J.Ukrop submitted a new blog post: The Mystery of Ran’s Auto Works Continue reading the Original Blog Post
As far as I know, one of the few LA area guys who could afford such quality work was Tommy Lee. Please check this article for a very similar car: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/12/anyone-recognize-this-hot-rod-ive-seen.html. My dad was good friends with Roy Richter (Bell Auto Parts), who was friends with Tommy Lee, post war, and they would borrow his cars to run around the LA area. I still have a few cool photos.
The A and the Tommy Lee cars definitely look like they could have been built by the same guy.I love the hood, but being a former Cord owner, I'm partial to streamlined noses.The rest of the car, not so much.
I think it’s awesome looking. Sure has a lot of advanced design for it’s era. That grille is kinda givin’ me a bit of a fire truck vibe...? Shortened and narrowed? Diamond T? International? Would love to know more.
I love a good mystery. Surely hope someone can shed some light on the car, the owner and Ran's Auto Works.
The grille reminds me of '37 International truck, but doesn't appear to be the source of it, it's more vertical and looks like a big piece of die cast. I like this one a lot.
Nothing of great importance to add – just a couple additional questions that may or may not be relevant. Can you make out the wheels? Look like 16's... maybe they have windows cut out? Did the front axle need to be narrowed or replaced with something else to pull off those skirts? It's interesting and... unprecedented? But not particularly nice looking. Kind of like a proto Posies type of build.
I saw this one on the Kustomrama newsletter and have been trying to find out where the grille came from since. I have looked at tractors, trucks, trains, trolleys, fire engines, etc. and still haven't found it. For what it's worth, if you look closely at the grille, you can see the slots cut in the lower 2 sections that make a solid V shape viewed from the front. The pieces on the hood sides may not be open at all, just trim.... I am not convinced those are Willys fenders. If they are, they have been completely reshaped in every way. The headlight pod on the Willys is much longer and looks more "humped" as it rolls back over the fender. The fenders on the roadster also have more crown in the area directly over the wheel opening. Willys fenders are "flatter" on the sides in the area behind the front wheels and don't have the sweeping contour of the roadster's fenders.
Very interesting. Pretty darn slick for its day! It's possible for an early ford to be graceful as a full custom, as evidenced by this 1/25 scale model built within the last couple years by Eric Ritz. I'd love to see someone build a full-scale version. Bring $$$, haha. Note how the '29 body is essentially untouched.
Found this in the 1935 L.A. city directory: Unfortunately, the Automotive section of the directory's classified section is missing. That address is still an auto repair co. It's on the books as having been built in 1993 (but looks older), so I didn't show a picture. I'll see if anything else turns up.
That is an interesting custom A. Several others were posted in the thread below. /www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/early-custom-what-is-it.1100866/#post-12486404
Love the history...and as evidenced by the photo submissions I guess since this is a custom the shop basically created and massaged multiples of vehicles by creative license into these classy Jalopies. Another of the no doubt numerous shops doing custom and coachwork back in the day with many disappearing with little fanfare. It would be cool to see what else they created.
I'm glad you guys got a kick out of this car as well Joey! I was stoked to find it, and would love to know more about its origin. So far, this is what I have been able to find out about Ran's Auto Works: More here: https://www.ca-registry.com/C0360799-ran-s-auto-works-inc Not much, but it is a start...
The first car I thought of when I first saw the photo was the Frank Kurtis built Eugene Von Arx Special: Some kind of similar styling going on here! I'm not sure about Frank being involved in the build, but he might have served as a source of inspiration, that's for sure:
@SuperFleye this seems just a little newer in period than what is being discussed the plates on that car are 1937. If they lasted that long we would probably have more ink in the way of additional photos of customs and related data. You may be right however...I commend you and your team on your awesome website...
Thanks @Stogy , but if you refers to the Tommy Lee Special, that build was started in 1936 and completed in 1937...so they are pretty close: https://kustomrama.com/index.php?title=1937_Kurtis_Tommy_Lee_Special
No the license plates on the Ran's Custom Model A which even has a Delage infuence are 1937... Meaning that shop was in business pre wartime...1958 it was incorporated doesn’t that seem highly unlikely to have been in business for that long and just incorporating then? They could have survived that long I suppose and you may be correct. I am saying that may be another business with the same name in coincidence.
If we get out of the box, or even open the lid all the way, suppose some dude was doing stuff in a home garage or in the back of a filling station as an independent. Called himself "Ran's" and that way prospects knew who he was. Unless you were Walter Murphy/Bohman Schwartz, Darrin, Rollston, etc. then it's not like you could hang a shingle and be "the man" with tons of work and clientele very easy. Post-war was a different story. Fed money for school and start ups was flowing, ppl were hungry for stuff, we were blessed with the hayday of customs giving us Valley, Barris, Watson and more. It's real easy to maintain that line of thinking but the reality is likely an "unsung hero" in a very localized area of potential customers. This might have even been Ran's personal car to display the extremes he could go to on the simplest of foundations. Whatcha think? For decades dear ol Dad and I did woodgrain work as "Jocko and Sons Woodgraining" with no more than a Hemmings ad and a rep for good work. In my humble biz beginnings I rented some space in a garage door facility doing lacquer jobs and the occasional hot rod/race car paint job, the majority of work coming from reputation and referals. Restoration and big time corporate paper came later, like 10-11 years later. It's not a stretch to think this guy did the same or similar, right? So now the challenge is whether or not he was better known, had kids who still carry the torch, surviving family with archives, etc. Dr. Watson I presume?
So, what's with that "special" behind it? Small door, no? One might think Chevy by the logo but maybe not. Maybe the guy just shagged it for his own? Does someone know if that's a basic Chevy body all whacked up?
I've had some trouble finding the applicable phone books. The only one I've found so far is 1939: This is southeast of the previous location and between Alameda & Culver City. Today it is a graffiti-covered vacant lot. Albert Ran disappears from the L.A. city directories after 1939. The business does not appear in any L.A. city directory. There is no guarantee that Albert is associated with Ran's Auto Works. It could be a nickname for Randall, Rannalli, Ransom, etc.
This stuff is sometimes like the Dodo Bird...One image away from any proof of any existence on this planet...We are fortunate and many would argue otherwise that even this pic exists to provoke a conversation on its existing and where it fit into the big vortex of Automotive Culture. It is interesting that the fellow talking to buddy in the other mystery car has Dingle Balls under the brim of his hat...saving the car such a distinction...if he is in fact Ran...
1928 National? The pic above has been cropped from the original: I'm guessing its a pushtruck like these from 1940:
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