars like the Phanotm Corsair.
The Jalopy Journal
