Dean Jeffries

Dean Jeffries working "hard" in front of his 1947 Mercury. The girl is his high school sweetheart Carol Lewis. Photo by George Barris.

Jeffries - Modern Pin Striping. This card popped up for sale on eBay. Dean learned the art of pinstriping from Von Dutch. He lived around the corner from Barris Kustoms, and this business card dates back to when he was striping out of Barris Kustoms in Lynwood. Photo from The Kustomrama Business Card Collection.

One of Jeffries own logos.

A photo of Dean Jeffries' 1947 Mercury convertible taken outside Barris Kustoms in 1957. Photo from The George Contaoi Photo Collection.

Philip Sauers' 1951 Mercury, also known as Sashta, was restyled by Jeffries and pinstriped by Von Dutch. The build was started in 1953, and completed December 24, 1954.

George Cerny's 1950 Plymouth Suburban was restyled around 1954. Jeffries pinstriped the car for Cerny. It was supposedly the second thing he ever pinstriped.

Jeffries painted the name "Little Bastard" and the number 130 on James Dean's 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder.

Jeffries pinstriped Anne De Valle's 1942 Ford Club Coupe

Jeffries pinstriped Louie Bettancourt's 1949 Mercury for its current owner Johnny Zupan in 1956. Zupan's Merc was that first car ever that Jeffries pinstriped for George Barris. Jeffries later inherited the Merc after Zupan was killed in an accident in the 1960s or 1970s.

Jeffries did all of the striping on George Sein's 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe, The Flamer.

"Exhibit of Honour - National Roadster Show - Oakland 1956." A detail shot of the Dean Jeffries striped Moon-tank in George Sein's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe. Photo from The Chuck Edwall Photo Collection.

Jeffries painted the firewall and dashboard on Ron Guidry's 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe, while Art Summers did all of the pinstriping on the body. In December of 1957, Ron left his coupe in the Barris shop so Jeffries could apply a custom paint job on the car. Unfortunately the car was lost in the tragic Barris shop fire December 6th, 1957.

George Janich's 1941 Ford coupe received pinstripes by Jeffries in the mid 1950s, for its current owner Paul Janich.

James J. Pacera's 1949 Ford Tudor was restyled by Don's Custom Shop in the mid 1950s. Jeffries pinstriped the car for James.

Jeffries pinstriped Lyle Lake's 1952 Buick, The Blue Danube, in white and copper in the mid 1950s.

Jeffries pinstriped Mando's 1950 Chevrolet in the mid 1950s.

Jeffries gave Larry Lorenzo's 1950 Mercury Convertible a flame paint job.

Ed Russell's 1952 Mercury was restyled and painted Candy red by Joe Bailon of Bailon Custom Shop. Jeffries applied gold scallops on the car at Barris Kustoms in the mid 1950s.

Sandy Kroll's 1953 Chevrolet was restyled by Frank Sonzogni and Schelhaas Custom Shop in the mid 1950s. The painting was done by George Newton, and the pinstriping was by Jeffries.

Bob Baker's 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air was pinstriped by Jeffries in the mid 1950s.

George Long's 1955 Chevrolet was pinstriped and flamed by Jeffries in the mid 1950s.

Bill Burnett's 1955 Ford Crown Victoria was scalloped and pinstriped by Dean Jeffries around 1955/1956.

Norm Grabowski's 1922 Ford Model T-Bucket of Sunland, California. The Kookie T iteration of Norm's Model T-Bucket was completed in 1956 featuring a Dean Jeffries flame paint job. In 1958 this iteration became a TV star, appearing in the popular series "77 Sunset Strip." As a result of the exposure, Norms T-Bucket became the most famous hot rod in the country, inspiring dozens of imitators while creating a whole new class of hot rods.

Butch Johnson's 1954 Mercury Convertible was pinstriped by Jeffries in the mid 1950s.

Jeffries pinstriped Martin Srabian and Morris Srabian's 1954 Ford Pickup, The Wild Kat, around 1956.

