Customs History of the Custom display ~ GNRS ~ OFFICIAL thread info & photo's

Looking forward to seeing Don Morton's "Golden Bird" in person. Owning the car since 1958 he has a lot of memorabilia from all the major mid west indoor car shows that he plans on bringing .

 

This is really shaping up to be the biggest show of customs this century!

 

If there is one car that i really wish we could get is the Ralph Jilek 40 Ford. Last sold at auction a while ago - i understand someone affiliated with Marriott Hotel owns this beauty. If anyone out there knows the "whereabouts" please contact me.

 

Yes! Wouldn't it be neat to have Axle's avatar playing there too! (Can't believe I read all the pages..)

 

can't wait

 

I know there is shuttle service from some of the outlying hotels to the show- I thought I saw a list somewhere but can't find it now.

Axle- where are the shuttle stops- how does it work?

 

Hi, i can't speak for any of the other Hotels (although its very possible) but the Raddison Suites Hotel has free shuttle bus to and from the Fairplex. Most of these Shuttle services generally escort every 15-30 minutes.

Raddison Suites Hotel
1211 East Garvey Street
Covina, California . 91724
(626)-915-3441

If anyone calls the other Hotels that i have listed make sure you ask about Shuttle Buses.

 

Make sure you periodically visit the Suede Palace (directly across from the Custom building) where the Avatars will be performing all weekend long

 

If my avatar is playing, it will draw quite a crowd. I'll be there, hope I can see everything. The show that is, not my avatar.
This looks to be WAY bigger than the Long Beach Motorama we went to in September.

 

I can't wait to see the Astra Coupe on display with so many historic customs. It definitely deserves it. Jay Everett's design was decades a head of it's time. Consider how similar the overall shapes of the Astra Coupe, designed in the early 50's and a Datsun 240Z designed in 1970 are:

photo by Chris Shelton for Rod & Custom


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In my opinion, you have to Jeff Allison a little more credit then just being one of the car prior owners. When Jeff bought the Astra Coupe, out of the garage in Spokane, WA where the car had sat in for many years, no one knew what it was.

More so then anyone else, Jeff is the individual who should be given credit for resurrecting the Astra Coupe. He spent countless hours researching and documenting it's history and without his effort the Astra Coupe could have very easily disappeared from the custom world.

Also I wanted to say thank you to everyone involved in putting this amazing display of customs together. This is truly going to be a once in a lifetime event.

 

See you there,
Special Ed

 

Glad to see this thread dragged you two outta the woodwork. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys and your posse again and hanging out. Merry Christmas fellas! xoxox

 

Well if I can have any car in the show this would be it (except Jerry's of coarse).As of the early 90's Ben still had it and was still alive in L.A. area this is what I was told.If anyone has any info on this masterpiece,please speak up.Imagine seeing this in the building.

 

Thank you!. I was not aware of that... now I, and all that love this car and where not aware of this know.

 

The announcement of the next addition to the Customs Then & Now exhibit is really special to me.
I have spend a lot of time making sure this car would be part of the show. And I want to thank Dave Crook, John Buck, Tom Thibodeaux, Steve Frisbie and Axle for all the efforts it took to make sure the car will make it to the show.
The car is the Dave Crook build and Harry Bradley designed 1947 Ford Convertible "Job One"

The Rodder's Journal / Steve Coonan photo




Ever since I first saw the designs by Harry Bradley being published in the Custom Car magazines in the 1980's and early 90's I have been greatly inspired by his fresh looks on custom cars and Hot Rods.
Harry Bradley was able to create these modern looking cars, based on old bodies and mixed with early custom car design elements. His designs where always meant to push the envelop a little further, to inspire the builders to look beyond the borders. Harry Bradley is best known for his work at Mattel for designing most of the first series of Hot Wheels, most of us have played with those cars, and we still remember how they inspired us.

