My brother liked the customs, being a few years older his 51 Chevy went from being a mild custom to what they called a full custom in the late 50s. I went the race car path in the early 60s, so customs or hot rods has always been a personal choice thing.
I loved that 57 Chevy from when I was a kid. I think it was the matching paint motorcycle that really sealed the deal for me. hans
I was a early teen when my older brother brought that Hot Rod magazine home with the bike & '57 Chev on the cover - have been crazy car sick ever since... & still have the magazine - somewhere..??
GotGas, that was the first one I thought in this category! Another Larry Watson mild/wild masterpiece is this gorgeous '56 Merc...
I was 10 yrs old when that 57 was on the cover of Hot Rod, loved it then and still do. I thought " Wow, that guy has a beautiful car and a motorcycle, he must be rich.
That specific paint job nearly killed him. He painted the car with layers of enamel paint, and then used a buffer to rub through the layers to get the fade effect for the flames. Unfortunately, the paint had lead in it and he inhaled all that dust. He was sick for weeks. The car sure turned out cool, though...
This is the first time that I've ever seen that shot of the 57 Chevy and Truimph Motorcycle in color. It was always in black and white but I've always liked that photo.
Anyone who digs this style of Kustom and hasn't got a copy of "Kustomland" by Thom Taylor, should chase one up.
I've loved Zupan's 56 Ford truck ever since buying that 1958 Hot Rod Magazine off the the rack 57 years ago.
Mox Miller's '58 Chevy sure fits the bill. And it's not even nosed and decked! Built when brand new..
Not quite sure if this qualifies as a "Mild Custom", but SuperFleye's build thread has resulted in one of the most dynamite paint jobs, going on, right now. Just plain wild!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-kustomrama-dream-truck.966169/page-10#post-11002149
A lot of nice cars in this thread but for me, this has always been my #1 favorite (with the chrome reverse rims as shown on the Revell model kit and I know they were pasted on)
Dick Jackson painted it. A very young Dennis Ricklefs (who painted the famous Nomad pictured above on R&C magazine)) did the striping.
When i built my old Ford 54 i was looking at this old Viktoria custom and copied some of the scallops not so advanced but i thinked it looked cool, the car is sold by the way. And this was my build: Doesnt show well in the pictures but both the red and silver were fine metal flake metallic and white line sourounding.
Here are a couple shots of my mild custom. The paint isn't wild, but it's a combo you don't see everyday either. When it came time for the scallops i knew i wanted them to be subtle, but i just wasn't sure how to get there. So i asked my friend Eric Black for some help. He came up with the design on the first try.
Heres my old 61 belair. (I know its a 4door) I built it over 1 winter to be a daily. Then traded it off a month after i finished it.
Hemi j . Your friends 53 chevy is really nice , I love those hard tops ! Paint job is right on . ! Kenny G .