But the car that ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons came in and stared at for an hour and a half is this radical 1941 Ford: chopped seven inches, channeled six inches over the frame, sectioned out of the body another four inches, with a genuine Carson removable top from the 1960s; paint-shot in satin black with flames hand-done in white ice pearl. It was first customized by George Barris, who designed the Batmobile.

Read the rest of the story by Doug Elfman over at the Las Vegas review Journal

diorama Michael Paul Smith

Look at the photo above very closely. It is NOT real; it is a 1/24 scale diorama constructed by Michael Paul Smith. I am absolutely blown away by the craftsman ship of his work. This is real art and talent. To see a complete slide show of his work click the link below.

This is just some incredible work. Take some time and head over to Michael Paul Smith’s flickr site to take a look. Here is a direct link to a really awesome slide show form some of his photos.

1909 Buick

It’s only been a few years since Bill Brunkow died, and Ken Ganz, one of Brunkow’s car buddies and best friends, still thinks about him pretty much every day.
“I do. Yes, I do,” Ganz admits. “I miss Bill a lot. And I miss his collection, too.”

That collection included about 20 rare and vintage cars, including a Duesenberg, Cord, Auburn Speedster and a group of about 10 brass-era cars. Ganz helped Brunkow feed and care for his stellar family of automobiles for many years, helping with some restoration work, keeping the vehicles running and generally sharing in Brunkow’s love for historic iron.
“Working with Bill’s collection — I spent probably 10 years working with his cars and taking care of them and showing them. And as I spent more and more time with those cars, it seemed more and more like the older the cars were, the better I liked them,” Ganz said.

“And this one fit in really well,” he added, pointing to a splendid 1909 Buick Model F five-passenger touring car, its ample brass trim glowing in the mid-day sun. “It just happened that before he died, he and I had taken the body off this car and were doing some work on the engine. I had done a lot of work on it. I detailed the undercarriage. The brass really needed a good going-through. I spent a lot of time getting the chrome (brass) back into condition.”

1909 Buick

Little did Ganz know at the time that he was actually fixing up and maintaining what would be Brunkow’s parting gift to his longtime friend.

“I really didn’t [know], and to be honest, when he passed away, I called his son Bill one day, and I said, ‘Bill, I’ve gone about as far as I can go with this car without spending a bunch of money on it. What do you guys want to do with it?’ And his response was, ‘Well, that’s no problem, that’s your car! Dad wanted you to have that car.’
“And that’s how I found out.”

Out of all the fine machinery in Brunkow’s collection, Ganz says he somehow developed a special affinity for the venerable 1909 Buick. It had enough things wrong with it to keep him busy, it was undeniably beautiful, with its dark red paint, black upholstery and fold-down top, and overflowing brass. And, it was almost 100 years old!

1909 Buick

If Brunkow’s ultimate hope was to keep Ganz smiling, tinkering and motoring to shows around his home state of Wisconsin, then it’s been mission accomplished so far. Ganz admits he is always busy doing something to keep the car on the road, and the car continues to make periodic car show appearances, including a stop at this year’s Iola Old Car Show.
The car isn’t without its problems and challenges, and that’s just the way Ganz, a resident of Alma, Wis., likes it.

“There’s never an end with these cars. You’ll never have the ultimate, perfect car, and that’s just the way it is,” Ganz said. “So there is always something that has to be tinkered with, and I enjoy that. You really wouldn’t want to get into a car like this if you didn’t enjoy that. It’s a great hobby, but it’s really a time-consuming hobby.”

Ganz’s 101-year-old beauty was a bell cow in the Buick lineup when it was born a century ago. Buick made nine different models that year, and of the 14,606 cars built, 3,856 were Model F Tourers.

1909 Buick

The Model F was one of just two two-cylinder cars remaining on Buick’s menu by 1909 and came only as a touring car. It featured a 92-inch wheelbase and rode on 30 x 3.5 tires. Under the hood was a 159-cid, 22-hp inline power plant. The planetary transmission had two forward speeds plus a reverse gear. Power was supplied through chain-drive. The pilot drives on the right side of the cozy front seat, surrounded by a variety of brass trim and shiny do-dads.

The base price of $1,250 also got a buyer wood-spoke wheels, mechanical brakes on the rear wheels and a tilt steering column. The windshield was optional.
Driving such an open contraption is not for the uncoordinated or faint of heart. Pilots accustomed to operating with one foot and one hand are in for a 100-year-old reality check when they get behind the wheel.

