History Larry Watson's Personal Photo Collection

That would be interesting to know. He sure seemed to crank 'em out. There must have been hundreds at one point in time. I even find the stocker imports to be pretty cool.

 

I've never asked Bill why the name change, I've heard gossip, but not from Bill's lips. And I respect him to much to ask. Growing up after I got my drivers lic. I would pass his shop daily, on the way to Bellflower blvd. But I think it was after doing the work on Bill Carr famous kustom. I named my 36 roadster "The Bill Decarr Special" . Bill is retired and had a lot of birthdays. Did you know that he still owns the building that was his shop.

 

I occured to me as an "intentional" play....In the world where the "perpetually offended" rule nearly everything, I would be the first in line to congratulate Bill on his clever use of the language. Respect? He has earned all that and then some by his work and his legacy.......I doubt asking would add or subtract anything from Bills work. Centurion9

 

The New issue of Kustoms Illustrated (#33) is fresh from the printer.
Another really great issue with Larry Watson's Grapevine clone on the cover. Inside I have a nice new article with many never before seen photos from the Larry Watson Personal Collection. This time concentrating on some of the Pick Up's Larry painted and two spreads devoted to the Dick Gonzales his 1955 Studebaker that Larry painted in candy yellow with pearl white outlines.

Check it out!

 

Must have!!! Grapevine/The Rose Mist is on it!

 

If there are any regular visitors to this thread that don't have a subscription to Kustoms illustrated……………

What is wrong with you people?

Paul

 

Otherwise known as the pink car girls car to my wife.....HAHAHA!!!

Its an honor to have another one of my cars on the cover of this great mag, but to be part of this great series that Rik is doing!

 

Pink cars do not mean girls car. This is just my opinion and having a pink Buick does not mean I am biased.

 

My first car was a '55 Dodge Royal Lancer Custom Super Red Ram HEMI black/rose/white tri-tone.

Marty
Marysville, OH

 

i never get tired of this thread, it was my inspiration for shaving the door handles and a lot of the trim and then adding spots..

 

Bump

 

Here is a black and white photo of the rarely seen engine compartment in Larry's Vino Paisano 1959 T-Brid. The compartment painted white and the engine dressed up with some chrome plated goodies.







A photo from the Larry Watson Personal Collection is this one of Larry's own 1958 T-Bird "Vino Paisano" in its first finished version. Larry intended to paint his T-Bird in a solid silver platinum pearl. But this color turned out to be to bright for this huge car. So Larry decided to ad panels to the Bird in candy Burgundy. Larry outlined the character lines of the T-Bird, and nobody could so this better than Larry. And painted the panels, followed with gold pinstriping around the edges. The gold striping did not last long and he would redo them in lavender. Larry's T-Bird sits perfect with its lowered suspension and additional visual lowering with the lake pipes. The Dodge Lancer hubcaps are the perfect choice. The body work on Larry's T-Bird, shaving door handles and emblems was done by Bill Hines out of the Barris shop. After half a years the burgundy candy paint started to fade rally bad, so Larry decided to do more outlines and fades to cover up the bad paint. Unfortunately this color photo of the first version has discolored a bit… but still its really great to see.









Sometimes Larry Watson cut out his original photos. Most likely to create a collage with them. This is another one of those, almost no flash around the car showing the nice background. But the good thing is I can now show the car as big as possible without feeling guilty removing the great background. Great color photo of Larry's 1958 T-Bird in its final paint version.

 

This 58 is just perfect.....simply gorgeous.

 

rik , you could post nothing but pics of larrys t-bird and id be fine with it cant get tired of looking at it

 

I go back and pick random pages, then just study whatever pictures are there. Thank you so much for this thread Rik.

 

I think of all the cars that Larry painted, I like the dark Grapevine the best. It is so simple in taste.

 

I saw magazine coverage of an indoor car show in sixties in which 30 CARS painted by Watson were grouped together. An overhead shot revealed mostly solids and two-tones. The range of custom hues under the lights was dazzling!

Edit : I found the exact shot (I believe) on Rikster's site. The colors are amazing!

 

Grainy photo of John "Buzzy" Busman's 1956 Chevy Hard Top. John was from Artesia and had his '56 Chevy customized at Van Lewis Custom Shop in his home town. This shop also added the wonderful purple paint. Then Buzzy took his CHevy to his friend Larry Watson who would add a really interesting combination of outlines and flames in fine silver metallic with white tips. The silver outlines and top make the car look a lot longer and lower, and the great design of flames was one that was repeated by Larry on several other cars he pained. This is the first version of the paint job in this photo. Later Larry would add an outline around the side trim which would also follow the door handles. making the body look even longer. Customizing done with paint at its best. and later in the early 1960's Buzzy would have Larry repaint his Chevy in pearl pink with purple with no flames or outlines this time around.







Another photo - black&white - of John "Buzzy" Busman's 1956 Chevy Custom with Larry Watson flames. The photo was taken at an outdoor Custom Car show held on a Sports field or perhaps a High school. Many shows where held like this during the late 1950's so its impossible to tell which one this photo was taken. This photo shows the really interesting design of the flames on the hood. Still the first edition without the outlines around the side trim.









