1980s

Kalle Jonasson's 1939 Mercury Convertible of Costa Mesa, California. Originally restyled in the 1940s or the 1950s. An earlier iteration of Kalle's Mercury was supposedly spotted in Lynwood, California in 1958. By 1963, it had been repainted in Green Metalflake, and an old photo shows it sitting at a car dealership in San Diego. Kalle bought the car in May of 1978 and spent two years restoring it, giving it his own look. The build was completed in 1980, and according to Pat Ganahl, it was one of the first early customs to be restored.

Jack Walker's 1941 Ford convertible of Belton, Missouri was restyled by Doug Thompson in the 1980s.

The Geoffreymobile was a double-decker hot rod bus that Barris Kustoms built for Toys 'R' Us. Used as a promotion vehicle, the design of the truck was a group effort by the CMO of Toys 'R' Us Gordon Summer, George Barris, and Dick Dean. In April of 2021, Gordon told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that they had a giraffe family as their mascots. "There was Geoffrey, his wife Gigi, Baby Gee, and Junior. They were featured in our advertising on TV and in newspapers. They made personal appearances at store openings and at special events, like the White House Easter Egg Hunt. But how could they travel from one location to another? Answer: a London Double Decker style hotrod bus with the second floor removed in order to fit the giraffes. I hired the infamous George Barris (of Batmobile fame) to build it for us. We debuted it at the New York Auto Show in 1981, right at the top of the escalator in the Coliseum with George, himself, greeting guests and signing autographs."^[1]

Larry Ernst's 1952 Ford Convertible of Toledo, Ohio. Restyled by Clarkaiser Custom Shop, the first version of the car, named "Pharaoh's Pacer", was completed in 1955. Larry was a Roman Catholic priest who later became a monsignor. Owning a radical and famous custom car put him at some odds with senior members of the church, so he showed the car under the fake name Grant Macklin. Dave Lenhart bought the car in 1982. He restored it back to how it appeared in the 1950s. The restoration was completed late in 1982.

Ed Park's 1936 Ford Convertible of Marshall, Missouri. Ed's '36 was originally restyled by Red Swanson of Portland, Oregon in 1944. R.I. Steere of Tacoma, Washington continued restyling it in the early 1950s. Ed bought the car in 1959. After buying it, he parked it in his parent's chicken house until 1977. In 1977, he started a restoration that he completed in 1983. Since then, the car has gone through a couple of iterations. Ed still owned the car in 2020. Since the restoration, he had thousands of miles on the car, and he was still working on it.

Robert Ansetta's 1951 Ford Crestliner of Morris Plains, New Jersey. Robert owned the car from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, and most of the custom work on it was done during those years. Robert passed away in 1961 before the build was completed, and it was his brother Vinnia that finally completed the build in 1983.

Dave Facey's 1939 Ford Coupe of Lakeland, Florida. For years, Dave used to pass by the radical custom on his way to work. It sat in a backyard, and in the early 1980s, he finally decided to stop and check it out. He bought it, and the seller told him that the sectioned and channeled car was built in the Ohio area. Dave eventually sold it to "Big George," who put in a big block Chevy running gear and additional customizations. He named it "The Silver Rose" and showed it for several years.

Gary Oliver's 1955 Chevrolet of Pontiac, Michigan. Known as "El Prado II," the car is a recreation of a custom Gary had in 1960. The clone was completed in 1984, featuring a scallop paint job by Paul Hatton, just like the original "El Prado."

Walter Leeman's 1953 Chevrolet Bel-Air of Paonia, Colorado. Walt restyled the Bel-Air in the early 1980s, and it was completed in the later part of 1983.

Frank De Rosa's 1966 Buick Riviera of Pittsburg, California. Built by Frank at De Rosa Custom Body and Fender in 1983 the car is also known as "The Golden Piranha."

Helge Solberg's 1967 Chevrolet Camaro of Bø i Telemark, Norway. Known as "Low'n Blown," the car was built in the 1980s. Featuring a sectioned body and a chopped top, the first version made its debut in 1984.

Glen Patrick's 1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster of Beavercreek, Ohio. Glen resyled the Chevrolet in 1985. Inspiration for the build came from the Barris Kustoms built High School Confidential 1948 Chevrolets.

Roger Honey's 1951 Ford Victoria of San Diego, California. Restyled by Roger, the build was started in the Summer of 1985 and completed a half year later.

Jack Walker's 1951 Mercury of Belton, Missouri. In the 1980s Jack decided to build a clone of the then lost Hirohata Merc. The build was started in 1983, and completed in 1985. It made it's debut at the 1985 Leadsled Spectacular in Springfield, Ohio.

Bert Gustavsson's 1957 Ford of Bullaren, Sweden. The build was completed in 1985.

Helge Solberg's 1967 Chevrolet Camaro of Bø i Telemark, Norway. Known as "Low'n Blown," the car was built in the 1980s. Featuring a sectioned body and a chopped top, the first version made its debut in 1984. Helge debuted a second iteration of the car in 1985. This version featured a new front and paint job.

Larry Cochran's 1950 Chevrolet of Belton, Missouri. Larry's Chevrolet was restyled by Doug Thompson. The build was completed in 1986.

The 10th annual Hot Rod Show Borlänge was held March 1-2, 1986 in Borlänge, Sweden.

The 1986 Hot Rod Show was held March 1-9, 1986 at Skärholmsmässan in Stockholm, Sweden.

A 1950s Rod & Custom Builder's Wish Book by Albert Drake was published by Motorbooks Intl in 1986. Check price and availability on Amazon.com - Check price and availability on Amazon.com.

Helge Solberg's 1967 Chevrolet Camaro of Bø i Telemark, Norway. Known as "Low'n Blown," the car was built in the 1980s. Featuring a sectioned body and a chopped top, the first version made its debut in 1984. For the 1987-season, the car was dressed up with purple and pink scallops by Helge and Arild Bergskås.