“The big challenge is to keep track of the pedals,” Ganz said. “You have three pedals on the floor: low, reverse and the brake. Once things happen you have to move quick and if you’re not used to that, it can be a problem. You kind of have to get your mind in that frame of thinking, that, ‘OK, what do I have to do if I need to stop quick,’ or whatever.
“[Right-hand drive] doesn’t really bother me much. I try to stay over to the edge of the road anyway. At least we have mirrors on this one. Some other old cars don’t even have mirrors to help you.

1909 Buick

“It’s a nice-driving car, but you worry on the highway. I don’t want to take it on the highway, but I need to drive it. You’re only driving 30, 35 mph, and everybody else is going 55 or 60 or who knows what. You don’t have turn signals, you’ve got right-hand steering. Just a lot of little things, and you worry about somebody coming up too fast behind you.”
Ganz guided the Buick on the 120-mile New London to New Brighton Antique Car Run in Minnesota a few years back before he became the car’s owner, but these days he lets the car get its most strenuous exercise at, of all places, a small airport.

“I’ve got a good half-mile strip that I can run both ways,” he says. “All I have to do is look out for airplanes, and there aren’t many planes out there.”
Ganz says he likes to keep the brass on the car as shiny as possible, but beyond that he tries not to baby the car, or get carried away trying to fix all its imperfections. The car was restored at least once in its life, and Ganz has no idea how many people have actually owned it — he knows he’s at least the third.

“Some people are so meticulous. I just go with the flow with this one,” he said. “If it needs something, we do it, and if we don’t, that’s OK, too. It isn’t a perfect car, so I like to drive it, and I don’t see the need to have everything back to perfect. Looking at it from this distance, it’s a beautiful car. You can look up close and find lots of little flaws, but that’s what old cars are.

“I’ve even put an electric starter on it. Most people say if you’re a purist, you’d never do a thing like that. But if you crank these things long enough, and they don’t want to start, you’ll be darn happy to have a starter.

“We’re just happy with the way it is right now, and pretty much intend to keep it that way and drive it.”

Ganz figures Brunkow would have approved of his treatment of the century-old Buick. The car continues to get lots of love at home, plenty of miles on the road, and loads attention at car gatherings, where people can appreciate a machine that has lived such a long and charmed life.

1909 Buick

“It certainly attracts a crowd, there’s no getting around it,” Ganz says with a hearty laugh. “ I had it at Red Wing [Minn.] at a car show on Father’s Day, and you couldn’t keep people away from it.

“I always thought that about Bill’s cars. Those cars at a car show are like garbage cans are to flies! You couldn’t even get the cars out of the trailer and you’d have people gathered around.

“I really got spoiled. How could you not be, being around those kind of cars? But, I knew it was going to end someday. I’m just really, really happy to have this one.”

Sam Barris

If you hear the name “Barris” , you’ll likely picture the wild Hollywood customs built by George Barris – cars like the original Batmobile, and Drag-u-la from the Munsters TV show. Although not as well known as his younger brother, Sam Barris made perhaps an even bigger contribution to the history of custom car building, pioneering the art of the chop top, among other things.

Barris Kustom Shop

Sam shared his brother’s love for building cars, but was a bit more of the quiet type in comparison to George’s bold nature. Before the second world war, the two brothers customized a hand-me-down ‘25 Buick that turned out to be the first of many Barris customs. After the war the Barris brothers reunited and came up with the idea of opening a a shop in Los Angeles. The Barris Kustom Shop was born.

1940 Mercury

One of Sam’s first personal projects was this 1940 Mercury that he built in the late ’40s. The car was shaved, chopped, and featured a removable Carson top.

removable Carson top

While by today’s standards the car looks like a lot of traditional customs, you have to remember all this was done in the late 1940’s. I imagine was quite a sight to see the car on the streets of Los Angeles back then, as Sam used it as a daily driver.

1949 Merc

After selling the ‘40, Sam went and bought a brand new 1949 Mercury with the idea of making into a chopped custom. Chopping was a new thing at this time, so it took a lot of planning before the car was cut up. When completed, the car would be one of, if not the world’s first chopped Merc. With four inches removed from the top, the seats had to be bolted to the floor in order to give enough head room.

fadeaway rear fender

Besides the groundbreaking roof chop, the ‘49 also had fadeaway rear fenders, molded front fenders, a custom front grill, one-off taillights, and side trim from a ‘48 Buick. The car was coated in dark green, with a green and white interior.

last year's Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona

After exchanging owners a few times, the Merc would eventually be fully restored to its original condition. It’s seen here at last year’s Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona.

Mercury, Bob Hirohata

After seeing Sam’s Mercury, Bob Hirohata was inspired to have a chopped Merc of his own. Sam did the chop on Hirohata’s ‘51 hardtop, and both it and Sam’s ‘49 helped make the ‘49-’51 Mercury the quintessential custom.

