I found a 49 ford and I went to look at it and the older man who had it didn't know if Barris had actually built it or not. It had the Barris custom badges and it is chopped with a cloth covering on the roof. The quarter windows are covered with it also but it does have all the glass in it. It has a louvered hood and custom grill. Stock suspension lowered with a 302 in it. The interior is all custom white and the car is a dark blue. He bought it from Illinois and he never asked he just recently found out who Barris was since he put it up for sale. I'm wondering if there are anything Barris did to these cars that could be a good sign that this is a true Barris car. I didn't get to take any pics of it he had it stored and it was pretty tight in there. I would like to get it but still unsure unless I found out it is a Barris car. Thanks for any help.
If it is a cool car that you like and the guys price isn't crazy based on it being a "Barris" car, buy it anyway. Who gives a shit if it is Barris or not. Lots of better builders out there with more style than ol' Georgie Boy.
Its a bunch of horseshit. Lemme guess, This is it? I dont have to guess. This is the car you are talking about. The car was built by my friend and Kustom Knights member Wayne McGregor of Toms River, New Jersey. I can tell you any thing ya wanna know about it in detail. The car had 9 lives even before it ended up in Illinios and Sonny Highland started the Barris shit to make it sell. As a matter of fact it was in magazines as a mild custom before Wayne even got it. I could write a 3 page report on the car.
Heres how its supposed to look. This was the first time out after a frontal wreck that Wayne suffered on his way to the Lost in the 50s show in New Brunswick N.J. The crash was the reason he changed from a 54 Chevy bar in a moulded housing to a 47 Olds unit and the Briz bumper.
A few years ago there were stories floating around about guys buying the Barris badges at swap meets and sticking them on cars alleging that they had come out of the Barris shop. I think I read somewhere that someone in the Barris shop will research cars to document if they indeed get done in the shop. From all the articles and photos that George did in the 50's and 60's in different magazines and books I'd think that he kept a pretty good photo documentation on major work that was done in the shop just as many of our guys on here do in their shops now. Other wise it is one cool shoebox outside of the trinket overload.
On later builds I'd say so but most of the earlier builds were pretty clean especially When Sam was still in the shop.
Its just a typical custom of the 80s that a dealer in Illionois figured he could disguise and write a fake history report on. Pretty stupid in my opinion. Everybody knows that Kurt Mc Cormick was walking around shows sellin Barris crests in the early 80s and most people bought them just to have . If Rikster or myself dont instantly recognize it,chances are it aint. Even if it showed up at Barris' for a set of frenched lights, that aint gonna pull any extra dough unless the car was in a tech article..........maybe.
That may be the car that brought up that discussion back when I first read/heard about it. And no telling how many cars hit that shop back in the 50's and early 60's for a quick nose,deck or dechrome job with no other work done there.
And no telling how many cars hit that shop back in the 50's and early 60's for a quick nose,deck or dechrome job with no other work done there.[/QUOTE] Absolutely true but if it wasnt one of their well known builds, it dont mean shit dollar wise. I could make a list of about 20 cars that have been advertised as Barris cars. I know who the real builders were on all of em. It would make an interesting thread but then everyone be mad at me as usual. LOL
Barris crests don't tell much. In the beginning, only cars that got the full treatment got them, but towards the end, even cars that only got a paint job recieved crests.
They're pretty tough to come by.......if you don't have a debit or credit card. http://www.barris.com/shop/shop_plaques/shop_plaques.html
Best sign is the left side doesn't match the right side. George always said they don't have to match because you can't see both sides at once. As has already been mentioned ask him. He probably doesn't remember everything he ever did but he may know if its one of his or not. Something else that might have been mentioned or not is that it could have had any number of things done to it since it left his shop so don't try and blame everything on him if it turns out to be the real deal.
The car in question here was built by WAYNE MCGREGOR of Toms River N.J. Sonny Highland is the one who made up the fact that it was a Barris car.
I thought if you paid Barris a few grand he'd 'reasearch' and 'verify' any car you want as a Barris car, no? At least that's the scuttlebut I heard. True or not, well, the fact that you can buy a set of Barris badges for $100 makes me think there are lots and lots of fakes out there.
Like was said before if you like it and if the price is right, buy it. whether it was built in Barris' shop or some place else. if you like it then unless you are getting it to flip it what differance does it make if Barris blessed it, in the real world outside of Hollywood and Barrett-Jackson, Barris' name doesn't carry that much weight unless it was Sam. Call Barris or don't but it's you behind the wheel and you that must be happy. A whole lot of cars out there that George did touch that I wouldn't want in my garage, my opinion...