1965

The 1965 Winternationals was held January 28 - February 7, 1965, consisting of the Winternationals Custom Auto Fair and the Winternationals Championship Drag Races.

Steve Scott's Uncertain-T of Reseda, California. The build was started in 1960, and completed in 1965.

Dan Woods' Milk Truck. The build was completed in 1965, making its debut at the 1965 Tridents Rod Custom Autorama.

Cover of the official souvenir program for the April 1965 Hot Rod Show in Stockholm, Sweden, featuring four standout custom rods exhibited at Ostermans Marmorhallar. The event played a significant role in popularizing hot rod culture in the region during the mid-1960s. The bold pink header and vibrant car photography reflect the show’s celebration of hot rod artistry and innovation.

A view of the April 1965 Hot Rod Show at Ostermans Marmorhallar in Stockholm, Sweden where hot rods and custom cars were prominently displayed for thousands of visitors, reflecting the emerging popularity and artistic flair of the Scandinavian hot rod and custom scene. The first edition of the Hot Rod Show was hosted by Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg, Acke Nordström, and Jonas Qvarnström. The idea for the show came to Gamen after witnessing the success of an indoor car show hosted by Roffe Skoghag at Scania’s facilities in Tanto, Södermalm. The inaugural event took place from April 21 to 26, 1965, spanning from Wednesday to Sunday. The show was noted for its impressive attendance, drawing over 20,000 visitors. Its success led to a follow-up exhibition later the same year. The second edition was held from November 10 to 15, 1965, and it is believed that many of the same vehicles that appeared in the first event were featured again. Photo from The Christer Wistam Collection.

John Toohey's 2E-"T" Ford Model R Toadster of Eugene, Oregon. Built by John, the car made its debut in 1965, at the Portland Roadster Show.

The Reactor is an aluminum show-car built by Gene Winfield of Winfield's Custom Shop in 1965. Once completed, the car appeared in several television series. Gene bought the Reactor and restored it in time for the 50th Oakland Roadster Show in 1999.

Bob Larivee's Stiletto. In 1965 show promoter Bob Larivee commisioned Gene Baker to design him a crowd-pleasing bubble top he could use to attract ticket buyers. Gene teamed up with Buffalo, New York builder Ron Gerstener and built The Stiletto. The build was completed in time for the 1966 Detroit Autorama.

Jonas Qvarnström's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster of Sweden as it appeared when it was first completed in 1965.

John Caldwell's 1932 Ford Four-Door Sedan of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Being an early member of the Road Knights of Sydney car club, Caldwell bought the 32 late in 1964. Shortly after buying it, he gave it a Metalflake pain job. One of the first Metalflake paint jobs in the area.

Sven Sandberg's 1932 Ford 5-Window coupe of Stockholm, Sweden. Sven started the build, known as the Glowing Coupe, in 1961. The first version was shown in 1965, featuring a paint job by Bo Sandberg of Yankee Customs.

Bjørn Tømmervik and Ivar Buxrud's 1951 Chevrolet Bel-Air of Trondheim, Norway. Restyled in 1965, Bjørn and Ivar's Chevrolet was one of the first custom cars of Norway.

Marshall's 1951 Chevrolet, of Long Beach, California, as it appeared in 1966. The flames were applied by Marshall in 1965.

Tim Smith's 1951 Ford Victoria of Tacoma, Washington was restyled by Dick Page in 1965.

A midsummer 1965 photograph of Tore Ström's 1954 Ford Sunliner, shown here with 1957 Chevrolet headlight rings and a 1955 Pontiac front bumper. Tore sold the car around 1965–66, while it was still in red primer, and it was later restored back to stock. Photo from The Lelle Larsson Collection.

Sven Blüme's 1954 Plymouth Convertible of Lidingö, Sweden. Sven's Plymouth was restyled in 1965.

Christer Gref's 1956 Ford Fairlane of Stockholm, Sweden. Known as "Chrille," Gref lived in Hägersten in Stockholm. This vehicle, tastefully modified and parked near the bridge to Djurgården Island in Stockholm, was immortalized in a photograph taken by Roland Larsson in 1965. Despite its striking appearance, Gref's Fairlane was never displayed at any of the early Swedish Hot Rod Shows during the 1960s. This absence from the custom car spotlight has made it somewhat of a mystery within Swedish car culture. It remains unclear whether Gref actively participated in the car scene or preferred to enjoy his Fairlane privately.

