if i remember correctly he told me had the straight axle dropped by some guy on his econo, but i don't know which one it was. i wonder if it was this one?
Porkchop was at Watson's funeral...very cool guy and told us a story about Watson sending a tiger into the paintbooth as a joke...I guess he had a family connection to trained animals for the movies or something...Porkchop is still a sharp-dresser; he was wearing an all gold sweater-suit thing and had really long fingernails, probably for peeling masking paper and tape hahaha
hey rik, any chance you have pictures of the chrome tape buried in clear on the caddy's roof? thanks, jerseymike
Low angle photo from Jim Skonsakes his Golden Sahara Hauler. Customized Ford COE truck by Bill DeCarr to let Jim show the Golden Sahara across the country, and travel with it in style. Bill added a 1960 Mercury grille, among other things. And Larry painted it in pearl white - to match the Golden Sahara - and some very nice graphics in gold and fuchsia. The wheels on this version are painted gold, but later Jim would have them chrome plated. The car also futures a full custom interior and lots of chrome. The red and white with gold top 1951 Cadillac in the back ground is Tom Braggington's custom. Another photo from the Larry Watson Collection showing the fantastic body work of his friend Bill DeCarr. This time its shows a new front end for this 1946-48 Ford convertible. Completely redesigned large opening that will house the grille as well as the headlights. I have seen a similar set up on a sedan, but as far as I can remember I have never seen this car finished in any of the magazines/books or photos I have ever seen. Nice photo as well...
Hell yeah, great post. I just came across and bought a December 1957 issue of Custom Cars, which has the Grapevine on the cover.
Larry took this snapshot of Bill DeCarr - on the left - and the owner (I think) on the right of this Model T Hot Rod. Mostly stock body, wire wheels, dropped axle... Larry would later paint his car a nice light blue pearl, and the top and interior would be upholstered in white. The wire wheels where replaced with black painted steel wheels with baby moon hubcaps on white wall tires... One of the best ever outline paint job Larry did was on the 1958 Chevy for Jim Doss. The first version was a very simple, but elegant candy green over gold with a strong white outline. This version of the car was the most impressive. The outline in a lighter gold with the darker green panels made the car look longer and lower. Later Jim brought his car back to Larry for an updated paint job, and Larry added fogged panels in different shaded of green over the candy green. And for the last version - as far as I know it - larry replaced the gold with a very light pearl green. Here is a photo that Larry took of the car at an indoor show...
Guys, I think the fella on the right, sitting on the running board of that Model T, could be Early Times founder Joe Barnett. You think? Could this be an early unfinished look at his famous T touring?
I was going to make that same observation Theo. It looks like him and it definitely looks like his T in primer. I didn't know Larry Watson worked on any of his cars. Another amazing shot. Thanks Rik!
Rikster, I am always amazed at the wealth and originality of your collection. Just incredibly authentic. Thanks
Yeah Theo you are right. Man this is the coolest thread. Amazing photos and excellent information. Thanks for doing all this hard work Rikster! By the way Joe Barnett is one of the coolest dudes. Great photographer, surfer, character and hot rodder. I don't know him personally, but have been an admirer for a long time. There are some people on here that could add a lot of good stories about him.... -Aaron
Wow, I love being right. Thanks for, er, backing me up, guys. And Rik, thanks for another amazing post. Larry Watson was the man. Wonder if he worked on that T?
Here is another photo of the Model T when it was done. And I'm not 100% sure Larry did work on the car. But since it was part of his Photo Collection and the photos where taken in front of his (and Bill DeCarr's) shop I assume he has painted the car in this wonderful light blue.
Thank you Rik, for continuing to share this incredible collection of Larry Watson's fantastic photos.
A bit over exposed snapshop of Larry's Grapevine rear quarters. It shows the shape of the scoop, the stainless insert and how the side trim was cut to fit the Chevy body. It also shows how low this car was... I know the photo was taken with the car sitting on the grass, which makes it look even lower, but it was LOW! R.I.P. Ron Aguirre - X-Sonic
But you more than make up for it on what you know about customs!!! Thanks for all of the great threads!!
There are so many great pics here! Lots of tasteful cars I've never seen before, thanks for posting them! Rik, I have to ask, besides the ones you have posted, are there any more motorcycle pics in the collection? I realize that you might not feel it's appropriate to post them here though...
The Jalopy Journal
