I'm very sorry for your loss Brad.I wanna thank you for letting me in when I dropped by after the GNRS last year.It was a highlight of my trip to see your stuff and the collection of Barris history and walk on "Hallowed Ground"!
Just to add, I've had the opportunity to meet Brad in person. He definitely is a stand up/talented guy. I've been to the fire party's and have seen some of his work there @ the shop. I would categorize it as real traditional work! The Stitches ruled this year by the way...
I still can't believe Ren lived thru that..... I can't say any thing to make you feel better, no one can. but just take it day by day and do what makes you happy, what ever it may be.
I've never met the guy but from the way he has handled this thread. I have nothing but respect for him. As if the cars weren't enough the guy is humble too. Shit.
I don't know you but Brad sorry to hear of the horrific loss you have had to endure. My girlfriends brother killed himself several years ago and she was pretty depressed for about a year and a half. People say things get easier but that is also easier said than done. I hope this year starts to heal the hole that was ripped into your life.
Brad, I'm terribly sorry for your loss. Keep on keeping on my friend. Your work is inspiring and you truely are a master of the craft.
the TIAGO CLONE still irritates me to this day..... We had a blue print with some set in stone guidlines to follow in the recreation of one of the more obscure ranchero kustoms ever built..... a clone is a clone................... or is it????? I like my Michael Jackson BLACK with the flat pork pie nostrils..... but when His "OWNER", desides in the midst of our HISTORICAL CLONE.... to turn Michael into a skinny faggot version of RAY PARKER.... what the fuck are we supposed to do..????...... there is no fucking point in cloning RON JEREMY if your gonna give him a BOY GEORGE cock and Balls.....................................its just Faggotry (tm) and it kills the spirit of the VISION we, as the builders had in the CLONING project..... the TIAGO CLONE was lost in the owners visions of turning a bad ass KUSTOM into a mexican catering truck.............with working vent windows..... FUCK THE WORLD....
Get the latest Mad Fabricators video and you'll see that Brad is customizing cars to keep the traditional style alive...
wow, interesting thread. We hear these names and see these cars in magazines and just assume these guys have it made and are living the life, never thinking about the day to day struggles let alone real life tragedies these guys deal with. Brad I never met you but have heard your name a million times and have seen your work and always thought you were one of the lucky ones who got to do this for a living and be a success. I hope for your sake that the fog begins to lift and that you can enjoy building, and living, again
Just fucking awesome!!!! You have THE BEST choice of words and analogies!!!! I'm kinda jealous about that!! Hang in there brother is all i can say..... Great stuff Brad!!! IMO, There is no sense to me in out a bunch of cars real fast so one can say how successful he is ......It's fucking dumb! More like a pissing contest to me!! QUALITY NOT QUANTITY!!!
That entire post GERM made is just about the funniest shit I've read (as usual) in a long time. Sigh....
holy crap. A new GERM post! How funny....Keep your head up.... Where is more pics? someone has to have some pics.... even in progress
Brad, I am just a fat middle-aged quadriplegic and what I have become usually fills me with self loathing. But the monster shirt you did for me actually makes me feel cool when I wear it (which is pretty much all the time). You and your many talents have the power to enrich others lives. Not many people are blessed with that ability. Paul
Sorry to hear about your loss.I lost a very close friend of mine about 7 yrs ago and i think that the time is only thing that heals things like that.
I hope things get better for you soon Brad. I was very fortunate enough to meet you while doing my California kustom experience. You were one of the coolest cats I met. It was a pleasure to go to the 2010 Fire Party. Hopefully 2012 will be a rad fuckin' year for you!
Perspective!!!!!!! it's in your soul to make cool stuff. THanks for sharing your Story. Honestly very inspiring. I am sorry that it is inspiring at the cost of your loss. and nothing will ever replace that viod. but being passionate will help to sooth it. live each day like it is your last few minutes. You never know what can happen.
