Ok, now that I have had my fun,I have A Question for you Custom guys. On the second version of the Sahara, the rear quarter panel the expanded metal skirt, it blows me away on how they made it and to Gold plate it. What is it made of just curious.................
yOUR ABSOLUTLY RIGHT. tHIS COMPUTER THING IS NEW TO ME. ONLY BEEN ON HERE FOR 4 MONTHS. I APPOLIGIZSE. sOMETIMES I PUT MY FOOT IN MY MOUTH. i`VE BEEN UP FOR 16 HOURS WITH 5 HOURS OF SLEEP. i`D BLAME THE BEER, BUT i DON`T DRINK. i SEE WHAT YOU MEAN BY CAR SHOW BURNOUT. hE HAD A HELL OF A VISION WITH BUILDING THE GS. BEAUTIFUL CAR. I DO KNOW THE FEELING OF LEANING TO FAR BACK IN MY CHAIR. WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH MY SHIFT KEY.
Never really figured that out myself... in the video the reporter says its "gold plated ornametal work" But I have no idea what it is made of...Looks sharp to me as well.
My quick two cents worth: I am old enough to have been around when all this was happening. I went wild the first time I saw Norm's roadster iterations culminating with the advent of the "Kookie" version. I sat every Sunday night in 1958 waiting to see if the Kookie car was going to appear on that week's episode of "77 Sunset Strip". Fast forward to the early 70s when local radio spots advertised the Kookie T at a local car dealership. GSII was also there. I made a special trip to see it only to find it now had been modified so severely it was no longer recognizable with the dual superchargers, sky-pointed pipes and high back seats. I was very disappointed. In addition, original pearl paint made from ground fish scales yellows severely with age. Both cars looked pretty old and tacky to me. I just shook my head and walked out of the showroom. There is an old adage from the car magazines of the 50s that summarizes the direction of customizing of the time. A lot of customizers believed that "if some is good - more is better." Norm's "Kookie" T was iconic. And, IMHO the first version of GS (Bob Metz's talent notwithstanding) was the most appealing.
That rear quarter looks like some sort of perforated metal of the type you can get from McNichols nowadays. There were and are many styles that were made , mostly for decorative building facades etc. Probably stopped making that one because it's pretty ugly, not to mention dangerous. Wouldn't be too hard to grind up a $250 die set to duplicate it if you really wanted it, and had the time. Interesting story, think everyone's right on this one.
I am more fascinated with the original skirts that had compound curves going in every direction. It had vertical quilting going up and down, and two sweeping curves from front to back. Probably used the same skirts and added all the buttons. Love the new photos. It looks in the photo that they are sectioning the cowl, and the rear section was even lower. Thanks again.
The car has some AMAZING body work done to it... Here is a better scan of the photo shown before... Mark Drews shared this photo some time ago... To me this photo shows really how great this version of the car is
This article says "knobbed trim is 24 carat gold plated". Probably kitchen drawer pulls or some other mad genius use of something that used to be at the local hardware store but isn't available anymore.
Here's a link to a radio interview with George Barris, regarding the Golden Sahara. http://www.legends.thewwbc.net/gpage109.html And in case you haven't seen it yet , check this link for Jim Street and the GSII on "I've Got a Secret", 1962. (Linked earlier in this thread.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh79rjltJJI Before the GS, Jim owned a beautiful Barris built, Cad fendered Buick with removable top. (BTW, I was fortunate to see the Golden Sahara when it toured car dealerships, circa 1960. The pearl finish was incredible!)
Once we get past this monkey crap. In the post audio post above, George Barris takes most of the credit for the car. I would love to have Jim Street sitting beside George Barris and get his side of the story. More drama from John Milner32, When we get past the egos, maybe we will see the car.
Another "highlight" article. This one from the Popular Mechanics 1961 Hot Rod Annual... ...and Milner32, if you don't start putting "just kidding" after your posts I'm gonna really start losin' sleep!
Here is a rare photo of the Golden Sahara when it was just finished. The photo is from the Barry Mazza Collection en this is what Barry wrote with the photo. "This photo was taken at the Pico Ford plant where Bill de Carr worked for a time. Skonzakes driving his just finished ride, George Barris and a young Bill de Carr standing next to it. Very rare photo indeed. Barry"
That would be the Golden Sunrise that Bob owns that he was planning on bringing. It was built by Gene Winfield. It's a great car and my favorite one that Bob owns.
Good camparison Mo. Now compare the tailfins on the GS II to the ones on the Modern Grecian. Also compare the HarryKarl Cadilac- Lemans to the GSII. The tirecover, the top, the side concaves AND it`s A two seater.(also in the Barris Techniques Book No III).
The Golden Sahara Steering wheels over the years... All bent and out of shape Lincoln piece... "regular style steering wheel in the Golden Sahara I (Dash etc upholstered in tuck&roll...) New aircraft type steering wheel for the Golden Sahara II Not all new upholstery And one with NO steering wheel... The steering wheel was removable to show the radio controlled, voice controlled and stick steering. In this Custom Cars 1961 Annual article you can see the car with both the Aircraft type steering wheel and the no steering wheel version.
Hopefully in my lifetime I will be able to see this in the flesh, Im 30 and it was still on the billboards along the freeway for the Sacramento Autorama up until a couple years ago.
The more you see and the more you learn about this car, and we haven't adressed the light up tires yet, you realize how far ahead of it's time it was and what place it does hold in the history of customs..
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