James Hetfield's 1936 Ford
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe restyled by Blue Collar Customs for Beatniks member and Metallica frontman James Hetfield. The first version of the car was built by Blue Collar Customs in 5 weeks and debuted at the 2006 Cruisin' Nationals in Paso Robles. This version of the coupe featured a 5 inch chopped top and a brand new suspension, replacing the lame Camaro subframe and 5 inch lowering blocks it already had. Scott Mugford C-notched the frame 8 inches, put in dropped spindles, and and installed airbags. James Hetfield did some of the work on the car himself such as shaving the stock horn grills. [1] James also tig welded the chains that were supports for the grille. Later the same year, Scott Mugford created a one-piece hood for the car. In the same operation he had to redo the headers in order to make the hood fit.[2]
In 2008 James' Coupe was back at the shop and the guys at Blue Collar Customs were now ready to turn the ratty coupe in to a real show stopper. A new roof was hand formed in order to make it fit the shape of the car better. The trunk lid was opened up in order to match the rear body line more closely. The hood was unified into a one piece unit and the hood sides were built from scratch and and louvered on a Pullmax machine. The grille, door opening, quarter glass and floor were also hand built from sheet metal. E&J headlights were used up front; in the rear, the car was fit with taillights made from 1936 Dodge horn covers. The stock grill was used to cover the lenses. The chassis was rebuilt and fit with a custom steering column made from a 1952 Chevrolet piece. After two years in the making, the car was handed over to James in August, 2010. When James got it it was drivable, but not finished. The plan is to paint the car in glossy black after showing it in its bare metal beauty for a while.[3]
Donated to the Petersen Automotive Museum
In 2019 Hetfield donated the '36 and 9 other cars to the Petersen Automotive Museum where it will be displayed among other Metallica memorabilia. The Hetfield collection will go on display starting in February 2020.[4]
References
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