Horace Davi's 1949 Ford Pickup - The Betty Elizabeth Shampoo Truck
1949 Ford Pickup restyled by Joe Bailon of Bailon's Custom Shop in Hayward for Horace Davi of San Francisco, California.
Contents
The Origins of the Truck
Several versions are chronicling the early days of this build. According to Car Speed and Style October 1958, Horace was keen on a custom car, but he also wanted to use the car for his shampoo business. Ford's Ranchero was not available at the time, and Davi's idea was still new. Horace supposedly went to the wrecking yard and found a totaled 1949 Ford Convertible that he brought over to Bailon's Custom Shop and discussed the design together with Joe. The story further explains that for all practical purposes, the car was completely stripped down to the frame before the construction work began.[2] According to Rod & Custom May 1955, Joe Bailon went to the wrecking yard and found a demolished 1950 Ford 2-door Sedan to use as a starting point.[3] In 2019, Dick Falk told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that he began working for Joe Bailon late in 1952. Back then, Bailon was working out of a small garage next to his house. "It had cement on the floors, but there was a lot of dirt also. It was an old garage. A one-car garage," Falk told Sondre. The Shampoo Truck was one of the cars Dick worked on while he was honing his skills at Bailon's shop. They cut it with a sharp air chisel and used coat hangers to weld it up. "Joe told me to start welding on the bed of the truck. 'That will keep you busy for a long time,' he told me. God, I welded on that thing! It was an awful lot of welding, and Joe had a basket full of coat hangers I used. He said, ‘That’s your job, man. Weld everything!'" Bailon had sectioned the car and gotten everything lined up before Dick started welding it. "He gave me a hand when I needed it, whatever we were doing. He had just bought the car," Dick recalled. It was a maroon 1949 Ford Convertible, and Dick remembers that Joe's wife Marge one day went grocery shopping with it. "It had the top down, and when she came back Bailon told me to go over and give her a hand taking the groceries out of the car. I go over. There was a bag or two on the backseat that I took into the house. A little house next to the shop. Up the steps there. The kitchen was straight in, the bedroom was on the left. I went to the table, sat the groceries down, and went back out to the car. Now Joe tells me to back it in. I say, 'OK, what are you going to do with it?' He says, 'I’m gonna section it!' Just like that. And that’s when it started."[4]
Sectioned, Chopped and Lowered
According to Rod & Custom May 1955, the basic body shell had to be restored to its original form before the customization could begin.[3] The body was first sectioned 4 inches according to Car Speed and Style[2], however Rod & Custom says 5 inches. The windshield was chopped 3 inches and fit with a removable top. According to Car Speed and Style October 1958, the top was built completely by hand. It was easily removable and could be removed by one man whenever the weather would permit it. In Rod & Custom May 1955, the story was that a small coupe top was salvaged from the wrecking yard and re-contoured to fit the body lines. To match the lower body lines, the front fenders had to be trimmed off the bottoms, and the wheel cutouts raised the same amount so the tires could turn. Due to the body sectioning and fender reworking, the grille cavity was reduced enough so that the crew thought it looked too good to spoil, so they did not add grille bars. The low grille opening caused colling problems, so the hood was louvered to cool down the engine compartment. All four wheel wells were radiused, this required reworking of the inner wheel housings.[2]
The biggest problem converting the convertible into a pickup was the stiffening of the rear quarter panels. The bed was made from heavy weatherproof plywood secured to channels set along the inner side of the quarter panels, just high enough to clear the kickups over the rear axle housings. Chrome rails made from bar stock were placed on top of the quarter panels. The wind splits on the rear fenders had to be reshaped to accept the Pontiac taillights. The hood was nosed, the headlights were frenched, and the door handles were flushed as well.[3] The rear bumper was swapped with a 1946 Oldsmobile unit. A 1951 Cadillac front bumper was reworked to fit the car. The exhaust outlets were placed on both sides of the rear quarter panels. Once the bodywork was completed, it was painted red with a black top. Dual spotlights and modified 1953 Cadillac hubcaps wrapped up the style. Davi took it over to the East Oakland Auto Toggery, where he found the perfect fabric to reupholster it with. The interior was done in red and gray pleated leatherette. The car took eight months to build and cost $4500 to complete.[2]
For Sale
In August of 2017, the restored version of the Shampoo Truck was advertised for sale on Autotrader. It was located in Orange, California, and the asking price was $135,000 USD.[5]
Magazine Features
Rod & Custom May 1955
Best Hot Rods Number 3
Car Speed and Style October 1958
References
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