An early photo of the John Geraghty 1940 Ford Convertible done by the Ayala's. This photo was taken before they raised the front fenders and sectioned the hood a few inches. This photo is especially nice since they parked a stock 1940 Ford Convertible next to it so we can really see the improvement of all the Ayala's Custom work on this great looking early custom. The real Carson padded top looks so good on these 1940 Fords...
This really is a great comparison shot! Rik, with you and the other "archivists" on here providing us with terrific historical images, we can truly say "well, back in the day, they often did it this way..."! It's a thrill to go back in time with you all! I have been pleased to see that curb feelers were a fairly common fixture on these old customs, because I am "feeling" the need for some on my '41. Because I drive the car a lot, I have to have my pass. side mirror set to see the curb when parking. This means the mirror is not too useful in traffic. Thank you for keeping us informed and entertained. -Dave
I posted this photo a couple of pages back already... a photo found on the internet with no other info than on the location in Pasadena. Today I was looking for something else in my Don Montgomery books when I stumbled on this 1940 Ford Convertible owned by Bill Halliday of Pasadena, and I recognized the car immediately as the one from the color slide I had found online. Not really that important.. but its always nice to be able to identify yet another early custom. The Don Montgomery book Old Hot Rod Scrapbook has several photos of this car in it. And here are two of the photos from the Don Montgomery book. Great car
I cant believe you recognized that car Rik! Well then again maybe I do lol ! Good eyes!! Now we just need to find out if it still exists!
Two 1936 Fords... First one is a 5-window coupe owned by Ed Libby. Really great looking Custom with a nice chop, no skirts and single bar hubcaps on all four corners. photo comes from the http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=41633&forum=17 site This photo come from an recent ebay offering. It could actually be a 1935 Ford with 1936 Ford fenders. Most likely a photo from Oregon before or during WWII. The stock grille has been narrowed, and the headlights (possibly 1939 Ford?) have been set into molded in pods on the front fenders. The chrome strip on the running boards front and rear fender ads some wonderful length to the car. It looks like the spare tire cover is completely chromed. And what is another odd touch is the chromed door panel above the belt-line. I'm not sure if the door is actually chromed, or if this is some sort of after market part. I have never seen it before. But it looks like the buttons for side curtains are on it as well. Although this 1932 Ford cannot really be called a Custom Car I want to show it here anyway. THis photo come from the same ebay auction as the 1935-36 Ford above, and is also from Oregon, most likely same era. And I wanted to show since it has a similar chrome upper belt line part on the doors as the car above!.. any body ever seen this done before? The rest of the car is really nice with some very interesting ripple disk hubcaps, chromed grille surround and chrome headlights, and what looks like white wall tires. Classic! And another photo from the Tom Nielsen Collection is this 1941 Ford convertible built by Dale Runyan in 1947. Dale was a Custom Car builder from Everett, Washington, and has been building customs since the mid 1940's. The photo is a bit blurry, but I wanted to show it anyway, since it shows the mid/late 1940's style so well. chopped windshield, padded top, lowered a bit all around, skirts, Custom hubcaps and spotlights mounted forward. The rear bumper looks to be 1946 Chevy, and looks really good on this model car.
Awesome photos Rik! I especially like the Oregon 35 and 36. Have you run these photos through Dick Page? As he is from the area he would maybe know, or know someone that knows...
Below is a really early custom that I noticed while reading through Jimmy B's great scans of early hot rod magazines. The build was based on a 1932 Ford Roadster, and it was supposedly restyled by Bob Hart of Nassau, new York between 1938 and 1939! The narrowed grille and repositioned headlights makes me think Bob was heavily inspired by cars such as the Southern Plating Company's 1931 Ford Model A delivery truck when he restyled the roadster: According to our history books the So Cal Plating delivery trucks, often designed by George DuVall, were instruments in creating a custom trend that slowly spread through the entire US...Bob's roadster could be a proof on this. Do anyone have more info on Bob Hart and his roadster? If the info posted in Hot Rod Magazine December 1948 is correct, this could be one of the oldest known east coast customs...at least that I have stumbled across. Other visible features are a hallock/boat looking windshield and fenderskirts...
