Rik,thanks a lot ! Another great Custom Car Builder Spotlight.I just wanted to add some more pics and info.I also don't have much more info regarding the Cerny's at all.George and Carl had their shop in Compton,California.I don't know many cars the Cerny's worked on but the ones I know are very well done and are very tasteful cars.Like you already mentioned the Buster Litton Ford was chopped by the Barris Bros and George and Carl Cerny did the rest.When the Barris Bros chopped the car it belonged to someone else.For unknown reasons ( I guess it was money ) the project wasn't finished.Buster Litton purchased the partfinished car and brought it to the Cerny's who did the other body work which is equally impressive and well done as the hardtopped and chopped roof converted from a '49 Ford Club Coupe.No doubt,it is one of the best looking Shoebox Fords ever.The extended fenders and quarterpanels really work on this car and it simply has great lines.Damn nice car... The most obvious change on the front is the use of 1950/51 Studebaker fenders to extend the stock fenders.They also used the stock Stude headlights and reworked the trim of those to accept turn signals.I really like the fenders and the Ayalas did this too on the Wally Welch Merc.Keith Weesner Ford has its fenders also reworked this way although he uses stock but frenched headlights which I like even more.The hood was modified with the help of a '51 Merc hood "nose". Here's a close-up of the hood.Also visible is the fully molded gravel pan.Note this pic shows the car with front bumper guards.Originally the bumpers on the car were completely smoothed.I don't know if this pic was taken before this modification or if they were later added. Here's another pic of the rolled and pleated interior.It was fabbed by Gaylord and I wish there would be any color shots available.Litton later sold the complete interior to Hershel "Junior" Conway who also had a very nice '50 Club Coupe.Who knows what happened to the rest of the car... What would I give to see the car in color...it was painted "Cocoa Rust".The quarterpanels were extended with '51 Olds 98 fenders and the stock Olds tail lights were kept.All the seams were filled.Just like the front bumper,the rear one was smoothed and the ends were replaced with '53 Ford bumper ends to give it a more wraparound look.Subtle is the name of the game again...
It seems the Buster Litton Ford was also a regular at shows as evident by these pics.The Cerny's worked another 6 months on the car after the top was chopped by the Barrises.They had to finish the chop and made the beautiful slide-in side windows.The glass came from a Ford Convertible. This pic shows the car one more at a show.Notice the crest on the front fender and I think the aforementioned bumper guards are also visible.According to my info the side trim is stock Ford.'53 Caddy hubcaps one more follow the "less is more"-theme and perfectly fit in there. The "Panoramic Ford" was also featured in Car Craft magazine in the early 50's and I found this article somewhere in the world wide net.If there's anybody who has the possibilities to make the text readable,would be greatly appreciated !!! The Buster Litton Ford in all its beauty...the nicely chopped & hardtopped roof,the extended fenders front and back,the side trim,the wraparound rear bumper,the Caddy hubcaps,just one hell of a combination...I really would like to know what became out of this Shoebox Ford...was it crushed like many other great Customs or did it slowly die somewhere in a field or is it still around,standing in a barn and the owner absolutely has no clue about the car's history and simply thinks it is some old car...
The other gorgeous Cerny Custom is Carl Cerny's own '49 Chevy.Just like you,Rik,I only got those pics out of the Hop Up mag article.The car perfectly nails the early and very classy Custom look.The top was chopped 3 inches in front and 4 inches in the back and as Rik already mentioned the B-posts were slightly raked to give the car that elegant look.Also installed was a one-piece and curved '50 Olds windshield,a very common practise back in the day.Smooth hubcaps look very nice and don't distract the eye from anything on the car.The tall withewalls are simply beautiful.The Cerny's also frenched the headlights and shaved the hood and the trunk which is mandatory. Just like on the Litton Ford the Chevy's quarter panels were extended with Olds fenders and once more the good looking '50 Olds tail lights were used.It seems the Cerny's had a '50 Olds "parts-car" while building this Chevy.Beside the quarter panels,tail lights and windshield,the top grille bar is also from a '50 Olds.The center grille bar is from a '51 though. Rear bumper came from a '49 Olds model and of course it goes well with the Olds quarter panels and the "rest" of the Chevy.The interior was a nice color mixture between maroon and white,matching the outside. (V8minor : I think this is the look you should go for with your Chevy,do you agree Sailor ?
Here is a pic from Andy Southard's Custom Cars of the 1950s. The was a 1956 Car Craft project car styled by Don Fell. Cerny's shop worked on it along with Valley Custom, Norm's Auto Body, and Barris. Southard found it on a Burbank car lot for $1095. Not a bad deal then or now!
Here are a few more pictures of that '50 Chevy. Valley custom performed the instalation of the '55 Chevy grille (very understated like most of theire customizing work). I believe Norm's Auto body handled the side trim. And George Cerny was responsible for the taillights treatment.
This '55 Ford was built by Larry Cerny and as visible from the sign he's still in business.The pic was taken at Paso lately.Seems he's going for the simple look his father and uncle were known for.Very nice '55 Victoria with frenched headlights,'56 hood,Thunderbird wires,pearl paint and bags all around. I think it would be very interesting to talk to Larry Cerny and I bet he knows much about the old Customs and surely has some old pics of those great cars...
hmm never realized that georgious custom was built by another Cerny. here are tow more pictures of it. Very nice mild custom
This '55 appears to be an interesting phantom that I've thought of doing too. The top appears to be the "factory chopped" roof that first appeared as the Crown Victoria in '55, with the chrome "basket handle" that extended the B-pillars over the roof. In '56 this lowered roof appeared on the standard Victoria (no basket handle) as well as the Crown, but in '55 the standard Victoria had a higher roof panel that was probably developed from the '51-'54 stamping. The look is very pleasing, and not unfamiliar since all the parts appear to be stock Ford, but I think that this low-top, basket-handle-less, '55 Victoria is a figment of somebody's imagination!
