Customs by the Sea Santa Barbara 2019

The 1st Customs by the Sea in Santa Barbara, California was held March 9, 2019.

Pre-1959 customs galore. Cars lined up in front of the Rotunda on Friday. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Steven Kane's 1939 Ford Convertible. A period-corect 1940s styled custom. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Jeremy Jack's 1950 Ford. Jeremy is a member of the Squires of Napa car club, and the Ford made its debut at the show. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Justin Lawley's 1947 Ford Coupe. Jeremy is a member of the Squires of Napa car club. His coupe features work by the Menges Twin's Speed Shop and the build was completed early in 2019. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

The Menges Twins' 1937 Ford Coupe of Atascadero, California. Featuring white primer, the build was completed early in 2019. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Jon Fisher's 1936 Ford 3-Window Coupe parked in front of the Rotunda on Friday. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Kelly & Mark Skipper's 1951 Ford Victoria of Fresno, California. Known as The Royal Victoria, Mark and Kelly's Ford was one of the six cars featured inside the Rotunda at the show. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Scott and Holley Roberts' 1954 Mercury. Scott and Holley's Mercury was one of the six cars featured inside the Rotunda at the show. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Jon Fisher's 1936 Ford 3-Window Coupe. Fish's coupe was one of the six cars featured inside the Rotunda at the show. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

The Queen of the Rotunda! Allan Winward's Miss Scarlett was one of the featured cars we had on display at the show! This Salt Lake City, Utah, custom is driven hard, and Kipp has taken it to our Customs by the Sea shows in Wildwood, Pismo Beach, and Santa Barbara. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Steve Pierce's 1940 Buick Coupe was one of the six cars featured inside the Rotunda at the show. Photo by Sondre Kvipt.

George Garcia's 1958 Ford Ranchero inside the Kustomrama Rotunda of Customs. George's Ranchero was built as a clone of Richard Lee Tiago's 1957 Ford Ranchero. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Roy Abendroth's 1955 Buick Century was one of the historic customs we had on display in Santa Barbara. Current caretaker Alex Gambino bought the car down from San Jose for the show. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Bob McNulty's 1955 Chevrolet Corvette was displayed in front of the Rotunda at the show. Known as "The Shark," the McNulty Corvette is an old Castro Valley, California custom originally restyled in the late 1950s. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

John Denich's 1950 Chevrolet custom was also displayed in front of the Rotunda. Built by Randy Rhoades, the car is a clone of Larry Watson's iconic Grapewine Chevrolet. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

A rear-end shot of The Menges Twins' 1937 Ford custom coupe. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Robert Gallery's 1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster was originally restyled by Glen "Cat" Patrick after the Barris Kustoms built cars used in the 1958 movie High School Confidential. Robert bought the custom from Steve Montgomery in 2018. When he got the car it had been through a few owners who all had added different things such as pinstriping, hubcaps, and more. Robert decided to get the custom back to the way it was originally done. After completing the transformation, Roger brought the car to Santa Barbara. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Johnny Aguirre's 1940 Dodge Business Coupe of Riverside, California. One of several builds that were completed just in time for the show. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Chris and Jeni Johnson's 1951 Ford of Fairfield, California. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Roger O'Malley's 1941 Ford Convertible was one of the late 1940s - early 1950s styled customs we had on display in Santa Barbara. Roger drove down from Sacramento, and his car features nothing newer than 1950 as far as parts. Main modifications includes a functional chopped convertible top, a 1948 - 1949 Cadillac grill, accessory after market long skirts, 1948 - 1949 Hudson taillights, a Lincoln steering wheel, and a Cal Custom accessorized dash! Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Eunice Ibarra's 1955 Ford. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Robert Lomas' 1953 Ford in good company at the lawn. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Dennis Krakenberg brought Frank Gould's 1958 Chevrolet Impala out for the show. Restyled by Bill Cushenbery at Cushenbery Custom Shop, the car is also known as The Limelighter. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

A rear end shot of Frank Gould's 1958 Chevrolet Impala. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Dennis Krakenberg's 1941 Buick Super. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Another shot of Scott and Holley Roberts' 1954 Mercury. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Steve Pierce receiving the Kustomrama Custom Car D'elegance Award for 2019. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

The award was painted and goldleafed by Norway's own BC the Striper. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

The Kustomrama Custom Car Spectacular

Customs by the Sea is a traditional custom car show presented by Kustomrama, the Traditional Rod & Kustom Encyclopedia. Held in cooperation with the Oilers car club, during the Race of Gentlemen and the Santa Barbara Drags, Customs by the Sea is a celebration of the traditional custom car. Both Kustomrama and TROG love the American racing and custom heritage, and the joint event is a living breathing celebration of that history filled with action and fun for all.

Santa Barbara, California 2019

The 1st Customs by the Sea car show in Santa Barbara, California was held March 9, 2019. The show took place in the brick circle at the Hilton Santa Barbara Hotel, and at the lawn in front of it, right next to the drag strip.

A Gathering of Pre-1959 Traditional Custom Cars

TROG goes through great lengths to bring its spectators back in time to those early days of racing, and Kustomrama's Customs by the Sea car show in Santa Barbara was a celebration of pre-1959 traditional custom cars. From the beautiful and innovative visions of Frank Kurtis to the wild paint jobs of Larry Watson, Kustomrama wanted to showcase builds from the peak era of the pre and postwar custom car.