• 1952 Hot Rod magazine cover car • Clocked at 143.54 mph at El Mirage dry lake • Class winner at the Grand National Roadster Show • First in Class and Dean Batchelor Award at the 1999 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Dick Flint and a friend stop at a crosswalk, […]
Author: Ken Gross
Ken Gross is a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Chief Class Judge and a founding member of the International Chief Judges’ Advisory Group (ICJAG). He served as Executive Director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, and his 15 critically acclaimed auto exhibitions have drawn record crowds at major fine-art museums nationwide. The author of 25 books, Ken has been contributing to SCM for more than three decades.
1933 Ford Model 40 Highboy Roadster “The Mexican Blackbird”
• Period style chopped ’33 Ford highboy • SCoT-supercharged Ford flathead • Vintage speed equipment and instruments • Dash panel signed by Billy F. Gibbons
1936 Ford Model 48 roadster
• A period all-steel Ford hot rod • Well-known car from the Pacific Northwest hot-rod scene • Striking color combination of Cadillac Ivory over dark green • Beautifully presented throughout • A usable hot rod for cruise nights or local shows
1933 Ford Woodie Custom “Coupe”
Six figures worth of fun? Starting with a Squeeg’s Kustoms concept and a Jimmy Smith rendering, this woodie was built from the ground up with a ’33 Ford roadster cowl from Steve’s Auto Restorations, custom SAC frame rails (patterned from the Vern Luce 3-window coupe by the late Boyd Coddington), […]
1955 Lincoln Capri Custom “Mucha Muchacha”
“Mucha Muchacha” is a fantastic cruiser that runs and drives well. The first known ’55 Lincoln chopped radical custom, it looks as perfect as when it was finished in 2009. It was built by some of the best contemporary custom practitioners, including John Aiello, Bob Divine, Ferby Miguel and Alex […]
1932 Ford “Golden Rod” Roadster
This little roadster was built in 1953 by Jack Lentz after he returned from service in Korea. “I built a new auto body shop in Bedford, New Jersey,” Lentz recalled. “I liked the ‘Deuce’ Fords. There was a guy in the next town with one. I made a deal with […]
1966 Batmobile
The 1966 Batmobile by George Barris is the most recognized car in entertainment history. This vehicle marks a time in television history where the car became the star. Still as beautiful as when it first came out of the paint shop, this former 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car has been […]
1956 Chevrolet Foose Custom Roadster
Owned by comedian and actor Christopher Titus, one of Hollywood’s true diehard hot rodders, this ’56 was created by Foose design. Chip and his dad, Sam, massaged virtually every panel to match Chip’s concept sketch. The TV Show “Rides” covered the build at Foose Design, and again covered the car […]
1952 Astra Coupe
When Jay Everett unveiled his hand-built coupe at the Petersen Motorama in 1953, it marked a new direction in custom cars. At the time, most American customizers were basing their work on pre-existing cars from Detroit. Everett took the more difficult and more rewarding path of building his own full-bodied […]
1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster
Baroness Gisela von Krieger, the only daughter of an aristocratic German family, was renowned for her exquisite beauty, glamorous lifestyle and impeccable fashion sense. After moving to Paris in 1933, Baroness von Krieger became the darling of European Society. In her 20s, the refined socialite lived at the grandest Parisian […]