Bloody Mary on Ice

Heaps of snow line the streets as cars creep along at a snail’s pace. From the safety of my desk, I overhear expletives and screeches of drivers blending with the whine of scraping rotors and crunch of fenders. My vision pans from one license plate to the next, ticking past like slides in a projector. I ask myself, why do these people from around the country even bother leaving home if they’re certain to fail? What would our neighbors to the north think of this feeble display of driving? So in the spirit of that notion, I’ve dredged up a fine Canadian custom to serve as a necessary distraction from the sad comedy unfolding outside my window.

In the early 1960s, Barrie Neff of Victoria, B.C. bought a 1939 Ford coupe. Straight off the police impound lot, the car was rough and sported a hastily chopped top. Luckily, Neff had a background in hot rodding and treated the coupe to several tasteful modifications over the course of the two-year rebuild. Up front, he installed a 1938 Ford clip, including headlights, grille and all the factory brightwork. A trick set of flowing partial hood sides were installed to aid the aesthetics of the Ford’s freshly transplanted nose. Beneath the neatly louvered hood sat a 331 c.i. Cadillac equipped with a single four-barrel and a Hydromatic trans. The sanitary custom featured a white interior and ’40 Ford dash, which complimented the candy red finish. In October 1963, Neff’s efforts netted a two-page spread in Popular Hot Rodding. Despite “Bloody Mary’s�? striking paintwork and abundance of chrome, the photos were shot in black and white.

Much like the leap of faith taken by drivers sliding across these hazardous streets, the man behind the PHR article took a long shot while penning the conclusion.

“Canada isn’t famous for its custom rods, but Neff’s candyapple red Bloody Mary may change all that,�? author Dan Enyeart said. Although the car may not have fulfilled his lofty expectations, it does stand out as one of the most tasteful Canadian customs more than half a century later.

-Joey Ukrop