Step Back up to The Nerf Bar

Ryan had a great post about Nerf Bars many years ago that yielded some great pictures of HAMB projects with all sorts of cool home-made bars. Last night I was flipping through the May 1955 issue of Hot Rod and came across a How-To-Do-It article on Nerf Bars specifically for ’40 and earlier hot rods. The story was written by none other that George Barris, and I’m guessing it’s his brother Sam’s hands we see doing the work. In this part 1, we see how to modify bumper brackets, make a wire template, and how to bend the tubes with a ‘pipe hickey’ for the nice smooth oval shapes. Next up is welding, filing, and finishing before they go to the chrome shop. I’ve scanned the entire 4 page article in for your reference, including the great rear shots of some roadsters, a pickup, and a sedan with various nerf bar designs. Enjoy!