Björn Ramsten's 1957 Chevrolet at Fredhäll in 1965, showing the early stages of his custom modifications. Inspired by local custom cars and American magazines, Björn began altering the Chevy in metal that year. “I started out making a scoop on an extra hood I had. A piece of sheet metal between the torpedoes and some chromed teeth from an Opel Kapitan air-intake,” he recalled. Although his time in the army from 1965 to 1966 slowed progress, he still managed to create a grille inspired by Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg's Surfin Bird, fashioned from gold-painted sequins. “I handmade all those sequins. Cutting out square pieces of metal that I bent before soldering on a nut and painting them in gold.” Photo from The Lelle Larsson Collection.

Matti Johanson's 1957 Ford Ranchero of Sweden. Matti's "Ranchero" started life as station wagon.The build was completed in 1965. The same year it was displayed at the first Hot Rod Show in Stockholm.

Steve Drale's 1958 Cadillac Brougham was restyled in 1965.

Harald Sannum's 1959 Chevrolet Impala was restyled in 1965, and it is known as one of the first full custom cars of Norway.

Sven Sandberg's 1959 Chevrolet Impala of Stockholm, Sweden. The car was originally a two-door hardtop, but Sven cut the roof off it and fit it with a tonneau cover in 1965.

Joe Hurst's 1961 Buick Electra was restyled in 1965.

Sandy Gordon's 1961 Pontiac Bonnveille Convertible received a fadeaway paint job by Joe Andersen's Custom Shop in the summer of 1965.

Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer's 1963 Chevrolet Corvette of Roosevelt, New York. For more than six decades, Larry Watson of Watson's House of Style has been recognized as the inventor of the Lace Paint Job, as he debuted Doug Carney's 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix at an indoor car show in April 1967. Five months before this great event, in November 1966, Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer of Roosevelt, New York, showed his panel and lace painted 1963 Chevrolet Corvette at the ISCA New York Coliseum Show. The lace paint job was applied late in 1965. Photo courtesy of Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer.

A detail shot of the lace paint on Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer's 1963 Chevrolet Corvette dated October 1965. "No one knew what it was," Gary told Kustomrama late in 2022. "Everyone there was saying, "Did you see the paisley paint job?" The following year almost half the cars at that show had lace paint jobs." Photo courtesy of Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer.

Jim Boyd's 1963 Ford of California. By 1965 Jim's Ford had been fit with hydraulic lifts up front. It would later receive lifts in the rear as well, along with some custom modifications and a Larry Watson paint job.

John Viggianelli's 1963 Ford Galaxie of Pacoima, California. Viggianelli's Galaxie was mildly restyled before it around 1965 received a Candy Ruby over Pearl Silver, Red, and Maroon Metalflake custom paint job by Larry Watson at Watson's House of Style. After the car had been painted, a Mexican gentleman in Glendale installed hydraulic lifts up front. This photo shows the car as it appeared when it was shown at the 1965 Tridents Rod Custom Autorama.

The 1965 Pacific Northwest Motorama was held November 5 - 7, 1965 at the Tacoma Armory in Tacoma, Washington. The show was presented by the Tacoma Toppers car club.

Larry Grossman in the Barris booth at The Tridents Car Club Show in L.A. in 1965. Larry first met George Barris around 1962 when he would ride his 10-speed bike to his shop and hang out, watching his guys work on the cars. "By 1965, George invited me to airbrush shirts in his booth at the "Teenage Fair" in Hollywood. In the booth right next to Barris' was Ed "Big Daddy" Roth himself, who I was now competing with (I was 17)!! Both Barris and Roth were my heroes, and over the years, I did quite a bit of art for George and became friends with his family as well." Larry designed a couple of cars for George, in addition to creating the art for the cover of his final book. Photo courtesy of Larry Grossman.

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In 1965 the first annual Hot Rod Show was held in Ostermans Marmorhallar in Stockholm, Sweden.