By the time Watson's newly finished '50 Chevy custom hit the streets of Bellflower, Compton, Long Beach, and everywhere else where countless groups of Southern Californian teenagers were cruising and showing off their cars, he and the Chevy were legendary. Watson was hard at it pinstriping and flaming everything in sight, which afforded him to make yet another series of drastic changes in the Chevy's appearance. This time around, Watson took the car much further by having the '53 Chevy grille surround permanently molded to the car (a few more teeth were squeezed into the already packed grille opening), a set of '56 Oldsmobile headlight rings were fit to the fenders, and a pair of '54 Mercury taillight lenses was flipped upside down, then frenched into the rear fenders in the perfect position. Watson also blew some minds by seriously altering the look of the early '50s Olds hubcaps by pushing the center of the caps out from concave to convex, and then adding more spinners with a bullet center to top them off perfectly. He also went to town on a whole new paint scheme, still in shades of custom-mixed purple and lavender tones, but this time the car turned out so amazing, it became a springboard for Watson's career and further popularity.
As for interior, the Chevy not only included every single points-winning accessory (like a trunk full of tools, fluid cans, emergency flares, and of course the spare tire), but also a unique heart-themed tuck 'n' roll upholstery that flowed throughout the interior. Renegades Car Club member and good friend Gary Nemi worked his magic by way of the color-matched, hand-shaped dash knobs that adorned only the finest custom rides of the time. Cover shots and features in every enthusiast magazine set the Watson name in stone as one of the painters of his time. The Chevy would soon be known as the Grapevine-as well as go through one more facelift.
This time Watson wanted to try something new that he had been dreaming about and experimenting with. We know this style of paint job today as Watson-style scallops. In fact the entire car was covered with a series of flowing, alternately colored scallops that did as much to stand out as they did to accentuate the natural lines and curves of the Chevy. This was exactly what Watson was trying to accomplish with these abstract yet extremely purposeful shapes, and the '50 Chevy's bulbous body was a perfect test bed.
The abovementioned scallop styling, as well as all of the other styles Watson created and perfected in his paint jobs, have since been replicated and copied to no end on everything you can imagine, but it was Watson's Grapevine that started it all, which is why it will always be a Hall of Fame ride.Before Watson's 1950 Chevy was dubbed the Grapevine, it was mildly customized with just the right amount of lowering, as well as a frosty rose-colored paint scheme that must have turned some heads sliding down Bellflower Boulevard in 1956. What more could a teenager want?
It didn't take long for Watson to give his Chevy a completely new look. This time around, he kept the '53 Chevy grille and surround, but molded that surround to the body, and even more teeth were added to the grille. A set of '54 Merc taillights was used, and a whole new paint job was performed as well. Ed Schelhass in Bellflower, CA, did the bodywork at this stage of the game.
Building a show car back in the '50s meant adhering to a points system given to various accessories and necessities alike. You could actually lose points for not having a front license plate mounted to the car or by not having the proper roadside hazard implements, like tools, flares, and a first aid kit, just to name a few. Watson's attention to detail and ability to win car shows is evident in this photo of the Grapevine's full service trunk.
Here's a look at the beautifully stitched heart-themed interior that was yet another unique detail that set this car apart from the rest. Ed Martinez went to town stitching hearts in the carpet, seat, door panels, and headliner.
In her last version, Watson's Grapevine was treated to a totally new and, for the time, quite outrageous paint scheme known as Watson-style scallops. Watson used these scallop shapes to trick the eye into seeing a wildly customized car, without being wildly customized.