Custom car

'34 3-window with a classic-style flame job and Moon tank, very reminiscent of Chapouris' California Kid.

Custom '51 Merc with red "ghost flames"

"Rat rodded" Deuce coupe with Edelbrock head and chrome carb hats on late-model flatty.

The iconic "T-bucket" custom. Exposed engine is virtually mandatory, as are flat windshield, headers, and open pipes. Soft top (shown) is optional. Also features chrome five-spokes, dropped tube axle, transverse front leaf spring, front disc brakes, open-face aircleaner, Weiand valve covers, and single 4-barrel (probably a QJ).

Front suspension of yellow hiboy Deuce roadster. Note color-matched springs on coilover shocks, tube axle, vented disc brakes.

'41 Willys. Note the non-stock one-piece windshield.

'55-7 Chevy with fuzzy dice

'Big Daddy' Roth 'bloodshot eyeball' shift knob, a '60s craze.

'28 A roadster with Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels.

A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been modified in either of the following two ways. First, a custom car may be altered to improve its performance, often by altering or replacing the engine and transmission. Second, a custom car may be a personal "styling" statement by the re-styler/re-builder, making the car look "unique" and unlike any car that might have been factory finished. Customs are distinct from hot rods; exactly where the difference lies has been the subject of debate among customizers and rodders for decades.

History

A development of hot rodding, the change in name corresponded to the change in the design of the cars being modified. The first hot rods were pre-World War II cars, with running boards and simple fenders over the wheels. These were modified by removing the running boards and either removing the fenders entirely or replacing them with very light "cycle fenders". The object was to put the most powerful engine in the lightest possible frame and body combination. The suspension was usually altered to make the car lower; the front was often made much lower than the rear. Much later some hot rods and custom cars swapped the old solid rear axle for an independent rear axle, often from Jaguar. Only rarely was the grille of one make of car replaced by another; one exception was the 1937 Buick grille, often used on a Ford. The original hot rods were plainly painted like the Model A Fords from which they had been built up, and only slowly begun to take on colors, and eventually fancy orange-yellow flamed hoods or "candy-like" deep acrylic finishes in the various colors.

With the change in automobile design to encase the wheels in fenders and to extend the hood to the full width of the car, the former practices were no longer possible. In addition, there was tremendous automotive advertising and subsequent public interest in the new models in the 1950s. Hence custom cars came into existence, swapping headlamp rings, grilles, bumpers, chrome side strips, and tail lights, as well as "frenching" and "tunnelling" head- and taillights. The bodies of the cars were changed by cutting through the sheet metal, removing bits to make the car lower, welding it back together, and adding a lot of lead to make the resulting form smooth (hence the term "lead sled"; lead has been replaced by Bondo). By this means, "chopping" made the roof lower; "sectioning" made the body thinner from top to bottom. "Channeling" was cutting notches in the floorpan where the body touches the frame to lower the whole body. Fins were often added from other cars, or made up from sheet steel. In the custom car culture, someone who merely changed the appearance without also substantially improving the performance was looked down upon.

Paint was an important concern. Once bodywork was done, the cars were painted unusual colors. Transparent but wildly-colored candy-apple paint, applied atop a metallic undercoat, and metalflake paint, with aluminum glitter within candy-apple paint, appeared in the 1960s. These took many coats to produce a brilliant effect — which in hot climates had a tendency to flake off. Customizers also continued the habit of adding decorative paint after the main coat was finished, of flames extending rearward from the front wheels, scallops, and hand-painted pinstripes of a contrasting color. The base color, most often a single coat, would be expected to be of a simpler paint. Flame jobs later spread to the hood, encompassing the entire front end, and have progressed from traditional reds and yellows to blues and greens and body-color "ghost" flames.

Painting has become such a part of the custom car scene that now in many custom car competitions, awards for custom paint are as highly sought after as awards for the cars themselves.

