Björn Ramsten's 1957 Chevrolet

Björn Ramsten's 1957 Chevrolet of Stockholm, Sweden. Built during the golden age of Nordic custom culture, Björn was a founding member of The Flintstones of Hollygroff Car Club. Inspired by icons like Bill Cushenbery and the Alexander Brothers, Ramsten began the transformation in 1965, blending American flair with Swedish ingenuity. Powered by a 327 with performance upgrades, the Chevy saw action on both the street and dragstrip, notably competing at the historic First Go race at Anderstorp in 1968. The build was completed in 1967, and it was shown at the Hot Rod Show the same year. After changing hands several times, the car’s custom identity was gradually lost to restoration, but its legacy remains a cornerstone of Swedish custom history.

In 1961, Björn Ramsten founded The Flintstones of Hollygroff Car Club with a group of neighborhood friends, naming it after the popular animated sitcom. This photograph, taken at Fredhäll in 1961, shows the club’s 1947 Buick convertible along with members Nils-Erik Schullström, Tommy Ternström, Björn Hammar, Tore Ström, and Björn Ramsten. Driver "Kurre" is also present, while Lelle Larsson operates the camera. During this era, clubs such as The Road Devils, Car Angels, and Teddyboys were active in Stockholm, but as Björn recalled, “We were 6–7 friends with cars that started a local club called The Flintstones. The Road Devils already ravaged around a bit in folk parks and such, receiving a bit of coverage. We didn’t do that. We were just interested in cars and thought it was fun.” Photo by Lelle Larsson.

Björn purchased the 1957 Chevrolet in 1964. “After my first car, I stuck to Chevrolets,” Björn recalled. “My first Chevy was a red and white ‘57 two-door hardtop 210 with an inline-six, which I quickly swapped for a 283. It was common back then in Stockholm to race from traffic light to traffic light. We read a lot about tuning and customizing cars in magazines such as Hot Rod, Car Craft, and Rod & Custom.” Photo by Björn Ramsten.

In 1964, Björn heard that Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg and his brother Sven were exhibiting their custom cars at the Scania building on Ringvägen. He went to see them, and the experience proved pivotal. “After that, I was obsessed with building a custom,” Björn recalled. “Svenne had just completed his Burgundy FoMoCo Ford Sunliner, and that car inspired me a lot.” Photo courtesy of Sven and Maud Sandberg.

Nils-Erik Schullström’s design proposal for a 1951 Ford. “Nils-Erik started sketching some customized cars that we thought were cool,” Björn recalled. “After that, we started restyling Tore’s Sunliner. That was the first custom we started working on in 1964.” Scan courtesy of Björn Ramsten.

An early shot from 1964 shows Tore Ström's 1954 Ford Sunliner alongside Björn’s 1957 Chevrolet. Tore’s Sunliner was the first car in the club to undergo customization that year. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

Björn's 1957 Chevrolet at Fredhäll in 1965, showing the early stages of his custom modifications. Inspired by local custom cars and American magazines, Björn began altering the Chevy in metal that year. “I started out making a scoop on an extra hood I had. A piece of sheet metal between the torpedoes and some chromed teeth from an Opel Kapitan air-intake,” he recalled. Although his time in the army from 1965 to 1966 slowed progress, he still managed to create a grille inspired by Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg's Surfin Bird, fashioned from gold-painted sequins. “I handmade all those sequins. Cutting out square pieces of metal that I bent before soldering on a nut and painting them in gold.” Photo from The Lelle Larsson Collection.

In 1966, after completing his army service, Björn decided to radically transform his 1957 Chevrolet into a full custom. He began by customizing this Revell plastic model car, using it to test ideas before executing them in metal. “After completing army duty in 1966 I decided to turn the car into a full custom,” he recalled. As shown here, the finished model closely resembled the final design of Björn’s Chevy. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

In 1964, the same year Björn acquired his 1957 Chevrolet, Bill Cushenbery debuted a radically restyled 1958 Chevrolet Impala for Frank Gould, known as the Limelighter. When asked about his influences, Björn recalled, “I was a huge fan of Bill Cushenbery, especially a Chevy 58 that went by the name the Limelighter. I was a huge fan of that one.”

