WOW Barn find, the Grecian, Barris

Nut case sums it up, your hilarious .

 

Also ugly.

Bob

 

In the August 1953 issue of Rod 7 Custom there was a very interesting 6 page article on the Barris Shop.
One of the photos included was of Earl Wilson's Studebaker.
Below is a scan of this photo and the text that goes with it...

 

It is kinda like a blind date I had once, very interesting! ~sololobo~

 

oh,god!
my eyes!!!!!!!!!!

 

agreed, total clown car. like any fad, this one was over done.

 

hmmm, the hubcaps are probably worth as much as the rest of the car.

 

This thread is entertainin to say the least . I still like the car thou.

 

Divisive, eh? Funny how customs get people like that. Especially when it’s a child if it’s time like the Grecian is.
One of the things I adore about customs is that they are one man’s interpretation of “visual automotive perfection” and as such will always be open to debate. That Stude was a commission by someone (a Stude dealership, by the sound of it?) and as such the guy with the wallet got to have his idea of perfection built for him, by Barris. Should Barris have said to the guy “you know what, what you really want is a nice chopped mercury, same as all the other guys”. That’s really pushing the envelope.
Maybe if Barris had belly-buttoned it and stuck to churning out Hirohata-stylee Mercs, the world would be a better place, eh?
I get the whole "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" argument.
I'm also a massive fan of the "why? Because I can" argument too, and I switch between supporting both sides as the mood takes me.
Slagging each other off because we may or may not like the car is what’s truly lame about some of the posters on here.
Do I like it? It’s not all bad, certainly seen far worse. It’s certainly a child of it’s time. Would I buy it? Probably not, but nor would I slate anyone who expressed an interest in owning/enjoying it either.

 

I see the front half of the star ship Enterprise in the side trim. Hmmm. Kind of gives me ideas...

Perhaps a more subtle star ship on some sort of bubble topped, Roth-inspired creation...

 

Back yard casting is a fun and inexpensive(ish) hobby. I'm sure you or your dad could pop out a few of these for your own use.

He could also sell them on Ebay, the HAMB and a few other places. He could post pictures of all the famous cars they were found on and tell his story about how he got the mold. I think he could easily recoup any casting expenses, thereby getting free hubcaps and maybe even make a buck or two.

Aluminum melts easily. You can go to any scrap metal recycling yard and buy it cheap. Or you could melt down random scraps that you or your friends may already have laying around.

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/

Have fun!

 

Just looking at the fins here...I can see that there is a line(profile?) that follows where the body is through the dang fins..what were those fins made from?

 

I like the first version, there's a ton of work in that car I'd be happy to own it.

 

sorry, i love George but this was and is one is the ugliest and non imaginative kustoms built.

 

I found a barn once, that turned
out to be owned by a Grecian...but
there was no car inside of it! All in
all it was quite em-Barris-ing.

Mart3406
============

 

You really have to love early customs to appreciate this Studebaker. If your into air bags, portholes , leaving the emblems and door handles on a car and still call it custom, you ain't going to understand what this is all about.If you are worried about hurting the value of your car , wrong thread. If you pay people to work on your car, you aint going to get it. This is a car only the real custom entusiast understands. Barris is still the king . Bring it to my fucking house .Good job Rik! I got to get me some old Motor Life magazines.

 

I too think it should be returned to the original version............stock Studebaker.

 

WELL said Cory!!!

 

Take a good look at this car if you want to know what it takes to become a legendary artist like George Barris.

In a long career he was never afraid to take a chance or to try something new. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. This is one of the ones that didn't.

Failure is not the opposite of success. Failure is part of the process that leads to success.

Or, the man that never made a mistake never made nothing.

If you want to chicken out never try anything new, just copy what you know is popular. You may get rich. You may even make a reputation for yourself. But you will never be an artist.

 

Agree, the first version was not to everyone's liking, even when it was first done, but it was certainly different, well proportioned, and radical...maybe too many scoops with teeth in them, but the chop, the section, the taillights, those were well done...count me in as a vote to return it to the first Barris version.

 

It is pathetic to see these hateful comments about George... some screwed up people on this site..

 

Definitely not a cookie cutter

 

The Greas-ian ! Yeow, a'bout Uuuuglee,
"I'll fly away Ole' Glory, I'll Fly away, In tha' Mornin' "...........Not

 

Wheres the hate coming from, go ahead and get it off your chest.

 

Don't take it out on George, he just did what the customer wanted. He laughed all the way to the bank.

 

The car is worth saving so that people can see that poor taste is not limited to the current generation.

 

X2. You have been on here long enough to know that with some people it is "my way or the highway". Sad.

 

Just one of the many articles this car was featured in...









I think that if someone could make this car look like the black and white version of this car, and people here were watching this guy do it on the Hamb, he would be getting a lot of compliments.

The "wings" are horrible. I also liked the rear bumperette before it was smopthed into the body

Here are some stock pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carphotosbyrichard/5657074975/





There was a great deal of work done on that car

 

Definitely not the most attractive custom.....

 

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