1950 Buick

Sam’s next project would be a 1950 Buick that took him nearly two years to finish. To give the fastback Buick a proper look, Sam sectioned the body to match the chop, and extended the rear fenders by four inches.

exotic production vehicle

With all the work put into the car, it looked more like an exotic production vehicle rather than a garage-built custom. In fact, a lot of these customs would get more attention than the factory concept cars of the day.

52 Ford convertible

One of Sam’s later projects was this ‘52 Ford convertible that he used as a family car. Like his past cars, it featured lots of shaving, frenching, and a handmade front grill. In keeping with the “family” theme, the car also included a baby bottle warmer and diaper storage…

55 Chevy

Following the Ford was another convertible, this one a ‘55 Chevy. The ‘55 was never known as a big custom platform, but if anyone could make it work, it was Sam Barris.

Sam would eventually grow tired of the fast-paced LA life. In the late ’50s he moved back to Northern California, where he worked out of his own shop. The last collaboration between and George and Sam was the “El Capitola” ‘57 Chevy, which debuted at the 1960 Sacramento Autorama.

Sam Barris would go on to work as fire commisioner in Northern California before he sadly passed away from cancer in 1967. Sam’s career as a customizer may have been short, his impact was as big as anyone.

It’ll be hard not to think about him the next time I see a chopped Merc at a car show…

-Mike Garrett

56Packard

By Brian Earnest

There are plenty of folks around who really dig their old cars. And there are more than a few who are just head-over-heels, crazy nuts about a particular four-wheeled friend.

And then there are guys like Bill LeGall.

If there were a town specifically for people who were over-the-top, totally, insanely, madly in love with their cars, LeGall could run for mayor. The genuine, unbridled joy and enthusiasm that gushes out when LeGall tries to describe his lovely 1956 Packard Four-Hundred is truly contagious. As far as LeGall is concerned, there has never been a finer automobile built on this planet. And after hearing his take on the endless virtues of his Persian Aqua Four-Hundred, it’s hard not to be persuaded.

“Every time I use that car I feel like it’s the first time,” said LeGall, who has become a well-known figure in audiophile circles while running a very successful speaker repair and restoration service out of his home in Lansdale, Pa. He is a connoisseur of many things, and lives life with a rare zeal. But when it comes to collector cars, he is set in his ways. There is the 1956 Packard Four-Hundred. And there are all the rest of the cars in the world.

“I can’t even put into words my love for this car,” he says. “I can’t tell you in words how fantastic it is.”

It’s probably a good thing that LeGall and his wife wound up with their Packard, because they were actually acting a bit like stalkers before the car was theirs. Bill had owned a previous ’56 Packard and was in Ohio buying parts for it when he started quizzing the man who ran the business back in 1976. “I asked the vendor, ‘You must know of every one of the finest Packards in the country, don’t you? And he said, ‘Yes I do.’ I said ‘Where are they?’ And he made a list of six on a yellow pad, and said, ‘This is the best one. It’s in Coalport, Pa.’”

56Packard-1

But the car in question was not on the road. In fact, it was sort of in hiding, and the LeGalls had to go window peeking to find it.

“On our way back to Brooklyn, N.Y., where I used to live, we decided to drive to Coalport, and sure enough there was a Packard dealership building there,” he said. “It was called Hegarty Packard. And this vendor of parts in Ohio had said, ‘Walk to the back of the building and look through the window in back in the shop area, and you will see the car.’

“Sure enough, we looked in the back window and I almost passed out. The car looked brand new!”

But the LeGalls had shown up on a Sunday and the business was closed. Undeterred, the couple found out where the Hegartys lived and dropped in for a visit.

“We walked down the street there to this home and it turns out they were just pulling out to go to church. I said, ‘Are you Mr. Hegarty? I’m interested in buying your ’56 Packard.’ Well, I had long hair and looked like a hippy, and he didn’t even answer me. He didn’t even acknowledge I was there. He just continued out the driveway and took the family to church!”

56Packard-2

But the LeGalls didn’t give up, and with the help of “a friend who is the smoothest talker in the world,” they eventually convinced the man to sell the ’56. “We drove back to Coalport, and I brought the money, and I didn’t know how he would react seeing me again, but this time he could have not have been any nicer. My friend Morris and I and my wife Loretta spent the entire day getting this car running because it hadn’t run since 1960. That’s when old man Hegarty had died. He was the original owner of the dealership and it was his personal car. They parked it and never drove it after that.”