A litle bit more information on the Buster Litoton Ford. According to a '53 Hop Up magazine article the custom was originally built for Allen Anderson by Barris in 1951 starting with a '49 Ford business coupe. The Barris brothers chopped the top three inches at the front with the top sloping gradually back to a six inch cut at the back. The new chopped and slooped top was four inches chorter than original so new sheet metal had to be formed to fill the gap between the trunk and top. The top door frames where cut of the doors and welded to the top. As TheFrenZ already mentioned the front fenders are from a '51 Studebaker which where molded to the Ford fenders. The front fenders are now 12 inches longer than original. The wheel openings have a one and a half inch roll added which continue into the gravel shield up front and then into the grille opening (very graceful) The grille is made using '53 Chevy parts and '51 Ford Spinners at the end. The front section of the hood of a 51 mercury was grafted onto the Ford hood and a new 3/4 inch creace was added front to back. The side trim was replaced by '48 Buick trim. The stock Ford taillights and flares where removed and the fenders where three inches extended using '51 Oldsmobile units. The rear gravel pan has been modified to folow the contours of the '53 Ford rear bumper (acording to other articles the car uses a stock 49 Ford rear bumper with '53 Ford ends crafted on?!?) Appleton Spotlights and '53 Cadillac hubcaps where added before it was painted a "gleaming bronxe lacquer" Gaylord Kustoms did the interior in a "stricing combination of antique white and bittersweet orange Fabrilite" This is one of the all time best designed customs! Chopped by the Barris brothers and further restyled by Cerny.
Thanks for the info Rik !!! That's pretty interesting ! So the side trim really is '48 Buick...it's perfect. And one more regarding the rear bumper.Yes,they did use '53 Ford bumper ends so the stock bumper will wrap around the car some more.Talk about subtle...Yes,indeed one of the best Customs ever...
What a great post. The history is all one of the best things about the customs. I really enjoyed itand thank you.- Josh
Took a quick look through but didn't see it.. Does any one know what Larry Cerny, George's son is doing now a days? And how to get a hold of him? I did a bit of piecework for him at his shop in Orange while putting myself through college, moved away and went back to say hi and the shop was gone... Any ideas?
That shoebox is one badass car i love the grill and the chop don't care for the fender treetment...but hey you take the good with the bad
I saw that thing at the 83 nationals in Springfield Ohio and when I was 11.When I was little, I thought that someone extended the 1/4 panels and changed the front clip on the Buster Litton car and then saw different as soon as I got home and saw pics of the Buster Litton car again. I knew it was either Aug or Feb. I havent looked in 10 years. Back in the 80s this car was owned by the same guy that had the Larry Ernst(Grant Macklin) 52 Ford
I just found some more photo's of two of Cerny's custom cars. A few more of his brother's Carl '49 (or is it Carlo, according to the '52 Motor Trend magazine) and of George his own '49 Chevy four door Fleetline. First the new photo's of Carl's 49 Chevy. That Olds grille and top bar look so good on this custom. According to the Motor Trend article Carl(o) built this custom for himself in his spare time over a perios of two month (WOW) in the workshop where he and his brother George operate thiere custom shop. Second custom is a Chevy four door Fleetline George built for himself, again in his spare time over a period of two month. George installed a '50 Olds one piece windshield (just as on his brother's 49) And crafted some Caddy fins and taillights onto the rear fenders which where also extended downwards a bit in the back. On the front the headlights where frenched and the grille was made up of a '50 Olds top bar and '47 Olds grille. '50 Pontiac side window chrome was used to ad some more style. And on all four door handles (they where not shaved) Caddy protectors where added again to add more style. The two wonderfull customs parked together.
There are a couple of pictures of Georges flamed 32 tudor fenderless drag car with cad V8 power in Tex Smiths book the History of Hot Rodding part 1. I believe the motor is the same one in the chopped plymouth wagon.
OK, time to breathe life into this thread again! Anyone know what the current status of Cerny's Suburban is? Also, while doing some research on Cerny I stumbled across some early photos of his brother Carl's 1949 Chevy showing the car with a two-tone purple and off-white paint job. The photos were printed in Popular Science October 1952!
If I recall correctly, there was an article done back in the day on the Luna car where they did a rather thorough driving report, even taking it to a dragstrip. Cerny wanted to show that it was more than just a show queen.
Thanks for posting those Carl Cerny Chevy photos.... I had never seen those. I have not heard from the Suburban since I made this post. The guys who where doing it told me they would keep me posted about its progress. So I guess not much has happened since then. Sure hope to see it completely restored one day...
Sometimes on older post links to posted photos get lost. So I have fixed those on my post where I could.... And here is the color photo from the Rot 'n Kustom post.
that last color pic is bad ass! try getting a hold of Dick "PEEP" Jackson he use to work for him, also beside Barris. he should have some pics of his work
I must have read this thread 10 times over the years....thank you guys for the fantastic custom history lesson. And thanks for keeping us up to date with the additions to your collection, Rik. I don't recall ever seeing a pic of the Litton Ford with the Kaiser over-rider. Bryan
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