Custom Car builder Spotlight: GEORGE CERNY

[FONZI]

Come to think of it. Many so-cal Hambers may have seen George's son a few years back and never knew it. He had a body shop directly accross the alley from Goodies in Orange. The old Kustom shop on Batavia.


FONZI

[low springs]

your post always amazes me. where do you find all the pics? very nice.

[ShortBus]

Great post Rikster. Thanks for sharing. Cerny is definitely one of the greats.

Is that a Chevy V8 powering his wagon? How untraditional..

[seldom scene]

I think Cerny also built a race car, Maybe Bonneville? Does anyone have pics of that car?

[plmczy]

I like the second version of the 'burban. Wasn't the a difference in the b pillar from one side to another? I remember reading about that somewhere, I think it was R&C. One was slanted and the other was straight up and down. Thanks for the great post rikster, I enjoy them. later shawn

[Ron]

Thanks, great post as with all of these you have started.

[blown49]

Thanks Rickster for makin' my night! As always a great job.

[Rikster]

Here is one more photo of the Carl Cerny Chevy, a bit brighter this time, so its wonderful simple lines can be enjoyed some more.





And the front of Luna's 51 Oldsmobile with Pontiac grille.

[Rikster]

I just found these color photo's of the Cerny station wagon. These where on the cover of an '56 Car Craft magazine. I'am not sure how accurate the colors are though. But these are the only color photo's I have seen of this custom.

[loogy]

Oh, now that's awsome. I had never seen a color photo of that car before. Wild.


Chris

[TheFrenZ]

Rik,thanks a lot ! Another great Custom Car Builder Spotlight.I just wanted to add some more pics and info.I also don't have much more info regarding the Cerny's at all.George and Carl had their shop in Compton,California.I don't know many cars the Cerny's worked on but the ones I know are very well done and are very tasteful cars.Like you already mentioned the Buster Litton Ford was chopped by the Barris Bros and George and Carl Cerny did the rest.When the Barris Bros chopped the car it belonged to someone else.For unknown reasons ( I guess it was money ) the project wasn't finished.Buster Litton purchased the partfinished car and brought it to the Cerny's who did the other body work which is equally impressive and well done as the hardtopped and chopped roof converted from a '49 Ford Club Coupe.No doubt,it is one of the best looking Shoebox Fords ever.The extended fenders and quarterpanels really work on this car and it simply has great lines.Damn nice car...



The most obvious change on the front is the use of 1950/51 Studebaker fenders to extend the stock fenders.They also used the stock Stude headlights and reworked the trim of those to accept turn signals.I really like the fenders and the Ayalas did this too on the Wally Welch Merc.Keith Weesner Ford has its fenders also reworked this way although he uses stock but frenched headlights which I like even more.The hood was modified with the help of a '51 Merc hood "nose".



Here's a close-up of the hood.Also visible is the fully molded gravel pan.Note this pic shows the car with front bumper guards.Originally the bumpers on the car were completely smoothed.I don't know if this pic was taken before this modification or if they were later added.




Here's another pic of the rolled and pleated interior.It was fabbed by Gaylord and I wish there would be any color shots available.Litton later sold the complete interior to Hershel "Junior" Conway who also had a very nice '50 Club Coupe.Who knows what happened to the rest of the car...



What would I give to see the car in color...it was painted "Cocoa Rust".The quarterpanels were extended with '51 Olds 98 fenders and the stock Olds tail lights were kept.All the seams were filled.Just like the front bumper,the rear one was smoothed and the ends were replaced with '53 Ford bumper ends to give it a more wraparound look.Subtle is the name of the game again...

[TheFrenZ]

It seems the Buster Litton Ford was also a regular at shows as evident by these pics.The Cerny's worked another 6 months on the car after the top was chopped by the Barrises.They had to finish the chop and made the beautiful slide-in side windows.The glass came from a Ford Convertible.



This pic shows the car one more at a show.Notice the crest on the front fender and I think the aforementioned bumper guards are also visible.According to my info the side trim is stock Ford.'53 Caddy hubcaps one more follow the "less is more"-theme and perfectly fit in there.



The "Panoramic Ford" was also featured in Car Craft magazine in the early 50's and I found this article somewhere in the world wide net.If there's anybody who has the possibilities to make the text readable,would be greatly appreciated !!!



The Buster Litton Ford in all its beauty...the nicely chopped & hardtopped roof,the extended fenders front and back,the side trim,the wraparound rear bumper,the Caddy hubcaps,just one hell of a combination...I really would like to know what became out of this Shoebox Ford...was it crushed like many other great Customs or did it slowly die somewhere in a field or is it still around,standing in a barn and the owner absolutely has no clue about the car's history and simply thinks it is some old car...

