Bo Sandberg

An early photo of Gamen, as he is checking out Roland Larsson's 1932 Ford roadster. One of the first channeled hot rods of Sweden. Photo courtesy of Leif Hultdin.

In 1961 Gamen bought this 1932 Ford 5-Window coupe from a junkyard in Norway. He sold the rusted body to his brother Sven who used it for his Glowing Coupe build. Photo courtesy of Sven and Maude Sandberg, from Spoca.se.

Bo Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird. This version of Gamen's first Thunderbird was completed in 1962.

Gamen painting flames on Hans Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1938 Chevrolet in 1962. This photo was taken in Gamen's garage in Flensvägen in Örby. Photo courtesy of Sven and Maude Sandberg, from Spoca.se.

A Mercury custom that Gamen owned in 1963. The front bumper on the car came from Hans Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1957 DeSoto. Gamen had also painted flamed on the 1939 Ford in the photo. The photo was taken outside Henry's Fik, in 1998 it was published in Nostalgia 2 1998.

The Surfin Bird version of Bo Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird was completed in 1964.

Sven Sandberg's 1956 Ford Sunliner convertible of Stockholm, Sweden. Sven's Sunliner was completed in 1964, featuring a Burgundy Mist paint job by Gamen.

Bo Sandberg's 1923 Ford Model T Roadster, Purple Passion. The build was completed around 1965.

Sven Sandberg's 1932 Ford 5-Window coupe of Stockholm, Sweden. Sven started the build, known as the Glowing Coupe, in 1961. The first version was shown in 1965, featuring a paint job by Gamen.

Arne Lindstrand's 1955 Chevrolet of Stockholm, Sweden. Arne's Chevrolet was restyled in the early 1960s. This is how it appeared at the Hot Rod Show in Stockholm in 1966, featuring a turquoise paint job by Gamen.

Göran Silfors' 1936 Ford Sedan of Sweden as it appeared in 1965, featuring a flame paint job by Gamen.

Bo Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird of Stockholm, Sweden. Named The Wild Bird, Bo's Thunderbird was completed and made its debut in 1966. Bo ran a customs, paint, and parts shop in Älvsjö, Sweden, called Yankee Customs.

Bo Sandberg's Cool Cat. The Cool Cat was a customized Jaguar E-Type built by Gamen. The build was completed in 1967, featuring a a red and pink Metalflake paint job.

The blue Metalflaked 1962 Ducati 125cc in this photo from the 1968 Hot Rod Show belonged to Ted Westerfors. The four stroke motorbike featured a custom seat, custom tank, and sparkling Metalflake paint job by Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg. "Also a lot of polished aluminum," Ted told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2019. Photo from the P.A. Flink Photo Collection.

Bo, Mette and Lee Sandberg on the Trike 'Monsieur de Paris'.

Gamen started Colorod Magazine.

Ludmila and Bo together with Sven and Joakim Sandberg and Göran Silfors. Norrtälje 1976. Photo Mats Wallander

A greeting card from Gamen's 50 year birthday. Photo courtesy of Bengt Wennergren.

Bo "Gamen" Sandberg (13 December 1939 – 15 December 1994) of Stockholm, Sweden. Bo was born in 1939, and he had been to the United States at an early age, as his dad ran a forwarding company, and Sven sometime was allowed to travel with his dad on the chartered planes.

The Sandberg family lived in an apartment at Svarvargatan Kungsholmen in Stockholm. Bo had many nicknames, and was known as both "Bosse" and "Gamen" (Vulture). He had a big interest in birds as a kid therefore the name "Gamen".
His younger brother Sven Sandberg also became a big custom car builder.

At age 14 Gamen began buying and restoring mopeds. After a while he started to customize the mopeds, giving them a personal touch. When he got his drivers license, he swapped the mopeds for cars. Gamen grew early an interest for the American car culture, and already in 1957 he founded The Road Devils, a "raggar-club." When Gamen went to the US with his dad, he brought magazines and stuff back home, to himself, and to his friends.

Bo was a driving force behind the second generation of Swedish hot rodders and customizers.
Bo is probably the most influential and inspiring person in Swedish Rod and Custom history.

When he was old enough, Gamen moved from their parents on Svarvargatan 8, Kungsholmen, to a house at Flensvägen 27 in Örby, Älvsjö.

Around 1964 / 1965 Bo and Göran Silfors started a custom parts company and body shop called Yankee Junk. The name of the company was not popular overseas, so they changed name to Yankee Custom Parts.

Bo worked for a while at Ernst Nilsson, a Volvo repair shop in Stockholm. Later on, he also started the Swedish rod and custom magazine Colorod.
He ran the magazine from his shop at his home at Flensvägen 27 in Örby.

Bo married 1965 with Mette Njös. She did some paint work on the cars and also helped with upholstery work. Together they got the sons Lee Sandberg (b. 1966) and Leo Sandberg (b. 1969). Bo and Mette separated in April 1973 and Bo met Ludmila. They lived a short time in England and in Spånga when they returned to Sweden. In Spånga he had a garage at Rinkebyplan.

He was an 'Associate' in the famous club L.A. Roadsters.

Bo passed away unexpectedly at a home dinner in December 1994. His main artery broke. After his death his son Lee Sandberg inheritated the T-23 Hot Rod.

In 2020 Mats Lilja told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that he used to live near to Gamen's place in Örby in his early teens. "Me and some of my friends used to hang outside his workshop, and I particularly remember the trike that he had. Gamen had made a poster of him and his wife posing on the trike and I got one of those from him. I was very proud," Lilja recalled, adding that it was a very big thing for a 13-year-old boy. According to Lilja, the rumor was that the trike was the first trike ever built in Sweden. By then, Gamen's dad was running Vasa Päls, the biggest fur dealer in Stockholm and Sweden.

Some of Bo Sandberg's vehicles

Bo Sandberg's 1923 Ford Model T Roadster - Purple Passion
Bo Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird - Surfin Bird
Bo "Gamen" Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird - Wild Bird
Bo Sandberg's Cool Cat
Monsieur de Paris. Trike with VW engine
Project Trans-Am. Trike with Porsche engine

Cars Painted by Bo Sandberg

Sven Sandberg's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe - The Glowing Coupe
Göran Silfors' 1936 Ford Sedan
Hans Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1938 Chevrolet Convertible
Arne Lindstrand's 1955 Chevrolet
Sven Sandberg's 1956 Ford Sunliner Convertible

Motorbikes Painted by Bo Sandberg

Ted Westerfors' 1962 Ducati 125CC