Top 21 Barris Kustoms of the 1950s - Plus the Expert Picks of 2022

1. Jesse Lopez' 1941 Ford Club Coupe (1950) - The end of an era! One of the most, if not the most, iconic 1941 Ford Customs ever built. Restyled sometime between 1948 and 1950, Jesse met George and Sam Barris at the 1948 Hot Rod Exposition, where George won top honors with his George's 1941 Buick Convertible. Early in 1950, the car was shown at the National Roadster Show in Oakland. The Jesse Lopez Coupe is a nod to the past decade and the elegant and subtle customs of the 1940s.

2. Nick Matranga's 1940 Mercury Coupe (1950) - Completed late in 1950, Barris spent 15 months building the iconic Matranga Merc. Nick wanted his car to look different, so they chopped it up and tacked it together in order to find out how low they wanted it. After cutting the post out of the top, Nick liked what he saw and told George that he didn't want to put the post back. With this in mind, George came up with the design for the curved hardtop windows. A classic was born, and George and Sam had given the world what would become the most imitated 1939 - 1940 Mercury Custom.

3. Joe Urritta's 1941 Ford Convertible Sedan (1950) - Chopped, channeled, and sectioned. Restyled by Sam Barris, Joe's Ford became the most radical build that had ever rolled out of Barris Kustoms. Once completed, the radical custom was only 49 inches high.

4. Sam Barris' 1949 Mercury (1951) - This was Sam Barris daily driver. He bought it brand new late in 1948 and drove it around as a stocker for a few months, figuring out how to chop it. Rumored to be the first ever chopped 1949 - 1951 Mercury, the build was completed late in 1950, or early in 1951. The car was entered at the 2nd Oakland Roadster Show, held February 20 - 25, 1951, where it won 2nd prize in the full custom class.

5. Larry Ernst's 1951 Chevrolet Bel Air - The Bel Air Royal (1951) - Larry Ernst was a roman catholic priest who drove from Toledo, Ohio to have the famous Barris Brothers restyle his brand new Bel Air. Larry's Chevrolet was the first Chevy hardtop that Sam chopped, and he took 6 inches out of the rear, and 2 1/1 inches out of the front. The rear fenders were lengthened 12 inches before fender skirts and a spare tire were added. An unusual treatment for a West Coast Custom. The first version of the car took 3 months and $5400 to complete.

6. Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury Club Coupe (1952) - Known as the Hirohata Merc, the car is often referred to as the most famous custom of the classic era. The first chopped 1951 Mercury, and the first hard-topped 1949 - 1951 Mercury. Unlike other custom cars of its time, the Hirohata Merc was not painted in a dark metallic lacquer. George Barris painted it right at the beginning of 1952 in a two-tone Sea Foam Green with Organic Green below the trim spears. Add curved hardtop windows similar to Nick Matranga's 1940 Mercury Coupe, and you have a winning combination.

7. Earl Wilson's 1947 Studebaker - The Grecian (1952) - Completed in 1952, the same year as the Hirohata Merc, the Grecian was considered to be one of the country's most highly customized cars. The body was chopped, channeled and sectioned. What really makes the Grecian stand out is the functional air scoops in the hood and fenders. A groundbreaking trend yet to arrive and gain popularity.

8. Dan Landon's 1949 Chevrolet Club Coupe (1953) - A traditional early styled custom by George and Sam. The Dan Landon Coupe was completed late 1952 or early 1953. Don wanted the top as low as possible, so the Barris Brothers chopped the top 5 inches up front and 7 inches in the rear. The roof was further sectioned 2.5 inches above the top of the door opening for an even lower profile.

9. Buster Litton's 1949 Ford - The Panoramic Ford (1953) - The Panoramic Ford featured custom body work by both Barris and Cerny's Paint and Body. Barris chopped and hardtopped the top for original owner Allen Anderson in 1951. Allen sold the car to Buster, who had Barris finish the front-end modifications. Cerny then restyled the rear before Gaylord's Kustom Shop finished off the build with a custom interior. An iconic and one off a kind Shoebox Custom.

10. Sam Barris' 1950 Buick Sedanette (1953) - Sam spent 22 months of hard work turning the remains of a burnt 1950 Buick into a full-fledged custom. The build was completed in 1953, and Sam admitted that he never would do another car for himself, requiring as much job as the Buick did. He used the car as his daily driver for some months before he, in 1954 decided to sell it in order to afford eye surgery for his son John Barris.

11. Jim Skonzakes' 1953 Lincoln Capri - The Golden Sahara (1954) - The end of an era. The Golden Sahara was the first full show car to be built at Barris Kustoms, and it marked a new direction for the little shop and the scene in general. The first incarnation of this famous show car featured a lift-off transparent roof with hinged panels above each door. A tinted T-bar kept it from becoming a full bubble top. The Golden Sahara made its debut at the 1954 Petersen Motorama in Los Angeles, and it appeared on the cover of the May 1955 issue of Motor Trend as "The $25,000 car." Motor Trend showed photos of the car to a group of people, and about half of them guessed that it was built by a Detroit manufacturer.