A really great photo from the Larry Watson Personal Collection showing the second version of the John "Buzzy" Busman's 1956 Chevy. Larry added some really nice outlines along the outside of the body contours and the side trim. He taped of the original flames he did and after he added the new silver sections he redid the white fogging a little different than before. Larry also added a heavy pinstripe in gold around the flames and panels this time as well. This photo also shows the really nice all white tuck&roll interior.









This photo from the Larry Watson Collection shows the last version of John "Buzzy" Busman's 1956 Chevy. (at least the last version that I'm aware of) By now Larry Watson had repainted the complete car in a wonderful candy purple with pearl pink inside the side trim and on the back portion of the car. The door handles and even the BelAir script on the rear fenders remained on this version as well. The car had now a much more conservative look and feel to it.











Very nice rear view of John "Buzzy" Busman's 1956 Chevy. This photo was taken at the Larry Watson/Bill DeCarr Artesia Blvd shop in the early 1960's. This car really shows how litle it sometimes takes to create a perfect mild custom car. The right color, leave that to Larry Watson, and a mild lowering job color detailed Lancer four bar hubcaps on white wall's, Bellflower pipes and an all white tuck&roll interior.

 

I love the shot in front of the Peanut House.

The custom add-ons to the front and rear bumpers certainly give the car a different look. They must have been a favorite of the owner. Over the years, he changed the paint four times, he changed the hub caps and he changed the exhaust, but the bumper add-ons remained throughout.

Thanks for all that you do to inform and entertain us.

 

That is a truly great looking car, Larry had a terrific eye for color, I love every version. Especially that shot in front of the peanut house.

 

Wow! That '56 is incredible, hard to say which version i like better. The flames are very cool, but the clean and simple twotone is just perfect, even the pink.

 

I'm not a fan of purple on cars but it sure looks good on that '56.

 

Rik it was at Van Leeuwen's shop corner of Artesia & Gridley in Artesia. I surprised Watson one day, I had Larry Van Leeuwen at my home helping me block my 48 Cad. Roger

 

...

In the background we see the cars with those typical late 50's muted colors. They almost look completely faded they are so low in intensity of color. The Chevy's purple in the photo seems to have ten times the richness and intensity of color than anything in the photo. Did Larry have a special source for his paint ingredients that wasn't even available to the big three car companies??

 

Rik, you have the midas touch. Every post you make is laced with gold

 

Larry used both RM &what's now PPG laquer. Bill Decarr told me a story. One day he asked Larry how the movie was at the drive-in last night. Larry didn't answer, so Bill Said " I know you didn't watch the movie , you watched the colors of the light beams going to the screen." Larrys answer was yes.

 

Besides what Roger already mentioned I think that Larry was even able to get the colors available to the big three look a whole lot better than they did coming out of the factory.
remember that some of these custom car paint jobs took many coats to get to the final color effects. While the Factory used the products to get a car in a color the best and most of all quickest way possible with only one color coat after the car was in primer. I have also heard that Larry was given some experimental spry guns to test. So perhaps the same thing happened with the paints he used as well.

 

Early 1960's photo taken at the Bill DeCarr/Larry Watson Artesia Blvd shop showing custom body work by Bill on this early Porsche. There are a few more photos of this car in the Larry Watson Personal Collection.The car had a frontal collision. Bill created a complete new front for this car and reworked the wheel openings at the same time as well. Bill Carr who previously owned the Barris buiot "Aztec" 1955 Chevy convertible) was the owner of the Porsche. I have no idea why the red T-bird has been circled in blue. And once again we see the military Jeep with white wall tires in the back ground. And I still do not know who owned it.







One more photo showing the metal fabrication skills of Bill deCarr








I really like this photo from the Larry Watson Collection. Larry painted the T-Bird for an unknown client in a wonderful candy spring green. The car appears to have no real customizing done to it... just a Watson paint job. But its the photo and the setting that makes this one so nice. Makes you wonder how this suburbia street looks like today.








1959 T-Bird mild custom with its badges and handles shave. The bumper over riders are removed and the car is lowered all around on a good looking set of white wall tires and Dodge hubcaps. Larry Watson painted the car in a wonderful candy grape with a pearl lavender top. This photo was taken at "The fabulous Queens Arms Medieval Inn" restaurant on Ventura Blvd. Larry used this great looking location of this The Medieval design restaurant for several photo shoots of custom cars he had painted.








Bill Haddad’s 1951 Chevy from the Larry Watson Personal Collection. Bill's Chevy was painted in white pearl with ivory pearl paneling which were fogged with candy blue. The body was smoothed but Bill kept the door handles. The grille - not visible in this photo - uses 1954 Chevy teeth. Matching all white tuck&roll interior with blue painted details. The car was set on a Claifornia rake and chrome wheels with white wall tires installed. The engine is a 1952 Chevy engine with as many chrome goodies as Bill could find. The car comes with a hood but that was taken off when this photo was taken.

 

Thanks again Rik!

 

love that 59 bird