Illinois

William J. Unger's 1949 Cadillac Convertible of Chicago, Illinois. Built from a fusion of General Motors parts, the build was completed in 1950. It gained national recognition when it was featured in Motor Trend October 1950. In 1951, two photos of the car appeared in Trend Book 101 Custom Cars, in an article named "Customs With Character - A Lineup of Cars With Singular Personalities."

Howard Mitchell's 1930 Ford 5-Window Coupe - The Alazane

Joe Tully's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe of Dixon, Illinois. Tully was a member of the Blackhawk Rod and Custom club. He built the coupe in the 1950s, and the iteration seen here was raced at the The World Series of Drag Racing in Lawrence, Illinois in 1956.

Russell Gerrits 1931 Ford Roadster

Joaquin Arnett's 1934 Ford 3-window coupe of San Diego, California was completed in 1951. Joaquin sold the coupe to Andy Granatelli of Chicago, Illinois shortly after it was completed.

Jim Tepstra of Roselle, Illinois bought Bob Benn's 1936 Ford 3 Window Coupe after Bob was killed in a car accident.

Jim Galvin's 1949 Ford Tudor of Ottawa, Illinois. Galvin is an original member of the Illinois Valley Mis-Fires car club. He built the Ford in his backyard, starting the build in 1958. By 1959, the car had been painted blue with a scallop paint job and a chopped top.

Don Provance's 1957 Ford Fairlane of Oak Lawn, Illinois. Don started restyling the car as soon as he brought it home from the dealer. It underwent numerous modifications, primarily at Liddle's Auto Body in Alsip, Illinois, under the expertise of George Liddle and Jack Detmars. This photo shows a captivating purple paint job. It had been nosed and decked, and distinct modifications included the integration of 1956 Ford F-100 headlight doors and a 1954 Chevrolet grille. Accessory additions encompassed dual spotlights, 1957 Plymouth hubcaps, and fender skirts.

Rich Vachata's 1936 Ford Convertible of Berwyn, Illinois. Rich was a member of the Bearing Busters of Berwyn, and the other members in the club helped him build the car. The first version was completed in 1959. In 1960 fellow club member Dave Puhl gave the car a scallop paint job. This version of the car was named the Beach Comber.

Tom Gibbons' 1949 Ford Tudor - The Orchid Lady of Morris, Illinois. Gibbons bought the car from Jim Galvin in 1960. They completed the build together, turning it into The Orchid Lady.

Ron Volpe's 1957 Ford Convertible of La Salle, Illinois. Ron was a member of the Illinois Valley Mis-Fires. Between the years 1960 and 1963 he took the car through five different stages. This photo shows a mild iteration of the car as it appeared circa 1960.

Ron Volpe's 1957 Ford Convertible of La Salle, Illinois. Ron was a member of the Illinois Valley Mis-Fires. Between the years 1960 and 1963, he took the car through five different stages. This photo shows a mild iteration of the car as it appeared circa 1961. By then, the car had received quad headlights.

Ron Volpe's 1957 Ford Convertible of La Salle, Illinois. Ron was a member of the Illinois Valley Mis-Fires. Between the years 1960 and 1963, he took the car through five different stages. This photo shows an iteration of the car that debuted in 1962.

Don Provance's 1957 Ford Fairlane of Oak Lawn, Illinois. The second iteration of the car, known as "Gold Digger," was completed circa 1962-1963. This version was upgraded with dual headlights integrated with scoops containing forward-pointing sunken antennas. It did also roll on chromed and reversed wheels.

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Ron Volpe's 1957 Ford Convertible of La Salle, Illinois. Ron was a member of the Illinois Valley Mis-Fires. Between the years 1960 and 1963, he took the car through five different stages. This photo shows the fifth and most radical iteration of the car that was restyled in 1963. By then, the car had received an asymmetrical scoop on the hood, radiused wheel wells, and a fogged paint job.

Miles Masa's 1962 Chevrolet Impala of Downers Grove, Illinois. Restyled from a wreck in 1963, the car was shown as "The Stardust."

Glenn Johnson's 1937 Ford Coupe of Las Vegas, Nevada. The build was started in 1947, and completed it in 1951. Joe Bortz of Highland Park, Illinois bought the car around 2007.

Don Compton's 1939 Chevrolet Business Coupe, of East St. Louis.

John Vara's 1941 Ford Convertible was restyled by Barris Kustoms in 1948. John sold the car to Johnny Zaro of Maywood, California before the build was completed. Russ Erlinger of Belleville, Illinois bought the car in 1953.

Paul Champlin's 1941 Ford Convertible, of Russel, Illinois, was restyled by Ray Birky of Antioch.

George Jameson's 1942 Plymouth Coupe

Larry Grobe's 1946 Ford - The Voodoo Idol

B. H. Martin's 1948 DeSoto, of Illinois.

Milton Depuy's 1949 Ford of Cleveland, Ohio was restyled around 1956. Russel Standish of Tinley Park, Illinois bought the car in 1964.

Nick Kolbasuk's 1949 Ford

Gene Howard's 1950 Buick

Wally Troy's 1950 Oldsmobile Convertible, the Troy Special, was built in 1952.

Ed Webster's 1951 Buick Convertible

Hank Katzenmaler's 1951 Ford Tudor, of Dacatur, Illinois was built by its owner.

Mandy Holder's 1951 Mercury

Ron Volpe's 1951 Mercury

1952 Spohn Palos

Wally Troy's 1953 Buick Convertible, The Troy Custom, was built by Wally Troy of Springfield, Illinois. The build was completed in 1954.

Jim Lucenti's 1953 Chevrolet Convertible

Joe McGann's 1953 Oldsmobile 98 Convertible

Jim Laughead's 1951 Chevrolet Bel-Air of Chicago, Illinois. Jim's Chevrolet was restyled by Vince Kane Body Shop sometime between 1955 and 1957.

Sam Volpe's 1955 Chevrolet

Sam Volpe's 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air

Ron Volpe's 1957 Ford Convertible

Ritchie Essel's 1957 Oldsmobile Convertible

Ray Strappazon's 1958 Chevrolet Impala

Miles Masa's 1962 Chevrolet Impala of Downers Grove, Illinois. Restyled from a wreck in 1963, the car was shown as "The Stardust." Miles rebuilt the car into the "Goofy Grape" around 1966-1967.

Bernie Mordawski's 1940 Mercury Convertible of Mundelein, Illinois. William Day of New Albany, Indiana bought the channeled custom from Bernie in 1971. Back then he was told that the car was built by Barris in 1956.

Jim Seaton's 1955 Chevrolet of Santa Maria, California. The car was restyled by Barris Kustoms 1957 - 1958. Joe Bortz of Highland Park bought the old custom sometime after 1975.

George Barris' 1963 Buick Riviera of Encino, California. George, who owned and operated Barris Kustom City in North Hollywood, California, designed the car himself. Known as "The Villa Riviera Buick," the build was completed in 1963. In 1964 a white iteration of the car appeared in the popular Surf-movie "For Those Who Think Young." Russell Johnson of Chicago, Illinois bought the car from George in 1983.

Gene Winfield's 1961 Cadillac Coupe DeVille - Maybellene

Dan Woods' Milk Truck

Darrel Panfil's Munster Koach is a tribute to the original Munster Koach that Barris Kustoms built for The Munsters television series in 1964. Since he was a 10 yr old kid, Darrel Panfil of Lombard, Illinois watched The Munsters and was infatuated with The Munster Koach. He started researching details in 1991. In 2003 he started the build. With good help from his three brothers, the build was completed in 2005.