The New Sick: 1951 Kaiser Kustom

Gene Winfield Faded Kaiser Custom

Sick. Wild. Ground Breaking. Fantastic.  All of these, no doubt. But the coolest thing?

HOME BUILT!

Download this picture as a desktop image (BIG ONE) – 1951 Kaiser Kustom Desktop Photo

If you’re into customs, you’ve probably seen this car in Hot Rod Magazine or over on the HAMB. I’ve been following the car since I first saw it at the McDonald’s Saturday car show over in Scottsdale, AZ. That’s when I got to know Keith Charvonia. Believe it or not, Keith’s not a full time builder. He’s a designer now working with Airaid, the air filter folks designing, well… anything he wants to based on this Kaiser!

I’ve been twisting Keith’s arm to let me profile this car, and the build on MyRideisMe.com, but Keith’s held out for a good reason… Rodder’s Journal called and they want the story. Got it. I’d be wandering around with a tube of modeling cement in one hand and moonshine in the other if I thought we could trump Rodder’s Journal. I get that… so I wish Keith all the best and every accolade for his hard work. I’ll share my cloudy sky pics anyways. ENJOY!

Crazy Customs at Winfield Watson Car Show

Custom Car Gathering at Winfield Watson Car Show 2011

In the world of Customs, Gene Winfield is a legend. So what better place to have a custom car show then at his place? Gene’s shop is located outside of Mojave, about 2 hours from Los Angeles. Originally Gene Winfield and Larry Watson started this car show and now Gene carries it on – assisted by the Rod Tossers Car Club. It isn’t a huge car show in terms of numbers, but people from all over the world come into town just to make this show!

Me and my fellow Gasoline Girl, Lori made the trek out to the show together. Sometimes its nice to get out of the congested LA freeways and onto the open road!

Upon arrival, there were all sorts of cool customs – Not to mention all of Gene’s projects.

Inside one bay, was this very cool rebuild of a custom van. This van looks more cartoon than real – I love the mouth-like offset grill.

Walking around outside was like being in a candy store – Bright colors and an array of custom details everywhere you looked.

Sometimes it doesn’t take bodywork to make a car custom – adding horns to the front of this Cadillac is a perfectly chosen addition!

I could tell that this custom fade paint wasn’t the work of Gene Winfield’s masterful hands – but none the less, I dug the painstaking care that went into this custom paint job done at home. We’ve all gotta start somewhere, right?!

These custom headlight rings area great touch on this bright pink custom.

This louvered hood laying in the back of one of Gene’s “junkyard” cars out back caught my eye. I tried to get Gene to let me take it home for my own 1960 Falcon – but he said it was spoken for already. I might just have to make a trip back up there and have someone teach me how to louver a hood!

Speaking of hoods, check out the crazy asymmetrical air scoop on this highly modified wagon. What kind of a wagon is it you ask? Just try to guess! I’ll give you a clue – it isn’t one custom car, but two.

The whole front end comes from a 1957 Ranchero customized with Chrysler headlights and some heavy body work done by Bill Hines. The rest of the car is a modified 1957 Ford wagon. At the back you’ll find these nifty taillights – which I was very surprised to learn are factory from Edsel!

You’ll be no less impressed by looking under the hood of this ’57. Running a nice tri-carb set-up atop a Ford 312 Y block.

What is THIS strange contraption? It’s a bicycle of course! Who knew a huge guitar and amp could be turned into a bicycle!? They thought of everything on this bike. From mic stand handlebars to huge guitar pick pedals!

This Capri isn’t custom – but its hardly ever seen. There are only a handful of ‘em still surviving in the US today. They’re a Ford car, imported over from England. Just the rear end is enough to make you fall in love!

I really wasn’t sure if this air filter cover was a nod to the band Devo or a UFO – but I’ve never seen anything like it, and that alone gets points in my book.

This roadster was also unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Looking like it was originally a four door – all doors were gone, the back seat obliterated, and the chopped convertible canopy opens to let the driver in. I’m not sold on the somewhat awkward styling, but the builder receives major points for doing something original!

If you’re lucky enough to be asked to sign this board, then you can proudly know you’re an important part of the custom world. A world rich with history and creativity…that I’m glad I get to be a part of!

Although my Studie and Lori’s ’48 Ford aren’t exactly custom – they’re surely one-of-a-kind! We had a terrific day out in the desert and look forward to the next Winfield Watson Custom Car Gathering!