12. Tom Pollard's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster (1954) - The Pollard Roadster was originally owned and built by Vultures member Kazar "Cozy" Simonian in the late 1940s. In 1954 George Barris gave the car its distinctive lime gold and bronze flame paint job. Early custom paint work, and another glimpse into the future. After George had given the car flames, Von Dutch added the pinstripes.

13. Frank Monteleon's 1941 Ford (1955) - Two-tone paint jobs were the latest rage in 1955. A guy from Burbank called "Hoot" started restyling Frank's Ford in the late 1940. Hoot chopped the top and tacked on 1950 Oldsmobile fenders before Frank brought it to Barris Kustoms for completion and that popular Barris touch. Once the bodywork was done, the car was painted shocking pink, charcoal metallic, and finishing white. The scene was now changing, and the car was of course equipped with a TV and a record player.

14. Junior Conway's 1950 Ford - The Teardrop (1956) - Junior Conway went to work for Barris as a trainee after graduating from high school in 1955. At the time, he drove the Ford and got guidance and assistance from the guys at the shop during the build. The Teardop version of the car was completed late in 1956, and it featured some details and work by George Barris.

15. Martin and Morris Srabian's 1954 Ford F-100 Pickup - The Wild Kat (1956) - After Spencer Murray introduced the Rod & Custom Dream Truck to the world, custom pickups started becoming really popular in the mid-1950s. What makes The Wild Kat stand out is the quad headlight styling that beat Detroit by two years.

16. Dave Cunningham's 1940 Ford Sedan - "Lil Beauty" (1957) - Is it a custom? Or is it a hot rod? When Cunningham began displaying his "Lil Beauty" in 1957, it featured a 10-inch channeled body. Dave actually channeled the body himself, before bringing it over to Barris Kustoms to have the job completed. Around 1958, it returned for more work, which included canted quad headlights and a scallop paint job.

17. Lyle Lake's 1952 Buick Riviera - The Blue Danube (1957) - New meets old. An overall traditional look, spiced up with a fashionable two-tone custom paint job and a front rolled pan.

18. George Barris' 1955 Chevrolet Pickup - The Kopper Kart (1957) - The Kopper Kart was built to promote the shop. A spectacular show car that was chopped, sectioned, and channeled. The truck had already been sectioned 5 1/2 inches when George bought it, but the other modifications were performed by Barris. The chrome was copper-plated, and it featured accessories such as a portable TV set and a conventional phonograph in the bed. The record player was played back to the cab via interior speakers, while the portable TV was strictly a luxury item for Sunday picnics and outings.

19. Richard Peters' 1929 Ford Model A Pickup - The Ala Kart (1958) - The one and only Ala Kart. What might be the world's first custom rod. A true show car. Entirely built to win car shows. Became the America's Most Beautiful Roadster in 1958 and 1959.

20. Bill Carr's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible - The Aztec (1958) - Another show car by Barris. February 15-23, 1958, The Aztec was shown at the ninth annual National Roadster Show in Oakland where it won the Custom Car D'Elegance award. Due to excellent craftsmanship, both the Aztec and Joe Tocchini's 1951 Ford Victoria won the Custom Car D'Elegance that year. Later on in 1958 Bill's Chevrolet was nominated as one of 28 "Top Customs of the Year" by Motor Life magazine.

21. The XPAK 400 (1959) - Off to Space! In 1959 Barris Kustoms debuted the futuristic XPAK 400. According to George Barris, space-styled customs were the latest rage of the year. Supposedly translated from Martian, the name meant air car, and that’s what it was. It had no wheels. No transmission. No rear end and it moved on a five-inch cushion of air. It was driveable on both land and water. In addition to huge fins and a groundbreaking sparkling Metalflake paint job, the XPAK 400 did also feature a plastic bubble top that had been vacuum formed over a male mold. A soft introduction and a hint about what the future held.

Kevan Sledge is a founding member of the So. Cal Shifters car club. He runs Sledge Customs and is responsible for chopping and building some of the world's finest 1939 - 1940 Mercury customs. Kevan's favorite Barris Kustom of the 1950s is Nick Matranga's 1940 Mercury Coupe (1950). "This was the car that really made me realize how beautiful and fantastic customs can be. When I first found out about this car in the late 1980s it completely blew my mind. I loved every angle of it and it was immediately one of my favorite cars. Even though this is a radical custom, they still kept all the beauty of a 1940 Mercury. This car had just the right amount of parts shaved and molded. The stance is just right and I love that they kept the stock side trim and grille. Obviously, the top was a home run. Making the car a hardtop with the curved side stainless was just pure genius. The car really brought customs to the next level."