Jeffries pinstriped Buck Gallegos' 1953 Mercury areound 1956/1957.

Jeffries pinstriped Joe Gruppie's 1953 Oldsmobile in the mid 1950s.

Herb Conway's 1954 Mercury of Lynwood, California. Herb bought the Merc in December of 1954. He had Kinch's Body Shop paint it, before Earl Harman and Dean Jeffries pinstriped it.

Jeffries pinstriped Mandy Holder's 1951 Mercury around 1956.

Carol Lewis' 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air received a flame paint job by Jeffries around 1956/1957. Carol was Jeffries high school sweetheart and girlfriend.

George Contaoi's 1955 Ford F-100 of San Bernardino, California, was restyled by Dick Richardson's Custom Shop and Barris Kustoms in 1956. Von Dutch striped it and made a mural on the tailgate along with Dean Jeffries.

Jeffries pinstriped Frank Monteleone's 1956 Ford convertible around 1956/1957.

Jerry Woodward's 1929 Ford Model-A Roadster, "Thunder Road", was completed in 1957 featuring pinstriping by Tommy the Greek and a mural on the glove box by Jeffries. Jerry won the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award with the car at the 1957 National Roadster Show in Oakland.

By June of 1957, Tom Hocker's 1940 Ford Coupe had received a Sky Mist Blue Metallic paint job with scallops by Jeffries.

Jeffries scalloped the Rod & Custom Magazine’s Dream Truck in 1957.

Junior Conway's 1950 Ford was scalloped and pinstriped by Dean Jeffries around 1957.

Richard Axcell's 1955 Ford F-100 truck received gold and copper scallops by Jeffries around 1957/1958.

Jeffries painted the body on Johnny Zupan's 1956 Ford F-100 green and gold metallic with Lime Green, Silver and Rust colored scallops around 1957/1958.

Dick Jackson's 1957 Ford of Compton, California was restyled late in 1956 or early in 1957. Dick, who started out at Barris Kustoms ran his own shop Advanced Custom Paints in Compton, California when the Ford was restyled. Jeffries pinstriped the Merc for Dick.

Jeffries applied the gold scallops on Dick Jackson's 1957 Ford Thunderbird around 1958.

Jeffries pinstriped Richard Peters' 1929 Ford Model A Pickup, The Ala Kart, in 1958.

Bill and Bob Glazier's 1953 Oldsmobile Convertible from North Bend, Washington, restyled by Barris Kustoms in 1958. Originally yellow, it was transformed into a Candy Apple Red custom with quad headlights, Packard taillights, a continental kit, and Dean Jeffries applied scallops and pinstriping. Stored away in the early 1970s, it resurfaced in 2024, catching the attention of Chip Foose, who cleaned up and woke up the iconic piece of custom history.

Dean Jeffries' 1956 Porsche 356 Carrera of Lynwood, California, was restyled by Dean. He bought the car after selling his 1947 Mercury in 1957. The build was completed around 1958/1959.

This version of Jim Doyle's 1952 Mercury Convertible featured a Candy Apple and Pearl panel paint job by Jeffries. The paint job was applied in 1959.

Bill Merrill's 1959 Chevrolet Corvette of Thermopolis, Wyoming. Bill got the Corvette in 1959, while he was a junior in high school. He lived in La Jolla, California for a short while in the spring of 1959, and he had Dean Jeffris lay a panel paint job on the car. Unfortunately, the car was vandalized and the hood was damaged. Jeffries came down to La Jolla and picked up the car to fix the damage and painted the Corvette candy apple red with a gold underbase. The side panel was left gold with a clear coat covering it.

Jeffries gave John Benson's 1956 Chevrolet a scallop paint job in the late 1950s.

Genuine George Barris Car Stripes. A set of decals featuring pinstriping designs by Dean Jeffries. This set, signed by George Barris, was advertised for sale on eBay in March of 2020. The Buy it Now price was US $99.00, but the auction ended receiving a US $75 winning bid. Click here to check out the listing.

