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History The Kustomrama Survivor Truck - 1955 Ford by Barris & Dick Richardson

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by Kvipt, Apr 3, 2014.

  1. wow....fate or what....wagon gone....CL cruzin....what are the chances ?....score one for a good guy....
     
  2. thanks for sharing !
     
  3. westsidehotrods
    Joined: Sep 17, 2012
    Posts: 11

    westsidehotrods
    Member

    Super cool pictures, and story
     
  4. Thank you all for the great response! I never got my wagon back, but you never know if it might show up. This second part will be the tale from when I picked it up.

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    Here we have George with the truck. Last time he drove the truck was in 1978.

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    I fell in love at first, and I just had to have the truck. It has no body rot, straight, and basically untouched and well preserved.

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    I deal was made, and he pulled it out for me. He wanted $5500, so I could not argue with that. Just the dash is worth that in my opinion.

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    My american mom, Sonja Serventi checking out the nice interior. Notice the reversed rim, George did that in the early 1960's.

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    George took me and Sonja for a ride in San Bernardino, showing us different points of interests from the old days. He built this house when he was 21, with a hammer, saw, and the truck.

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    Same make, same model, almost 60 years apart.

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    Here it is, reunited with the old Barris shop, 57 years later.

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    I got it placed in Sonja's garage, and took the front apart the same night I got it. I took all the parts to sandblasting on my way to school the day after, except for the fenders and hood. My plan is to get it up and running in reliable technical shape, then focus on the exterior/interior. I like to finish one part one the cars I work on instead of jumping all over the car.

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    Mmm, faded Von Dutch striping..

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    Old memories. George used to go out with his boat a lot in the 1950's. He trailered it with the truck all over the west coast.

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    And his boat was cool too!

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    I've saved all the little stuff I found inside it in a folder. Who other collects old ketchup out there?

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    40 years of grime. If only the grime could talk.. Would definitely been a boring story, just watching the sun go up and down in the field.

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    The seat don't have a single rip!

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    Headliner needs to be glued to the top, other than that, it's nice.

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    Never owned a car with Stewart Warner gauges before!

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    Old lead, still in good shape!
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2014
    bowie likes this.
  5. [​IMG]

    This is how they did it!

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    Right now, I've gotten this far. I've only owned it for a couple of days, and I only have night times to work on it. The firewall and frame is almost ready for paint. I will receive materials from Arizona this weekend, so hopefully I can paint all the pieces in the engine compartment soon. I get it from Arizona, because California has strict laws with the solvents, and the paint products are better in other states. I ordered a bunch of parts too, that I'm waiting to show up.

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    In this old photo, you can see where the striping was. George used to have a hood with four rows of louvers, but swapped it later with a solid one, due to the rain.

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    I blew the photo up, and here you can see it had holes for spotlights. That explained the primer spots in the corners of the dash!

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    I discovered this at 3am, and went straight in the garage to grind the pillars down. I found remains of the holes under the bondo, brazed shut.

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    The next day when I called him, he said he had a set of Appleton 552's on it. So now I need a set of those. I bid on a pair on eBay, but I lost the auction..

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    George also had same exhaust setup as Johnny Zupan had on his truck, only with single pipes on each sides.

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    Here we are in the 1960's. I only have photo's of the truck from the 1960's, when it was raised, fit with blackwalls, and a home made camper. It also has a rear bumper here, with a trailer hitch. However, notice the striping around the gas filler neck.

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    He used the truck a lot for hunting in Utah.

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    Next time I got time, I will write more about the car shows he went to, and the photo's he took there. Here's a little sneak peak, Harold Johnson's 1949 Chevy!
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2014
    bowie and Model T1 like this.
  6. 30FordNerd
    Joined: Oct 5, 2012
    Posts: 274

    30FordNerd
    Member

    This story gets better and better.
     