A construction photo of Björn’s Chevrolet taken around 1966–67 in the small garage he built with his father at their summerhouse. Although it was his only form of transportation, Björn made the trip by bus to work on it, teaching himself to weld and shaving the bumpers, emblems, moldings, and door handles. This iteration still featured the first scooped hood. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

A construction photo from September 1966 shows the Chevy’s rear fenders extended to accommodate 1960 Plymouth taillights. The deck lid was also shaved and fitted with a sunken, asymmetrical license plate housing. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

By spring 1967, Björn had completed the major modifications to his Chevrolet and drove it in grey primer before sending it off to Älta Billack for paint later that summer. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

A rare Flintstones of Hollygroff Car Club group photo taken in the summer of 1967 at the parking lot outside Henry's Cafe. From left to right are Rolf Balk's 1956 Chevrolet, Björn Ramsten's 1957 Chevrolet, Tommy Ternström's 1957 Ford, Lelle Larsson's 1956 Chevrolet, and Tore Ström's 1955 Chevrolet. Photo from The Lelle Larsson Collection.

Freshly painted in 1956 Chrysler Hunter Green Metallic, Björn’s 1957 Chevrolet was ready for the road by fall 1967. “When it came to the color, I went with Hunter Green Metallic,” Björn recalled. Custom accessories included open-wheel spinners from Cal Custom mounted on the original rims. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

Björn’s Chevrolet emerged as the club’s most radical custom, and one of his favorite memories was displaying it at the 1967 Hot Rod Show in Marmorhallarna. A friend suggested he show the car to Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg, widely regarded as Stockholm 's “Kustom King.” Björn drove to Öreby, where Gamen immediately recognized the Bill Cushenbery influence, saying, “I see you have been inspired by Cushenbery.” After praising Björn’s unique take on the design, Gamen arranged for the Chevy to be exhibited at the September Hot Rod Show in Marmorhallarna. Photo from The Bosse Wallskog Collection, courtesy of Maths Pålsson.

A rear-end view of Björn’s Chevrolet on display at the 1967 Hot Rod Show in Marmorhallarna. This angle highlights the extended rear fenders, 1960 Plymouth taillights, and offset license plate pocket that contributed to the car’s radical design. Photo from The Bosse Wallskog Collection, courtesy of Maths Pålsson.

This rare interior shot, taken by Ryde Brundin at the 1967 Hot Rod Show, is the only known photo of the custom cabin in Björn’s Chevrolet. It reveals chairs sourced from an older Porsche, a walnut-covered center console, a 1958 Oldsmobile steering wheel, an armrest from a 1959 Chevrolet Impala, an 8-track stereo, and black-and-white diamond-pleated vinyl upholstery by Allen Brun. Photo from The Ryde Brundin Collection, courtesy of Maths Pålsson.

Another shot of Björn’s Chevrolet at the 1967 Hot Rod Show in Stockholm. This image later appeared in the premiere issue of Colorod, and Björn belived that Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg gave him the photo at the show. The 1967 show was the only show Björn displayed his Chevy at. “If I decided to do another Hot Rod Show I guess I had to do some changes to the car, as they didn’t want to fool the visitors either,” Björn explained to Kustomrama.

A close-up of the asymmetrical hood scoop and perforated mesh grille inset on Björn’s Chevrolet. “Tube grilles had become too common in Sweden by then, so I thought, ‘Nah, I’m gonna make my own in perforated mesh instead,’” he explained. After purchasing the mesh at a hardware store, he had it chrome-plated at Qvarnströms on Kungsholmen. Matching chromed mesh was also installed behind the dual headlights, further echoing the style of Bill Cushenbery’s Limelighter. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

In 1967, Björn upgraded the Chevy’s tired 235 inline-six to a 283 with a four-barrel Carter carburetor. Still craving more power, he soon acquired this 327 short block—complete with high-compression pistons and a Z28 camshaft from Bosse Kasby at BoMac Racing. “It probably came from a Corvette or a Camaro,” Björn recalled. He loaded the short block into the trunk and drove it home to install in the car. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

