Kustomrama curates some of the most interesting and unique hot rods in history, reaching far and wide to bring us gems of yesteryear that might otherwise be reduced to rumors and forgotten memories. One such example is this 1955 Ford Fairline, once owned by Injectors of Lyons president Jerry Drake.

The Injectors of Lyons was a car club from Lyons, Michigan, near the capital of Lansing. Drake plied his trade in town as a pinstriper and custom painter, earning the nickname “Spider the Crazy Painter” among the locals. Nearly as well-known was the man’s Fairlane, which Drake had named “India Ivory” as a reference to the GM paint he had applied to the car.

Drake shaped the Fairline to an impressive form by shaving the deck lid and slapping on some bubble skirts over the back wheels. The rear received some mods in the way of 1956 Mercury station wagon taillights and a 1956 Fairlane bumper. The sides, meanwhile, were given electric door handles and side trim from a 1956 Chevy 210.

The front was altered by way of a pair of 1955 Oldsmobile headlights and a 1956 Plymouth grille. The paint was added afterwards, as was pinstriping courtesy of Bill Pierce. The car went to the 1957 Saginaw Auto-Rama and immediately made waves among the hot rod community.

In January of 1958, the car underwent a second transformation. This time, Drake lowered the car by five inches up front and four inches out back, and fitted extended rear fenders and tunneled taillights as well. The paint was enhanced with light and dark green scallops up front, with new pinstriping by Paul Patton.

The tale comes to an unfortunate close, however. Drake found out in 1959 that his car was rusting out before his very eyes, and put it into an auction before it completely disintegrated. Somebody won the car, and hid it away to the point that nobody knows what became of it.

Nevertheless, for the few years that the car was beautiful, it was beautiful indeed. Check out more on the story by visiting Kustomrama’s website, and Like them on Facebook as well.