Bud Unger's 1946 Ford

Bud's Ford as it appeared in 1951. Bud fit his car with a 1949 Dodge grille, and 1950 Dodge bumpers. Photo courtesy of Bud Unger.

The top on Bud's personal driver was chopped 3 inches. He didn’t want to take more out of the top as he didn’t want the top to be out of proportion with the rest of the body. After the chop, Bud fit the car with his version of a padded Carson Top. According to Bud, the unmistakable style and class of a Carson-type, padded top is the true signature of a custom car.Photo courtesy of Bud Unger.

The rear of the car was lowered by installing lowering-blocks. Photo courtesy of Bud Unger.

The interior was done in two-tone black and light cream vinyl by a local trim shop. Photo courtesy of Bud Unger.

A photo of Bud's Ford was published in Trend Book 101 Custom Cars. In the book, the car was listed as Fred Huddle's 1946 Ford.

1946 Ford Convertible owned and restyled by Bud Unger of Unger Auto Body Company in Rockville, Maryland. The top on Bud's personal driver was chopped 3 inches. He didn’t want to take more out of the top as he didn’t want the top to be out of proportion with the rest of the body. After the chop, Bud fit the car with his version of a padded Carson Top. According to Bud, the unmistakable style and class of a Carson-type, padded top is the true signature of a custom car. In the rear, the taillights were removed from the fenders and relocated to the bumper before the rear fenders were welded and leaded to the body. Bud welded and leaded so many customs through his career, that this eventually became his trademark. Up front, the parking lights were shaved and a 1949 Dodge grille and a 1950 Dodge bumper were installed. As Bud liked the groove effect the bumpers gave, he installed a 1950 Dodge bumper in the rear as well. The body was then dechromed totally before Bud gave the car a deep black 20-coat paint job. Bud preferred top paint his customs black as black reflected his custom work best. To dress up the car, Bud installed fender skirts, dual spotlights, chrome plated rock guards on the rear fenders, whitewall tires, and flipper hubcaps. The interior was done in two-tone black and light cream vinyl by a local trim shop. The build was started in 1950, after Bud had opened up his own business, Unger Auto Body Company. It was completed around 1951. Once completed, it became the Unger family car. The engine was reworked some as well. The engine block was ported and releaved, and it featured dual carburetors and dual pipes. The transmission was fit with Mercury gears. Bud remembers that his wife used to drag youngsters at the stop lights with the car. When Bud eventually moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1956, he brought the car with him. On his way down during the move, he was stopped by a highway patrolman. Bud was traveling late at night with his wife and his two children. Bud had lowering blocks on the back end of the car, and it must have looked like he had a heavy load in his car, so the patrolman asked him to pop the deck so he could look inside as he thought Bud was carrying illegal whiskey. He found nothing, and let the family get on their way again. Bud kept the car for a while after he moved to West Palm Beach. He eventually sold the car, and nobody knows what happened to it.

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Trend Book 101 Custom Cars