Björn fitted the 327 with Corvette “Musse Pigg” heads, an Offenhauser high-rise intake manifold, a Holley 800 cfm 4-barrel carb, and Hooker headers, then gave the engine a copper spray-can paint job before installing it in the car. “I started out installing the original 3-speed transmission with a Hurst Mystery floor shifter,” he recalled, adding that he later upgraded to a 4-speed Muncie. Traction bars and airbags reinforced the rear end. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

Björn credited a restyled Ford by the Alexander Brothers in Michigan as the inspiration for his Chevy’s asymmetrical hood and scoop. “I didn’t copy theirs, but I made my own version of it,” he explained. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

A view of the rear, where chromed mesh was added to the grille opening and the license plate was inset on the driver’s side of the deck lid. Björn fashioned the plate as a milk-white plastic box with an internal light, then glued on black letters and numbers. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

A photo of Björn's Chevrolet taken in the early 1970s. In 2019 Björn told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that he had a summer job at the Shell gas station where this photo was taken. Photo from The Mikael de Bourg Wetterlund Photo Collection.

Another shot of Björn's Chevrolet that Mikael de Bourg Wetterlund took in the early 1970s. Photo from The Mikael de Bourg Wetterlund Photo Collection.

Customs were a common sight at dragstrips in Sweden during the 1970s, as seen here with Björn’s ’57 Chevrolet racing against Lard Flodman’s Ford Fairlane Victoria at Mantorp Park in 1971. Photo from The Björn Ramsten Collection.

“50-talare med sting…” declared Start & Speed magazine in 1971, featuring Björn’s 1957 Chevrolet. At the time, he was running a 14.0-second ET at 155 km/h, having invested 10,000 kronor and four years of work into the build.

Björn running his 1957 Chevrolet at Mantorp Park in 1972, continuing to push its performance on the dragstrip. Photo from The Christer Sporre Collection.

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Björn's Cushenbery-inspired Chevy served as his sole transportation both on the street and at the dragstrip until 1976, when he purchased a 1951 Chevrolet convertible. Photo from The Christer Sporre Collection.

Björn sold the Chevrolet to Kent Lundqvist of Bromma in April 1976. After that, he started a family, leaving this 1957 Chevy as his first and only custom. By the late 1970s, it sported a stock hood and a two-tone red and white paint job. Photo from The Christer Sporre Collection.

By April 1982, Björn’s Chevrolet had changed hands to Åke "Lurven" Stenmark and received a gold paint job, as seen in this photo taken by Maths Pålsson.

Photo from The Maths Pålsson Collection.

In late 1982, Åke "Lurven" Stenmark sold the Chevy to Sten-Åke "Stake" Nystedt in Sundsvall, who began restoring it back to its original form. By 1984, most of Björn’s custom modifications had been removed. This photo, taken in July of that year, just a few months after Esa Juhani Muhonen purchased the car, shows the nearly stock appearance. Only the offset rear license plate and the shaved deck lid hint at its former custom legacy. Photo from The Maths Pålsson Collection.

By 1998, Bert-Ola Johnson in Bräcke had acquired the car, which has since been transformed into a Bel Air. In 2021, the only visible trace of its radical youth was the shaved deck lid. Photo from The Maths Pålsson Collection.

The front sections of Björn’s modified fenders have fortunately survived and are now part of Stefan Karlsson’s collection. One day, they may find their way back onto the car, or a faithful recreation of Björn’s old custom. Photo by Stefan Karlsson.

Featured Story - Sweden

1957 Chevrolet owned and restyled by Björn Ramsten of Stockholm, Sweden. Björn's Chevrolet emerged as a landmark in the evolution of Nordic custom car culture during the 1960s. Combining American styling cues with Swedish innovation, the car became emblematic of an era when passionate young enthusiasts in Stockholm pioneered a movement that celebrated creativity and individuality on wheels.