A Dean Jeffries Custom Designed Striping Brush Kit by Accessories International. This set was advertised for sale on eBay in March of 2020. The auction ended March 20, receiving a winning bid of US $809. Click here to check out the auction listing on eBay.

Manuel Gonzalez's Californian of Wilmington, California. Manuel's blown Chevrolet dragster was built by Allen Murdersbach. Started in 1959, the build featured an aluminum body by Bob Sorrell that Dean Jeffries painted Candy Apple Red and Pearlescent White. Don Prosser performed he engine work, and the build was completed sometime around 1960.

Jeffries Studio of Style - Color Specialist - Flaming - Striping. This card was donated by Howard Gribble. Howard and his buddies used to cut class and head for Kustomland, visiting cool shops in the area. In the late 1950s, Jeffries saw a demand for his business growing to compete with Barris instead of complementing Barris, and when Howard got this card, Jeffries had left Barris and moved into his own shop at 5807 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Photo courtesy of The Kustomrama Business Card Collection.

In 1960 Jeffries advertised the Porsche for sale in Road & Track September 1960. By then, his shop, named Jeffries Studio of Style, was located at 5807 Sunset Blvd., in Hollywood, California.

An ad for Jeffries' Studio of Style from 1960.

Ford Motor Company comissioned Dean to build the 1962 Ford Cougar 406 Concept Car.

The Mantaray was built by Dean Jeffries. The build was started in 1963.

In 2009 Motorbooks published the book Dean Jeffries 50 Fabulous Years in Hot Rods, Racing and Film. The book was authoed by Tom Cotter. Check price and availability on Amazon.com - Check price and availability on eBay.

A photo of Dean Jeffries with his 1965 Ford GT Competition Prototype Roadster taken before it was sold in 2013. Jeffries' GT was one of just 5 roadsters originally built by Ford Advanced Vehicles and in 2018 it was one of just two that had survived. Jeffries bought the car in 1968 after Ford retired it. He did some modifications to the car, and it stayed that way until it was sold to Dana Mecum. After he sold it, the car underwent a concours-quality restoration. Photo courtesy of Jack Walter.

Edward "Dean" Jeffries (February 25, 1933 - May 5, 2013) is a legendary pinstriper, custom painter and custom fabricator. Dean was born in Lynwood, California. As a pinstriper he was known as "The Modern Painter". Dean was the middle child between an older sister, Darlene, and Evon that was born a year later. His father's name was Edward James Jeffries, and his mother's name was Viola Allison Jeffries.

Dean grew up across the street from legendary Indianapolis 500 racer Troy Ruttman. Dean's father Edward was also wrenching on midget racers and race cars, so racing became a passion for Dean early in life. In the book Dean Jeffries 50 Fabulous Years in Hot Rods, Racing and Film Dean tells that throughout his life he has considered himself more a racer than a hot rodder. As his father he was more interested in the design and construction of race cars than in driving them.

Growing up in the Compton area, Dean lived around the corner from Barris Kustoms. After school he used to hang around the shop looking at the cars. He attended Lynwood High with Dick Jackson, who also hung around the shop.

Jeffries left high school at the age of 17, through a special arrangement with the armed services Dean left school and went directly in to the army. Dean was sent to the U.S. facilities in Sanhoffen, Germany where he was assigned as a map maker. During his time in Sanhoffen Dean bought his first car, an old Horch. He used the car to tour Europe in the weekends.

During his stay in Germany Dean became friend with an older German man who painted stripes on pianos and custom furniture. The man thought Dean the art of striping using thin brushes and a steady hand. Once Dean had learned the trade it didn't take long time before his Horch was pinstriped from bumper to bumper. Dean was now eager to return to Lynwood and start his own business. By doing some repair work for an officer in the map department, Dean was able to return home after only one year.

