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www.ridemakerz.com on 8/21/2008 8:49:41 PM
www.ridemakerz.com on 8/21/2008 8:49:41 PM
 If you were wondering where and how car customizing got started, you’ll have to look back to Los Angeles, California in the 1940s. When World War II ended in 1945, many young servicemen, who just happened to be car nuts, returned to the States. They had honed their mechanical skills working on fighter planes and bombers, and as the post-war years rolled on, they solidified as a community of hardcore hot rodders, who spent most of their spare time and spare parts building dream rides. 
They started by hunting down all the inexpensive cars they could get their hands on. The Model A Fords from the 1930s were the most popular – since they were conveniently inexpensive and plentiful. That’s why the best known hot rod is the 1932 Ford Coupe, called a “deuce coupe” after the number two in its year. These cars were easy to modify, and were often fitted with powerful Ford “flathead” V8 engines. Later on, in the 1960s, the deuce was immortalized by the Beach Boys in their song, “Little Deuce Coupe.” It’s the car that comes to mind when people think, “hot rod.”
In 1948, the first Hot Rod Exhibition was held at the National Guard Armory in Los Angeles. Soon after, Hot Rod magazine was founded. The car-modifying craze was officially on! 
Among the talented hot rodders of the time, a few major guys stood out. George Barris and his brother Sam Barris stunned the Los Angeles car community when they created the first chopped-and-channeled 1949 Mercury – a car that went on to become an icon among custom fans.
Many of those who got their start at the Barris Brothers’ shop went on to have illustrious careers as car painters and customizers, like Dick Dean, Dean Jeffries, Kenny “Von Dutch” Howard, and Larry Watson. The Barris shop again made a name for itself building custom cars for TV shows like “The Munsters,” “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Knight Rider.” 
The customizing scene of the 1960s was highlighted by the imagination of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Roth’s experiments with molding fiberglass into crazy shapes led to some of the most radical customs ever built. Those include the Outlaw, Beatnik Bandit, Mysterion, Rat Fink and Orbitron.
Today, the number of custom shops performing radical car mods is staggering. And, possibly the best known customizer these days is Chip Foose, whose work on the Hemisfear Hot Rod solidified him as the go-to guy in the custom car world. His popular TV show “Overhaulin” has introduced car customizing to a whole new generation of custom-car fans. |
