what is true bellflower style?

Isn't the purple '60 the one that was at the Detroit Autorama?

I really dig these styles. I'm not sure my '49 is the right year/body syle to do one though.

 

RF is correct.That is the only car like it, no clone this is THE "ANGEL DUST" Javier originally built the car before he put it on Ebay and then eventually sold it to North Dakota. When I got the car it was last registered in Cali in 98.I bought the car back in 2000 from Greater Dakota Classics in North Dakota. I sold the Chevy a week before Roundup 2003 and eventually bought my Pontiac after roundup 2003. Anyways, guy I sold it too had it sit in a lot in Santa Ana for MONTHS before rebuilding/touching up paint and selling off to the east coast, where it current lives.

 

What I meant, and sorry to insult ole' grandmaster, Raders were mostly on show cars and all Barris' cars. You'd see them in the magazines, but if you think about it all the mags were trends, and it would be the running blinged out 28" wheels on your Hummer today. people post old pictures of their rides and friends or father rides in the 60's you'd see mostly chrome steelies and cragar s/s's.
And yes it's not from personal experiece because that would make me an Old mofo'. and am not. But I seem to know my shit.
I remember asking you what the steeing column was on your 57 Ford Ranchero, and you said " I don't know, I got it that way", what does that have to do with anything? nothing I'm just a bitter bastard.

 

Bellflower style dosen't mean that you need to run Bellflower tips.
The guy that mentioned Lee Pratt's latest 58' Chev was right on -
and you would also need to include that Nomad that he built back
in the day. I would love to drive that car into the National Nomad
Associations annual show. Ha ha! Jimmie Vaughns 63' Riv is in there
too. If Larry Watson would ever put out a book showing some of the cars that he painted from the mid to later sixties - that right there would be a good definition of the Bellflower style. I would buy it...

 

Thanks, you just saved me a trip to the Alzheimer's specialist...

 

Speaking of metalflake and the upper Midwest, whatever happened to Paso John from Minnesota? He used to post here occasionally. He does some incredible early 60s style kustom paintjobs, including his '64 Chevy wagon and '59 El Camino. He sometimes shows up at the Pileup and the Cheaters Show.

 

OK...

 

LOL, Im right there with ya, do you know what it took for me to remember those dates?

 

I have genuine Raders on my '60 Chevy wagon, but I don't think that has anything to do with anything.

 

interesting. good examples so far. hard to make a text-book example of anything so subjective as car style. kinda wanted to see if what i had in mind was close to it, learn something from it along with others.

what about astro supremes... they look killer on 50s and 60s cars, when did they come out? anybody know exactly?

 

Trust me, if he wanted to, he has enough photographic material to put together the most "epic" book on '50s-60s customs. Plus, he's got a better memory than anyone I know, even guys with 30 years his younger. I can pick any car he did, and without hesitation he'll ramble off the paints (colors and types--flake, pearl, candy) like he'd just done it the day before. Hmmm, I think I need to make some phone calls!

 

I was waiting for this - LMAO !!!!!!!

 

Here's some of PasoJohn's work...





Link here...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48947&page=1

 

I think this would be a good project,I would by the book now!

 

When I was a kid, there was a 67 Malibu in the mags that was all done up as a lowrider/bellflower kinda style. At the time, I thought it was pretty ugly. How could you do that to a chevelle? They were supposed to be jacked up in the back sporting wide Cragars and and a hood scoop! Man, I wish I had kept the mag or even remembered which mag it was now!!

That 60 is one of my favorite 60s ever.

 

ohh ok, ive heard of this car before! Stan the owner of GDC told me about that car, but I thought he said it was pink and silver haha. I think he said it was a 6 cyl too, am I right?

Seems we cant keep an awesome car in ND!

 

Late '64. First were the Astro standards - just called Astros. They were all steel slotted chrome wheels. They became the Standard after Astro brought out the Custom - a five-spoke model. Then the Supreme came out. Here's ads from '64 and '65.

Mutt

 

You mean Stan the liar? Must be same guy....still sound like he has no clue about his inventory either. Anyways it was HOK Lavender on top of 98GMC silver base, scallops were HOK silver with rainbow flake....6 cyl? LOL, no it had a 348. I wouldnt consider the border of Orange/Santa Ana the ghetto by any means. Would it of helped him if I told him I was white? It’s nice to see what a classy, stereotyping type of guy he is

 

so the standards were stamped steel slotted chrome wheels? dig the supremes. only wheel i'd ever consider putting on my impala besides the black steelies.

 

The beauty of the Bellflower style is the one reason I get conflicted about pre-64 year cutoffs at traditional car shows. There are scads of mid-late 60s (even early 70s) models that make great raw material for the treatment.

What's more "traditional" - a flaked/ panel scallop '66 Impala, or a flat black/red wheel/WWW 4-door Falcon?

 

Baddest Astros of all time were the tube-spoked ones like on that '32 3W that for the life of me I can't remember the name of...an East Coast car just restored with a funky grille. Anyway, I'll never tire of '60s-era mild customs, ever. Not many people get it right, but when they do, it's amazing.

 

"See your dealer - demand to see and touch and even caress a genuine astro, be dazzled by that hypnotic chrome. Get started on your astro collection now!"

Now that is fuckin amazing

L

 

RF-
Hey man! Are you gonna go and steal my idea about a Watson book? How have you been man? Remember me? I did the feature on my Dad's 63' Olds for you in CR magazine a while back. I really should contact Motorbooks International (their main office is here in St. Paul) and pitch them the idea of a Watson book - and maybe you could talk with Larry? I think that a book of his work is way overdue...

 

Rob,
You know he won't do a book. THe damn communists may get their hands on it!

I love Larry.

FONZI

 

I don't know what you're talking about!

What's up Scot? Ever get those '55 Fords shot?

 

Or the Arabs in his toilet my steal 'em!!!

 

We did a bunch of work on this car. Guy wanted one like he had in the 60s. I would like to see him do something radical with the paint in the Bellflower style. This is the most solid original car I have driven. It is like a new car.

 

I remember a Late '60's HotRod annual I used to have. It had a feature on custom cars and depicted a photo of a indoor car show that had long rows of various early and late '60's custom cars.

The cars were all mild customs with both WWW's and thin wall tires, they were all very low and there were many '65 Impala's . But, they weren't Lowriders either, not in the traditional lowrider sense

I suspect that guys were still doing traditional custom stuff to later model cars out there in Cali before the all out competition look and street machine style took over.

I've been trying to locate that mag to post the photo, it's eye opening to me. I never understood the '64 cutoff either,

But, then I remember all the pre-48 debates too.

Joel