History Ayala/Barris Jack Stewart '41 Ford arrives in The Netherlands

Great car, I'm glad it has a good home and will get a full restoration. You mentioned it was shown on the East Coast for two years, who owned it at that time? I'll look through my stuff and see if anything turns up. Good luck with the project.

 

Jim Skonzakes (aka Jim Street) from Dayton Ohio owned the car from 1951 to 1954-55. And in those years the car was shown at a few car shows.

All we have is this info... but more than likely it was at others shows as well.

I found these photos of the show program from 1951 on ebay a few years ago. These small partly cut images of it is all I have... so if somebody owns this catalog.... please make a better larger scan for us...

 

I talked to Jack & Sally at the la roadster show he was happy that it was being saved. Roger

 

I agree,Jeff.....black with flames would have been a huge mistake. That car has too much history. What was the original color?

 

I cant wait until the build thread starts ! This is one of my all time favorite customs, a true survivor I am so glad it has ended up with someone who will give it the love and attention it deserves

 

White Primer

 

NO KIDDING! Bet that was sooooo cool back then. The Quesnel Merc started out as white primer too,right?

 

Yes it did !! Can you imagine seeing those two kustoms in white primer rumbling down the street in Balboa arriving for easter weekend only to meet George and all the other Barris customs. Man I was born in the wrong time.

 

Jackie's car was probably in it's pink primer by then but it still would have been cool

How's your car Jeff?

 

No , I was just talkin to Jack and he was telling me about going to Balboa when the car was in white primer and there are pictures of it there in white but pink or white it would of been sweet.Im talking in the early 50s . My car is pretty good,it will be back to crush pavement soon.

 

Im SO FU*%IN FIRED UP to know that you guy's are going to put the ol hopped up flathead powered caddy back in this car!!! It is going to sound unreal .

 

I was just going off what he wrote in the Barris book. He said he had the car in primer for a year and that it started white but they changed it to pink so I figured by the time Jerry had his car on the road in white Jackies would have been in it's pink primer. LOL like you said either way it would have been cool to see.

 

Yes it would man, that is the stuff my kustom dreams are made of.

 

emiliedk, I can really understand with your feelings about this car. I remember the night I got the Cushenbery El Matador back in the seventies. It is a feeling that can't be described. I walked around that car all night in my factory. I was living in an apartment upstairs and I just kept walking around the car. I couldn't believe that it was mine.
Your car was the epitome of the cool California car that we, as kids, read about in the books from the west coast.

So many of the old customs and rods started out in white primer. I remember both the Lil Deuce coupe and the Don Vargo Sixty Niner showrods from Detroit were painted white primer in the beginning stages. It just looked better than grey.

I wish you good look with your restoration and look forward to Rikster's participation, as I know we will get good photo coverage.
Bob Nugent
Hotrod1940

 

heres the car in white primer! from Rik's album...the primer where used as 'bondo' and more and more layers wheres put on the car, before sanding! so thats probably why som many custom where seen in a period in there primer...pink or not! o gotta ask Jack about that! dont expect to see it in pink guys! ha ha
i cant wait to start this myself...
-palle

 

Primer car huh.... and a lot of people on here bags on cars in primer.... I am sure the guys who bag on primered cars would talk shit to Mr. Stewart? Doubtful!

 

the difference is primer as a stage and not as a final finish. huge difference.

 

When I started reading hot rod & custom magazines in 1951, I thought that car stood out among all the other fat fendered customs of the period. Now, 50-odd years later, some more specific observations come to mind:

- Always liked the '49 Cad grille in its stock form, but the use of it on this car was even better to me: parking lights removed, and the outermost vertical bars curved inward slightly at the bottom.

- The whole hood and nose on this car take "pancaking" to another level. I wonder if they borrowed those big flat panels from a shoebox, or a Studebaker, or something else; or if they just formed them from scratch. There's certainly nothing left there from a '41 Ford hood!

- I had never noticed until seeing Palle's side view (b/w picture in post #115) that the reveal line on the rear fender was apparently reworked to continue the line of the fadeaway. VERY subtle, and probably a lot of work!

- I never cared for the squared-off front wheel arches -- they don't seem to work well with the other soft shapes on the car. But if it were mine and I was restoring it to its original form, of course I'd leave them alone.

Neat project. I look forward to seeing its rebirth! Thanks, Rik, for bringing this to the HAMB!

 

I was at the Icons of Speed and Style Auction in September of last year when the car was sold for $27,500.00. I thought man that was cheap.
I then saw the car at Del Mar this year with the For Sale sign. It was really funny as some young kid from the shop that bought it was trying to tell these two older guys all about it. Finally the first one, Bob Barnes (LA Roadster Life Member) told the kid that the other guy was Jack Stewart, the guy who built it! Now what would HE like to know about it. Kid looked pretty embarrassed.

 

Beautiful custom I saw the car twice but always thought it was the ugliest color! I'm glad it will be changing!

 

Clown for sure, However, Clown that made a great investment though.... Bought for $27,500 and Sold for $39,000

I thought it went cheap at the auction as well

 

The rear fender reveal line was modified by Barris after that Jack had left the Ayala shop. The Ayala's had installed a set of 48 Ford taillights on extended and molded in pods, but had left the reveal line untouched.
At Barris they had a whole new fresh look at the car and it was decided the reveal line needed to be in line with the front fade-away's. And then Barris also created the new hand made taillights that where much more rounded and in line with the rest of the body work.

 

Hi Rik,
Paul has found his magazine of Rod Action Vol. 3,No. 7/July 1974. He also has a Custom Cars Trend Book No. 101, 1951. It has several photos, one is of it in primer at Barris's shop. We hope this helps. We are very happy for the find and look forward to seeing the restoration photos. Good luck!!
Pat&Paul

 

Thanks Pat and Paul,
We have both of the article you mentioned. Thanks to CustomCory we have scans of the Rod Action article, and the Trend book is part of my own collection. The car in primer photo where actually taken at the Ayala Shop, and not at Barris. The car sat in dark gray primer in front of the shop for some time. Then George had Jack take it up to the Barris shop where it was finished.

Here is a photoshopped scan from the 1951 Indianapolis Custom Auto show program. The scan was made for us by Jim Sharp, thanks Jim




And here is a short write up of the car in OL’SKOOL RODZ magazine

 

No way you'd build it for that---great buy.

 

lucky lucky man

 

Has the restoration been started yet Rik, do you know?

 

Soon!

 

Hey Rik. Is he keeping the squared off wheel openings or is he going to radius them?

 

When I reached my hands inside the front wheel opening I was surprised to find the stock 1948 Ford wheel opening lip still in place... time will tell... I know what I would do though.