[TheFrenZ]

The other gorgeous Cerny Custom is Carl Cerny's own '49 Chevy.Just like you,Rik,I only got those pics out of the Hop Up mag article.The car perfectly nails the early and very classy Custom look.The top was chopped 3 inches in front and 4 inches in the back and as Rik already mentioned the B-posts were slightly raked to give the car that elegant look.Also installed was a one-piece and curved '50 Olds windshield,a very common practise back in the day.Smooth hubcaps look very nice and don't distract the eye from anything on the car.The tall withewalls are simply beautiful.The Cerny's also frenched the headlights and shaved the hood and the trunk which is mandatory.



Just like on the Litton Ford the Chevy's quarter panels were extended with Olds fenders and once more the good looking '50 Olds tail lights were used.It seems the Cerny's had a '50 Olds "parts-car" while building this Chevy.Beside the quarter panels,tail lights and windshield,the top grille bar is also from a '50 Olds.The center grille bar is from a '51 though.



Rear bumper came from a '49 Olds model and of course it goes well with the Olds quarter panels and the "rest" of the Chevy.The interior was a nice color mixture between maroon and white,matching the outside.



(V8minor : I think this is the look you should go for with your Chevy,do you agree Sailor ?

[Rot 'n Kustom]

Here is a pic from Andy Southard's Custom Cars of the 1950s.

The was a 1956 Car Craft project car styled by Don Fell.
Cerny's shop worked on it along with Valley Custom, Norm's Auto Body, and Barris.

Southard found it on a Burbank car lot for $1095. Not a bad deal then or now!

[Bullet Nose]

Originally Posted by Rikster

After it was chopped Litton drove it to Cerny who added his trademark Olds rear fenders ('51 units in this case) and '51 Studebaker front fenders with stock Studebaker(chrome) headlight bezels)and '49 Ford bumper up front.

I'm not sure about the fenders but the headlight rims are from a 52 Studebaker.

[Rikster]

Here are a few more pictures of that '50 Chevy. Valley custom performed the instalation of the '55 Chevy grille (very understated like most of theire customizing work). I believe Norm's Auto body handled the side trim. And George Cerny was responsible for the taillights treatment.

[TheFrenZ]

Originally Posted by FONZI

Cerny was one of the greats! I have actually had the pleasure of knowing his son Larry. I haven't seen him in a few years, however last time is aw him he was painting cars out of the back of a shop in Costa Mesa. A talented painter as well.

FONZI

This '55 Ford was built by Larry Cerny and as visible from the sign he's still in business.The pic was taken at Paso lately.Seems he's going for the simple look his father and uncle were known for.Very nice '55 Victoria with frenched headlights,'56 hood,Thunderbird wires,pearl paint and bags all around.



I think it would be very interesting to talk to Larry Cerny and I bet he knows much about the old Customs and surely has some old pics of those great cars...

[Rikster]

Originally Posted by TheFrenZ

This '55 Ford was built by Larry Cerny and as visible from the sign he's still in business.The pic was taken at Paso lately.Seems he's going for the simple look his father and uncle were known for.Very nice '55 Victoria with frenched headlights,'56 hood,Thunderbird wires,pearl paint and bags all around.

hmm never realized that georgious custom was built by another Cerny.

here are tow more pictures of it. Very nice mild custom

[50Fraud]

This '55 appears to be an interesting phantom that I've thought of doing too. The top appears to be the "factory chopped" roof that first appeared as the Crown Victoria in '55, with the chrome "basket handle" that extended the B-pillars over the roof.

In '56 this lowered roof appeared on the standard Victoria (no basket handle) as well as the Crown, but in '55 the standard Victoria had a higher roof panel that was probably developed from the '51-'54 stamping.

The look is very pleasing, and not unfamiliar since all the parts appear to be stock Ford, but I think that this low-top, basket-handle-less, '55 Victoria is a figment of somebody's imagination!

[flyin-t]

Great, great thread.
My father in law, Bob, grew up in the 40s and 50 in Compton and he was a fan of Cernys work and knew them back in the day as they lived down the street from one another. (My dad grew up in Hollydale and was a fan and hung out at Barris's. He was in the Igniters outa Bell, ca.)
Bobs dad, my wife's grandpa, was a fantastic body man and did moonlight work for Cernys sometimes. My father in law loved to tell the story of his dad, coming to the dinner table shaking his head about some body work that some kid just had him do. He'd say " this kid had me take off all the molding, hood ornament and so on and FILL all the holes. Pefectly good car and he wanted to take off all the chrome!"
He never was a car guy and didn't understand the Kustom thing all, but he shaved doorhandles, making his own mechanical foot openers, molded fenders and the rest. Bob was a car guy and he was in the Knight Owls out of Lynwood High. Had a very nice mild custom 49 chevy. He died a year ago of cancer after a career of being a Lynwood fireman. The grandpa is still alive, 94, and still doesn't get the car thing and HIS dad had a Ford dealership in Nephi, Utah until the Model As came out. He hates ol Henry too for what he put his dad and other dealers through in 1927-8.

I always liked that 49 chevy of Cerny alot.