I was living in Norman, Oklahoma when I first caught the traditional hot rod and custom bug. While I still consider Norman to be the capital of this great country, it’s not exactly a hot bed for traditional hot rods and customs. Without inspiration... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
andy is the reason I got back into customs, and small world it was at the borders on so.290 by heb in austin that I got the bug back! thanks andy for all the wonderful books!
Andy's books are one's that I still look at the most... even after having them for quite a few years. Great photography of how things really were. Thanks for the interview! Malcolm
Andy Southard, Rod Powell, Cole Foster...Sounds like Salinas, California is the capitol of this great country of ours Ryan! Mr. Southard, your books (along with Salinas) have been a huge inspiration to me over the years. THANKS.
Very cool read. That name just jumped off the page when I saw it, memories from my youth. Good to see Andy doing well.
Andy shot a picture of my roadster years ago at roadster round up and used it in his Cars of the 70's book, he sent me a copy of the picture and an autographed copy of the book, after reading this article makes me want to dig out the book and look through it again Andy is a great guy with more pictorial history of our sport that any one else...........
I was born in Oceanside NY and my uncle from Oceanside always told me about Andy Southard. I don`t know if Andy remembers my uncle Wayne,but Wayne sure was proud of Andy coming from Oceanside and being such a great car guy. My uncle bought all of Andy`s books.
Andy is a very cool cat....and I can almost guarantee that he answered all these questions from memory....he's sharp as a tac.....man it's cool as hell to sit there and listen to him tell stories of how it was back in the day.....I'm blessed to have him as a friend
Andy is the salt of the earth ,and he shows it in his photos. I've know Andy for years and him and his wife are the coolest. I don't know if he still sells his video's but they are a must..............................
Thank you so much for that interview. I really value anytime I can hear about the roots of an individual that has revolved around hot rods and customs.
Great writing. Andy has been an inspiration for me since since I first saw a few of his photos in the late 1970's (by then I was 15 years old). They was part of what did guide me into the right direction when no one around me knew anything about traditional custom cars. With that as a guideline started to walk a path that I never will leave.
Andy's exactly 10 years older than me, and I grew up in North Jersey not too far from Long Island. It's very interesting to compair his memories of the area and mine, some 10 years later. By 1959, when I got my license, there were several drag strips, many speed shops, countless indoor Hot Rod shows to go to in the winter, etc.
Ryan, Thanks so much for this! I've talked with Andy several times over the years when ordering books from him and he has always been terrific to a nobody like me. Unfortunately our calls were always short since I had the bad luck to call when he was in the middle of a project and had to go after a short while but he is truly a hero and I feel fortunate for the few minutes I've spent talking with him.
A true legend. I got hooked on hot rods and customs from a batch of '68-'71 Rod & Custom Magazines. There was a ton of Andy Southard in there. I didn't learn the whole story until I was much older and started collecting the little books. What a man. Thank you Ryan. Jim
The first car I built, my '51 Chev Fleetline was modeled after the Purple '51 fastback in Custom Cars of the '50s. My copy of that book has about 8" of overspray covering it, the pages are all dog-earred and the cover is cracking. It still sits on my coffee table with pride. One of the best books out there.
That is why he is being honored and inducted into the West Coast Kustoms Hall of Fame in Santa Maria this weekend.
Wow. From another fan, THANK YOU Andy. Your work is much loved down here in Australia too. Thanks for taking the time, not just to answer some questions, but to take all of those amazing photos.
That's what I keep saying! I really can't say Andy is a friend but the few times I have talked to him have been great! He sat and talked to my brother & I for an hour or so about photography. He is an inspiration to us... and his merc is beautiful, I remember seeing it for the first time when I was a kid at a local Salinas Valley Street Rodder's Cruise Night at Roy's Drive-In. Thanks for making this interview happen Ryan & Rod! -Juan
My father was also a professional photographer ... and although he admired the work of Eric Rickman, Gray Baskerville, Tom Medley, Tex Smith, etc. ... he always used to say that Andy Southard Jr. was "the Automotive Photographer's Automotive Photographer". Andy is the best at what he does ... the consummate photographer of all things Rod and Custom! ... and a historian of the Northern California Rodding scene: ... Cover: The Clif Inman (Joe Wilhelm built) '57 Chrysler - San Jose, CA ... Cover: Tony Martinez' Model A Roadster - San Leandro, CA ... Cover: Gary & Marilyn Meadors' Chopped '32 Tudor - Newark/Fremont/Alamo, CA ... the OAKLAND Roadster Show (aka the GNRS)
Good article! I was fortunate enough to have a one on one sit down with Andy around '00 or '01. can't recall which year. My wife at the time's family lived in Salinas and I knew Andy still resided there also. I am a big fan of his books and always wanted to meet him, so on a weekend there with the inlaws, i simply picked up a local phonebook, found Andy and called him at his home. Andy answered, and i introduced myself and asked if I could have a talk with him about the old days. Andy was quick to invite me over to his house. I was very honored, and got there as quick as i could. I think i caught him in the middle of an afternoon lunch and Andy offered me a sandwich. Total hospitality! I spent the next hour and a half just listening to the stories of hotroddings glory days from a man who lived it. Then, to top that all off Andy took me out to his garage to see his custom and walls plastered with old pics. I wasn't even right- Andy's one hell of a guy and i'd encourage anyone of you to take the time to talk to Andy or any of these old guys 'cause once they're gone that's it. Of course before i left, i got Andy to sign the inside cover of my book, Hotrods of the 1950's
Thanks Ryan! Customs of the 1950s is what did it for me. I have 2 copys now one for me and one for my 5 year old daughter who looks at it constintly now..
Great interview! Thanks for taking the time to do it, Ryan, Rod, & of course Mr. Southard. I have each of the "50's", "60's", and "70's" books and look at them at least every other day. Well, the "50's" and "60's" ones anyway. The "70's" cars were kooky. Are there any more details of the video project that was mentioned? When/Where will that footage be available?