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Remember that old saying? Your mom probably told that to you many times while you were growing up and if it wasn’t mom, then it was dad that reminded you that doing something worthwhile sometimes takes more than one try. Well, the same sentiment applies when putting on a kustom car show. June 11-13th of 2015 brought yet another Custom Car Revival to Indianapolis, Indiana, and organizers Kevin Anderson and Bob Davis did it up right, with a few improvements from the first and second.
The event started off on Thursday and by late afternoon, there were quite a few kustoms already parked in the motel lot. Several others were just rolling in for the weekend’s festivities.
Old friends greeted each other and younger kustom guys were introducing themselves and chatting with the older enthusiasts. Anticipation ran high after those early arrivals received their registration packets simply because Friday morning’s activity was to be so very special.
The partly cloudy day morphed into evening and the standard “parking lot social” got under way. More cars arrived and soon the motel lot was full of brightly colored sleds. Not only was the kick-off evening of the 3rd CCR weekend as great as expected, fortunately, the weather cooperated as the Indy area had been experiencing waaaa-aaay too much rain for the past few days.
The anticipation of the Friday event could be seen on the faces of nearly everyone at the 9:00 a.m. Friday morning “driver’s meeting.” Kevin and Bob explained how everyone was to get to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is located just north of downtown Indianapolis, via the city’s interstate system for a special showing of ‘concept car’ art. About 60 kustoms and their passenger’s set out for the 20 minute drive. It was a great sight watching those kustoms cruising the highways/streets of Indy. Concept Cars: 1955 Chrysler Ghia and 1953 Firebird.
A car show within a car show.
Shortly after the meeting, the organizers caravanned the participants north onto I-65 and then onto I-70 to the Indianapolis Museum of Art near downtown Indy for a special presentation of “Dream Cars.” GM had coined the name “Dream Cars” in 1953 as a reference to their concept cars or experimental vehicles they built and displayed at their “autoramas” when they debuted the year’s new vehicles. About 60 kustoms followed the lead kustom to a special parking area of the Museum. Once parked, the participants were eager to get inside the facility. The cars displayed in the museum were not just something left over from bygone years, but were select one-of-a-kind prototypes of the 40s and 50s. Well represented were Ford, Chrysler, Buick, Cadillac and a few 30s-40s European prototypes, plus an assortment of newer ‘concept’ cars, one each by Ferrari, Lancia, BMW and Porsche.
Top row: 1959 Cadillac Cyclone, 1956 Buick Centurion. Bottom row: 1951 GM Le Sabre and 1935 Bugatti
After spending several hours at the museum, lunch was the next destination. One of Indy’s “famous” cafeterias and again a special eating area was set aside for participants. After a heavy rain shower during lunch it was back to the motel for more parking lot social and some relaxing. Friday evening, another activity had been planned and several kustom owners ventured off to Indy’s Fountain Square Historic District, Indy’s oldest neighborhood and the earliest commercial district in the state for dinner and some sight-seeing of the unique shops and restaurants there.
Saturday morning opened partly cloudy and Edwards Drive-In parking lot filled quickly with over 200 traditional kustoms and 23 states were represented this year . Some well-known kustoms drove in and even a couple of old “found” kustoms showed up. Of particular note was the “Oriental,” one wild ’57 Buick that did the show circuit in the mid-60s. It was reportedly found on Craig’s List and purchased by the present owner who plans to restore it to its former show glory.
Late that afternoon, several individuals and clubs awarded their choices with one-of-a-kind trophies, which ranged from unique handmade to gorgeous professionally made. This year, three inductees were presented with the “Lifetime Achievement” award. In no particular order, the first was to Dave Jenkins, the man that has owned his gorgeous ’57 Chevrolet 2 door hardtop since Chevrolet introduced it to the motoring public in September, 1956. Steve Tansey, builder of numerous show cars and Kustoms, including the chopped 1949 Mercury in the Henry Ford museum in Detroit was also given the award. Finally, Kurt McCormick, owner of more original Barris kustoms than anyone else in the free world was given the well-deserved award.
Myron Dybing’s “Lavendar Lady”
Myron purchased this 1950 Chevy coupe from the original owner, a farmer, back in 1990 while he was teaching in Kindred, North Dakota. It sat in his shop in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, for two years while he collected parts to build this outstanding kustom. Myron began by installing a Nova sub-frame, a 1958 six-cylinder engine, and T-350 automatic transmission.
With that done, he molded in the ’53 Chevy grille shell, extended and peaked the hood, and then added seventeen ’53 Chevy teeth to the grille. The front bumper is stock other than flipped upside down and the pan is molded to the body. The front fenders were extended and ’55 Olds headlight rings were molded on.
The ’55 Buick side trim glides into the scoop at the rear fender. The rear fenders were extended and ’54 Mercury taillights were cut in half and placed in upside down. The rear pan is also molded on and a ’49 Chevy license guard protects the license plate and shaved trunk. The mods took four years and the car was painted “Dusty Orchid Pearl” in 1996. The traditional T n’ R interior was completed in 2002 by Billy’s Custom Cover-up in Fargo, North Dakota. Myron sold the car at CCR to Dr. Dave Myers, another kustom owner, so he could finish the ’59 Impala he’s started.
Mike & Heather Sorci’s “Crazy In The Head” 1952 Chevy
Mike’s kind of a new guy when it comes to kustoms. He’s been into the car scene for about 12 years and he built this ’52 Chevy coupe over the past nine years with the help and guidance of his Uncle Mike Baalke. After he found out about the CCR event from a few friends, he decided the car needed painting before he would drive it to the Indy Custom Car Revival from Roselle, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
He chose a maroon color reminiscent of the early years of kustoms called Vintage Burgandy Metallic. Mike said he was inspired by Larry (VooDoo Larry) Grobe and built his ‘52 Chevy to join the ‘Voodoo Kings’ car club but wasn’t exactly certain his build style would fit in. It took him a few tries (exactly 3 different versions) to get the final look he wanted. The top was chopped by his pal Bobby Middleton but Mike and his pals; Joe VanBennenden, Steve Elmer, Tom & Pat Quinlan and the Retarded Sparks car club handled the rest of the mods.
Of particular note is the upside-down ’56 Packard taillights at the bottoms of the rear extended fenders. The Buick headlight rings were molded onto the fenders and the grille was molded in. The ’56 Chrysler grille and bars is not a commonly used item for a kustom but it works well here. The surprising thing about this kustom are the bumpers. Not one but both are Lincoln Mark II bumpers Mike found on e-bay, talk about rare! Mike added scoops to the rear fenders and modified the skirts to fit. The engine and tranny in the car is a 350ci Chevy and a TH350 automatic.
Dave Pareso’s Survivor ’49 Stude
Dave’s ColoRODo Springs, ColoRODo-based Studebaker pick-up enjoys a long and varied pedigree. It was originally built as a kustom way back in 1957 and sported a Buick Nailhead engine w/6 deuces under the hood. Dick Fuqua (Dick’s Body Shop) in Greeley, ColoRODO built the truck and used it as a rolling advertisement for his shop.
Over the years it was continuously “updated” and Dick modified it yet again in 1963 into what you see here. The Stude sat for years after its “show seasons.” Slowly weathered by the intense ColoRODo sun, snow and rain, it was rescued in 1980. The body was taken all the way down to bare metal, minor areas were patched and epoxy primer was applied in anticipation of the custom-mixed purple.
The engine of choice this go-round is a Chevy 307ci coupled to a TH350 transmission. Other than a mild cam everything was left stock. Dave then had the interior re-done in white naugahyde with silver metallic vinyl inserts in a traditional roll & pleat style and a new white and silver tonneau cover for the bed. A tilt column, painted silver metallic, was added. Once the interior was completed and the truck rolled outside, it looked like it’d been driven right out of the 1960s. Dave’s whole intent was to put the truck back to what it was. The main reason: Dave has been into kustoms all his life and owns BackStreet Kustoms body shop in ColoRODo Springs. He understands how old traditonal kustoms should look, and this one needed to be saved, as close as possible to what it was back in 1963!
