Frenched

Don Holland's 1941 Ford convertible of Lakewood, California. Don's Ford was restyled by Gil's Auto Body Works sometime between 1948 and 1951. It featured frenched headlights and taillights.

Gene Schilling's 1949 Chevrolet Convertible of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Customized in 1952, the car was built by Gene and his two buddies Kurt Lineau and Art Hubbard. It featured Frenched 1951 Ford headlights.

Ron Hart's 1951 Ford Club Coupe of Cincinnati, Ohio. Ron was a member of the Cincros car club, and he built the sectioned Ford in 1954. The headlights and the taillights on the car was Frenched.

Fred Rowe's 1951 Mercury Convertible, of Los Angeles, California was restyled by Barris Kustoms. The build was completed in 1953 featuring frenched headlights. A second version of the Merc, restyled in 1954 was featured in the movie Running Wild along with Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury.

Henry Dominguez's 1951 Mercury of Indio, California. Henry bought the Merc around 1952. Around 1954, he brought it to the Ayala shop to have it customized. The inspiration for the build came from Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury. The Ayalas Frenched the headlights on the car.

Ray Furgal and Ron Seaver's 1941 Ford Convertible of Tokyo, Japan. Built from a wrecked convertible, Ray and Ron were stationed in Tokyo, Japan when they built the car. The completed build was featured in the "Letters" section of Car Craft January 1955. The front fenders were molded into one piece, featuring frenched headlights.

George Egan's 1950 Ford Convertible of New Jersey. George was a member of the Drivin Deuces car club, and the first iteration of his Ford was restyled circa 1955. It featured frenched headlights.

George Contaoi's 1941 Mercury Coupe of San Bernardino, California. George was a member of the San Bernardino Krankers car club. He bought the Merc in 1952, began restyling it in 1953, and completed the build in 1956. The work was performed by George, Al Andrade, and Dick Richardson at Dick Richardson's Custom Shop, and it featured frenched headlights.

Bill Wentz's 1950 Ford "Ranchero" of Knoxville, Indiana. Bill car-truck was restyled around 1955-1956.

Jack Aberth's 1953 Studebaker of Copley, Ohio. Restyled by the Moorehead Bros of Akron, the build was completed sometime between 1953 and 1956.

Jim Genty's 1952 Ford Victoria of Miles City, Montana. Jim's Ford, named "Nugget", was restyled by Jim and some friends in 1957. Frenching the headlights was one of the first modifications Jim performed on the car.

Jerry DeVito's 1957 Ford Fairlane of San Jose, California. The first version of Jerry's Ford, known as the Maze, was restyled in 1957, featuring custom body work and paint by Wirth's Body Shop, and a scallop paint job by Joe Crisafulli of J & J Auto Painting. The Maze featured frenched headlights.

Dan and Ken Hiramoto's 1941 Buick Century convertible of Cleveland, Ohio. Built by Dan and Ken, the car went trough several iterations between 1951 and 1962. This photo shows the Raven version of the car as it appeared in 1958. The car received frenched headlights around 1957 - 1958.

George Jezek's 1949 Chevrolet 2-Door Sedan of West, Texas. Jezek was a local pinstriper and a founding member of the Eliminators of West car club. Known as The Candy Cart, Jezek's Chevrolet went through several modifications during the late 1950s and the 1960s. He purchased it in 1958, and one of the first modifications he did was frenching in the stock headlights.

Andrew "Drew" Jackson's 1959 Chevrolet Impala of Long Beach, California. This photo shows the "Five Line" version of the car as it appeared in the early 1970s.

Cars Featuring Frenched Headlights

David Engemann's 1939 Ford Convertible - The Dream Catcher
Dan and Ken Hiramoto's 1941 Buick Century Convertible - Raven
Don Holland's 1941 Ford Convertible
Ray Furgal and Ron Seaver's 1941 Ford Convertible
George Contaoi's 1941 Mercury Coupe
Gene Schilling's 1949 Chevrolet Convertible
George Jezek's 1949 Chevrolet 2-Door Sedan - The Candy Cart
Bill Wentz's 1950 Ford "Ranchero"
George Egan's 1950 Ford Convertible - The Apollo
Tom Griffin's 1950 Ford
Ron Hart's 1951 Ford Club Coupe
Fred Rowe's 1951 Mercury Convertible
Henry Dominguez's 1951 Mercury
Jim Genty's 1952 Ford Victoria - Nugget
Jack Aberth's 1953 Studebaker
Jerry DeVito's 1957 Ford Fairlane - The Maze
Andrew "Drew" Jackson's 1959 Chevrolet Impala - "Five Line"

Cars Featuring Frenched Taillights

David Engemann's 1939 Ford Convertible - The Dream Catcher
Tom Griffin's 1950 Ford
Ron Hart's 1951 Ford Club Coupe
Jack Aberth's 1953 Studebaker