  7. fat141
    Joined: Jul 30, 2006
    Posts: 1,575

    fat141
    Member

    Second instalment has blown me away, just like the first. Keep it up mate.
    Rod
     
  8. This is so freaking cool....
     
  9. It sure is the same artist :)
     
  10. He liked to take a lot of pictures he said. But he has them stored everywhere, in the garage, in storage containers, in his wife's closet etc. But so far, he has given me a box of old car show negatives and car related stuff :)
     
    falcongeorge likes this.
  11. Jungle Jalopy
    Joined: Mar 31, 2010
    Posts: 322

    Jungle Jalopy
    Member

  12. Oh man, what a great story! Thanks for sharing and keep it coming.
     
  13. 63Compact
    Joined: Feb 14, 2007
    Posts: 1,179

    63Compact
    Member

    Holy crap what a great thread
     
  14. This is just damn cool.
     
  15. Marten
    Joined: Jan 27, 2007
    Posts: 171

    Marten
    Member

    Supercool story so far...thanks
     
  16. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 21,194

    alchemy
    Member

    If I were you, I'd have to pull the filler cover off the tailgate and see if the Von Dutch character is still under there. If it is, I'd hang that gate on the wall and build another to duplicate the Barris job.

    I sure hope you aren't going to repaint the inside of the truck.
     
  17. Chaz
    Joined: Feb 24, 2004
    Posts: 5,016

    Chaz
    Member Emeritus

    Great story & photos!
     
  18. hotrod36
    Joined: Aug 31, 2006
    Posts: 241

    hotrod36
    Member

    So good to here that another vehicle has been found. Great story and an awesome find.
     
  19. koolkemp
    Joined: May 7, 2004
    Posts: 6,006

    koolkemp
    Member

    I think George found the perfect owner for his truck! Congradulations!!
     
  20. joeycarpunk
    Joined: Jun 21, 2004
    Posts: 4,446

    joeycarpunk
    Member
    from MN,USA

    Great story, definitely subscribed for further postings.
     
    loginrc likes this.
  21. Johnny99
    Joined: Nov 5, 2006
    Posts: 1,110

    Johnny99
    Member

    Kvipt,

    Thank you so much for sharing. This is over the top cool!

    John
     
  22. 51 mercules
    Joined: Nov 29, 2008
    Posts: 3,938

    51 mercules
    Member

    Sure is!
     
  23. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 19,192

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California


    that's what I was thinking, except I'd have to sell it for big bucks to finance the build of the truck.
     
  24. Professor Fate
    Joined: Sep 13, 2007
    Posts: 146

    Professor Fate
    Member
    from the bay

    all the holy bingo bongo!
     
  25. Fatbob309
    Joined: Jan 1, 2009
    Posts: 491

    Fatbob309
    Member

    Love the story of the truck! I have a 54 and need to get it back on the road. Just awesome!
     
  26. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,619

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    I got my '55 F100 in '72, as a 'recovered vehicle'. Paperwork wasn't started, so my bud at the towing company sold it to me for wages paid to the driver...$60.
    Also a former 'semi custom', I discovered a long story with it. (I'm the second owner)
     
  27. s55mercury66
    Joined: Jul 6, 2009
    Posts: 4,367

    s55mercury66
    Member
    from SW Wyoming

    That is so cool! :cool: Could Sam Barris have done any or all of the bodywork on your truck? Or did you mention it already and I missed in my awe over the Von Dutch striping? :eek: :D:D:D
     
  28. HelmuthBrothers
    Joined: Oct 11, 2007
    Posts: 788

    HelmuthBrothers
    Member
    from New Jersey

    So frigin cool man.
     
  29. mikhett
    Joined: Jan 22, 2005
    Posts: 1,565

    mikhett
    Member
    from jackson nj

    Great story olav!
     
  30. ImageUploadedByH.A.M.B.1396645740.334283.jpg Just picked up some fresh firestone's for it!


    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     

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