Howard Gribble is a well-known photographer and custom car historian. In the late 1950s, in junior high school, Howard noticed customized cars in the area featuring scallop paint jobs, pinstriping, and flames. At age 15, he got his first car, a 1950 Ford sedan. Howard was going for the George Barris style and began restyling the car by shaving the door handles and removing the emblems. Due to a limited budget, the project never really took off. Howard's favorite Barris Kustom of the 1950s is The Aztec..."and I'm kind of surprised. It was featured in the first car book I ever bought. But it didn't appeal to me at the time primarily because it was so radical. I was just getting into rods and customs, and the Aztec was so much more than I could possibly aspire to own that I kind of dismissed it. The "Lil' Honey Bee" '55 Chevy was much closer to a realistic custom that I might someday be able to own. So the Aztec was a bit of a bridge too far. But I did like what they had done with it. Think all the mods work pretty well together. The result is elegant in a pretty bold manner. As a custom of the times, it makes a dramatic statement. Not much about it I would change, really."

Lars Ludvig Konrad Enström is custom car nut and the dedicated editor of Lead News, the Customs of Sweden club magazine. "How is it even possible to choose one Barris-built car? They built the perfect ones like Sam Barris own Merc or Larry Ernst's Chevy. That last one created quite a stir and admiration when it premiered. Something we all have forgotten today when we are so hooked up on Hirohata's. But my pick will be Earl Wilson’s 4-d Stude because it is so outrageous in its design but at the same time so very sleek. The thoughts of details and to pair them with the Stude to create such a beautiful custom takes a genius."

Memo Ortega is a well known Southern California customizer and lowrider. He has had a passion for everything customized since the early 1950s. He was a good friend of Gil Ayala and is still chopping up and restyling cars in his shop. "My number one pick would be Bill Carr's 55 Chevy, The Aztec. What a great-looking kustom. Built in 58, the times the fins were on a lot of the new cars then...the work they did on the fins is outstanding it changed the whole cars appearance. So many things such as the scoops, the kustom skirts, the dual headlights, and the top really made this kustom, plus the beautiful kustom paint job...not leaving out the kustom interior. Superb work on it."

Scott and Pete Menges run The Menges Twins Speed Shop and Customs, a family business that specializes in custom bodywork and fabrication outside Paso Robles in Creston, California. Having built numerous early styled customs the last few years, the Menges Twins have one clear favorite when it comes to Barris Kustom build of the 1950s; "Definitely the Matranga! It’s a car that most closely represents the style we like. A California custom, small windows, tall body!"

Keith Weesner is a well-known artist with a passion for car culture and vintage pin-up illustrations. His art has been featured in numerous magazines, and his posters can be found in living rooms, man caves, galleries, and garages all over the world. Keith is also a founding member of the Choppers of Burbank car club. "I guess I’d have to go with the Buster Litton Ford since it was a big inspiration for my shoebox, (which is a mix of Barris & Ayala cues.) The Stude front fenders and the beautiful top are the most noticeable features. I always wondered how the side window opening was formed, its curve doesn’t seem to match anything I could identify. I think it might have just been fabricated. I’d only seen B&W photos of it when my car was painted in 2000, it was surprising to later see it was a very similar color to mine!"

In 1956, when Ted Long was 17-years old, he bought a 1954 Ford Pickup that he had Barris restyle. Ted lived in Downey. He was a long-time car builder, and because he was a customer at the shop, he was able to get involved on a low level, sanding, prep work etc. Around the same time, Ted and a partner opened up a store called Kustom Electrics at Barris, where they did high-end stereo and installed TV's in cars. "We were way ahead of our time, as sound systems were very rare in those days, and the interest was low, mostly AM radios. I also worked with Lloyd Bacon on the accessory shop there. George wanted to build a Custom City, with all aspects of work being offered." In addition to his old truck, Ted's favorite Barris Kustom from the 1950s is The Kopper Kart. "The Kopper Kart was a great example of customizing at the time. All metal so it could be done, and the interest was in styling for example, the engine compartment or sound system was not an issue."

Teddy Zgrzemski is the nephew of Bill Hines. When he was 14 years old, Teddy moved from Michigan to California and landed a job working for Barris. He was making 40 dollars a week for 43 hours of work, making 85 cents an hour as a painter's helper, and life couldn't get any better for the young kid. The Hirohata Merc is Teddy's favorite Barris Kustom of the 1950s. "I think it was ahead of its time. The car seemed to flow. The front hood extension that flowed into the grille surround. The doors that got rid of the step in the middle. The scoops in the quarters. The flush mounted skirts. The 54 Mercury taillights and the exhaust tips. The top chop was the best thing of all, made into a hardtop with curved quarter window frames. This was all new. Even the color was a new idea for a custom, and the cross country in a custom magazine article "LA to Indy" was a first also. All this put together made that car stand out. Bobby was a great guy, and the car being built in such a short time. Many ideas of this car have been used on other customs. I can still remember the Von Dutch pinstriping on the dash and the green and white knobs bobby made."

