Historic hot rods shattered the class barrier at the posh Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1997. There's been a hot rod-related class every other year since. The toney Duesenberg/Hispano-Siza /Bugatti crowd tolerated entrants like Bruce Meyer's ex-Doane Spencer roadster and Chili Catallo's Little Deuce Coupe, and cheerfully welcomed sports-racing rods like Brock Yates' ex-Duffy Livingston Eliminator and Ernie Nagamatsu's ex-Max Balchowski Ol' Yeller II.
But any suggestion of customized cars was always a nonstarter. It's not that customizers didn't warrant the attention. Back when serious rodders were stripping roadsters and coupes of fenders, running boards, bumpers, and even headlights so they could run faster at the lakes, the custom crowd was equally zealous about stripping chrome trim, shaving door and decklid handles, and jettisoning staid, factory designed grilles they just knew weren't cool. They wanted to improve the look of lower-priced Detroit iron, like Fords and Mercs, to achieve the clean, "classy" appearance of more expensive models.
So you'd think traditional custom cars would be right at home on a Concours field that's packed each August with sensationally restyled 1930s-era classics. The leadslinger's art has been with us for decades, but customized cars lacked the proper pedigree. It didn't help when customs starred in many '50s-era B-movies like "Rebel Without a Cause," "The Choppers," "Hot Rod Gang," and "Drag Strip Girl."
Back in the day, you simply wouldn't see a customized car pulling up to an elegant country club for a round of golf, but they're an integral part of hot rod culture. With that in mind, I was persistent, but when I showed photos of representative customs to Concours co-chairman Glenn Mounger (who happens to own a S.Co.T.-blown, Flathead-powered Deuce), here's what he said: "You're scaring me! We've never had cars like these at Pebble. I'll need a bulletproof vest." But to Glenn's credit, after very little persuasion, he agreed to a display of eight historic customs. But where do you draw the line, and how do you choose? The formative era for customized cars was the period immediately before and directly after World War II, so that's what defined the class.
Initially the province of skilled body and fender men, customizing was an adjunct of collision repair, but there was soon such a big following that some shops, especially in California, began working exclusively as customizers. It's important to note that professional custom coachbuilders-like Bohman & Schwartz (that built bespoke bodies on Duesenberg, Packard, and Pierce-Arrow chassis in the classic era) and Rudy Stoessel's Coachcraft of Hollywood-built custom cars in this period, but their efforts often resulted in entirely new bodies. Created for film stars and glitterati, these were more correctly called custom-built cars, not "customized" cars.
The efforts of the best-known early custom craftsmen began to be seen (and copied) nationally in 1948 with the publication of Hot Rod magazine. Word was soon spread with features in Road & Track (a Barris Kustom Buick appeared in the May 1948 issue), Motor Trend (1949), Hop Up (1951), Rod & Custom and Honk! (1953), and many other publications from coast to coast. While it lasted, the custom car era produced some truly wild-looking automobiles. In hindsight, the earliest customs are arguably the purest in concept, relying on extensive metalwork and selective use of borrowed items like grilles, side trim, hubcaps, and headlamps from more expensive donor cars of the period to alter and streamline a car's appearance.
The earliest customized cars set the trends, so that's what we wanted on the lawn. Chopped and filled hardtops, or padded Carson tops, sectioned hoods, molded, fadeaway fenders with skirts, and inset rear license plates were just a few of the '40s-era custom conceits we wanted to show. And we had to cover the work of the great builders, like Harry Westergard, Gil and Al Ayala, Jimmy Summmers, Clay Jensen and Neil Emory (Valley Custom), and the Barris brothers. We made the cut at 1948, for the cars themselves, and drew the line at work performed before 1955. Those bulbous but beautiful '49-51 Mercurys, like Bob Hirohata's famous coupe, were in a whole other class, so we decided they could appear at a later date.
We wanted to show the start of it all. Now, how to find them. ... The challenge was that many of the best early customs were either lost or junked. In some cases, they had been repeatedly updated, so they no longer looked the way they did when they were featured in the magazines. I looked through early mags, and pored over Pat Ganahl's "The American Custom Car," and the late Dean Batchelor's "The American Hot Rod." Then I put together a tentative list. Luckily, as soon as the word got out that Pebble Beach was looking for early customs, calls started coming in.
Don Orosco had found the long lost, ex-Jack Calori '36 Ford coupe; he sold it to Roy Brizio for Jorge Zaragoza. Artfully chopped, with La Salle grille, molded Chevy headlights, and Hudson taillights, it starred on the cover of Hot Rod in April 1949. Did we want it? You bet. Orosco, who'd won the Hot Rod Class twice with the ex-Dick Flint '29 roadster and Alex Xydias' SO-CAL coupe, also owned Ralph Jilek's chopped and channeled '40 Ford convertible. Don sold that car to Tom Gloy, who immediately commissioned a ground-up restoration. We were on a roll. Tony Handler, an L.A. Rolls-Royce dealer, phoned to say he had the ex-Ray Vega '38 Ford convertible sedan. Featuring a chopped, padded Carson top and an entire '40 Ford front clip (for a not-so-subtle updating), it was Hop Up's cover car in May 1952. Originally, the Vega Ford had an elaborate, hand-tooled, tan leather interior that's virtually impossible to duplicate today. Tony thought he could complete it by August.