Background and Early Influences

Björn grew up in Fredhäll at Kungsholmen in Stockholm and developed a passion for American cars at an early age. In an interview, Björn told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama, "I got my driver’s license when I was 18, and I started driving in 1963. My first car was a Mercury 55." In 1961, Björn established The Flintstones of Hollygroff Car Club with some neighborhood kids. Clubs like The Road Devils, Car Angels, and Teddyboys were prominent in Stockholm back then. "We were 6-7 friends with cars that started a local club called The Flintstones. The Road Devils already ravaged around a bit in folk parks and such, receiving a bit of coverage. We didn’t do that. We were just interested in cars and thought it was fun. It was a guy, Nils-Erik Schullström, who was good at drawing, and he drew a plaque for us." The club name was inspired by the animated sitcom with the same name, and before they were even old enough to drive, the members had pooled together their weekly allowances and bought a 1947 Buick Convertible club car. "A lot of rust repairs, and a little bit of custom work," Björn recalled in 2021, adding that it received a red and white custom paint job that Nils-Erik had sketched on a piece of paper. "Kurre was our driver. He was a couple of years older than us, and he got his driver’s license in 1961. Back then, we used to hang out at Fredhällsfiken Freden, Solstugan, Café Bellman by Karlbergskanalen, Talluddens Cafe at the Solna side of Karlbergskanalen, and Henry’s Cafe in Skarpnäck." The popular Swedish band the HepStars used to play at Cafe Bellman in the early days of their career, Börn recalled.

In 1964, after witnessing custom cars exhibited by Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg and his brother Sven at the Scania building on Ringvägen, Björn became deeply inspired. He recalled to Kustomrama, "After that, I was obsessed with building a custom. Svenne had just completed his Burgundy FoMoCo Ford Sunliner, and that car inspired me a lot."

The Early Customization Phase

Björn’s initial ventures into customization began with minor modifications on club members’ vehicles. Tore Ström's 1954 Ford Sunliner became the first project to receive restyling work. Björn explained to Sondre Kvipt, “Nils-Erik started sketching some customized cars that we thought were cool. After that, we started restyling Tore’s Sunliner. That was the first custom we started working on in 1964.”

Björn sold his stock 1955 Mercury and turned his focus to Chevrolets. His first Chevy, a red and white 1957 two-door hardtop originally powered by an inline-six engine, soon underwent a significant transformation. Reflecting on his influences, Björn told Kustomrama, “After my first car, I stuck to Chevrolets. My first Chevy was a red and white ‘57 two-door hardtop 210 with an inline-six, which I quickly swapped for a 283. It was common back then in Stockholm to race from traffic light to traffic light. We read a lot about tuning and customizing cars in magazines such as Hot Rod, Car Craft, and Rod & Custom.” There was a newsstand at Sveavägen in Stockholm where they sold the American magazines. “There were also certain magazines from the US that I subscribed to,” Björn told Sondre, “those were delivered to our mailbox.”

Development of the Custom Build

By 1965, inspired by American magazine articles and local custom legends, Björn began implementing his ideas on the Chevy. “I started out making a scoop on an extra hood I had. A piece of sheet metal between the torpedoes and some chromed teeth from an Opel Kapitan air-intake.” During his brief period in the army from 1965 to 1966, he experimented further by fabricating a grille from gold-painted sequins. He recalled to Kustomrama, “I handmade all those sequins. Cutting out square pieces of metal that I bent before soldering on a nut and painting them in gold.”

After completing his military service in 1966, Björn dedicated himself fully to converting the car into a full custom. He tested his concepts on a Revell plastic model before scaling them up to metal. Björn’s parents were not into cars. In fact, they didn’t even have a driver’s license. But they supported their son and thought that it was cool that he was passionate about cars, so Björn’s dad helped him build a small garage at their summer place where he could work on the project. The Chevy was Björn’s only means of transportation, and as the garage was a bit out of town, he had to take the bus back and forth while he was working on it. “I got hold of some gas bottles and taught myself how to weld. I started out welding some scrap metal. After a while, it went fairly well, so I shaved the bumpers, all of the emblems, moldings, and door handles of the car.” The Chevy looked nice when Björn bought it, but it had a lot of rust that had to be repaired and replaced before he could complete the rebuild.