When I saw Bob Hart's 32 Ford in Jimmy B's scans it made me think of the Brewster Fords a lot ... and those where made on the East Coast. Very nice early Custom though... and hopefully more info will come available on it.
Very interesting! Yes, Bob could just as much have been inspired by the Brewster cars as they were built much closer to him.
I think what you're seeing is the fabric side screens. They have been unclipped from the screen post, but left clipped to the door top and then drapped back over the door. It was a way of having the "window" open but still having the side screen there if needed.
Here is another really great snapshot from the Tom Nielsen Collection. Tom's friend Ken Wall was from Denver and drove a nice 1940 Ford Coupe, and he has shared his photos with Tom. This one is a really fantastic line up of custom cars. With a chopped padded topped 1940 Ford leading, followed by an 1937 Ford convertible, 1939 Mercury convertible and a 1940 Mercury coupe. What a fantastic line up for 1947.
Rik...^^^^^^ what a great picture.This is the stuff that it's all about,such a classic shot.Rik once again thanks for sharing and thanks to Ken for sharing this with Tom.I still cant get over this picture.1947 was a good time to love Customs. Come on Custom enthusiasts....... This stunning shot get's posted last night and no comments??? Come on guys there was just 4 airbag/Layframe threads on the front page.This is some real solid great history right here.
HAHA Thats the problem Jeff the threads about '10 mustang oil pans etc(just noticed there are two threads on this now I guess one wasn't enough) push this stuff down so fast it gets missed. That is an incredible picture Rik. Thanks to all involved in bringing it to light. Can't imagine what it must have been like seeing that row of cars sitting there.
Im sure mothers would have their young teenagae daughters stay in the house if they heard Wally coming down the street in this masterpiece.Shit.... Wally was such a Heavy hitter the Moms were probably asking him to take them on a cruise.I can NOT get enough of this ford.
Rick, "1940 Ford Convertible owned by Bill Halliday" ! This 40 Convertible found its way to Norfolk , Virginia in 1958-1959 ! I did some minor Kustom refinements to the car then ! I am 99.9% sure that it was this car ! Good Luck, Sonny
Thanks to the hardcore Custom guys who have kept this thread alive. This is also my favorite era of customs and this thread has produced some amazing photos! I have posted some of these photos before but I think they fit here.
Another photo from the Tom Nielsen, Ken Wall Collection. A nice side view of the 1940 Ford convertible with chopped padded top, and a 1937 Ford convertible mild custom. It looks like both cars appeared in the line up photo I poster earlier. But now the 1940 Ford has white wall tires. It also has chrome single bar flipper hubcaps and a set of beauty rings. Also the ford uses a front and rear 1937 DeSoto bumper. A lot of customs used only front units since the rear come from the factory to bend around a trunk mounted spare tire cover, and has a large radius. The 37 Ford appears to have small moon disk hubcaps and white Calnevar Dress-Up Wheel Covers.
This photo from the Ken Wall & Tom Nielsen Collection shows the back of three very nice 1940's customs from the Denver area. From right to left we can see the chopped 1940 Ford that we have seen before in this collection The 1937 DeSoto bumper has an Ford accessory overrider which also holds the rear license plate. Next to it is the padded topped 1937 Ford with a nice set in license plate, again with the DeSoto bumpers, but this one used the stock bumper guards which mount from behind the bumper. A set of 1939 Ford or perhaps Lincoln taillights - its hard to see in this photo - are set low on the rear fender just peaking over the bumper. On the left of the three rear viewed Customs is the 1939 Mercury with the padded top. This car also has a set in license plate and also uses a DeSoto bumper with the stock guards. Next to that is an near stock 1940 Ford convertible. The photo was taken in 1946 by a friend of Ken Wall, and Ken's 1940 Ford Coupe can be seen all the way to the left of the photo showing just the very front of his car.
Wow another great picture Rik! You can really see in the profile picture of the '40 and '37 how that rear desoto bumper sticks out so far due to its curve. Not surprising they were not used much.
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