What would a Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame be without the Barris name proudly placed at the top of the heap? Maybe more than any other auto-motive influence ever, the Barris brothers, Sam and George, set the standard early on for what the majority of car nuts in this world consider to be simply the coolest custom cars ever built. Combine that with some of the earliest high-end, show-quality hot rods (most of which were driven on a regular basis), and unforget-able movie and television cars such as the Batmobile, and it's easy to understand why Darryl Starbird's Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame museum recog-nized the Barris name with a charter membership. After such a talented and honored lifetime of work, you may wonder what influenced the Barris brothers.
As you may have figured out already, the Barris brothers were design prodigies from early on-especially George, with his artistic scratch-built model airplanes and cars. Both brothers were excellent students even after the trauma of losing their parents at a very young age. This loss is in fact how the brothers made it out to the West Coast. Moving out West to live with family in Roseville, California, the brothers grew up around and working for the family restaurant. This hard work led to the brothers being rewarded with their first car, a 1925 Buick. After smoothing the Buick's body, George went insane, painting the Buick orange with blue stripes. Imagine a bright orange and blue-painted '25 Buick screaming around town back in the late '30s. It must have been an outrageous sight, to say the least, but it was this first car that set the stage for the next 70 years.
During their teens, the Barris brothers were both fully infected with the terminal disease of "automotive redesign." To fuel the fire, the brothers would spend any spare time, usually after school, hanging out at some of the coolest Sacramento, California, body shops, like Bertolucci's Body and Fender Shop. This led to George's first full-fledged custom-a 1936 Ford convertible, completed before he graduated high school. This car, in particular, was not just the coolest ride California's Central Valley had ever seen, but quite possibly the reason this article is being written. Not long after George's '36 hit the streets, the brothers had their first customer job.
After gaining a certain amount of success and respect in the autobody game, and with Sam now temporarily away from the business fighting in WWII, George took the leap of faith necessary to take the brother's business to Los Angeles, California, where they would soon become the backbone that would support the largest group of custom car and hot rod diehards anywhere. (It would be pretty hard to argue the point that the Barris brothers weren't heavily responsible for Southern California becoming the mecca of custom cars.) After a short stint in Bell, California, and the return of brother Sam from the war, it was time to get serious, in a serious shop. In 1945, the famous Compton Avenue shop was open for business. As natural as taking in a deep breath of air, Sam excelled in working sheetmetal into any shape he wanted, while George dove headfirst into design, custom paintwork, and making sure the Barris name was known from coast to coast, with long hours of traveling and promoting. Another highly successful aspect of promoting on George's part was the great photography and writing for many of the automotive publications of the time.
Once again outgrowing their surroundings, the Barris brothers moved shop to another soon-to-be-famous shop in Lynwood, California, where some of the most famous cars to wear the Barris badge were built. Outrageous customs, like the Hirohata Merc, and the extremely popular car club that was originally reserved for Barris-built cars only, Kustoms of America, were born. By now the Barris brothers had some of the finest names in custom paint and bodywork working full-time in their shop. Names like Von Dutch, Dean Jeffries, Bill Hines, Larry Watson, Bill De Carr, and Hershel "Junior" Conway not only helped the Barris' business grow, but also started extremely successful businesses of their own after leaving the Barris shop. This shop was also the place where George started a long and rich relationship with Hollywood.
After building a few cars for Hollywood, George knew he had to again pick up shop and make the short move up to "tinsel town." There the Barris name grew to even larger proportions than ever before. With Sam in full retirement from the business, George kept things going with his imaginative automotive creations and flare for promotion. Eventually George met and married the love of his life, Shirley, and started a family.
Unfortunately, Sam Barris passed much too early in life, but with his partner/brother George and family still at it today, the Barris name will forever stand as the first family of custom cars.