Custom from the GNRS

Thought I would share some Customs from the show

 

#2

 

#3

 

#4

 

#5

 

#6

 

#7

 

#8

 

#9

 

#10

 

last one

 

Hey Denise, #5 has your color for Big Olds methinks...

I'm not into customs, but I think they did better than the roadsters this time. I'd like to have that #3 unchopped one.

 

That Lowe-built car kicks ***. (#10)


here's another one.

 

Here are few more: D'Agostino's Eldo (I'm surprised I've never seen one of these done as a custom before), with unnecessary fadeaway paint

 

Were #3, and #7 both the real Watson cars? They are killer.

 

A **** Dean Merc -- nothing really new here, but very well integrated. Kinda like the black SoCal roadster:

 

It seems customs don't hit this board as often as I'd like. Thanx for sharing some of the good ones, guys! It looks like, this year, there was some real work being done and not just kustom paint. If you have a few more of the Packard, feel free to put some up!
Bil

 

It was the No 3(except for color) until Shortbus posted his photo. It is my pick of the litter.

Denice is going to have Big Olds painted like a lot of cars. Many new fresh cars copper colored.

Jim

 

One more. The reason for putting this in the customs thread is the very well done top; this is surely the best '37 3W I've seen, and I suspect it was done with '36 3W doors.

The sign on the Watson squarebird implied that it was the real thing. I thought the G****vine was one of two clones that have been done; I didn't think the real one existed any more.

 

Is the Packard a legit Darrin or was it built from a lesser model?

BTW, I love the Airflow! Overall the customs are far more interesting than the current crop of high-zoot street rods, IMHO.

Thanks for posting.

 

The Packard gets my vote and not just because it had to take "cubic amounts of testicles" to mess with what is arguably one of the most beautiful semi-production cars ever built.I didn't think you could improve on that car but I guess I was wrong! Thanks for posting all the pix and I agree;There aren't enough customs being posted.But then again this is the Jalopy Journal and not Custom City(with a C).

 

Denise,don't give in to the current orange paint fad.There HAS to be an alternative to your search for a new color.

 

I mostly took photos of details- the paint on this cad really emphasized its form- subtle color shifts - wow!

 

And of course this one-

lace paint is looking goooooood to me right now.

 

First: No, it’s not a Darrin, just customized regular 120. A nice custom, yes, but it does not have to look of a look Darrin.
As I just wrote an eight page Darrin history for Lead News, I’ll try to make a short summary in English about Darrin’s years at Packard. Sorry for my bad English, but this is a fast translation from Swedish.

The first Packard that Howard “Dutch” Darrin built in 1938, in his new shop at Sunset Strip, was based on a 38 120 cpe. Darrin did prefer the smaller and sleeker 120´s since they were a better choice for a good looking custom than the big ones. The roof was cut off, the hood and cowl was sectioned and the car got a split V-windshield. The doors got the typical "Darrin-dips" and the rear of the body was handmade. The second car he built was sold to Clark Gable, and it did look about the same as the first one. Those first cars were cleaned up in custom manner up as well and did not have all the added "circus-parts" as the Darrin Packard’s seen on the concourse of today. No big hood ornaments and not much of the body chrome left. The third car was also similar. Then with the forth car, a new cowl was made in cast aluminum. This was made to make the cars stronger, as they basically were cut off coupes, without reinforced frames, the cars did squeak and rattle a lot. With the new cowl he build between 16-18 cars were built, without any support from Packard. The cars were built by Paul Erdos and Rudy Stoessel (Rudy did then start Coachcraft of Hollywood). These Packard’s were one-offs from a coachbuilder or as I may call Darrin due to his way of working modifying existing bodies, one of the very first custombuilders. Darrin did show a car at a sales conference at Packard and that managed to make the Packard top managers furious! They did not like that custom car builder in California did mess up their cars! But after a lot of pressure from the sales folks (that did like the Darrin Packard a lot) the top management at last said yes. Then Darrin Packard’s started to be produced at Auburns old factory in Indiana. Not a high volume car, but more than Darrin shop in Ca. could handle. Totally 40 Victoria cvt´s, 5 cvt sedan’s and two Sedan’s were made there. Still many of the top folks disliked them, but they were good for sales figures, as teasers. If a guy came looking at the expensive Darrin Packard he might end up buying at cheaper one. When Auburn did close their gates in 1940, the production was moved to Sayers & Scoville in Cincinnati, a he**** maker! The later 40-41 Darrin Packards are more of normal Packards than Darrin´s custom work. But Darrin got some work from Packard, in 41 Darrin had made a wonderful design for them, the Clipper. A design that he never did get paid for. The design was also altered by Packard’s own folks, to suit production better. The dip on the doors were gone, the full length fade-a-ways did end at the middle of the doors instead. And worst of all, the lower part of the doors did show a trace of footsteps, that a long with hood ornaments was a thing that Darrin did hate! Such attributes was a thing of a long gone past, not for a modern good looking car. Later Darrin built a custom Clipper for Errol Flynn, a Clipper that did look as Darrin intended it to.
By the way, there is a bit interesting soap-opera here too… Errol Flynn did marry Darrin’s former girlfriend, Lily DaMita, a French actress and dancer that Darrin met in Paris and she came to the States along with him when he moved back before WW2 (he built a real neat Delage for Lily as well). Lily did look good indeed, but acting in American speaking movies movies did not make a success for here. She divorced Errol Flynn and then she started to spread ill rumuors about that he did like other things than girls, she even wrote a book about that. Later she did regreat what she done, and told that it was lies. But that was too late and Errol Flynn´s career was spoiled.

 

RPW -- Excellent information about Darrin's involvement with Packard and the stunning cars he produced. If you don't mind I'd like to copy it and put it in my information library. Thanks so much for sharing, and please don't apologize for your English; my Swedish is non-existent.

 

aV8: Thanks Mike! The rest of the article might be of your interest as well, send me an e-mail..

 

RPW, that was great info....

 

I can't help myself-that Packard is the baddest custom on the planet! I look at it more in the vain of what Dutch Darrin would have built had the Packard just rolled into his shop for a little m***aging; just the way they did it back then. It's perfect. Well, I guess it's obvious that I reall really like the big unusual cars and that this is spot on to perfection. Drool and more drool. I want it!!!Do you think he would swap for a second owner '40 Ford tudor, a pair of '63 Dodges (a convert and a hardtop) and a '48 Caddy convert to boot?

 

As RPW points out, D'Agostino's car is not a Darrin, and in fact I think the doors on his car are handled better than the original Darrin's. I'd like to see the car with a bit less speedboat rake, and they could have spent more time getting the shape of the top (see Lowe's Merc for how it can/should be done).

AV8, I agree that customs are largely more interesting to look at than today's hot rods. That's why Paso has been my favorite event of the year for a long time -- do you attend it regularly?