Many of us know Larry Watson as one of the finest custom painters of all time. We know this from the countless candy, 'flake, lace, cobweb, paneled, scalloped, and flamed paint jobs that kept Watson working into the wee hours seven days a week, 360 days a year for decades.
Anybody who has built a car can relate to this type of dedication on some level, but it was, and still is, Watson's commitment to perfection through attention to the smallest detail on both the show car and the street-driven car that moved through the paint shop with assembly line efficiency. Speaking of which, Watson's drive for perfection was wholly matched by his handpicked crew of bodymen who made sure each car was flawlessly prepped before rolling into the spray booth.
All of this contributed to his success, but there is another side to the Larry Watson story that oftentimes gets lost behind the shine of all those candy paint jobs. Simply put, Watson was a custom car nut from the get-go. Not only did his paint style influence show cars for customers, but many of the styles Watson became so famous for creating came from experimenting on his personal cars. This brings us to the Grapevine, possibly the most famous of Watson's cars. More than worthy of Hall of Fame status, more than a daily driver, the Grapevine was his first car.
While still in high school, Watson's drive to create a piece of rolling art pushed him into his very first taste of turning effort into a paycheck. After working through a long hot summer at what would soon be known as "The Happiest Place On Earth," Larry's father agreed to help him buy his first car. On the way to the dealership, Larry spotted a cute little white 1950 Chevy two-door sedan sitting in a local used-car lot. After some convincing, Larry's first car was in hand, and just screaming for some individuality. In no time Watson was doodling on the Chevy dash, laying out a bitchin' dragon and rose. When he and the Chevy showed up in the school parking lot, a group of naysayers argued that the beautifully detailed dash had to have been done by the likes of Von Dutch. No one believed him except his best friend, who convinced Watson to prove himself by starting a pinstriping business in his parents' driveway, and eventually to take his talents and turn them into a career. Not only did Watson become legendary at his high school, but soon the Chevy would be changed drastically.
Not one to leave a car in its virgin state, Watson began with a few minor changes to the Grapevine. A grille and surround from a 1953 Chevy-including 10 extra grille teeth-replaced the original grille while the taillights would be changed to those from a 1950 Buick; and, for a crazy individual touch, the stock front bumper was simply flipped upside down. He replaced the original split front windshield with a solid one-piece windshield from the same-year Oldsmobile. The Chevy was lowered ridiculously close to the ground-mind you with no airbags, shocks, or any other type of hydraulic setup to lift the car up for easier driving. A set of lakes pipes filled what little gap was left between the body and asphalt. Then came the Chevy's first purplish paint scheme that included a white panel separated from the purple via Buick side trim.