Bubble-Topped Futuristic Customs from Roth and Winfield

2011 Grand National Roadster Show

Bubble topped show cars like the “Reactor” shown here were a staple of the 60′s show car scene back then. Now, they stand out as freakishly-radical customs in a room full of classic customs at the 2011 Grand National Roadster Show.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining!  The gods of custom would strike me down if I bad-mouthed names like Winfield and Roth… But you gotta agree, these are way over the top! I especially like the dragster inspired, and chrome plated of course,  steering wheel. Anyone ever seen a picture of someone sitting inside?

(Click on a picture to see it full size)

The Reactor, originally known as the “Autorama Special” was a one-off, hand build aluminum bodied custom built by Gene Winfield. The chassis was front wheel drive Citroen with motivation coming from a fully chromed Corvair engine. Hood, doors and lift-up roof were all electrically controlled.

According to a website dedicated to the Piranha, Gene Winfield’s Reactor made quite a splash on the show scene. So much so, Gene toured Hollywood! Before long, the Reactor was seen on Star Trek, Batman and had a featured roll in Bewitched. The following picture is from the Gene Winfield page on the Piranha site.

After the Reactor, Winfield had several cars on TV.

Want more radical, show car  interior and design that’s so ahead of it’s time it’s like an X-box connected to a black and white TV… speaking of which!

This brilliant yellow, bubble topped and fur carpeted, twin big block Ford, wacky custom is Roth’s Mysterion recreated. I didn’t get a chance to speak with the owner and my pops was young when the real Mysterion made it brief appearance on the show scene, but luckily Chris Shelton from Rod and Custom filled in all the details. Read about the Mysterion here.

Are these wild custom cars in your strike zone? What was your favorite wacky show car? I’ll try to feature it.

Catch all of the Grand National Roadster Show coverage here: 2011 GNRS pictures and stories.

Grease Girl Gets In Trouble

Homebuilt Hot Rods

Car shows, car club, breakdowns, wrench nights, possible near death experiences, getting things fixed, and as always adventuring in the hot rod world – these things and more are what’ve been goin’ on for the past month as I’ve neglected my writing.

The month started with a car club meeting (I haven’t told ya’ll too much about them yet…I’ll have to remedy that soon!) The following day was Bedlam Ball Car Show in San Pedro. Me and the other Gasoline Girls had fun hanging out together and seeing our buddies the Throttle Kings along with some other cool cars down in the port town of Los Angeles.

The next week included ongoing wrench nights to get Lori’s truck finished, a 1948 Ford F1, as well as some work to be done to get Rosa’s 1965 Ford Falcon working correctly again. In the meantime, Stude was tellin’ me her front suspension was gone, really gone. After months of driving her knowing that her bushing were on their way out and then completely gone. With rain falling in LA and a nearly bald tire… I decided to park her so as to avoid losing her completely in a tire blow out or other accident.

A week later I’d collected parts and advice and Tommy from the Studebaker Shop helped me to rebuild the front suspension. This meant missing the Hot Rod Reunion I was planning to attend… but after driving a new Stude by the end of a day wrenching, I knew it was worth it!

Just as I thought I had Stude in good running order and was ready to start planning my next job on her, the brakes… what would happen??? That’s right, the brakes went out! Losing 100% of my brakes (without an emergency brake to use) was one of the scariest things that’s ever happened to me. The culprit was the rear rubber line running between the steel line and back tire. A simple $8.50 part. I’ll tell you more about the brakes in a later story – but thankfully I and the Stude got through that with no harm done.

The next day I spent fixing the brake issue instead of attending the Southwest Studebaker Meet… but a girl has got to have brakes! By Saturday morning Stude was back on the road, along with the other Gasoline Girls, to join the Mojave Mile heading up to Winfield’s place for the yearly Winfield & Watson Custom Car Show.

Meeting up with 100+ cars on our journey up to Mojave was very fun! Our adventures weren’t over yet! This was Lori’s F1′s maiden voyage… as fate would have it she didn’t quite make it. The Gasoline Girls had to pull out of the Mojave Mile (along with a couple of very nice fellow’s from the Coachmen’s Car Club) to take care of a fuel issue. We eventually made it up to Winfield’s with the F1 on a trailer. The weekend was spent enjoying the people and cars at the show, as well as fixing the fuel issue (you can read all about it on the Gasoline Girl’s blog post!)

