George Mitobe’s ’57 Ranchero

It’s been a while since we’ve featured a custom, so this morning I went on the hunt for something a bit obscure. George Mitobe’s funky little Ranchero caught my eye and here we are. It was built in 1958 by Branson’s Custom Shop in Artesia and flamed/striped by the legendary Larry Watson. The funk on this one comes by way of the usage of two sets of Buick Roadmaster side spears – one on top of the other for a crazy reversed effect. “Personality,” they say…

In any case, beyond the paint what I really dig is the Edsel taillights. This was a pretty common trick on ’57-58 passenger cars of the era and I think it works pretty damned well on this Ranchero as well. The rest is all late-50’s charm and magic. Most of these photos come from Kustomland – a great book by Thom Thaylor that features the photography of James Potter. If you don’t have this one, get it.

Enjoy the photos: