Gary Glenn's 1950 Mercury convertible. This was Gary's first car; "I sold my Allstate scooter and paid $200 for this
1950 Mercury convertible. The year was
1959 and I was in love with this car and Terri. I was already pinstriping dashboards and lettering names on friends cars. My dad gave me $1.00 each morning. 50 cents for 2 gallons of gas at Charlies Zepher Station on Michigan Ave, and 50 cents for hamburger, fries, and coke at McDonalds on north U.S. 27. I tried my best to do a "
Larry Watson" panel paint on that Merc. My girlfriend upholstered that car in white naugahyde , sewing rolls and pleats on mom's sewing machine."
[1] Photo courtesy of
Gary Glenn.
Back in
1961 Gary used a
1930 Ford Model A sedanbody for a dog house. When he sold it, he delivered it tied to the top of his first sign-truck, a
1952 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery. Photo courtesy of
Gary Glenn.
Gary's second shop was located on Rosemary Street in
Lansing. Gary stayed there from
1968 -
1977. Photo courtesy of
Gary Glenn.
A photo of Gary's dragster from
1969; "In this photo the car was bright yellow with white graphics.....copying my favorite dragster at the time.."Greer-Black-and Prudhomme."
[1]
Gary's second Model T roadster. Gary bought the car from
Don Kendall in
Chicago in
1973. Gary sold the roadster at the
1975 Tulsa Nationals. He took the money and bought a new Chevy Van off the showroom floor. He immediately chopped it 8 inches. The Northstar was born. Photo courtesy of
Gary Glenn.
George Barris,
Jerry Drake and Gary at the
1982 Detroit Autorama. Jerry was three years older than Gary, and he was his best friend and role model; "Jerry was a very accomplished striper and signpainter. I was jealous because he did all the guy's from Sexton with new Pontiacs and custom cars from
Cooper Body Shop, while I mostly did the poor guy's older cars from Eastern. I watched and learned every move he made. Jerry got me connected with
Carl Casper. It's ironic but if
Jerry Drake wouldn't have STOPPED painting, I certainly wouldn't have had the success that my life was. He sorta "handed" me this town in
1960 or so. Great guy!!"
[1] Photo courtesy of
Gary Glenn.
Gary ended up having two shops in Southern
California. The second one was on Katella Blvd. in
Stanton; "
I grabbed Bob Goellner right out of L.A. Trade Tech and he ran the Stanton shop for 3 years for me. I finally sold the business to him cause I was closing the Orange location, because of those vinyl guys killing the truck lettering business for me." Photo courtesy of
Gary Glenn.
Gary Glenn (1941 - 2013) was a custom painter and pinstriper from Lansing, Michigan. In the 1960s Gary and Jerry "Spider the Crazy Painter" Drake were bitter rivals as custom car painters and pinstripers in their hometown of Lansing. Over the years they found out that they had a lot in common, so when Jerry quit painting in the early 1970s he sent a lot of work Gary's way.[2]
In 1971 Gary founded the Mid-Michigan Street Rod Association.
In 1976 Gary bought a brand new Chevrolet Van off the showroom floor. He chopped the top on the brand new van 8 inches, before he turned it into a show car called the "North Star." The "North Star" was featured on the cover of Popular Hot Rodding July 1976; "Less than a year later, I repainted and re-did the interior." The new version was named the "Warlock."
In March of 1977 Gary moved to California, and he opened up a shop in Orange.
The "Warlock" version of Gary's van was used in the movie "Rock 'n' Roll High School," featuring the Ramones.
Gary eventually moved back to Lansing again, where he opened up a new shop.
Gary died October 29, 2013 of a massive heart attack. He was 72.
Gary Glenn's Cars
Gary Glenn's 1957 Ford
Gary Glenn's 1958 Pontiac
Gary Glenn's 1964 Pontiac
Cars Pinstriped or Painted by Gary Glenn
Carl Casper's Pinball Wizard
Evel Knievel's Wheel Standing Dragster
Bill Taorimina's 1956 Ford F-100 Truck
Gary Feltski's 1957 Chevrolet
References
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