1990s

Harry Rusbach Jr's 1941 Ford coupe of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Harry bought the car in 1988. In 1990 he and three friends spent a weekend chopping the top on the car.

John Ballard's 1950 Oldsmobile - The Polynesian II of Anderson, Indiana. Named The Polynesian II, the car is a recreation of Jack Stewart's 1950 Oldsmobile, a custom car originally modified by Valley Custom Shop in Burbank, California, which gained significant attention in the custom car community during the early 1950s. Ballard's recreation was a labor of love that took five years to complete. Completed in 1990, the meticulous recreation aimed to capture the spirit and details of the original car, although certain modern improvements were made for performance and safety.

Cole Foster's 1954 Chevrolet of Salinas, California. Known as The Blue Car, Cole completed the build in 1990.

The Beatniks Koolsville car club was formed in 1992.

Kevan Sledge's 1924 Ford Model T Roadster

Fred Rowe's 1951 Mercury Convertible, of Los Angeles, California was built by Barris Kustoms and completed in 1953. It was featured in the movie Running Wild along with Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury. Bill Layman of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania restored the car back to its formel glory in the 1990s.

Kalle Uusitalo's 1961 Cadillac custom of Loimaa, Finland. Loimaa is a small town with a lot of US cars, and Kalle built this Cadillac custom in the early 1990s. Photo from The Janne Lepola Photo Collection.

Ari Lattunen's 1963 Chevrolet of Finland. Known as The Banana Split, the car was built from a four-door in the early 1990s.

Ulf Christiansson's 1951 Mercury of Sweden. Known as "Lucille," Ulf bought the Merc in 1990, while he was working at Winfield's Custom Shop in Canoga Park, California. He started the build there before moving back to Sweden in the fall of 1990. In 1993 he chopped the top on the car and covered it in thin primer before moving back to California, bringing it along.

Bill Jerry's 1932 Ford Roadster of Jay, Maine. The build started as a 5-Window Coupe in 1949. In 1951, he replaced the coupe body with a roadster body. By early 1952, it underwent a substantial aesthetic update, receiving a fresh coat of paint at a local Chrysler dealership. Peter Bennett of Portland, Maine purchased the old hot rod circa 1993. By 1995 he completed a restoration of the car.

Ed Roth's Beatnik Bandit II. In 1995 Ed Roth built the Beatnik Bandit II as a tribute to the original Beatnik Bandit. This was Roth’s last bubble top build, and it shared many styling cues with his first bubble top, the original Beatnik Bandit. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

The remains of the third iteration of Bill Hines' Bat surfaced in Custom Rodder January 1995. Bill sold the car early in the 1960s, and the new owner had him perform a bunch of new customizing to the body. The front and rear ends were heavily modified, and the chopped top was cut off, as the new owner wanted to fit the Bat with a bubble top. The third iteration of the build was never completed, and the unfinished project was parked outside in the wilds of Michigan.

Jon Fisher's 1936 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Burbank, California. Jon is a member of the Burbank Choppers car club, and the coupe was restyled by Jon and Scott Guildner. The build was completed in 1996.

The first A-Bombers Desperate Old Style Weekend was held at Skeppsvikens Camping in Uddevalla, Sweden in August of 1996. Held by the A-Bombers hot rod and motorcycle club, the show would eventually grow into becoming the biggest traditional hot rod and custom show in Europe. Scan courtesy of Per Graemer.

Rumblers car club was founded by Roger Miret in 1996.

Randy Rhoades' 1950 Chevrolet of Eugene, Oregon. Randy's Chevrolet was built as a clone of the "Heartless" version of Larry Watson's 1950 Chevrolet. The build was started in 1995 and completed in 1997.

Rich Pichette's 1957 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery of Moreno Valley, California. The car was restyled by Bill Hines and Gary Minor after a rear end accident in 1992. The build was completed in 1998, featuring scallops designed by Jerry Weesner and pinstriping by Larry Watson.

Peder Behr's 1960 Chrysler New Yorker of Sweden. The build was started at Forsberg Motorcars in Huntington Beach, California in 1996, and completed by Peder in Sweden in 1998.

Steve Sellers' 1950 Ford Business Coupe of San Jose, California. Known as "Sellers Seaweed Coupe," the car made its debut at the third Billetproof car show in 1999.

<-- 1980s - 2000s -->

The traditional hot rod and kustom scene got a revival in the 1990s through car clubs such as the Shifters, Burbank Choppers, Lucky Devils, Auto Butchers, Checs, and Deacons. The clubs were mostly started and organized by teenagers from California.

In Sweden, clubs such as the A-Bombers and Jokers were formed. Along with some coverage in magazines such as Wheels Magazine and Power Magazine, the A-Bombers and Jokers were instrumental in spreading the revival traditional rod, kustom and rockabilly scene in Scandinavia.