Great car. Our own @chrisp had a pretty big hand at building this car and had a build thread on it that unfortunately has been ruined by the missing pictures syndrome. Crazy that it was stolen and recovered at one point as well.
I had the good fortune to see this car last year at The Fallout in Glastonbury, Connecticut. I spoke with Danno about the build, although I didn't realize that he was the owner at first He was pretty low key. The car is just fantastic. He drove the car from New York to Connecticut for the show, that shows how proud of the car, and it shows. It is everything that Ryan said about it. The car is over the top quality wise.
I visited the shop and spent some time with @chrisp out the back where he was working on this. Had the Plymouth fenders mocked on and was making the trunk openning etc. Big job. As much as I love it, the truck grille just overwhelms the front of the car . I can't get past that. (edit, the grille wan't Chrisp's choice )
I saved every build photo that was ever posted on this car, and Chrisp had a build thread on here about it while he was working on it. To think that was one of the first sedans turned into a coupe, much like the one Cole Foster built the same way but totally different at the same time.
That car knocked my socks off the first time I saw photos of it including some of the build photos. It may not emulate what was done in the 40's or 50' s that we revere but it could have been done if someone had thought of it at the time. What we see in the photos of the outside of the car could have been done by some of the master craftsmen of the day. The seats and uphostery design are a bit too modern but Wow that interior is classy even if it doesn't scream 1953. Chassis, It is a custom built to drive and on a custom the hood should never be open at an event in my way of thinking unless you have a proper engine that is done up so that it is worthy and the car isn't suffering from kustom with open hood syndrome. Suspension you either build them to actually drive or you build them for others to look at and again, no one should be laying on the ground under a Kustom or custom looking for something to whine about as long as the owner isn't bragging about it and pointing it out. = the dude with the remote for his air bags so he can raise and lower the car for show and tell while standing in front of it talking to the mouth breathers.
The ass end is killer. Great looking car but it looks best with the rear a couple inches lower than the front. It's a taildragger after all.
Lucas mirrors, pontiac steering wheel and Hudson shift indicator are all underused in the kustom world.
I'm with ya on that. That grille looks awkward to me. Too overwhelming. The rest of the car is right on from what I can surmise
The craftsmanship that it took to create that car is more than evident. While it may not be everyone's choice for the grille shell out of a 30's vintage "White Truck " I say they did a great job of working with what they had. A Packard grille might have been a better choice, but I think the White Truck grille showed some real creative thinking outside of the traditional "box". I will agree, that its a bit too long on the bottom, but it is what it is. To me its still beautiful !
Having driven out to the Lonestar Roundup along side this beautiful piece ll the way from Florida, I'm ready to rack up more miles staring through the windshield or rear view at it. Viva la Mangrove.
Surprised no one mentioned another insane story about this car was when it was just completed and loaded up for a show, that night the truck and trailer got jacked and the internet hunted it down. The trailer was found abandoned with the Ruby Deluxe inside...unharmed. I still think about that incident often. I loved this car since I first saw it.
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