Charles Burwell

Charles Burwell's 1956 Oldsmobile of Houston, Texas. A teenage-built street custom from early 1960s Houston, Burwell's Oldsmobile stood out with shaved trim, panel paintwork, and period flair. Initially restyled in 1962 by Burwell and his cousin Eddie Cox, who learned from California customizer Dick Axcell, the car wore a hand-mixed pearl blue lacquer job before being repainted in Ditzler Sungleam Blue Metalflake. Custom touches of the second iteration included a rolled rear pan, asymmetrical plate recess, 1960 Cadillac taillights, and a chopped steering wheel.

A photo of Charles with the Oldsmobile in 1964, after he had shot it with Ditzler's sungleam blue. "The hood was fully shaved, and I added a bullet grill." This iteration was also dressed up with chromed and reversed wheels. Photo courtesy of Charles Burwell.

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Charles Burwell is a custom car enthusiast and builder from Houston, Texas. Burwell was part of the small but dedicated group of early 1960s Houston customizers who helped bring California-style car customizing to Texas.

Early Life and Introduction to Hot Rodding

Charles’ fascination with cars began in the mid-1950s. Born and raised near Houston, he experienced the growing American car culture firsthand. His earliest exposure to performance cars came in 1955, when he was nine years old. That year, his family attended one of Texas’ earliest drag races at an abandoned airstrip in Hitchcock, Texas, near Galveston. “That was the first time I watched cars screaming off the starting line on a test of speed,” Charles told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2025. “The screeching tires and unmuffled exhausts captivated a young kid — raw power!”

The event left a lasting impression. He remembered the sight of brand-new passenger cars lining up beside stripped-down “rail jobs,” purpose-built for nothing but acceleration. “Without the sound and fury of the engines and tires burning rubber,” he later reflected, “drag racing would have never become what it is.”

The 1956 Oldsmobile

In 1962, as a young man living in Houston, Charles owned and restyled a 1956 Oldsmobile that became a memorable local custom. Working with his cousin Eddie Cox, he experimented with custom paint and mild body modifications at a time when professional custom shops were rare in the area.

Eddie had learned from Dick Axcell, a California customizer who had recently relocated to Houston. “There was one customizer in Houston back then who hailed from California,” Charles recalled. “His name was Dick Axcell. My cousin Eddie learned from him... and taught me a few things too.”

Custom by Paint

The first notable paint job on the Olds was done by Eddie Cox, who laid down a panel-style lacquer job with pearl pigments sourced from Dick Axcell. The effect was stunning, but Houston’s heat caused the lacquer clearcoat to flake within a year. “In spite of our mistakes, it was a thrilling teenage time,” Charles said. “I’ll never forget the feeling of driving up in a customized car.”

Sungleam Blue Metalflake

After a rear quarter accident, Charles had the car repainted in Ditzler Sungleam Blue, a fine-grain metallic flake. The Olds featured several custom touches including a shaved hood, rolled rear pan with an asymmetrical license recess, 1960 Cadillac taillights, and a chopped steering wheel.

Connection to Dick Axcell

Charles described Dick Axcell as “the king customizer come to town.” Axcell’s influence reached beyond Burwell’s Olds, he also painted Eddie Cox's 1957 Chevrolet “Tiki,” a gold, brown, and orange blended show car displayed at Darryll Starbird’s Ft. Worth exhibition.

Legacy

Though few photos of Burwell and Cox's cars have survived, the builds captures the early spirit of Houston’s custom car scene, a small community of young builders inspired by the California style yet defined by Texas ingenuity. His firsthand memories of 1950s drag racing and early 1960s customizing help document a pivotal period in Texas car culture history.

Charles Burwell's Cars

Charles Burwell's 1956 Oldsmobile