Life is strange. And I guess the story of the Kustomrama Dream Truck goes all the way back to 2010, when buddy "Blomster Martin" asked me if I wanted to buy one of his 1970 Ford F100 trucks.
Back then I was 28 years old. I was living in a small house in Oslo, and I had my 1934 Ford Pick Up truck, and my old Barris Kustoms Survivor, the Tom Carroll 1949 Chevrolet Coupe. My buddy Martin ran two successful flower shops in the heart of Oslo, and after being hooked on eBay, he had become the owner of quite many old American cars. Back in 2010 he lost most of his parking spaces, and after a wet night out on the town he had convinced me to buy three of his cars. A 1970 Ford F-100 truck, a 1955 Ford truck and a 1962 Ford Ranchero. I had no money at all, but Martin told me I could pay monthly down payments. How much I wanted to pay was up to me!
Martin gave me an offer I couldn't resist. At least that day. The next day I woke up with cold feet. Where was I supposed to park all these cars? I turned down the '55 Ford and the Ranchero, and I walked away with the 1970 Ford F-100 truck! The truck was a California import, and it had spent the last years in storage. It was a perfect daily driver. It was in a rough but good condition, so it could be parked on the streets of Oslo without loosing any night time sleep.
Add some whitewall tires as well, and you're ready to haul ass! What do this has to do with the Kustomrama Dream Truck? Not much. Yet!
Very cool as it is, my friend ! That Kustomrama Dream Truck will be awesome from the "sneak peek" you sent me awhile back !! Best wishes to you ! Torching on "All-American" rides in Norway is a true tribute to our kustom way of life ! Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net
Enter Jerry DeVito, a creative, colorful soul, and the father of the original Maze! January 4th, 2012 I received a short, to the point email from Jerry. Jerry had been googling his old custom, and his quest took him to the short story I had on the car on Kustomrama. While visiting the page, he noticed my ad for the first Kustomrama T-Shirt. The shirt was the first in a series called the "Kustomrama Signature Series", and it was a tribute to the one and only Hirohata Merc. Jerry liked what he saw, and he sent me the following mail "how do I get t shirts with the maze on it ?"
I can't remember exactly when I first saw the incredible Maze, but I know my first encounter with the radical car was while I was browsing trough one of the Barris books. The color photo, shown above, flabbergasted me, and I couldn't believe that someone had actually painted their car like this back in 1957. My first thought was "Wow, what have these guys been smoking??" It was unlike anything I had seen by then! It was outrageous, and totally over the top, but I loved it, and I couldn't get it off my mind. Being a fan of El Caminos and Rancheros, I started to play around with the concept of a Ranchero version of the Maze! When Jerry mailed me, I told him about my dream. He replied the same day: " Let's get started on the ranchero. I am 75 now and don't have to much to go!"
I almost got a bad feeling when I read Jerry's reply. I told him that Ranchero's are scarce and expensive in Norway. But I promised him that if I one day found one I could afford, I would turn it into a Ranchero version of the first version of the Maze. So I suggested that we should start with the t-shirt!
Before I started working on the t-shirt design for Jerry's shirt. I decided to do a proper story on the car on Kustomrama. Back then I knew that the car was redone in 1959. This version featured sunken headlights and a solid gold paintjob that covered all of the scallops. What I didn't know was that there also was a version prior to the famous 1958 version of the Maze! Jerry didn't have access to a scanner, so he sent me a care package containing some of the magazines that the car had appeared in, along with copies of some of his personal photos. The magazines contained notes describing the different versions. Below is a scan of Car Craft February 1959, featuring the first version of the Maze: The first version of the Maze featured milder body work, and a milder paint job. This was before the bird-like beads were grafted on to the front fenders, and before the taillights were tunneled and the fins extended. The bodywork was performed by Bill Babb and J.R. Wirth of With's Body Shop in Campbell, California. Joe Crisafulli was the master behind the more modest scallop paint job on this version.
Man! Check out the krazy louver pattern on that nicely scooped hood...This thing was born to be wild, straight out the gate!
The first version of Jerry's Ford was completed in 1957. It became a hit at the shows, winning awards everywhere Jerry entered it. For the 1958 season Jerry decided to redo the body and paint on the car. Up front, the headlights were trimmed with unusual bird-like beads. The rear fins were extended, and received a similar styling. The list of modifications is long, but most notable was the new paint job! Jerry had the Grande brothers paint the body in a base green color before he drove it over to local custom car painter and pinstriper Bob Heinrich. Jerry told me that it took 4 whole weeks to mask and paint the second version of the Maze! The colors were ranging from gold, lime gold, lavender, burgundy, Candy Apple and Chinese blue and red. All of the scallops was then outlined with a thin white line. The result received a lot of magazine ink!