Damn Brad. You don't know me, but my fiancee was killed by a cocksucker of a drunk driver some time ago and I can only imagine your pain. Your work is amazing, and you are one hell of an artist. Your work is inspirational and the world is a much better place for you being a part of it. Keep fighting the good fight. Bill
Brad, Very sorry about all of the stuff that has gone on, When I see you at the Broiler, you are kinda doing your own thing, normally you come with pals and I only get a chance to just say hey! On the business side, I as you just freakin love cars=that can be most anything that I see as a canvas for individualism. If we charged what we really have into what it takes to bring a customer their vision of a product/in your case creating a one of a kind Kustom, we'd be financially better off or maybe have no customers at all? I hear you on you loss of a loved one. While working on the save of the Broiler, my Dad who initated me into this way of life by taking me to Drive-Ins such as Harvey's and Bob's Toluca Lake in a pretty stock looking 55 T-Bird that I still have, was battling bone cancer. More than once did I hear "Why are trying to save the world, you're not getting paid for this?" He died Aug 26,2007 on a Sunday afternoon, I was pissed,shocked,hurt and still scared about this whole mortality thing. I'm not going into the details,but everday I still think about the effects of his passing. I may be way out of line here,but someone very close to the Broiler save is losing a father to cancer as we speak=wrong diags ect. Freaking out daily as that father is that persons rock. Everyday when we speak, I hear what has gone on that day as their dad weakens,and let me add "this is a very strong man!" It's like it's happening all over again. I pulled away from business for a while,but when a customer called, I had to pick my self up, dust off the dirt and get back to business. It has saved me from many negative thoughts, Glad to have it and even being a part of the Broiler. Come on down on a Weds night if ya need ta talk, we'll have a coffee or a PBR if ya like? I love the fact that you're preserving a piece of history and respect you for that. We still need to talk about Bill's 90th in March no-less.... Think of this as a blank canvas Kustom, You'll make it better experience for all eyes that look upon it. CK
Brad you are a Ruler, never got a chance to say hey at the GNRS, but will the next time I get a chance. Keep the flame strong. -Dave
The '37 Chevy that came out in the latest Custom Cars Annual by Trend is a rather understated kustom that Brad did...amazing to see what he started with. Here is a chopped 4 door Fleetline Chevy he is currently building...lots of neat kustom tricks on this one!
I remember that black 37 when it was in Sacramento, understated and perfect. Seeing that before pic and seeing it in person with jet black paint makes you appreciate the labor and love that went into it.
Thanks fer all the kind words again. But all bullshit aside this started about the work. I see there is lots of shops AND guys in their garages at home that do flawless metal work. Mine is different. I see so much tick tack nig welding that’s grinded smooth till ya cant see the weld, that’s great but who cares? I don't, unless you just want to kick backwards and show it off, and thats fine too. I am however impressed by those type guys that find people to pay for that. I would bet most can not afford that much labor and really just want a cool car to cruz around in. The problem is no matter how nice the (I hate the word) fabrication is.. the design still stinks! Ever see any one cut two or three inches around a rear glass then ROLL out some panel on the english wheel their mom bought em' and still have a shitty looking top?!? There is something to be said for studying the way shit is gonna move and making smart cuts and the shit just lands where it should. Bill Hines and I have been invited to see people’s shops when we have been on the road. I remember one time where the man was so impressed with his work and really wanted to "show it off" to Bill. Bill looked at it and was very polite and commented how it was nice. Once back in the car, as we drove out the driveway he lights a cigar, he says "Did you see that?!? What a bunch of horse shit." That fool did all that work and for what!" I cant even count how many "shops" I have been in and they don’t even owntorch, let alone know how to use one. One time at Barris's George was pissed.. and in a fit of rage on the phone he screams.."Rick Dore couldn’t even light a fucking torch!!!" I don’t know who was on the receiving end but I thought it was cute. I am close friends with Sam Barris's widow and her husband "hoppy" who has since passed away, told me over lunch.. "Sam filled a 32 grill shell for me. he was eating soup for lunch. After he was done he brazed the top of the can to the grill, grinded it down and leaded it in." (Master metal man.) He wasnt complaining, he was just telling the story of how quick and simple it was done. I am not saying bondo beer cans to fix yer rusty 1/4's but I think you get the point. If not you’re a fucking retard. Say you found yourself with that grill shell, would you melt the lead out and "metal finish" it?? Dont get it twisted, the work I do is crude in comparison to today "standards". I am not scared to lead in some shit. When it’s all done it looks amazingly similar...And since I am ranting..like some faggot blogger at Starbucks.. The other thing that bugs me is when guys do one car then open up a "shop". Print business cards and T-shirts and they are off! Some of us have suffered long and hard working for other guys before we go out on our own. People have told me that some of the same guys tell people don’t take your car to Brads, he is too expensive, well to that I'll say I have been known to trade work for cat food so who cares. Ask Bill Hines about his first chopped top he will smile and say "I put 300 pounds in that top!!!" the car still exists as a street rod in Michigan. Anyone that has seen us chop a top at KKOA in Salina knows how he does it. Witch reminds me.. I should say sorry for my comment about how those guys that cut Bills top off cause they probably needed more room in the backseat to rub dickheads together. That was lame of me. I was just pissed that everyone thought it looked better with only one inch taken out or whatever. I was really surprised at how he wanted to cut that car. I love when he comes up with new ideas at 90 years old. I really think it would have been one of "those" cars that would stand out against the rest, instead of looking like "the rest".. If I got the worlds oldest living car customizer in the world to chop my car I wouldn’t care how he did it or how much lead it would take to fill it. I would have kept it and "struggled" to find another" shoebox" to use it as a driver. Could be the last 51 fords he ever chops. (I would have bought that top and put it on this one in my shop.) Bottom line is this, I really don’t care how the cars are built. I love to see good ideas and cars that look rad on the street or in parking lots. To quote the late great Eldon Titus.."profile is everything."
Brad, I have known Bill Hines since the fifties in Mi. You have a friend there that is one of a kind and he didn't get the best deal in life but he has always been a true craftsman. I wish the best for you and hope you can find peace.
The Jalopy Journal
