Dan Landon dropped his '49 Chevrolet off at Barris' shop in the early 1950's and got it back complete by 1953 or so. The goal of the exercise from Dan's perspective was to get the top as low as possible, but Barris was worried about windshield height... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
It is my understanding that there is still some question as to who worked on this car as there is a magazine picture that gives credit to both the Ayala and Barris shops and there are definitely a lot of things that scream Ayala like the molded belt line. Still a killer car.
I agree that it's a great looking car. On the flip side I would like to see it with the trunk lid reshaped to flow with the fenders. Or the fenders could possibly be shortened to match the flow of the trunk lid. K13, Did you notice that the article you posted called it a '49 Ford? Too funny
Nice car, but they should have sectioned the deck lid to match the flow of the roof and rear fenders.
Was the car ever rebuilt after the towing accident with Barris' Lincoln (that went on to become the 'Golden Sahara')? Damage seems minimal. Was it ever heard from again?
In one of the Barris books, they claim the shaved beltline...but you know how that goes. I love the car and would clone it if I hadn't already built one in a similar fashion. Over the years, I've really grown to like the un-cut decklid. Most of the sectioned ones look weird to me.
thanks Ryan for presenting another fine example of an early chevy custom. could the above picture be the demise of this great chevy?
I hear yah but I have always thought this car just had more of that slippery organic Ayala feel to it. It very well could have all been done at the Barris shop but I can definitely see where it could be mistaken for an Ayala car and maybe Barris was taking some styling cues from them. I always thought of the Landon car whenever I saw your car.
I love this car, and the unsectioned deck lid makes sense when you are looking at it from eye level, you know, like a regular person would look at it. The high-angle piture posted by K13 makes the car look great, the low angle ones make the trunk look ungainly. I love it!
Haha! Love it! (The colliding opinions). Love it, hate it . . . hell, when you get a car this right, how can you possibly complain about anything? Here's something to think about, and you might say it is a stretch, but seeing this car for the first time (as I am), I immediately thought of my favorite 49-52 Chevy, the Jesus Valencia '49. I understand the differences, and there are many, but bag this baby and let it drag like the Garcia family would do . . . just sayin'.
1949 Chevy Dan Landon - Ayala Gil Ayala chopped the top on this coupe 5-1/2 inch, the windshield was leaned back and a chopped one piece Olsmobile winshield replaced the two piece original unit. The rear of the top was angled forward and the complete top was sectioned to give it all new much better proportions. All door and trunk corners where rounded. With the top chopped the car went to Barris. RK So both shops worked on the vehicle. Any images of the car after the 1953 accident??
Another interesting instalment of Traditional '49 Chevy Custom School. Very "organic" indeed. I have to agree with most of the above regarding the high and mighty deck lid though. It protruded beyond the car's lines and into my eyeballs at first glance.
nobody sectioned the trunk lids in the fifties. That trunk lid makes it a Chevy. It just stands out becauce the top . If it had a sectioned trunk lid, it would be like something Boyd or Foose would do, think about it.
I disagree... The line isn't predisposed to fad. It's just a line. And to me, most of these really good custom guys focused on that and that alone.
But look again at that high angle side view. The trunk lid mirrors the hood's line. Carrying on Ryan's boat analogy, it looks to me as if there is a central 'hull' with the rear fenders as swoopy pontoons that mirror that sexy cockpit. To me it just works, in the same way that Ed Monk and Chris Craft cruisers of the era did. Posted using my Lil' Orphan Annie Secret Society Decoder Pin
Here's a 1952 Ed Monk Cruiser... I love the early customizers and how their designs share so much with their shipwright contemporaries. Posted using my Lil' Orphan Annie Secret Society Decoder Pin
Beautiful custom, the trunk on these models can be a tricky one. It's very bulky, especially on the 49 & 50 models where the tops of the quarters slope down a bit more than a 51-52 model. The one thing that's always bugged me a little with these cars. Regardless it's a rad car, I'd cruise it in heartbeat.
The front end treatment on Landon's car has always really done it for me and I have not yet seen it duplicated. Very simple, unique and effective.
The Barris Built, Bob Lund Mercury sure comes close! Split Henry J bar? DeSoto teeth? Hell, Knowing how they changed things up, it could be the same grille!
There's a great side profile shot of Landons car in Andy Southards book Custom Cars of the 1950's taken at the Motorama in 1952. If you look at that photo and imagine how it would look with the deck lid sectioned it just wouldnt work, the back of the car would fall off way too much. Chevys were called bustle butts for a reason. I always liked the rear of the car much better than the front, I don't think it could be improved on. The front never seemed work as well with the car but I will say it has grown on me. I would love to know what happened to to car after the wreck. I Did ask George one time but never really got much of an answer. Also Dan Landon Died in 2010 so much of the history on this car will probably be lost to the past.
99.5 % Rule-You show me a chopped 49-52 Chevy with a sectioned trunk and Ill show you a car that was built after 1995.
Totally agree on the trunk sectioning, was left alone for a reason cause it wouldn't work as this pic of Riksters shows
I remember this car well from when it was first shown. Motor Trend (I think) did a cover of radical Barris customs; it had the Hirohata Merc, the Landon Chev, and a very nice chopped Stude Convert (Tommy something). The Landon car, with its "twice-chopped" top, broke new ground in chopping a GM coupe. I was in the school bus at my Jr High School circa 1953, and the Landon car drove past. Made my day. I am among those who think that some recontouring of the trunk would improve the overall lines of the car, even though it wasn't considered at the time the car was built.
I was born in 1940, so my teen years were the '50s, exactly. Seemed pretty ordinary to me at the time, but looking back I feel lucky to have been there.
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