A custom 1974 Ford Taunus 2000 GXL. The car has had a roof chop, been shaved of all trim, with vents cut into the rear quarter panels and an all steel body kit moulded into the body. A custom car is a phrase that became prominent in American pop culture in the 1950s, and has enjoyed special interest popularity since that time. It relates to a passenger vehicle that has been modified to improve its performance by altering or replacing the engine and transmission and to make it look "unique", unlike any car that might have been factory finished, always a personal "styling" statement by the re-styler/re-builder. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1524x753, 214 KB) [edit] Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Custom car ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1524x753, 214 KB) [edit] Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Custom car ...
Ford Taunus was a large family car sold by Ford in Germany. ...
Chopped and channeled is a description of a form of car customization in the kustom kulture of hot-rodding. ...
Hyundai Coupé with body kit. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 799 Ã 600 pixelsFull resolution (1240 Ã 931 pixel, file size: 160 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 799 Ã 600 pixelsFull resolution (1240 Ã 931 pixel, file size: 160 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...
The Trabant is an automobile formerly produced by East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Saxony. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 666 Ã 599 pixelsFull resolution (1651 Ã 1486 pixel, file size: 423 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source photographed by myself Date 29. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 666 Ã 599 pixelsFull resolution (1651 Ã 1486 pixel, file size: 423 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source photographed by myself Date 29. ...
Hyundai Coupé with body kit. ...
The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a two-door, four-seat sport compact automobile that has been in production since 1989 for left hand drive markets including the United States, Canada, and Taiwan. ...
âCarâ and âCarsâ redirect here. ...
Engine tuning or engine building is the adjustment, modification or design of internal combustion engines to yield optimal performance, either in terms of power output or economy. ...
For other uses, see Engine (disambiguation). ...
âGearboxâ redirects here. ...
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-WWII 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. T-Bucket hot rod Hot rods are older, often historical, cars. ...
All Saints Chapel in the Cathedral Basilica of St. ...
Jaguar Cars Limited is a luxury car manufacturer, originally with headquarters in Browns Lane, Coventry, England but now at Whitley, Coventry. ...
Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Buick is a brand of automobile built in the United States, Canada, China and in Spain by General Motors Corporation. ...
âFordâ redirects here. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
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 headlight 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 replace 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 improving the performance substantially was looked down on. The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ...
A SAAB headlight with combination projector/reflector optics A headlight or headlamp is a lamp, usually attached to the front of a vehicle such as a car, with the purpose of illuminating the road ahead during periods of low visibility, such as night or precipitation. ...
Bright chrome is often used as a decorative feature on consumer products such as cars. ...
For Pb as an abbreviation, see PB. General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series Post-transition metals or poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Standard atomic weight 207. ...
Originally, the term referred to extensively repaired/modified cars due to the use of lead as body filler and was, for the most part, an insult. ...
Bondo may refer to: Bondo (putty), used to fix dents in cars, created by Bondo Corporation Bondo (TN), a municipality in Italy Bondo, Kenya, a town in Kenya Bondo District in Kenya Bondo, Switzerland, a muncipality in the Grisons Jeremy Bonderman, a starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers Bondo may...
Chopped and channeled is a description of a form of car customization in the kustom kulture of hot-rodding. ...
Chopped and channeled is a description of a form of car customization in the kustom kulture of hot-rodding. ...
Chopped and channeled is a description of a form of car customization in the kustom kulture of hot-rodding. ...
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, and of scallops, and hand-painted pinstripes of a different color than the rest of the car. The latter, 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 '49s 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. âFordâ redirects here. ...
Henry Ford (1919) Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 â April 7, 1947) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. ...
With the coming of the muscle car, and further to the high-performance luxury car, customization declined. One place where it persisted was the US Southwest, where lowriders were built similar in concept to the earlier customs, but of post-1950s cars. The Pontiac GTO is a classic example of the muscle car. ...
1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Bomb from the Viejitos Car Club Orange County A lowrider is a car or truck which has had its suspension system modified (sometimes with hydraulic suspension) so that it rides as low to the ground as possible. ...
Recently, as the supply of usable antique steel bodies has given out, a new trend to fabricate new steel and fiberglass bodies, closely based on the styling of the pre-war cars. 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. Bundle of fiberglass Fiberglass (also called fibreglass and glass fibre) is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. ...
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 practise continues today, especially in Southern California. Johnies Broiler was a diner located in Downey, California until 2001. ...
Location of Downey in Los Angeles County, California Coordinates: , Country State County Los Angeles Founded 1800s Incorporated 1956 Government - Type Council-Manager government - City Council David R. Gafin Mario A. Guerra Rick Trejo (Mayor) Anne Marie Bayer Kirk Cartozian Area - City 12. ...
Customizers Several customizers have become famous within the custom community, including Boyd Coddington and George Barris who spread their influence beyond automotive enthusiasts, thanks to the closeness of 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 wins in a row. Boyd Leon Coddington (born 1944)[1] is the owner of the Boyd Coddington hot rod shop and star of American Hot Rod on the Discovery Channel. ...
Two men called George Barris were prominent in the latter half of the twentieth century for their links to the Hollywood entertainment community. ...
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It has been suggested that Batmissile, Bat-Humvee, Batmobile (Batman Forever) and Batmobile (Batman Begins) be merged into this article or section. ...
A television movie (also TV movie, TV-movie, made-for-TV movie, etc. ...
Lineup of Ford Model As GAZ-A photographed outside the GAZ plant in 1951. ...
Notable customs The most coveted award for customizers is the AMBR (America's Most Beautiful Roadster) 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. Ed Big Daddy Roth (March 4, 1932 - April 4, 2001) was an artist and the creator of Rat Fink and other characters, custom car builder, and one of the people responsible for the Kustom Kulture / Hot rod movement of the 1960s in Southern California. ...
Hot Wheels Car â Dodge viper Hot Wheels is a brand of die cast toy car, introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. ...
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 '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. The California Kid is a 1974 TV Movie starring Martin Sheen, Vic Morrow, Nick Nolte, Michelle Phillips, Gary Morgan, and Janit Baldwin. ...
American Graffiti is a 1973 film directed by George Lucas. ...
The Monkeemobile is a modified Pontiac GTO that was built for the Monkees TV show. ...
The Munsters is an American television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. ...
This article is about the television series. ...
ZZ Top is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. ...
The Pontiac Firebird was a pony car built by the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors and was manufactured from 1967 until 2002. ...
KITT on display at Universal Studios. ...
For the American media company, see Knight Ridder. ...
Gallery Hiboy deuce roadster with zoomie pipes, hairpins, and I-beam dropped axle. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1216x900, 674 KB)This is a dual use 2D or 3D compatible Anachrome image. ...
| Recent '51 Mercury custom with mailslot top chop, new grille and headlights, and nosed, pancaked hood. Image File history File links 3d_glasses_red_cyan. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata 1951_Mercury. ...
| '40 Ford, with tunneled or frenched headlights and nosed, pancaked hood. Image File history File links 3d_glasses_red_cyan. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata 1940_Ford. ...
| Image File history File links 3d_glasses_red_cyan. ...
See also Automobile restoration is the process of returning a car to essentially the same condition that it was in when it left the factory at time of manufacture. ...
Tuned Audi TT Car tuning is both an industry and a popular hobby, in which a car is modified in order to improve its performance and handling and better suit the owners driving style. ...
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Custom cars |