One of the B&W photo captions states Curley (and pictures him in a few photos), which would be Curley Hurlbert, one of the many workers at Barris' shop over the years. By the late 50's George was definitely hands off, focusing on photography, sales and (self) promotion. I guess "built by Barris" vs. "built (or created) by the Barris shop" is a matter of semantics. One things for sure, the car fits the mold of a late 50's Barris flavored Custom. I love it. Reminds me of the type of find Kurt McCormick would have wheeled into a KKOA event in the 80's when Customs were the rage.
I responded to the ad and received a response yesterday. The car has been taken off the market and is going to be cleaned up and made to run and drive. It is going to auction in late 24 or early 25. I bet the response to his hemmings ad was overwhelming and lead up to this.....
Sounds like a good plan, just hope the owners either know what they are doing or hire a professional to do the work, so they don’t do more harm than good. Not a fan of a lot of customs, but this one looks tastefully done.
This is a minor player in the Barris sphere. A much lesser known car that is super cool, but not a landmark build. Honestly, what makes this car for me is mainly the original Dean Jeffries striping, and how well preserved the car is generally. It's one that can't be restored, rather than preserved. I don't see it bringing a ton of money, but I hope to see it out one day.
I have no doubt that the owner got a lot of inquiries, but I suspect that once price was mentioned interest fell off rapidly. I also suspect that a flipper is now involved, promising pie in the sky to the owner, begging the question will the repairs be done 'right' ($$$$) or will it be band-aids slapped on? 'Running, driving' is a pretty low bar... As we all know, dumping money into a 'project' in an effort to improve its retail price is nearly always a money-losing proposition, especially if paying someone else to do the work. The owner may yet regret this choice...
I tend to agree. Especially since I'd imagine that it won't be inexpensive to have the VS57 gone through.
Yeah, between the vintage exotic (blower and its attending bits) and the merely obsolete vintage bits (everything else) I don't see this as a cheap fix if done right. If the flipper is smart, they'll pull the blower and all of its bits off (documenting everything) and include it in the trunk. That will considerably reduce the complexity (and likely cost) of getting it running well if possible. They're opening a can of worms in any case...
I kinda wish it didn’t have Barris and Jeffries ties, that way a regular fella like me might have a chance at a cool old Kustom.
That's a neat car. I'm not a huge fan of the post-Sam era of Barris, but that one looks tastefully done with restraint considering when it was built there.
people are funny on here sometimes. assuming rats ate the interior. no pictures of the back mean it is wrecked. hoping they don't screw it up when it probably just needs a good washing. probably has never been outside since the last show it went to. my guess is it will start and run with minimal effort. brakes may be stuck. remove the blower from the carb and take the belt off to simplify things. change the fluids, and hope the radiator does not leak. that's no leaky dirt floor barn with owls shitting on it, not with what looks like 2 giant gun safes sitting there next to it. don't you guys ever watch Roadkill Garage? those guys take rotten cars from the junk yard and go on road trips. I'd love to have that car, I'd park it next to the old custom maroon 50 Chevy coupe that was posted here a few months back that I can't buy either.
I saw the Foose video this morning before I saw this thread. Awesome that Chip went out of his way to help preserve the car and help get it to auction. That's an awesome twist to the story.
Honestly as spoiled brat as it sounds it's a shame it didn't pop up when my grandpa on my moms was still alive. He was super well off and I never asked him for anything. Dude probably would have bought the olds for me and then gave me a bunch of his own tools to work on it with lol
You beat me to it. It's cool to see an honest view of how these cars were built in the day, what corners were cut, what was innovative and new, etc.
The only thing I hate about this is I can't stand foose. But I absolutely love the olds. So that means I have to pay attention to foose lol. Still definitely worth it. Pretty sure I have the mag they keep showing the cover of with the car
I'm going to guess that you've never met him, because if you have and you still don't like him, the problem is probably you. Dude is one of the nicest and most humble guys you could meet in the hobby, despite having a resume and skill set that would dictate he doesn't need to be that way. The cars he designs aren't typically HAMB friendly, but he has a genuine love and appreciation for the roots of this hobby.
The Jalopy Journal
