Evolution of a custom show car, even without the wreck, I bet it there still would have been a wilder 2nd version. Kind of the MO of customs of the late 50's early 60s. Marks 55, Miss Elegance had a couple of facelifts. Madam Fifi, same thing, Ron Dunn's 50 Ford. I could go on. Both versions are perfect examples of the era and how rapidly the custom scene changed over a short period of time.
Version 1 is clean although never been a fan of exhausts running like that on full bodied cars. Kind of detracts for me. Version 2 looks like @Plowboy licked the blotting paper and pulled out his torch.
read this as posted on page 1 of this thread... https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Richard_Lee_Tiago's_1957_Ford
If I am not mistaken I saw the ranchero at Half Moon Bay drag strip in 1957. It was light blue, still had the primer on the door, and windshield posts from the top chop. I was just a 16 year old kid, but it left an indelible impression on me.
Wedge cut that thing down the center. Not down the side but the floor and roof Keep the width in the back, narrow it so the cowl and nose gets better proportions
Always loved that Ranchero, in all forms!! Ya always have to remember that all those critters we deem as "not too cute", we built by someone who thought they were bitch'n.... The Dream Truck comes to mind. That lavender stepside version was always my favorite, and I almost took it back to that point !!
Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction...maybe an predecessor to this in the late 50s early 60s...dreamworld racing designs...
The Tiago Clone was built by Brad Masterson, Myself, and Mikey Scum! Oh, and I went to Jimmy White’s shop during the build and Jimmy rolled the pan for us that we used for the rear of the car! I have a bunch of pictures of the build! Masterson and I laid out the chop and we both looked at each other at 3:30 am and said “fuck it” let’s cut it! Neither one of us had much experience at the time with those 1957-1959 curved front glass Fords! What’s the worst that could happen right? We also “torch welded” the whole chop. I think it’s because we were trying to be traditional in the metal work! It was important at that time to try and do a car like Barris and Hines would have done in 59! lots of hammer and file work on the sheet metal. We also did a bunch of research before we built this car and we uncovered a bunch of documents and photographs related to the car! If I remember right Masterson even got in contact with a Tiago family member who sent us a bunch of unpublished photos or the original build! We were all at different places in our lives at this time and the partying and out of control behavior the drugs and drinking eventually ruined us. It’s also very difficult to do these builds when as the builder, you want to completely clone the car to its 100 percent original presentation that dates to its original era, but the owner wants to do other things with the car that wouldn’t necessarily be an identical clone. All I’m going to say is that the cloned car needed that original exhaust. I think that was one of the most original things about the original car. I had a really good time with my best friends when we had that shop in Lynwood! Those walls will never talk. -germ
I don’t even understand why the second one was even built after the original was rear ended! But I’m biased because I don’t like 1960’s Kustoms or 1960’s styled Hot Rods or that even that shitty Southern California Surf Beach Music. The second version is like looking at a Rob Zombie movie! It sucks!
The Jalopy Journal