The trio put in a new battery, changed most of the fluids and somehow managed to get the slumbering car running. Then, against their better judgment, they drove it all the way home in a blizzard, never even turning off the engine that had been silent for 16 years. “It turned out to be one of the two or three biggest snowstorms in my lifetime,” Bill said. “And the drive home was over 400 miles … Mr. Haggerty decided to loan us some skid chains or we’d never make it home. But we made it!”

The lovely Four-Hundreds were a two-door hardtop subset of the top-of-the-line Patricians. For 1956, a total of 3,224 were produced, compared to 3,775 of their four-door Patrician siblings. Base MSRP of the Four-Hundreds was $4,190.

Changes in the Packard body, from 1955, included a redesigned grille with a mesh insert with vertical and horizontal chrome bars placed against it. Both the mesh and the grille could also be seen in the “air scoop” opening under the main horizontal bumper bar. Wraparound parking lamps were seen again, but had rounded rear edges. The headlamp hoods were lowered by one inch. Front fenders were extended on all Packards and Executives. Packard hood letters no longer appeared, being replaced by a centrally mounted crest. With the redesigned bumper, the guards were spaced wider apart, placing them directly under the headlamps.

56Packard-3

The Patrician sedan and the Four-Hundred hardtop both had vertical vents on the rear fenders and the same arrangement of side trim. This consisted of a wide, ribbed chrome band extending the full length of the car between two horizontal rub rails. The first rail ran from the front edge of the upper grille bar to the rear edge of the back fender; the second was parallel to it, about eight inches lower. Both moldings intersected the vent ornament and outside door courtesy/safety lamps were placed at this spot. Also seen on both cars were model identification script, set into the contrast panel, behind the front wheel housing. In addition, both were highlighted by bright metal body underscores that continued across the fender skirts and had wide, ribbed chrome rear extension panels. The Ultramatic transmission offered an electronic push-button selector mounted on the steering column.

The Four-Hundreds certainly had a lot going for them — style, comfort, reputation and cutting-edge gadgetry. The push-button transmission and air-leveling ride screamed luxury. The 290-horse four-barrel V-8 gave the car plenty of power, and the paint schemes and badging were all top-notch. But as far as LeGall is concerned, it was the car’s unique full-length torsion bar suspension that set it apart.

56Packard-4

“It has no coil springs or air suspension,” he said. “It has a full-length torsion bar, and this thing literally drives like a train. I’ve had all kinds of cars, driven in all kinds of cars, and I’m absolutely convinced there is not a more satisfying car to drive in my lifetime. It’s always totally planted, because it doesn’t rely on shock absorbers to keep the car on the ground. The wheels are glued to the ground. You do feel every pebble in the road, and yet you are never jostled. It is the most level ride. It is amazing.”

LeGall’s car has a full array of amenities, including power windows, seats and antennas, signal-seeking AM radio, dual heaters in the front and rear with separate controls, side running lights and fancy gold plating on the dashboard.

The Packard had 32,000 miles on the odometer when the LeGalls bought it. For a few years, Bill drove it frequently to work. The car now has 99,000 miles.

Bill has tweaked the clutch and transmission several times on his own, and repainted the car himself in the early 1990s. Beyond that, the car is largely original.

“I stripped the car down, I believe in ’94, and replaced the rocker panels, mig-welded in new metal to the bottom of the front fenders and couple other spots … And then painted the car using the original nitro-cellulous lacquer, rather than modern paints,” he said.

“I had the trunk lid and hood off the car on horses. I painted those pieces outside as well as the bottom part of the car … But the roof I did in our garage. And the paint went on so smooth, it was amazing. It barely needed any buffing at all!”

Not long after he got the car running again, LeGall took it to a show and found out that he apparently had a talent for spraying. “We went to a show in New Hope, and we put the car in the fairgrounds, only so we could picnic behind it. And they announced for your car to be judged make sure your hood is open. My friend Marty said, ‘Bill, open the hood. You could win something. I didn’t want to do it, but … I opened up the hood, and two or three judges came along, and when they saw the car, they said, “This is all original.” I said, ‘No, I just painted it. I had pictures in the trunk of me painting it and stripping it.’ They simply could not believe that the car was repainted, and that I did it in the driveway. The car took first prize! And the competition was wicked!”

For now, LeGall said he has no plans for the Packard, other than to drive it as much as he can. It will never be for sale, he insists, even though he has had many offers.

He says every “8 or 10 years,” he and Loretta drive the car back to Pennsylvania to show it off to the Hegarty family and assure them that the car is alive and well and went to a loving home.

“It’s not a show car, it’s something I love to drive,” he says. “The reason I don’t go to car shows hardly at all is that once you get in the car and start driving, you don’t want to stop and park it. I’m always sad when I get home and turn the key off and the ride over is over.”