Back home Dean got a job in the evening at a machine shop in Compton, California. The job learned him to operate milling machines, lathes, and drill presses. Dean worked night so he could spend his days looking over the shoulders of masters like George Cerny, Sam Barris, and Von Dutch. Dean spent a lot of time around Von Dutch, and the pair became known as Von Dutch and "The Kid". In the book Dean Jeffries 50 Fabulous Years in Hot Rods, Racing and Film Dean is quoted saying that he really learned striping from Von Dutch. At the time Von Dutch working at a motorcycle shop in Compton.

Dean began to hang out with Kenny Howard way before he started to call himself Von Dutch. Kenny used to paint a third eyeball on his forehead. This gave Jeffries an idea, and in 1951 he designed a logo with an eyeball and wings that he later trademarked. The logo is known as "the Flying Eyeball". Kenny kept using it, and Jeffries never bothered to make a deal out of it. Jeffries still owns the right today, but somebody else is making big bucks out of the design together with the Von Dutch Brand. According to Von Dutch's sister Virginia Howard Reyes, Ed Roth created another version of the "Flying Eyeball" before Dean Jeffries. Dean Jeffries drew one with a roller skate on it, Jeffries eyeball is his own creation and not the same as Von Dutch's, and no one is fighting over Jeffries eyeball because it never became as popular as Von Dutch.

Hanging around George Cerny's shop, George asked if Dean could stripe a boat. The job came out okay, so George asked if he could stripe his 1950 Plymouth wagon. The wagon was the second thing Jeffries ever striped. After that the work became a steady flow. He was still working nights at the machine shop, but he was striping at Cerny's Custom Shop during the day. At the time Jeff and Von Dutch were the only one doing modern striping. The Baron and Ed Roth came along soon after. One day George Barris called "Jeff" and asked if he could pinstripe a car for him. The car turned out to be Johnny Zupan's 1949 Mercury which Barris Kustoms had just two-toned in metallic gold and rust. After he had pinstriped the car, George aksed if Dean would work for him. Dean said that he didn't want to work for him, but that he would gladly rent some space from him. George agreed, and Dean moved in to a little spot next door to the Barris Kustoms shop in 1956. Jeffries had now becomen the Barris Kustoms "house striper." Von Dutch had worked as Barris Kustoms "house striper" until Jeffries' arrival, but according to Hersh Conway, Von Dutch was too moody. George Cerny wasn't too happy about Dean moving out, but he could make more money working out of Barris Kustoms, because when Cerny went home, Dean also had to go home. At Barris Kustoms he could work whenever he wanted, and as long as he wanted.

Jeffries' scallop, pinstripe, and flame painting business grew once he moved next door to Barris Kustoms, and a lot of the cars he painted got coverage on magazine covers. In addition to painting and striping cars, Dean was also early into custom airbrushing on T-shirts at car shows in order to earn some extra bucks. One day as he was pinstriping a boat he added a little character to it. People seemed to like it, so from that he started to add artwork to his striping. After that he learned to airbrush, and started painting T-shirts and sweatshirts. Dean did actually start to airbrush custom T-shirts and sweatshirts way before Ed Roth. Jeffries' continued attending car shows and customizing T-shirts and sweaters into the 1960s.

While being the "house painter" at Barris Kustoms, Jeffries was able to learn all he wanted about metal shaping and fabrication. Jeffries never became an employee at Barris Kustoms, but he became a contractor taking in his own business as well as jobs Barris would throw his way. One of the cars he worked on at Barris Kustoms was Clarence Catallo's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe, also known as the Little Deuce Coupe.

James Dean and Dean Jeffries shared a passion for car racing. This passion made them become friends, and Jeffries actually painted the No. 130 and the name "Little Bastard" on James Dean's 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder. Jeffries also pinstriped Dean's helmet.

December 7, 1957, after a hard day in the shop, Jeffries went over to the restaurant across the street from the Barris Kustoms Shop for a supper. As he started to eat he heard someone yell "FIRE!". Jeffries put his jacket over his head and ran into the burning building saving his girlfriend Carol Lewis' 1956 Chevrolet from the flames. The firefighters managed to stop the fire just short of the Ala Kart. 14 cars were destroyed in the fire, including the Wild Kat, Jayne Mansfield's Jaguar, and Archie Moore's Jaguar. After the shop fire George had Gene Simmons take over as general manager so that George could concentrate on getting the business back in order. One section of the shop was not touched by the fire, so he set up the workshop there and renovated the rest of the shop. George also extended the shop out back, and added space up front for a Kustom Accessories store and pinstriping shop that he continued to rent out to Dean Jeffries. The walls were beginning to close in on Jeffries, and he saw a demand for his business growing to compete with Barris instead of complementing Barris. Jeffries pulled up stakes and moved his shop to Hollywood. A move that would help start his extremly successful career building cars for movies.

In 1960, Jeffries' advertised the silver pearlescent version of his customized Porsche for sale in Road & Track September 1960. By then, his shop, named Jeffries Studio of Style, was located at 5807 Sunset Blvd., in Hollywood, California. Dean married Judy Maxson. The marriage didn't last long, but they had time to give birth to a son. Kevin Dean Jeffries was born on November 24, 1960. Dean and Judy were divorced in 1971. Dean kept in thouch with Judy's parents after the marriage, (her father was a wealthy racing enthusiast), and they actually helped him a buy the shop and tools for his new venture in Hollywood. Jeffries tried two locations on Sunset Boulevard before moving out to Cahuenga Boulevard. Jeffries was still in 2013 located on Cahuenga Boulevard. Jeffries called his new venture Jeffries Studio of Style. In his new shop Jeffries painted and pinstriped cars, he also began metal forming, and in addition to this he also sold pinstring brushes and supply for home stripers, as well as custom "mod" sunglasses.

Dean Jeffries was the first person to apply a Metalflake paintjob. The Metalflake Corporation of America came up with the idea of putting small aluminum flakes into paint. The problem was that nobody could get the flakes to come out of the gun in a smooth, consistent pattern. Jeffries experimented with the spray gun and managed the flotation of the flakes by working at a higher pressure. The first car he painted in Metalflake, and the first car ever to be painted in Metalflake was Dick Scritchfield's 1932 Ford Roadster.

Dean Jeffries is known as the first person to apply a Metalflake paintjob. The Metalflake Corporation of America came up with the idea of putting small aluminum flakes into paint. The problem was that nobody could get the flakes to come out of the gun in a smooth, consistent pattern. Jeffries experimented with the spray gun and managed the flotation of the flakes by working at a higher pressure. The first car he supposedly painted in Metalflake, and the first car ever to be painted in Metalflake was Dick Scritchfield's 1932 Ford Roadster. That is not correct, as Dick Scritchfield painted the roadster in Metalflake himself. According to Dick, the Metalflake was painted in Eagle Rock, California, at a friend's body shop. Dick used two toners to arrive at the exact color he wanted. Rather than using gold Metalflake as base for the Candy Apple Red, Dick used silver Metalflake, with the final color coming closer to magenta or cherry red. After painting the car, Tex Smith thought it would be a good idea to drive the car down to Dean Jeffries for a photo shoot. As the photo shoot was done at Jeffries' shop, many thought it was Jeffries that applied the Metalflake on the car. That was not the case. In 2013 Dick told Kustomrama that "Dean was a great guy, and he could have painted it, but he didn't. It was at a time where I was learning and doing most of the work myself, since money was tight in those days."

In 1963, while in his Sunset Boulevard location Jeffries built his most famous car, the Mantaray. Jeffries built the car in order to prove that he was capable of competing head to head with customizers such as George Barris and Gene Winfield. The Mantaray was a major success at the 1964 National Roadster Show. In 1963 Jeffries restyled a brand new Ford Falcon for the Custom Car Caravan as well. The car was called the Falcon Python.

