Hello, I am the grandson and co-caretaker of the historic custom "Miss Taboo". A 1956 Chevy 150 originally owned by Ron Luchs and built at Vern's Body Shop in Beaverton Oregon between 1958-1962. There have been various owners of the car over the years. Ron owned the car twice first when building it, sold it 1962 and then again from 1990 to 2009. My grandfather CJ Carlile has also owned the car twice. He actually sold the car back to Ron in 1990 with the condition he would get first shot at buying the car back and Ron made good on that agreement and the car came back to our home, with no intention of ever leaving again. Major Awards: -First Portland Roadster show in 1959, then again in 1960,61,62,88,89,94,2014,2015,2016 -Won first in class at Portland Roadster show in 1962, 3rd Place in 1959. -Crowned Northwest Champion for Competition Custom at Seattle Roadster show in 1960 -Crowned Puget Sound Champion in Semi-Custom Coupe/Sedan at Seattle Roadster Show in 1959 -Winner of King of Customs at Portland in 2014 -2015 Portland Roadster Show -First in Class at 2015 Grand National Roadster Show -Won Best Use of Color at 2014 NSRA Northwest Nationals, -Best Custom and People’s Choice at 2014 Forest Grove Concourse. -Was inducted into the Portland Roadster Show Hall of Fame in 2016 -Won ISCA Outstanding Full/Radical/Handbuilt at 2015 Portland Roadster Show -Won "Way Cool" at 2018 Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals Magazine Features: -Cover and Feature in Rod & Custom May 1960 -Cover and Feature in Kustoms Illustrated Issue #40 -Feature in Traditional Rod & Kulture Issue #52 -Little Article in Hot Rod Deluxe May 2019 -Feature in Car Kulture Deluxe Issue #96 I'll start posting various pictures in order of the cars history. Starting with the beginning a used bone stock former sheriffs 56 Chevy 150
It didn't take long to start modify the car. It was early in Ron's ownership that the car was named. Ron's dad John ran out one day as Ron was changing something, he was pissed and told Ron that it was taboo to cut up a practically new car. The name stuck and this 56 has been Miss Taboo ever since. The spelling has varied over the years from Miss Tabu or Miss Taboo.
The first big mods to the car was the removal of the 150 trim for the 56 Bel Air front fender, door and opposite side front fender on the quarter panel, tube grille, Lee diamond lenses, new interior and fresh paint.
The car didn't stay in one form for long at this point in time. It wasn't very long before more work was done. This included grafting in 57 Chrysler 300 headlights. The day Ron picked the car up from Vern's after swapping the headlights he only got 2 blocks before an old lady pulled out in front of him and he t-boned her, thus wiping the nose off Taboo.
After dragging the car back to the shop, the nose was repaired. Also the junked tube grille was then swapped with a 54 Chevy unit with 19 teeth. Also the bumpers were swapped for 59 Impala units front and rear with their matching roll pans. The bumpers were narrowed 3 inches to fit the 56 better. This version is the what was feature in Rod & Custom in 1960.
Right after the Rod & Custom photo shoot the car was again in a wreck. During the repairs the car then had the 60 Chrysler tail lights grafted into the rear. The bottom picture was taken at drag strip (cant recall which one). Ron was racing the car to see what it would do.
Wow....very cool....but man that car could find an accident..sure it wasn’t planned....every time it was wrecked more customizing happened..great car and story
D: Very nice write-up!! We are glad to have, the grandson of the current owner, nicest mild customs here in the Northwest. Thank you for keeping the Kustom movement alive
Those old tri fives had that lovely feature called brake fade...and I did experience it and it makes for uncomfortable feelings and perhaps this 56 had its own special version of it... I remember pushing that brake pedal so hard I almost broke the seat off the floor...luckily the front end remained intact as nothing was hit. Cool custom @Taboo56Chevy
I know the best is yet to come! Car was unforgettable from the start, is better than ever now. with new hood line, fully chromed mill with lots of carbs, and more! Truly, a custom for the ages!
Thanks for kind words everyone. Now more pictures! By 1961 Taboo was at the peak of its first prime. No real changes took place from 1961-1963, though by 63 Ron had to sell the car, as the need for a practical family car was needed. So Taboo was sold to his brother Arnie and then again sold to a family in Beaverton Oregon. By 1964/1965 the car was already deteriorating pretty bad. The family let the kinds walk on the hood, top and trunk of the car. The Blue paint was peeling was looking to be heading the way of a lot of outdated show cars.