Several of the Harry Bradley designed cars have been built in full scale. Dave Crook worked close with Harry on two of his creations. The Firebird Concept Custom, and this 1947 Ford Convertible.
The team of Harry and Dave Crook has been proven a golden team. Harry's design abilities combined with the skills and patients to built the designs out of metal and plastic from Dave is like a dream team from outer space. Working with Harry means that a project is evolving all the time. Over the period of time when Dave was building the car new elements where added and dropped, hundreds of sketches where produced, and all are works of art. If one element was added, other parts of the car had to be redesigned to follow the new shapes.

The Rodder's Journal / Steve Coonan photo


This photo shows just a few of the sketch books Harry filled with designs for each and every little details on Dave Crook's Ford.



The Rodder's Journal featured the car twice. The first time in bare metal to show the incredible workmanship of Dave Crook, with in progress photos and with series of Bradley sketches printed on artist transparent paper - my favorite TRJ special feature to date. And a second issue with the car all finished on the cover and a full article showing all the neat little details. This was a custom car from a completely different level than what we had seen before.

The Rodder's Journal / Steve Coonan photo


The Rodder's Journal / Steve Coonan photo


The lines on this car are all so perfect, some like the skirts on the front fenders or the dip in the bottom of the doors are contemporary and totally different from what we are used from looking at other Custom Cars. But if they will not grab you right away, they usually do it after looking at them for some time.

The Rodder's Journal / Steve Coonan photo


The front fender skirts move out when the front wheels turn.







The Harry Bradley sketches are wonderful in detail, and this one showing how the interior door mirrors work also shows the sense of Humor Harry usually puts into his artwork.


It is amazed how well the contemporary components and the 1940's 1950's Customizing elements worked with the 1947 Ford body. Dave's goal was to create a car that could have been a factory design study from before WWII, that could have been influenced the they Barris Custom Shop work from the late 1940's and early 1950's, plus with a modern approach to it.



The interior uses a 1961 Chrysler Gauge Cluster in a completely home made dash. The original styling idea came from the 1937 Lincoln Dash.

I have spend hours looking at the two features in the Rodder's Journal (#4 & #10), and I know for sure I will spend many hours looking over the car at this show.
Nearly all of the work on this car was performed by Dave crook, but the interior was upholstered by Warren Morimoto.


Paul Kelly Photo



Harry Bradley added this small sketch to the first article in TRJ issue #4, and his simple line drawing of Dave's Car is just simply increadible, and shows the beauty in balance, and proportion this car has.




Dave Crook has sold the 1947 Ford some time ago, and the Steve Frisbie will bring the car for the new owner from San Diego to the GNRS.

 

Nix the Red Roof if you can, unless you like fleas, roaches, etc.

 

Thats the second time I've heard that I better book somewhere else. Where would you recommend?

 

The posse will be there. Merry Christmas to you also Denise. And a safe New Years.

 

Everytime you think, 'wow, it can't get any better,' you pull something like Job One out of the hat! Saw it back in 2003, blew me away....whatever next!!!!

 

Just a reminder

 

Any news on commemorative plaques for us just spectating?How about posters and T shirts?

 

I will have a limited number of T-shirts available at the KI booth.
Very, very good chance of a limited spectator plaque as well, right Dennis?

 

Man I'm so stoked about this thank you everyone involved this is going to be the trip of a lifetime

 

Don't worry, the plaques for the participants are already in the works at the foundry, so we'll have time to get the spectator plaques done too. I've had my best artist working on an artwork and we've got permission to use a fantastic artwork of a Westergard style car for the plaque. You're gonna love them!

Merry Christmas to all and to all pleasent dreams of a trip to Pomona next month

Dennis & Sue

 

Sounds awsome Dennis!Merry Christmas!

 

The plaques sound cool...I can't wait to get my hands on one, Dennis!!

A very Merry Christmas to you and Sue also...see you in a month!

 

This show is going to motivate me to finish the 52 for summer and the plague sounds super cool!

 

WOW !!!!!! Im still trying to grasp the fact that this car will be in the Building at the GNRS this year.It doesn't get much heavier then this.I cant wait to see it in person.

 

Had the opportunity to ride in this thru the streets of St Louis....I told Kurt
at the time that people probally thought we were pretty snooty cause we had our heads up with our noses in the air....well, we were only trying to see over the hood...!