Once customizing post-war cars caught on, some of the practices were extended to pre-war cars, which would have been called fendered rods, with more body work done on them. An alternate rule for disambiguation developed: hot rods had the engine behind the front suspension, while customs had the engine over the front suspension. The clearest example of this is Fords prior to 1949 had Henry Ford's old transverse front suspension, while 1949 models had a more modern suspension with the engine moved forward. However, an American Museum has what could be the first true custom, built in 1932, amongst its exhibits.

With the coming of the muscle car, and further to the high-performance luxury car, customization declined. One place where it persisted was the U.S. Southwest, where lowriders were built similar in concept to the earlier customs, but of post-1950s cars.

Recently, as the supply of usable antique steel bodies has dried up, companies such Westcott's, Harwood, Gibbon Fiberglass and Speedway Motors have begun to fabricate new steel and fiberglass copies. Bodies of this type can cost over $100,000 before the running gear is added. California's "junker" (or "crusher") law, which pays a nominal sum to take "gross polluters" off the road, has been criticized by enthusiasts (and by SEMA) for accelerating this trend.

Starting in the 1950s, it became popular among customizers to display their vehicles at drive-in restaurants. Among the largest and longest lasting was Johnie's Broiler in Downey, California. The practice continues today, especially in Southern California.

Customizers

Examples of notable customizers include Bill Cushenberry, the Alexander Brothers, Darryl Starbird, Roy Brizio, Ron Clark and Bob Kaiser (of Clarkaiser Customs), Joe Bailon (inventor of candy apple paint), "Magoo", Chip Foose, and Pete Chapouris. Several customizers have become famous beyond the automobile community, including George Barris and Boyd Coddington, thanks to their proximity to Hollywood; Barris designed TV's Batmobile, while Chapouris built the flamed '34 five-window coupé in the eponymous telefilm "The California Kid". Another Barris creation, Ala Kart (a '29 Ford Model A roadster pickup), made numerous appearances in film (usually in the background of diner scenes and such), after taking two AMBR (America's Most Beautiful Roadster) wins in a row.

Notable customs

The most coveted award for customizers is the AMBR trophy, presented annually at the Oakland Roadster Show since 1948. This competition has produced famous, and radical, customs, notably Silhouette and Ed Roth's Mysterion, some of which were turned into Hot Wheels cars, among them The Red Baron.

Others became notable for their appearances in film (such as Ala Kart, The California Kid five-window, or the yellow deuce from "American Graffiti") or television (such as The Monkeemobile, the "Munsters" hearse, or, more recently, Boyd's full-custom "Tool Time" '34, or Pete and Jake's '33 three-window, Eliminator, built for the ZZ Top video). Specialist vehicles, such as the T/A, KITT, from Knight Rider, are not usually considered customs, but movie or TV cars, because they retain a mostly stock exterior.

Language

Certain linguistic conventions are followed among rodders and customizers. The model year is rarely given in full, except when it might be confused, so a 1934 model, for instance, is a '34, while a 2005 might be an '05 or not. A '32 is usually a Deuce and most often a roadster, unless coupé is specified. A 3- or 5-window is usually a Ford, unless specified. A '55/6/7 is always a Chevy, unless specified. A flattie is a flathead V8 (always Ford, unless specified). A hemi is always a 426, unless specified; a 426 is a hemi, unless Wedge is specified. A 392 is an early hemi.