Robert A. Radcliffe III is a talented custom car builder from Temecula, California. Robert runs and operates King Kustoms, and his favorite Barris Kustom from the 1950s is Sam Barris' 1950 Buick Sedanette. "This kustom is very special, as my dad almost bought it in 1960. Any time I would open one of the Barris books as a kid, my dad would always tell me the story. The fact that it was Sam's personal car and just an incredibly beautiful kustom only adds to its allure. Glad Kurt McCormick has kept the car in top condition."

John D'Agostino is a legendary custom car builder. While in college, D'Agostino customized a brand new 1970 Pontiac Grand Prix that he entered in the 1970 National Roadster Show. The car won the prestige's "Outstanding Custom" award, and D'Agostino went on to work alongside Bill Hines, learning styling tricks in leading and metal fabrication. Since then, D'Agostino has opened up his own shop, D'Agostino Kustoms, displaying his customs in more than 1 000 shows worldwide. D'Agostino's top Barris Kustom is the Hirohata Merc. "The strongest feature on the car is the curved side window channeling that gives it that hardtop look when removed. It was very innovative and is still used after 70 years. The Hirohata Merc had several innovative features that make it the "King of the Mercs" then and now."

Howard Miereanu is a well-known graphic designer who has been interested in cars for as long as he can remember. With degrees in industrial design & graphics from the Art Center College of Design, Howard landed a job at General Motors after graduating from ArtCenter in 1959. He was selected to be placed in an advanced design studio instead of any of the production studios at GM, designing concept cars. Choosing only one Barris Kustom from the 1950s was hard for Howard. "But I have to lean towards Nick Matranga's 1940 Mercury. From the photo, I look at the overall styling of the car. The beautiful lines that create the greenhouse, the way he designed the flow of the front side window and blended it with the beautiful shape of the passenger window. The tear-drop rear fender skirts enhance the rear fender line. The very fine chrome detail stripe also makes the car flow. The entire design of the car is a wonderful piece of art!"

Luke Karosi is the editor of Kustoms Illustrated, a pocket-sized magazine dedicated to traditional custom cars. " I'd have to say my favorite Barris Kustom for the radical stuff would definitely be the Aztec. I've just always loved that car and think it epitomizes that late '50s over the top kustom look"

Alex Gambino is a hot rod and custom car builder from San Jose, California. He is the man behind Gambino Kustoms and a member of the Beatniks Koolsville car club. "It's really hard to pick one. The Matranga Merc is one of my tops, but I would have to say Sam's Buick Sedanette. The biggest reason is because I own one. It is the Buick that we chopped at the Metallica concert that was James's. I acquired it. I wish you would have asked a top 5 list..."

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Kustomrama Top Lists - Barris Kustoms

George and Sam Barris were early custom pioneers. Before World War II, little brother George began hanging around Harry Westergard, learning the trade from the Northern California legend. In 1942 he loaded up his 1936 Ford Convertible, left Roseville, and decided to move to Southern California. Late in 1944, after working for a couple of traditional body and fender shops, George decided to open up his own small shop on Imperial Highway in Bell, California. Barris Kustoms was now born, and when Sam was discharged from the Navy the following year, George convinced his big brother to go into business with him.

Running Barris Kustoms was a struggle until George's 1941 Buick custom won top honors at the first Hot Rod Exposition Show at the National Guard Armory in Los Angeles in January 1948. Winning that show put Barris on the map, and the Compton Avenue shop that had seemed so large in the beginning proved to be too small to house all of the cars that customers brought in, so the brothers were forced to move to an even larger shop at 4120-1/2 East Florence Avenue in Bell in 1949. George and Sam moved their business to 11054 S. Atlantic Blvd. in Lynwood within six months or so. Not only did the size of the shop have to be increased, but the staff also had to be expanded as well. After moving the shop to Lynwood, business really took off, and for the next decade, the two brothers from Northern California would build and showcase some of the most iconic and trendsetting customs to ever cruise the face of the earth.

The purpose of this list is to showcase 21 of the most famous and most important Barris Kustoms of the 1950s in chronological order. Not the most beautiful cars, but the most significant and the most trendsetting hot rods and customs that all together helped form the scene and the trends in the 1950s and into the 1960s. Most of these cars were built entirely by Barris, while other contains work by other customizers and shops.

As a bonus, we also asked some influential hot rod and custom builders, enthusiasts, artists, and fans what their favorite Barris Kustom of the 1950s would be today!