Inspired Bill Cushenbery and The Alexander Bros

Björn was a huge fan of Bill Cushenbery, “especially a 58 Chevy that went by the name The Limelighter. I was a huge fan of that one.” The front bumper on the Chevy was therefore scrapped in favor of a rolled pan. A new grille opening, similar to the one Cushenbery made for the Limelighter, was also fabricated from armored tubing before Björn rebuilt the front end with 1958 Chevrolet headlights and an own-designed asymmetrical hood scoop. Björn told Sondre that he believed the inspiration for the asymmetrical styling came from a Ford that the Alexander Brothers in Michigan restyled in the early 1960s. “I didn’t copy theirs, but I made my own version of it.” The front part of the hood was then welded to the fenders before a new hood opening was cut out. Round rod was used to form the outer edge of the asymmetrically themed hood.

Additional modifications included electrical solenoids that opened the shaved doors and deck lid, and a Volvo Amazon hood latch that popped open the pancaked hood. Just as the Limelighter, the grille opening received an inset made from perforated mesh. “Tube grilles had become too common in Sweden by then, so I thought, “Nah, I’m gonna make my own in perforated mesh instead.” Perforated mesh, bought at a hardware store, was cut down and sent off to chrome plating at Qvarnströms at Kungsholmen. Matching chromed perforated mesh was also installed behind the dual headlights. Ordinary accessory blinkers were mounted on the grille for safety purposes before Björn installed two solid nerf bars made from 25mm chromed round iron. “When they did construction work on the roads back then, they had these iron tins that they knocked down into the street to block off traffic. There were no concrete blocks back then. I got hold of a pair of these that I bent in a heavy vice. I did it by hand and had to heat them well to bend them. They were galvanized, so I also had to grind them before I sent them away for chrome plating." Other front-end modifications included dual sunken antennas on the driver-side fender. A key lock placed between the antennas operated the doors.

“It took a lot of sheet metal, tubing, and round rods,” Björn chuckled. “I gas welded everything before I leaded all the seams.” In the back of the car, the rear fenders were extended and modified to house 1960 Plymouth taillights. The gas-filler door was then moved into the trunk before Björn fabricated a rolled pan that housed a rear grille opening. Another treatment inspired by the great Limelighter. Chromed mesh was also installed inside the rear grille opening. The license plate was sunken into the deck lid on the driver’s side of the car. “The license plate was made like a box of milkwhite plastic. It had a light inside and I glued on black letters and numbers.”

Custom Interior and Upholstery

Inside, the front bench seat was replaced with chairs from an older, wrecked Porsche. A center console was made from plywood and covered in walnut, and a 1958 Oldsmobile steering wheel was installed along with an armrest from a 1959 Chevrolet Impala and an 8-track stereo system. The steering wheel was later replaced with a steering wheel from a 1959 Impala. Saddler Allen Brun topped the interior off with a black and white diamond pleated vinyl custom upholstery. Even the inner roof was upholstered in white vinyl with chromed bows from a 1955 Pontiac.

Performance Enhancements

When Björn bought the car, it was powered by a tired 235 cu. In. inline-six engine with a three-speed transmission. “In 1967, I got hold of a 283 with a four-port Carter carburetor, so then I removed that inline-six. I drove that for a while before figuring out that I wanted more power, so I bought a 327 short block from Bosse Kasby at BoMac Racing. Hi-comp pistons and a Z28 camshaft had already been installed when I got it, so it probably came from a Corvette or a Camaro.” Björn remembered that he loaded the short block engine into the trunk of the Chevy and drove it home to the garage. Back home, Musse Pigg heads from a Corvette were installed, along with an Offenhauser high rise intake manifold, a Holley 800 cfm 4-barrel carb, and Hooker headers. The engine received a spray-can copper paint job before Björn squeezed it into the engine compartment. “I started out installing the original 3-speed transmission with a Hurst Mystery floor shifter. A few years later I installed a 4-speed Muncie transmission. The rear end was reinforced with Traction bars and airbags.”

