Kustom Car

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In the pioneer era, when hot rodders were stripping roadsters and coupes of superfluous parts so they could run fast at California’s dry lakes, the custom car crowd was equally zealous about removing garish chrome trim, shaving door and decklid handles and jettisoning staid, factory designed grilles they thought weren’t cool. Customizers strove to improve the look of lower-priced “Detroit iron,” especially Fords, Mercurys and Chevrolets, to achieve the clean, “classy” appearance of more expensive models.

The customizing craze began on the West Coast in the mid-1930s and reached its peak as a national trend in the 1960s. The formative era was the period immediately before and directly after World War II. Radical customs required major metal surgery. Chopped and filled hardtops, or padded soft tops, sectioned bodies, fadeaway and/or completely molded fenders, fender skirts and partial-to-complete body dechroming were just a few popular custom trends.