Frank De Rosa's 1936 Ford

A photo of Frank with the Ford as it appeared in 1946. Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

The Joker Car being rebuilt at De Rosa Custom Body and Fender in 1949. Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

A construction photo of the car. Up front it was fit with 1948 Chevrolet fenders. Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

Only the trunk from the '36 was saved during the rebuild. Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

A construction photo showing the car with skirts over the front wheels. Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

A construction photo showing the logo for Franks newly established custom body shop. Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

A photo of Frank with the Joker Car. This, and two other photos of the car appeared in Technical Low Rider Vol 1 No 1 1982. Photo by Frank DeRosa, courtesy of Technical Low Rider.

Photo by Frank DeRosa, courtesy of Technical Low Rider.

Paul Rizzuto working on the Joker Car. Photo by Frank DeRosa, courtesy of Technical Low Rider.

One of Frank's collages showing the evolution of the Joker Car. Photo courtesy of Frank De Rosa Custom Cars.

Frank didn't complete "the Joker", as he traded it with a friend for his next project, a 1951 Ford. Frank's friend finished the build. Photo by Frank DeRosa, courtesy of Technical Low Rider.

1936 Ford convertible owned and restyled by Frank DeRosa of Pittsburg, California. Frank's Ford was originally restyled in the early or mid 1940s. Modifications included a chopped and padded top, a narrowed grill, solid hood sides and sunken and molded headlights. A photo from 1946 shows the car running dual spotlights and fenderskirts.

In 1948 Frank rolled the car over and totaled it. In 1949 he decided to rebuild and restyle the remains into a radical custom known as "The Joker." The original front was scrapped, and a new one was made from a pair of 1948 Chevrolet fenders. The original trunk was kept, but it received a molded continental kit and 1947 Lincoln rear fenders. Fadeaway fenders were made between the Chevrolet and Lincoln fenders. A chopped Kaiser top was welded onto the car, making it 49 inches high. According to an interview with Frank in Technical Low Rider Vol 1 No 1 1982 the car was outlawed from the street for being too low.Frank didn't complete the build, as he traded it with a friend for his next project, a 1951 Ford. Frank's friend finished the build.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Technical Low Rider Vol 1 No 1 1982