1951

Allen's Garage. Hot rodding in Jay,Maine circa 1951. Bill Jerry and Ham Allen's roadsters captured in a Wilton Times newspaper photo. Bill was working at the gas station when this photo was taken. Photo courtesy of Peter Bennett.

Jim Hill's 1921 Dodge truck of Vallejo, California. Jim was a member of the North Bay Rodsters, and the build was completed in 1951. In 1952 Jim won first prize for originality with the truck at the Oakland Roadster Show.

Norm Taylor & Jot Horn's 1927 Ford Model-T Roadster - The Airoadster, of California was completed in 1951 and featured a Ranger aircraft engine.

Michael Lamm's 1930 Ford Model A Roadster of La Feria, Texas. In 1951, when he was 15 years old, Mike came across what was left of a hot rod that somebody had started to build a few years earlier. He bought an engine, transmission, Columbia axle and radiator at a local wrecking yard and had the car up and running within a few months. At the time it was the only hot rod roadster in La Feria.

Don Broyles' 1932 Ford roadster of Dayton, Ohio. The car was originally built in 1951. In 1956 Don installed a 1956 Chevrolet Corvette 283 engine in the roadster.

Joaquin Arnett's 1934 Ford 3-window coupe of San Diego, California was completed in 1951. Shortly after completing the build, Joaquin sold the coupe to Andy Granatelli

Glenn Johnson's 1937 Ford Coupe of Las Vegas, Nevada. The build was started in 1947, and completed it in 1951.

Dick Jackson's 1938 Chevrolet Sedan of Lynwood, California. Dick was 14 years old when he started to hang around the Barris Kustoms shop in 1949. A rope kept visitors out of the shop so the workers would not be disturbed by curious by-passers. Dick used to stand outside the rope and stare into the shop. One day, Sam Barris said, "Hey, we're getting tired of you staring at us. You want a job here?" At the time, the Manok brothers worked there along with Bill Ortega, Sam, and George. Dick said yes, and he started to sweep the floors. The Chevrolet was Dick's first car in 1951. Under Sam's guidance, the car underwent a series of modifications until it finally got the Barris Kustoms touch.

John Bozio's 1939 Buick Century Convertible of East Hartford, Connecticut. The Buick was John's first car, and he bought it from his cousin in 1951. It was already mildly customized when he got it, but it didn't take long before John restyled it further.

Clarence Patterson's 1939 Ford convertible of Glen Allen, Virginia. Built by Glen, the build was started in 1948 and completed in 1951.

Frank Layman's 1941 Lincoln Zephyr Convertible of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Restyled by Frank, the build was started in the late 1940s, and completed around 1950 - 1951.

Bud Unger's 1946 Ford Convertible, of Rockville, Maryland, was restyled by Bud Unger of Unger Auto Body Company. The build was started in 1950 and completed in 1951.

Jerry Quesnel's 1949 Mercury. Jerry's Mercury was completed in white primer in 1951.

Joe Brienza's 1949 Mercury of West Islip, New York. Joe bought the Mercury in 1951 and wasted no time transforming it. The original flathead was replaced with a powerful 1948 Cadillac engine. Six months later, seeking even more performance, he swapped that for a 1950 Oldsmobile engine paired with an automatic transmission—creating a combination he remembers as running exceptionally well. The Mercury’s exterior went through several transformations, from black to turquoise blue, eventually ending up in a striking two-tone. Joe experimented with grilles, first using the 1951 Ford grille seen here. This version did also feature a shaved hood and hooded headlights. Photo from The Joe Brienza Photo Collection.

Sam Barris' 1949 Mercury. Completed in 1951, Sam's Mercury made its first public appearance at the National Roadster Show in February of 1951.

Wally Welch's 1950 Mercury of Burbank, California. The first version of Wally's Mercury was completed in 1951.

Don Tubbs' 1951 Ford Victoria of Glendale, California was restyled in 1951.

Ralph Lysell's Rally is a Norwegian bubble-top sports car built at Norwegian Aircraft Industries LTD in Oslo, Norway. Ralph, who was born in Stockholm, had studied design and engineering at Columbia University in New York, and he was a master with the airbrush. Lysell moved to Oslo, Norway in 1949, where he set out to build what was meant to be the first Norwegian produced sports car of the 1950s. Ralph’s Rally is one of the first attempts we have found of someone actually trying to build a bubble-topped automobile. Only one prototype of the Rally was built before the project was abandoned in 1951. So far, only production photos of the Rally-prototype without the bubble has surfaced, and nobody knows if Ralph made the bubble top for the car, or how long he came in the process of actually constructing a bubble.

The 1951 Custom, Sports Car and Hot Rod Show was held April 12-15, 1951 at the Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois.

<-- 1950 - 1950s - 1952 -->

By 1951, the custom scene had grown so popular that Trend Book 101: Custom Cars was published to clarify what a “custom job” entailed. According to the book, a true custom was built from the ground up to order, while a restyled job involved modifying a stock car without radically altering its original design.

Although Trend Book No. 101 didn’t feature any 1949 Mercurys, the same year it hit the shelves, two iconic chopped ’49 Mercs made waves: Sam Barris’s personal car and Jerry Quesnel’s coupe. Completed in 1951, these builds have long fueled debates over which came first, marking a major milestone for custom car culture. Magazines like Hot Rod Magazine and Motor Trend soon dedicated more space to customs, and new titles like Hop Up Magazine was poised to spread the movement far beyond California.

Hot Rods Built or Completed in 1951

Jim Hill's 1921 Dodge Truck
Norm Taylor & Jot Horn's 1927 Ford Model-T Roadster - The Airoadster
Michael Lamm's 1930 Ford Model A Roadster
Don Broyles' 1932 Ford Roadster
Joaquin Arnett's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe

Custom Cars Restyled or Completed In 1951

Glenn Johnson's 1937 Ford Coupe
John Bozio's 1939 Buick Century Convertible
Clarence Patterson's 1939 Ford Convertible
Frank Layman's 1941 Lincoln Zephyr Convertible
Bud Unger's 1946 Ford Convertible
Allen Anderson's 1949 Ford
Jack Stewart's 1941 Ford Coupe
Joe Brienza's 1949 Mercury
Sam Barris' 1949 Mercury
Wally Welch's 1950 Mercury
Don Tubbs' 1951 Ford Victoria

Dream Cars Built or Completed in 1951

Ralph Lysell's Rally

Car Clubs Founded in 1951

Tacoma Toppers

Hot Rod and Custom Car Shows Held in 1951

Custom, Sports Car and Hot Rod Show in Chicago, Illinois.

Cars Sold In 1951

Nick Matranga sold his 1940 Mercury in 1951 for $1800.