Luckily the car survived going to the junk yard, when Chuck Shutts saw the car from his backyard when he moved to Beaverton in around 1966/1967. Chuck bought the car dragged it home and began redoing the car. He stripped the paint and cleaned up the bodywork but didn't change anything on the outside. The car was then painted black and new all white interior installed. Chuck would sell the car in around 69/70 and then when through a few owners through the 70s including Ron Sweeny, Brislawn borthers and eventually a lady bartender in Downtown Portland.
Now by the late 70's early 80's Taboo is being used as a daily commuter car for a female bartender for the Checkered Tavern down on 82nd Ave in Portland. The car had been in another fender bender and repaired, but the car was in a sad state again. This is when my grandfather enters the cars story. My grandfather (CJ) had been a fan of Taboo since it was in Rod & Custom. He missed out buying the car once before when Chuck sold it and CJ would from that point keep an eye out for it to come up for sale again. It took longer than expected but finally the bartender was ready for something more reliable than the old custom. So CJ sold his 65 Corvette roadster to be able to buy Taboo and bring her home. There a lot of work was done to the mechanicals. A new 327 sbc with 6 Stormberg's and a new interior were added. A filler panel between the trunk and bumper was made and the paint was brought back to life and once again Taboo was on Northwest show and cruise in circuit. The car went all over once again racking up loads of awards like it had in the 60's.
By the end of the 1980's Ron had seen Taboo at a show and wanted to have his old custom back. His brother Arnie wasn't doing well health wise and they wanted to get the car back in their family again. So reluctantly, but understanding CJ sold Ron Taboo back with the deal of getting first chance at buying the car back from Ron if he ever sold it. With the sale though a lasting friendship between Ron and CJ was formed. Ron would leave the car alone and just drive it until 1993 then the car was torn apart and redone with a lot of new custom work that included, pancaking the hood and trunk, suiciding the hood and doors, molded in side pipes, rear roof scoops, modified dash and 4 bucket seats covered in white and maroon upholstery with a wood console. The new blue paint with purple scallops. The car looked very 90's at this point.
This was how Taboo looked through the rest of the 90's and most of the 2000's. Ron stopped showing the car regularly at the end of the 90's and would then bring it out to one or two shows a year. Then in 2009 Ron decided it was time to let the car go again. None of his kids wanted the car and his health wasn't the best either. So keeping his agreement he made over 20 years ago to CJ he called to give him first shot at the car. CJ jumped at the chance (I might have helped because I have loved the car since I first saw a picture of it) so the deal was made and once again Taboo was coming home with CJ. The car needed a redo again as some rust was forming again and mice had started to eat the interior again. These pics below are from the day we brought the car home.
Glad you wrote about “Miss Taboo” on here I have my “SeaBurst” thread on here with its Portland history also Sent from my iPad
Yeah the 93 makeover didn't do the car any favors. Now that the car was back in our family the car sat for half a year as CJ and I figured out what exactly to do with the car, what custom work be kept, what would be undone, new custom work etc.…. The some what firmed up decision was to make the car look like if the car had continued to be customized originally in the 60s with a year range of 1962-1964. So the dash had to be patched, the side pipes were removed and the roof scoops were removed. The hood was unsuicided and stock hinges put back, but left pancaked. So CJ fabbed up a filler panel that filled the whole between the front of the opening to the core support. The rockers were bent up at a metal shop since a full one piece rocker was not available, the dash was patched up with hand made panels and parts of the original dash.
The main change with the restoration was interior, happened upon a 60 T-bird that was being parted out and went and got the font buckets, console, and complete rear seat to put in the car. The rear seat and arm rests is the same width as the stock 56 so it went nicely. Had the top of the seat piece reworked by local rod shop A&M customs to extend out to the stock package tray dimensions.
The other phase of the restoration was the engine. This is an area both CJ and I enjoy the most and take great pride in. The 327 that was in the car was one CJ had built for Ron right after he bought it back in the late 80's. The motor had little use since that rebuild so it was pulled apart inspected and then resealed up. The motor is a 66 327, bored .030 over, pop up's, 1.94 camel humps, Malloy unilite distributor, an unknow spec cam that has a nice lump to it, gear drive, and the jewel that tops it off is the polished offy 6x2 intake with 6 Rochester 2GC's. CJ made his own adapters to make the carbs work as the intake is set up for a 94 or 97 carb.
While the motor redo was going on, the suspension bits were getting cleaned and painted and put back on so the car could head out the body shop for some final bodywork and begin painting.
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