Exhibitions, Media Recognition, and Legacy

“The build was completed in the spring of 1967, and I drove around in grey primer for a while before leaving it at Älta Billack for a paint job sometime during the summer. When it came to the color, I went with Hunter Green Metallic, which was a 1956 Chrysler color. I went looking for colors at a company that sold car paint. I stood there looking for a long time, considering several colors before I fell in love with the Hunter Green Metallic.” Custom accessories included open-wheel spinners from Cal Custom that Björn mounted on the original rims.

Once completed, Björn’s Chevrolet became the most radical custom in the club, and a buddy of his who knew Bosse Gamen told Björn that he had to show the car to Gamen, who was the big Kustom King of Stockholm back then. “That was cool because I drove out to Öreby, where Gamen lived with his parents in a villa. When he came out and saw the car he immediately said “I see you have been inspired by Cushenbery,” Björn chuckled over the phone to Sondre. “Gamen liked my own takes on the design, and I wrote an exhibitor contract for the September Hot Rod Show in Marmorhallarna Stockholm.”

Racing Success

Displaying the Chevy at the Hot Rod Show is one of Björn’s best memories from his time with the car. Another cherished memory is the trip down to Anderstorp for the First Go. “Me and my buddies drove down. It was about 50-60 miles to drive, and it was a great adventure.” Start & Speed magazine was one of the first magazines that began writing about dragracing in Sweden, and in 1968, they came up with the idea of hosting First Go, the first official dragracing event in Sweden. Held at the newly completed Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp, there were several race fans eager to finally test their cars on the strip in the Summer of 1968. Customs were common sights at the dragstrips back then, and the cars attending were a mixture of hot rods, customs, dragsters, and standard cars. Since Björn’s car was used both on the street and on the strip, he decided to keep the stock rear end. 4.56 gears were installed when the car was raced, along with 8.00x15 inches M&H slicks. Björn believed he ran against Janne Carlsson's 1961 Ford Thunderbird in his first run. “My wheels spun too much when I took off, but I caught up on the Bird in the end, and we were pretty even over the finish line.”

In 1971, Björn’s Chevrolet gained national recognition when it was featured in Start & Speed magazine. The story was titled “50-talare med sting,” and at the time he had a 14.0-second ET with a top speed of 155 km per hour. Björn became a regular at Mantorp with the custom, and he believed he eventually reached times a little lower than what Start & Speed reported. The Cushenbery-inspired custom was Björn’s only form of transportation, and he continued to use it on the street and on the strip until 1976 when he bought a 1951 Chevrolet convertible. Wanting to spare the convertible from the snow and daily wear and tear, he also bought a 1966 Chevrolet Nova that he used as his daily winter driver.

Ownership Changes and Restoration

After Björn established a family, the vehicle was gradually phased out of regular use. In April 1976, Kent Lundqvist from Bromma purchased the Chevrolet. By the late 1970s, it had received a stock hood and a two-tone red and white paint job. A driving ban imposed on Kent in 1980 led to the car being withdrawn from public use. In July 1981, Åke "Lurven" Stenmark of Bondhagen acquired the vehicle, and by late 1982, ownership passed to Sten-Åke "Stake" Nystedt in Sundsvall. Stake began a restoration aimed at removing many of the custom modifications, a process documented in the Garage Scener-section of Start & Speed Nr.5 1983. The restored car, which retained only the shaved deck lid with its offset license plate, was sold in April 1984 to Esa Juhani Muhonen of Bispgården. Approximately 15 years later, Bert-Ola Johnson of Bräcke became the owner. Recent photographs showed that the car’s only remaining custom feature was the shaved deck lid, revealing its teenage days as a Cushenbery-inspired custom car with a sting on Kungsholmen.

Impact on Nordic Custom Culture

Björn Ramsten's 1957 Chevrolet stands as a milestone in the evolution of Nordic custom cars. Combining American styling cues with Swedish innovation, the build influenced a generation of local hot rodders and customizers. The detailed modifications—from custom grilles and asymmetrical hood scoops to innovative interior designs, were frequently referenced in historical accounts of the era and in publications dedicated to the legacy of Swedish custom car history.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Colorod Nr. 1 1971
Start & Speed Nr 10 1971
Start & Speed Nr.5 1983