• 3 deuces — arrangement of three 2-barrel (twin-choke) carburetors; distinct from Six Pak and Pontiac and Olds Tri-Power (also 3x2 arrangements)
• 3-window — 2-door coupé; so named for one door window on each side & one rear window
• 5-window — 2-door coupé; so named for two side windows on each side & one rear window
• 97s — Stromberg carburetors
• A-bone — Model A coupe
• Appletons (sometimes Appleton spots) — spotlights, mounted in the cowl, similar to those used by police cars
• Cammer — 427 Ford V8
• Cherry — like new
• Dagmars — large front bumper "bullets" (after the actress)
• Decked — trunklid trim removed
• Deuce — '32 Ford (most often a roadster); now commonly on A frame rails
• Fat-fender — 1934-48 (U.S.) car
• Flatty — flathead engine
• Frenched — headlight slightly sunken into fender
• Gennie — genuine
• Hairpins —radius rods
• Hiboy (or highboy) — fenderless, but not lowered
• Loboy (or low boy, lowboy) — fenderless and lowered
• Mag — magnesium wheel, or steel or aluminum copy resembling one such
• Nerf bars — bumper horns
• New Old Stock (NOS) — original-manufactured part, kept in storage at supplier
• Nosed — hood trim removed
• QJ — Quadrajet (Rochester 4-barrel carburetor)
• Q-jet — Quadrajet
• Repop — reproduction (not NOS)
• Resto — restoration, or restored
• Steelies — stock steel rims
• Suicided — changed from front-hinged to rear-hinged ("suicide door") type
• Toploader — Ford 4-speed manual transmission
• Track T — Model T roadster built in the style of a dirt track race car
• Tuck-and-roll — upholstery technique
• Tunneled — deeply sunken into fender
• Wide whites — wide-stripe whitewall tires, typical of the '50s, as opposed to modern ones
• Zoomie pipes — short exhaust pipes with no mufflers, used for racing, or just for show (not street legal)

Gallery

• 
  A '30s project car, with a lot of work to do...
• 
  Buick project car, stock with six-cylinder, still a lot of work ahead
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  '51 Shoebox Ford work in progress, with louvered hood and custom mirrors
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  Another classic flame job.
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  '53-6 F100 with long-fork flame job, an idea dating to around 1978.
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  Fork flame job, a style introduced after 1975, on a '53-6 Ford F100
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  Ghost flames, a contemprary concept
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  The Brighton Kid? (A '40 Prefect.)
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  Moon tank mount, common on '50s customs
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  Unusual custom front turnsignals
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  '38 Chevy with custom tilt nose and side graphic
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  Deuce with chrome dropped tube axle and shocks. Note Model A chassis (extended frame horns), disc brakes, zoomie pipes.
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  '49 Ford pickup with custom paint and suicided door
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  AMC Pacer converted as a pickoupe
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  '40 Chev custom with painted grille, small front turnsignals, custom door mirror, and frenched radio aerial. Note non-stock one-piece windshield.
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  '49 Merc with metalflake paint job, custom tube grille, Carson top and tunneled headlights. Retains stock hood and trim spears.
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  Custom Merc with pinstriping, skirts, '81 Lincoln taillights, and Appletons
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  Custom Merc with sophisticated hood pinstriping
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  Henry J custom, with hood spike and door pulls painted contrasting color
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  Modern interpretation of the '34 3-window: deeply chopped, monochrome, spoke rims
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  '32 Bantam roadster with faux mags (not "gennie" Halibrands), colormatched plugwires and distributor cap, disk brakes, hairpins, headers and sidemount pipes, chrome valve covers, and mirror firewall. Also has custom interior.
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  '47 Fargo pickup with custom third door
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  A recent idea, adding a C-pillar window to a classic pickup
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  The classic 392 Hemi in a modern "rat rod"
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  '62 Chevy II wagon, custom paint
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  '36 Ford 5-window with custom roll-down rear window
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  '56 Ford pickup with Appleton spots
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  Chrome aircleaner, custom-milled with flames
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  Flush-mounted Miata doorpull
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  Custom door lock knob
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  '56 Crown Vic taillight with '59 Cad spike
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  Oval LED taillight
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  Custom oval LED front turnsignal
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  Three deuces with louvered chrome hats
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  Louvered hood on '50 Ford coupe
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  '74 Ford Taunus 2000 GXL that has been chopped, shaved, louvered on the rear quarter panels, and fitted with an all steel body kit

See also

• Automotive restoration
• Car tuning
• Hot rod
• Kustom (cars)
• Lead sled
• Lowrider
• Rat rod
• Rock crawling
• Tuner (car)
• Volksrod

External links

• The Rodding Roundtable
• More Custom Car Pictures
• Boyd Coddington Custom Cars