Oregon custom builder Donn Lowe knew Jimmy Summers' famous '40 Mercury-featured in Dan Posts's "Blue Book of Custom Restyling," complete but unrestored-was located in Dick Page's garage in the Pacific Northwest. Perennial L.A. rodder Earl Bruce said, "Jimmy Summers had the best hands in the business." Perhaps Jimmy's chopped and channeled beauty, with its handmade Buick-style grille, could be restored in time? Bob Creasman's hammered '40 Ford coupe was first customized in late 1943. Its top was chopped and the rear windows were filled. Just after the war, Creasman added fadeaway fenders and '46 Ford bumpers. With its full-race Mercury engine, it turned 105 mph at the lakes in 1949, and was featured in Hop Up in 1952. An R&C cover story revealed Mark Drews, of Seal Beach, owned the car, but I was unable to find him.
Curt McCormick, who owns several significant Barris customs, owns a sensational, chopped 1940 Buick, originally built by the Paisano brothers and later painted by the Barris brothers. Curt was interested, but transportation was a challenge. He lives in Webster Groves, Missouri. We had to find a way. I first saw Ed Hegarty's chopped and hardtopped, ex-Buddy Ohanesian '40 Mercury convertible sedan-originally built by Harry Westergard and completed by Dick Bertolucci-at a show at the Oakland Museum. It's stunning. But would he bring it? Not only was the answer yes, but he'd bring along "Goodguy" Gary and Marilyn Meadors as well.
The National Automobile Museum in Reno owns the ex-Bruce Glenn chopped '39 Ford convertible coupe, with a sexy, handformed hardtop by Harry Westergard. Would they bring it to Pebble? Museum director Jackie Frady didn't hesitate and said they'd be happy to. Beth Myers bought the former Jerry Yatch '40 Mercury convertible from the Detoit area. This sleek ragtop, with its wraparound rear window, had appeared at the first Autorama, and in many shows. Steve Babinsky had it in his shop. What looked like a simple freshening was turning out to be a major restoration. Could they finish by early August? Maybe.
As the clock ticked down, there were anxious moments. Dick Page didn't want to restore or sell the Jimmy Summers Mercury. Scratch one star car. Tony Handler couldn't make the date with the Ray Vega car. "It's painted and trimmed," he said, "but we won't have the mechanicals ready in time." Scratch two. Now, we had a slot to fill. Jack Walker kindly agreed to ship out his Westergard-built '40 Mercury with its chopped, padded-top, '42 Buick grille and fadeaway fenders. "It's not to be judged," said Jack, "but if you can get it there, you can show it." Thankfully, John Clinard of Ford Motor Company, sponsors of the Dean Batchelor Award for the most significant historic hot rod, found space for Jack's car on a transporter.
Larry Erickson, who designed Cadzzilla and the new Ford Mustang, and was one of the judges, agreed to drive the ex-Westergard custom onto the field. Don Montgomery, author of those wonderful old hot rod books, was our third judge. Always cool under pressure, he's been present for every hot rod class. I visited Roy Brizio's South San Francisco shop a couple of times during trips to San Francisco to check the progress on the Calori coupe. Out of sight for decades, the car was very complete, and Jack Calori himself was available to answer questions. Billy Ganahl (Pat and Anna Ganahl's son) toiled away on the car, and Darrell Hollenbeck got ready to paint it. Roy fretted and worried about every little detail.
I exchanged many phone calls and e-mails with Ed Hegarty, Tom Gloy, Curt McCormick, and Steve Babinski, answering questions and helping with details. At the 11th hour, David Grant, one of our three judges, found a phone reference for Mark Drews. With George Barris looking on, Mark kindly agreed to get the ex-Creasman '40 repainted and re-trimmed. It was his daily driver; talk about a guy who lives the custom life! But he'd bring it. One by one, all the little problems were solved. But I never breathe a sigh of relief until the cars appear on the lawn.
Pebble Beach was true to form on Sunday, August 20. A low fog hovered over Monterey Bay like a cool gray blanket. The annual early morning gathering of the faithful, aka the "dawn patrol," huddled at the entrance to the show field to watch the show cars come in. I'd had less than three hours sleep, having wrapped up my stint as the "Discovery Channel" color commentator for the RM auction at 1:45 a.m. But I was psyched to see the taildraggers. One by one, twin pipes burbling and crackling, the low-slung, brightly painted custom cars emerged out of the fog and rolled majestically onto the field. I sincerely hoped the spirits of Jimmy Summers, Harry Westergard, Clay Jensen, and Neil Emory were looking on. In the midst of 8C2900 Alfas, Figoni and Falaschi Delahayes, and Delages, the customs made a grand entrance and were soon surrounded by admirers.
During the judging, Roy Brizio had trouble starting the '36. With its narrow LaSalle grille and no fan, it got very warm in line waiting to enter the field. (The rules allow 20 minutes to fix a problem; after cooling down, it started right up). "That's the reason I sold the S.O.B," Jack Calori growled, "it was always overheating." As always, the judging was very tough: First and Second were whisker-close. Jose Zaragoza's Calori coupe narrowly edged out Tom Gloy's ex-Jilek convertible, with Beth Myers' chopped Jerry Yatch Mercury Third.
And there's always drama. At Pebble Beach, the First, Second, and Third Place cars in each class gather in front of the reviewing stand, but the owners don't know the finishing order. "When we saw the Third Place car move," Brizio said afterward, "I thought, we at least got Second. Then when Tom's car was motioned forward, I couldn't believe we'd won." The Calori coupe rumbled over the ramp with Roy Brizio behind the wheel and Jack Calori proudly riding shotgun. "Just before we were called," said Roy, "owner Jorge Zaragoza said, 'I want you and Jack to drive in the car; I want to watch it happen.'"
Happily accepting the First Place trophy and the Dean Batchelor Memorial Trophy, Brizio seemed close to tears. "I couldn't have asked for a better client," he said. "I'd never gone to Pebble Beach, so I didn't know what to expect. I was the most stressed out I've ever been. But it was really special, and it was very exciting, right to end."