In 1968 Jeffries designed and built dune buggy called the Kyote. The first generation of Jeffries' buggies were called Mantaray II Kyote. An altered version of the Mantaray II Kyote was launched as the Kyote I, and went into production in 1969. When he manufactured the buggies, Jeffries had about 15 people working for him. Around 1100 buggies were turned out of the shop on Caluhenga Boulevard. About 500 Kyote I models, and about 600 Kyote II models. This resulted in the movie and stunt vehicle and hot rod business temporarily had to be pushed to the side.

In 1982 Jeffries married his second wife Rosalie Berman. Rosalie and Dean was together until Rosalie died in September 2008.

Jeffries and George Barris have had a personal and professional rivalry for the past four decades. This rivalry is based on Barris taking credit for custom cars that Jeffries has built. One example is one of the two Monkeemobiles that Jeffries built. George Barris bought one of these. After buying the car he went to the people who make toys and models and hustled them into taking Jeffries name off the boxes and putting his name on it instead. The facts inside the boxes were also changed to saying that Barris built the car. George has also listed the car on his webpage as a custom car by Barris.

Dean passed away at home on Sunday, May 5, 2013.

Dean Jeffries' Personal Rides

Dean Jeffries' Horch
Dean Jeffries' 1933 Ford Tudor
Dean Jeffries' 1947 Mercury
Johnny Zupan's 1949 Mercury
Dean Jeffries' 1956 Porsche 356
Dean Jeffries' 1957 Ford Ranchero
Dean Jeffries' 1959 Cadillac
Dean Jeffries' 1965 Ford GT Competition Prototype Roadster

Cars Built or Restyled by Dean Jeffries

The Mantaray
The 1962 Ford Cougar 406
Lee Jue's 1965 Ford Thunderbird
The Falcon Python
The Monkeemobile
The Black Beauty

Cars Painted or Pinstriped by Dean Jeffries

Norm Grabowski's 1922 Ford Model T Bucket - The Lightning Bug / The Kookie T
W. L. Scott's 1925 Ford Model T Roadster
Jerry Woodward's 1929 Ford Model-A Roadster
George Sein's 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe - The Flamer
Jim Griepsma's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Ron Guidry's 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Tom Hocker's 1940 Ford Coupe
George Janich's 1941 Ford
Bill Polk's 1949 Ford
James J. Pacera's 1949 Ford Tudor
George Cerny's 1950 Plymouth Wagon
Lyle Lake's 1952 Buick Riviera - The Blue Danube
Mando's 1950 Chevrolet
Larry Lorenzo's 1950 Mercury Convertible
Philip Sauers' 1951 Mercury - Sashta
Ed Russell's 1952 Mercury
Jim Doyle's 1952 Mercury Convertible
Buck Gallegos' 1953 Mercury
Bill and Bob Glazier's 1953 Oldsmobile Super 88 Convertible - The Candy Wagon
Joe Gruppie's 1953 Oldsmobile
Herb Conway's 1954 Mercury
Bob Baker's 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
George Long's 1955 Chevrolet
James Dean's 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder
Frank Monteleone's 1956 Ford
Mandy Holder's 1951 Mercury
The Agajanian Special
Junior Conway's 1950 Ford
Johnny Zupan's 1949 Mercury
Sandy Kroll's 1953 Chevrolet
Martin Srabian and Morris Srabian's 1954 Ford Pickup - The Wild Kat
Butch Johnson's 1954 Mercury Convertible
Bob Baker's 1955 Chevrolet
George Long's 1955 Chevrolet
Bill Burnett's 1955 Ford Crown Victoria
George Contaoi's 1955 Ford F-100
Richard Axcell's 1955 Ford F-100
Carol Lewis' 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
John Benson's 1956 Chevrolet
Johnny Zupan's 1956 Ford F-100
Dick Jackson's 1957 Ford
Dick Jackson's 1957 Ford Thunderbird
Bill Merrill's 1959 Chevrolet Corvette
The Ala Kart
Anne De Valle's 1942 Ford
Rod & Custom Magazine’s Dream Truck

Dragsters painted or pinstriped by Dean Jeffries

Manuel Gonzalez's Californian

People Working for Dean Jeffries

Steve Tansy