By the end of Sunday us and our cars all made it home safe and sound. I won’t be getting too much rest though… It’s time to plan a brake overhaul with a dual-reservoir master cylinder, braided lines, and an E-brake, no more losing brakes for me! Stay tuned as I catch up on writing, attend SEMA, and continue on my hot-rodding adventures!

Until next time… Happy Trails,
Grease Girl

Metalworking and Burnouts With Custom Car Legend

I can’t let another day go by without sharing about my amazing past weekend! Yes, I was at Gene Winfield’s. Yes, I learned a gazillion metalworking tips from a legend. Yes, I even did my very first burnout.

Let me start at the beginning though… Early Saturday morning I stumble out of bed, grab a cup of coffee, and jump in Stude for the hour and a half drive up to Mojave, CA. My Dad makes the trek there from Vegas and we meet at Roadhouse Mikes – just the sort of greasy spoon you’d expect in a small desert town. With full bellies we head eight miles down the road to Gene Winfield’s. We’re signed up for Gene’s bi-yearly metalworking workshop.

By 9 o’clock Gene is busy acquainting all 10 participants with the various tools around his shop. Among the tools are a slip roll,  english wheel, beverly shears, pipe anvil, bead roller, and dozens of hammers, dollys, and dies. Soon Gene is fully absorbed into teaching us about various metals, chopping customs, gas welding, breaking an edge, and hammer forming metal. (You’ll have to come back for how-to articles!)

After nearly 10 hours of class, we all call it a day! My Dad and I head off to eat at Domingo’s – one our favorite restaurant stops over in Boron, a nearby town. On Sunday class was no different, by the time I rolled in a few minutes after 9 it was already underway. Sunday we covered topics like hole repair, hammer welding, sectioning a car, and making louvers. You’re gonna have to keep your eye out at MyRideisMe.com for articles on everything I learned!

 I even got to try my hand at leading and aluminum welding! I felt right at home leading, it seemed much funner then applying Bondo. And during my first try at wire welding, my welding line looked pretty hot before I burned that hole!

As class wound down, most everybody said goodbye and drove off into the desert sunset. But I still had one thing I wanted to accomplish. Back in October when my tire blew, my hubcap was crumbled. My attempts to get it even enough to fit back on my rim were unsuccessful. I was sure some of Gene’s special hammers and dies could even out my hubcap (I’ve been unable to identify what make/year it was to look for a replacement.) Always the perfectionist, Gene wouldn’t let me bang on it, but rather took to the job himself. And did it get fixed? We’re talking about Gene Winfield here people! That hubcap looks nearly brand new and is fit securely back onto my tire – never to roll off and hit a Mercedes door again!

This weekend wasn’t over yet! One of the guys who works for Gene offered to tune my Holley carb. After making some adjustments we took it out for a test drive. I was given the directions to “give it as much throttle as I would” and it didn’t take Bart long to realize that I’m a pretty conservative driver! So we switch places and he takes off atfull throttle, a velocity I have never felt in my Studebaker! We then decided that Studey should experience her first burnout. With a stroked Chevy 383, 700R4 trans, and Ford 9″ rear she’s made for this stuff. Bart started her with a nice couple of burnouts and then we switched places again. After a short explanation of power-braking it was time for me to put the lesson into practice. I’m not sure if it was my first or second try…but I got some nice rubber tracks on that desert road!

By this time the sun had long-ago set and it was time for my weekend at Gene’s to end. Pulling out from his place though I realized Studey just wasn’t right. In fact, she wasn’t even shifting out of first! I go back, we check a few things, I try again. I go back, we check a few more things, and I try again. No good. So, yes… I was stranded. But at least I was stranded at Gene Winfield’s! Monday was spent exploring the transmission and checking into things (as well as checking out more of the cool things around Gene’s place…like the Winfield original – The Reactor!) After digging my fingernails into my transmission, I have two things to say about it… Why don’t transmission oil pans have empty valves??? and Yikes… transmissions are scary!!! All of the copper bits in Stude’s oil gave a very solemn clue as to what’s wrong…it seems my 700R4 needs a rebuild.

The next morning I waved goodbye to Studey as I took the train back to LA. I’m hoping this next adventure of getting a trans rebuild goes well… because I fear burnouts may be addictive!

Keep your eye out at MyRideisMe.com for more articles from Gene’s workshop as well as plenty more learning adventures from yours truly, GreaseGirl ;)

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