The second version of the Maze became an even bigger hit at the shows, and after winning everything with this version of the car as well, Jerry decided to redo the car for the 1959 season. The third version of the Maze, was restyled by Gene's Body Shop of San Jose. The rear end of the third version stayed basically untouched, but the front received a radical makeover. It was now fit with quad headlights, and the upper headlights were recessed 10 inches into the fender!
Jerry sold the Maze in 1960, and he never saw it again! This version was painted Maroon Candy. I asked Jerry if he remembered who he sold it to, but he could not help me there. He told me that before he sold it, he had plans for a chopped and carson topped roof, a channeling, and maybe even a sectioning. Jerry went on to work for George Barris, and he was part of the team building the Munster Koach and the Batmobile. He worked for George for about 3 years. These two photos from the Rod Powell Collection shows the Maroon Candy version of the Maze at an indoor car show. These are the last known photos of the car. What happened to it after this? I have heard some rumors about the car being sold to a guy from Texas that was stationed in California. These are unconfirmed rumors, but there is a slight chance that the car might be hiding out somewhere in the Lonestar State...
About a year after Jerry DeVito first emailed me I was having some beers with my buddy "Blomster Martin" again. Martin is the kind of guy that talks to everyone. He is a laid back fellow and a very friendly guy. He had been helping his ex-girlfriend transporting her Lambretta-scooter to a scooter expert in Oslo. The scooter expert lived in an huge mansion on the better side of town, and Martin told me he had an old Bugatti race car in his basement! Martin also mentioned that this guy had a 1957 Ford Ranchero that he was considering selling. I didn't think too much about it then, as I was not looking for a new car at the moment. Me and my girl had just bought an old Atrium house on the outskirts of Oslo, and I had my hands filled up restoring the house back to a mid-century modern look.
I know this car, from Grease Machines 1979 magazine, I've had for many years. Took ten seconds to find mag on my shelf, and there it is.
About a half year later, "Blomster Martin" had helped his ex-girlfriend pick the scooter up again, and he told me that the Ranchero now was up for sale. The price was fair, so I decided to go and check it out. The current owner had used the car as his daily driver for a while, before he parked it in a barn. It had stayed in the barn for 2 or 3 years when I went to check it out. As the price, the condition was also fair. I noticed immediately that the car had been restored later on in life, and that it was in need of some work. The battery was long gone that day, but the seller promised to install a new one if I wanted to come back and give it a test drive. What was I suppose to do now? I had gotten an offer that was hard to resist, but I had no money, nor a place to park the car. Living in Oslo, parking spaces are scarce and expensive. One option was to sell the F-100 truck! I figured that I could get the same amount for the F-100 truck that the Bugatti-man was asking for the Ranchero. But would I be able to finish the restoration of the house without my work-horse?
It is crazy to think about now, but I actually had a hard time considering what to do? I get very emotionally attached to my cars, and selling the F-100 truck was not an easy decision. While I was deciding what to do, I figured the smartest thing would be to advertise the car for sale at least. Selling old cars in Norway tend to take some time. After about a week, the first potentially buyer came to check it out. By then I had spent a lot of time thinking about my Maze-Ranchero vision, and I was ready to part ways with the F-100 truck. The guy that came to check it out liked what he saw. Money was exchanged, and both parties were satisfied!
I sold the F-100 truck July 5th, 2013. One week before our 5th annual Coupe Devils Rod & Kustom Bonanza. I had hoped to buy the Ranchero before the show so I could have it there. I called the Bugatti-guy the same day. He was not answering my calls or messages! What had happened? Had he regret the sale? I got cold feet and tried to reach him daily. The F-100 truck was now long gone! Had I made a big misstake? He answered my phone that Thursday, and told me I could come and check it out on Monday. Ahh...bummer. There was no time to cry! Brad Masterson was attending that years Bonanza show to chop a 1948 Plymouth, so I had to leave for the airport to pick him up. The weekend went fast, and on Sunday I drove Brad and my little brother Olav to the airport in Oslo. Olav was going back to Lynwood with Brad to study.
My club buddy Kasper joined me that Monday to take the Ranchero for a test-spin. I didn't drive long before I was sold, and a deal was made! The car was far from perfect, but who cares! I was one step closer owning a Maze Ranchero!
My buddy "Blomster Martin" gave me a lift to the barn where the Ranchero was parked the next day. I brought a suitcase of money, papers were signed, and the deal was made. I had now finally become the proud owner of a 1957 Ford Ranchero!
The Jalopy Journal
