Southern California Plating's 1935 Ford

Has the Southern California plating car ever been recreated? I have spent a good amount of time studying this car, I am huge fan of Frank Kurtis work and doing a search i could not find a recreation of this car. I would love to build one given the chance
Here is a link to Kustomrama article on the car.
http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Southern_California_Plating's_1935_Ford

 

I've heard of atleast one recreation in the works maybe two. One of the guys is here on the hamb.
Clark

 

Rex, I will be building a similiar car soon but there are a couple of guys planning on building recreations. Mine will be more like these cars....

 

Your pics didn't show up for me. the guy that was interested in building a car inspired by this one has postponed the project. still a great early custom car and one worthy of taking ideas from for building your own.

 

Prior to the internet, I only saw the 1 inch pic in the back small ads in a rod mag. I later looked it up on the net because it is a piece of work Perfect. I just can't believe it would have not survived......but they crushed Deusenbergs, Cords, and V16 Cads too

 

The top is just killer on this car and the others i see the pics now

 

At one point Keith Ashley (who built the Barris Larry Ernst Chevy clone) planned to built a clone of the So. Cal. Plating truck. Based on his own line of 36 Ford Roadster fiberglass bodies. But I think he also has postponed that project, or perhaps even dropped the idea.

It really would be great to see a clone or near clone being built of that fantastic early custom car. Ever since I saw a photo of that car in an article on George DuVall I have been in love with that car. It has just such fantastic lines.

I hope one day the real car will surface... somewhere.. or somebody does decide its time for a clone.

 

To clone that car would be a massive amount of work. The chassis is 10-12 inches longer, the '35 rear fenders are lengthened, and the rear has a lift up door. I'm still trying to figure out how Frank Kurtis did the grille bars...But it would be an outstanding car to recreate.....

 

Pic of the grille...

 

Boyd Coddington's smoother had its grille design (by Larry Erickson) based on the So. Cal. Plating Truck. In a Boyds book it is written that the grille bars where made from 66 beveled-edge 3/4 x 3/8 solid brass bars by George Gould.

 

Rik was there headlights behind the grill or did they just run with none? I assume that the round dark object right below the licence plate is the taillight?

No lights really helps make the front super sleek.

 

The headlights are the teardrop shaped dark areas to the sides of the grill

 

A set of Woodlight headlamp are set inside the fenders close to the grille. You can only see the trim (teardrop shape) ring of the lights. Most likely the rest of the bucket is hidden behind the fender

 

Go for it Rex! That truck is so sweet! If I had the skills I would have cloned it myself

 

We have been teased for years with rumors of a clone...for the love of god someone please do it!! This truck/car needs to be built again!

 

Sorry about kicking this old topic but I landed on the Kustomrama pictures and then started to search and found more pics here: http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/lord-ks-garage-75-ford-socal and this article here: http://www.roddersjournal.com/trj_images/media/the_mystery_wagon.pdf

This is just unbelievably good looking. What a nice grille, what an eye for detail, what a nice lines all over this car. Can it get any better than this? Wow. Just amazing, really.

 

wasn't the story that the car was last seen at a shop waiting for work, or sitting in a corner?

Has nayone tried to track it down since?

 

I had some time so I did a little Photoshop of the Modern Plating Service logo. This is just for fun so please don't throw me under the bus.

 

i would kill for this! love it!!!!!

 

Bet you could make them out of stainless ($$) or polished aluminum.....

 

"At one point Keith Ashley (who built the Barris Larry Ernst Chevy clone) planned to built a clone of the So. Cal. Plating truck. Based on his own line of 36 Ford Roadster fiberglass bodies. But I think he also has postponed that project, or perhaps even dropped the idea. "

Rik, the plan to clone this is not dead, I visit the idea often. First task is to complete the sectioned '36 Ford Boattail Roadster I am doing. If I still have the energy the Plating special will be next. I have many of the required pieces. Glad to see there is still interest in this incredible car. An observation of the two cars in Post #3 leads me to think this is a different car. Side window opening is completely different. Any info on this car? Keith

 

Good to hear your clone idea is not dead.... Very good to hear.

I have a bit more info on the other 36 Ford that is shown (the other two photos are actually of two other 36 Ford inspired by the So Cal Plating Truck.)

This one is owned by Joseph Hocker and the photo is taken at the 1951 Oakland Roadster show.

Scan from the 1951 Oakland Roadster show program by Ron Brooks.

 

The model car guys had been kicking this one around last year and it got 'shelved' for much of the same reasoning. Two different guys started projects, but so much work on the lengthened body, the grille, then the rear fenders, and the deck (not to mention windshield and top) seemed to stop them right at the initial rough-in.
With the guys here on the HAMB, I'm surprised it's not cloned already!

Big job.

 

I don't have Pat Ganahl's piece from The Rodder's Journal in front of me, but from what I remember, he quoted someone as saying that a while back--i.e. some time in the last 10-25 years--it was either seen or believed to be located on someone's estate in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles.

Land isn't cheap up there, so I'm guessing the estate could have been just a house with a decent-sized garage--or else (because apparently the person had money) it could have been a real, bona fide Hollywood-sized estate like Gloria Swanson's house in "Sunset Boulevard." (Just rent the movie.)

Long story short: someone with the issue of TRJ (can't find mine) and access to some sort of real estate records search (Dataquick, or something) could probably find out where the "estate" was or is.

Where the car is, is a different story. The guy who owned it then--the "estate" owner--was not a young man, and it's my guess that he'd have passed on, and the car would have been liquidated along with his estate. Or not.

Way more info than you wanted.

 

Okay, duh, here it is. (One of those links was the article.)

Sez Pat Ganahl, in TRJ: "Further, Julian [Doty] says he saw this delivery truck as late as ’63 or ’64. “The last time I saw the car was on Melrose, one block east of Vermont, south side of the street. Leonard owned a corner there. It was a body shop, with six or seven stalls, and the car was in there. It looked like someone had parked it there for 10-15 years. It was full of dust and stuff, but it had the top on it.” I asked how he happened to see it. He said, “I was lookin’ for it! I heard it was there. I wanted to buy it. But he [Tony, Leonard’s son] wanted too much money for it. To my knowledge, this car might still be sit- ting, up off of Los Feliz [Blvd.], in the old DeBell estate.”
End of story?"

That's a guy named Leonard DeBell, of whom Ganahl's source Julian Doty sez in the article: "George Thomas Top, [located at] Ivar [Avenue] and Cahuenga [Boulevard], where they come together. Leonard DeBell owned the building.”

Frankly, I can't believe Pat Ganahl hasn't found this one himself. I know he's on the HAMB periodically. Perhaps he'll join the discussion?

 

Bingo... I went through my Rodders journals and found the same article...

 

If the years are correct on when Julian said he saw it in 63/64, it must still exist?...unless lost later in a fire or quake?

 

Or sold and crushed or something.

It's just a hop, skip and a jump from sitting in the back of a body shop to being sent to the wrecking yard or sold for scrap. Same thing applies if it was sitting at someone's house. Real estate is expensive up there and 1963-2011 is a lot of years.

Some people thought this thing was special back then; let's hope someone still does.

 

I thought Bobby Green was planning to build a clone of this car on top of the chassis he bought from my 36 3-window. I'm not sure if he stil is doing it however.

 

how cool would it be if someone found this still intact? It is possible..