Harry Rusbach Jr's 1941 Ford

The coupe as it appeared in 1988, when Harry bought it. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

A photo of Harry with the coupe. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

An early version of the coupe running fender skirts, shortened side trim and a filled in center grille. This photo was taken at the 1990 Sled Scene East. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

A Grey primered version of the coupe as it appeared later on in 1990. This version ran dual Appleton sptlights and no front bumper. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

A photo of Harry and his buddy Frank Bedacht taken during the chop in 1990. The car was driven daily the whole time, and in 2017 Harry's son, Chris told Kustomtama that his dad and 3 friends chopped it in 3 days; "They started on Friday, and on Monday morning dad drove it to work again." Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

It was Frank Bedacht, Bill Abate and "Big Al" Hawley that assisted Harry on the chop. They took 4 inches out of the front, and 4 1/2 inches in the rear. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

The coupe as it sat in March of 2007, when Chris bought it from Mark Wojcik. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Chris and his brother Harry with their dad's old custom in 2008. Photo by Ray Soff, courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo by Ray Soff, courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Chris' coupe at Kustomrama's first Customs by the Sea car show in Wildwood, New Jersey in 2014. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Chris' entering Kustomrama's second annual Customs by the Sea car show in Wildwood, New Jersey with the coupe in 2015. Photo by Richard Toonkel.

The coupe displayed at the 2015 Customs by the Sea car show. Photo by Richard Toonkel.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

After a 10 year long rebuild the coupe was finally ready for paint in June of 2016. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Harry painting the car. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Chris and Harry with the coupe in the paint booth. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Chris' coupe as it appeared after he and Harry had painted it. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo by Richard Toonkel.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

The coupe at a Northern New Jersey custom car gathering at Ray Soff's house. Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo courtesy of Chris Rusbach.

Photo by Richard Toonkel.

Chris' Ford was one of the Featured Registrations for the 2017 Customs by the Sea car show in Wildwood, New Jersey. Visit www.customsbythesea.com for more information.

Chris' Ford at the 2017 Customs by the Sea car show in Wildwood, New Jersey. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.

1941 Ford coupe owned by Kustom Knights car club member Harry Rusbach Jr of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Harry bought the coupe as a beaten stocker in 1988. After buying it, he got it back on the road, and began using it as his daily driver. The car was mildly restyled, and Harry fit it with fender skirts, shortened side trim and a filled in center grille. This version was painted flat black.

The Three Day Chop

In 1990 Harry decided to give the coupe a haircut. By then it had been primered Grey, and it ran dual Appleton spotlights and flipper hubcaps. The car was driven daily the whole time, and in 2017 Harry's son, Chris told Kustomrama that his dad and 3 friends chopped the car in 3 days; "They started on Friday, and on Monday morning dad drove it to work again." It was Frank Bedacht, Bill Abate and "Big Al" Hawley that assisted Harry on the chop. They took 4 inches out of the front, and 4 1/2 inches in the rear.

Sold to Rusty

In 1999 Harry sold the car to Rusty Damn. In 2002 Harry passed away. Rusty passed away shortly after Harry, and his business partner Mark Wojcik inherited the car. Mark began restyling the front end on the car, installing a Cadillac grille.

Dad's 41

In March of 2007 the late Harry Rusbach Jr's son, Chris, bought the car back from Mark. "It was in a rough shape when I bought it back, but it did start right up after it had been sitting for a few years. This was the beginning of a huge undertaking to make the car solid again and finish it to how I thought my late father would have wanted it," Chris told Kustomrama in 2017. The first thing Chris and his brother Harry did to the car after he got it back, was to remove the Cadillac grille. A couple of months later the car was back on the road again.

Somethin' Else

After a 10 year long rebuild, the car finally received a glossy paint job in June of 2016. Named "Somethin' Else," after the Eddie Cochran song, the entire car, including body, frame and driveline had then been redone and improved. After the bodywork had been completed, Chris' brother Harry gave the car a dark Purple paint job.