I visited my friend, Janne Lepola at today. At last weekend he did a maiden voyage with his kustom project to car show at west coast. Its getting chilly in here, so i think over 300 miles journey wasnt the most pleasant ride ever. But no guts, no glory.. I guess its not 100% hamb friendly because of the drivetrain, but i think its worth of posting because its really innovative project with all the parts from other cars. So the story goes like this: It doesnt look like it much, but this car rolled out of factory as a '49 fordor shoebox. From early '60's to '10's it was at the junkyard, so i guess there isnt much miles on it. 50 years outside in Finnish weather left marks on the body, so there wasnt much left of it. Janne's friend Jukka from westcoast, saved the remains from junkyard and most of the car fitted inside in his Toyota hiace van. He started to put the remains on newer frame, but at some point he sold it to mr Lepola and Janne continued the work with his visions. I think most people stays away from projects like this, just too much work and its just easier to buy easier project. But with a good imagination and motivation its not an impossible job to do. Here's couple of pics of the puzzle:
Probably just get new glass made. Finland is where all the high end custom car builders get their windshields made. Sent from my SM-G950W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I dig it man, he took a pile of garbage and made a car of course on its maiden voyage it’s going to have some work left to be done. Side profile says all I think needs to be said
I think its well Kool and a Great achievement!, some of you guys dont realize just how hard it is to get parts and cars when your the wrong side of the pond.........................
Great car Great achievement!. Keep us updated on the progress. What I like to see taking a pile of what once was a car and building into something, well done.
Thanks guys! Its not done yet, lot of finishing and fine tuning work ahead in this project. And the glass, it takes more money than luck in this country to get a custom made glass done. I've heard that John D'Agostino has bought custom made windshields from here. And i've seen alot of custom made windshields and even custom made curved side windows on chopped 80's Caprice stw. So it can be done, but its expensive. I think the rear window is the most problematic one in this case. The rest is straight glass, like they are on shoeboxes originally.
I have never been the biggest fan of full customs. But I can tell you I am a huge fan of your buddies work. And maybe some colored plexaglass would work for glass until he could get the dough for real stuff. Gene.
For the past 10-20 years you guys in Finland have manufactured som of the best looking Kustoms and Hot Rods in Scandinavia.
Frankenstein wasn't that sexy. Great side profile, and what a blend of stuff. Back glass will be fun, but whatever... it's a custom. Major props from this guy, especially knowing that you don't have a ton to work with over there.
Hi. WOW. Just a bunch of custom fitting and filling in the various body panels will make a big difference. I really like the customs of the 50's. Always have and always will. This will be a real showpiece when finished. Keep us updated as work progresses. Jimmie
Go ahead, I Dare Ya! And you Did. I'd bet you proved a few of them wrong, do you have a vision of the finished product? Thanks for sharing Patricia, Carp.
Well, its my friends project, so i have no idea of all his visions. But i know that the headlight frenching rings wont be in the finished product. He just put them there temporarily for the maiden voyage. Those stickers you can see in the pics, are our dispensable temporary "plates". They are handy when you have to move a roadworthy but non registered vehicle somewhere by driving it. Janne asked me to make a test sitting in that car and it was surprisingly comfort and there was enought room for the head too. Usually heavily chopped cars are far away from that.
Janne had a vision, what hell of work to make it come true from these poor remains. Very sleek bodylines, you Finns are all crazy you know how i mean it, Antti. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Carsten! And thanks for the rest of you guys too! I read that some of you like to see updates, so i guess Janne doesnt mind if i post updates now and then in this thread.
Very nice! Building a custom is art. Some like it some don't. The main is the artist likes his work. Keep up posting.
Wow what a kool build. This weekend I just saw the pictures for the first time on IG. You project is a kool example of one of my favorite quotes from Jeff Myers. Cut it up, it's only metal.