Leroy Heinrichs' 1947 Plymouth Club Coupe

Leroy Heinrichs and his fiancée Mazie Neece washing the Plymouth in front of the Neece family home on Margaret Street in San Jose, circa 1955. At this early stage, the car had already been mildly customized with shaved door handles, shortened hood trim, lakes pipes, subtle pinstriping around the wheel wells, and a set of 1954 Chrysler hubcaps. Photo courtesy of Tracy Zimmermann.

Another photo of Leroy and Mazie posing with the Plymouth in front of the Neece family home on Margaret Street, circa 1955. The photo was taken on what Tracy Zimmermann affectionately refers to as “car washing day.” By then, Leroy had already become a beloved fixture in the family, often appearing in photos taken by Mazie’s mother. Photo courtesy of Tracy Zimmermann.

Leroy's Plymouth as it appeared in the San Jose News on August 19, 1957. At this point, the coupe had been shaved, scalloped, and fitted with a custom grille and frenched headlights using 1952 Ford rims. Leroy valued the car at $2,900 in the feature. Photo courtesy of the San Jose News.

Another early photo of the coupe after Louie Stojanovich had bought it from Leroy. This photo was taken at a San Jose Rod and Wheelers event at the IES Hall in San Jose. Photo courtesy of Joe Crisafulli.

Another photo of Louie's coupe from the same event. Photo courtesy of Joe Crisafulli.

Louie's stunning Candy Burgundy version of the Plymouth. Louie restyled the coupe after purchasing it from Leroy in 1957, adding functional lakes pipes, gold outlines, and a pleated white interior by Modern Upholstery. The car's power came from a hopped-up 1954 Chrysler six with triple Carters and an Isky cam. This iteration made its debut at the 1959 San Mateo show and helped Louie land a job as a painter at Barris Kustoms. Photo by George Barris.

Louie's radically restyled Plymouth on display at the 1962 San Jose Autorama. After Gene Winfield reworked the front end with a widened grille opening, dual canted headlights, and custom grille treatment, Louie had the car repainted in Candy Tangerine at Barris Kustoms. Teddy Zgrzemski, who was working for Barris at the time, recalled block sanding and prepping the car alongside Junior, who laid down the vibrant new finish. Photo from The James Handy Photo Collection.

1947 Plymouth Club Coupe originally owned and restyled by Axle Busters of San Jose member Leroy Heinrichs of San Jose, California. Leroy restyled the car in a late-1950s custom fashion. All exterior trim was shaved except for the side trim, which was shortened on the hood. Both doors and the deck lid were converted to electric solenoids. To french the headlights, Leroy installed 1952 Ford headlight rims. Shaved 1949 Dodge bumpers were mounted, and a custom grille was handcrafted to complete the unique front end.

A very early version of the car, dated to around 1955, shows Leroy and his fiancée Mazie Neece washing the Plymouth in front of the Neece family home on Margaret Street in San Jose. At that point, the car had already had its door handles removed, lakes pipes added, and the hood trim shortened. Subtle pinstriping had also been added around the wheel wells, and the car had been dressed up with a set of 1954 Chrysler hubcaps.

An later version, featuring a scalloped paint job, appeared in a custom car feature in the San Jose News on August 19, 1957. In the article, Leroy valued his coupe at $2,900. According to custom painter Joe Crisafulli, the scallops on Leroy’s Plymouth were likely painted by Bob Heinrichs, Leroy’s uncle.

Sold to Louie Stojanovich

In 1957, Leroy sold the coupe to Louie Stojanovich, a member of the San Jose Rod and Wheelers and cousin of fellow member Jerry DeVito. Louie continued to refine the build, cutting openings through the front fenders to accommodate a set of functional lakes pipes that ran to the rockers. The car was then repainted in 18 coats of Candy Burgundy lacquer, accented with gold outlines.

Inside, Louie had Modern Upholstery of San Jose install a custom pleated white interior with contrasting carpets. For added performance, he replaced the stock straight-six with a 1954 Chrysler six-cylinder engine that was bored and stroked 1/8 inch. The engine was upgraded with an Iskenderian camshaft, Jahns pistons, and an Edmunds intake manifold topped with three Carter carburetors.

To complete the look, Louie added dual spotlights, a set of whitewall tires, and chromed and reversed Buick wheels. His custom talents eventually earned him a job as a painter at the legendary Barris Kustoms in North Hollywood.

Show Appearances

Louie’s Candy Burgundy version of the coupe debuted at the 4th Annual San Mateo Custom, Rod & Sports Car Show in January 1959. A year later, in March 1960, the car was shown at the Kustom Kar Kapades in Monterey, California.

Gene Winfield Makeover

At one point, Louie brought the car to Winfield's Custom Shop. There, Gene Winfield reworked the front end, giving the car a new identity with a widened grille opening, dual canted headlights, and a custom grille treatment.

Painted at Barris 

Following Gene’s work, Louie took the Plymouth to Barris Kustoms for a new paint job. While Teddy Zgrzemski was working at the shop, Louie dropped off the coupe. “Junior and I block sanded it and prepped it,” Teddy told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2019. “Then Junior painted it a Candy Tangerine.”

Where Is It Now?

The Heinrichs/Stojanovich Plymouth was last documented at the 1962 San Jose Autorama. Since then, the trail has gone cold. Tracy Zimmermann, daughter of Leroy’s former fiancée Mazie Neece, is now hoping to locate the historic custom. “My mom was engaged to Leroy when he bought the car,” Tracy told Kustomrama.

If you have seen this car, know of its whereabouts, or recognize any features from its early or later versions — such as the Candy Burgundy or Candy Tangerine paint jobs, Gene Winfield’s dual canted headlight front end, or the lakes pipes cut through the fenders — please reach out to Kustomrama. Help us reconnect Tracy with a piece of her family’s history and keep this classic custom story alive.

Do you have any leads? Send us an email at mail@kustomrama.com