Nerf Bars

Woody Lee's 1924 Ford Model T Roadster of Oakland, California. The build was completed circa 1949-1950, featuring custom made nerf bars.

Louis Banto and Jack Perre's 1927 Ford roadster of Los Angeles, California featured nerf bars in the front and rear. The build was completed around 1951/1952.

Bill Welch's 1929 Ford Roadster of Playa Del Ray, California. The car was originally built by Kenny Smith of San Gabriel, California. Bill bought the hot rod around 1953 and did some changes to the appearance and the mechanics of the car. The 1953 iteration was dressed up with nerf bars.

Carl Fleischmann's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster of Glendale, California was completed in 1953 featuring nerf bars in the front and rear.

Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian's 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan of Fresno, California. The car went trough several iterations in the 1950s. In 1953, after attending the 1953 Oakland Roadster Show, Gene installed a 1950 Oldsmobile V-8 in the car. He also painted it fire engine red and had Tommy the Greek dress it up with pinstriping. Other modifications included a fully chromed and louvered hood, nerf bar bumpers, and copper-plated Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels.

Ralph Stone's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster, of San Antonio, Texas. Ralph was a member of the San Antonio Road Runners. His roadster was built in the early 1950s, and it was featured in Rod & Custom February 1954. By then, it had dressed up with nerf bars front and back. The front nerf bar ran the letter "S".

Joe Brienza's 1929 Ford Model A Coupe of West Islip, New York. Built in 1954, the heart-shaped grille and nerf bar with Joe's name add a playful touch, while the chopped roof gives it an aggressive stance. Photo from The Joe Brienza Photo Collection.

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. By then the car had received nerf bars front and back.

Bob Hagerty's 1931 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan of Wheaton, Maryland. Bob, who was a member of the Coach Masters of Wheaton, built the car himself. The build took two years, and it was completed in 1964. Bob fit the car with custom made nerf bars front and back. Bob's tudor was shown on the East Coast as "Jade East."

Martin Oja's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The build was started in 1960 and completed in 1962. The rear of the car sported a simple nerf bar.

Deaner Probst's 1933 Ford Cabriolet of Jefferson, Wisconsin. Known as "Lil' Dough," Probst dragged the car home as a project in 1957. He spent the next years working on it while showing it at various shows. In 1962 he debuted a Metalflake red iteration of the car. It featured nerf bars front and back.

Don Broyles' 1932 Ford roadster of Dayton, Ohio. The car was originally built in 1951. In 1956 Don installed a 1956 Chevrolet Corvette 283 engine in the roadster.

Darryl Harvey's 1934 Ford Roadster of Melbourne, Australia featured nerf bars up front and in the rear.

Bob McCoy's 1940 Ford

Maximilian King's 1940 Mercury convertible of Morristown, New Jersey was first restyled by Meekers Body Shop in 1946. In 1959 Korky's Kustom Shop restyled the car further for current owner Ray Henyon. This version featured nerf bars front and back.

Art Jones' 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan of Portland, Oregon. Jones was a member of the Aristocrats of Portland car club, and his car was originally restyled by Jerry Campbell in the early 1950s. After buying the car, Jones had Gene Cargail of Gene's Custom Shop rebuild it. This second iteration, showcasing bold and unique styling, was featured in Car Craft October 1959, capturing national attention and admiration. The second iteration of the car featured S-shaped nerf bars front and back.

Ed Seltzer's 1929 Ford Roadster of Tarzana, California. The car was originally built by Kenny Smith of San Gabriel, California. Ed bought the hot rod around 1954. After owning the roadster for a year or so, he wrecked it badly one night, and he had to completely rebuild it. Seltzer was into foreign cars and sports cars, and he added some European sports car flavor to the traditional hot rod. Ed's iteration of the roadster ran simple nerf bars.

Dick Colarossi's 1940 Ford coupe of Glendale, California was restyled by Valley Custom Shop. The build was completed in 1954, featuring custom made nerf bars.

George Smaldone's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Cranston, Rhode Island. Built by George and his buddy Ralph Potter, the build was started in 1954 and completed in 1957. It ran nerf bars front and back.

Nick De Simon's 1940 Ford Coupe of Teaneck, New Jersey. Nick worked for his dad at De Simon Auto Body. He was a very talented body man and fabricator, and the coupe was built during weekends, nights, and in Nick's spare time. Featuring a chopped top and channeled body, the build was completed around 1957.

Tad Hirai's 1950 Ford, The Del Mar, featured a triple tube nerf bar in the rear.

Martin Srabian and Morris Srabian's 1954 Ford Pickup, The Wild Kat, made its debut in 1956. It was fit with a oval nerf bar in the rear.

Conrad W. Jacobs' 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Baltimore, Maryland was built around 1956-1958. Conrad's coupe featured custom made nerf bars up front and in the rear.

Jack Schleich's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Oceanside, New York was built in 1957. It featured nerf bars in the rear.

Built between 1956 and 1958, Jerry Berg's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe featured a nerf bar carrying the license plate in the rear.

Joe Brienza's 1934 Ford Convertible of West Islip, New York was completed in 1958. Joe's convertible featured nerf bars in the rear.

The bumpers on Sonny Morris' 1950 Mercury were defined as multi-tube nerf bars by Custom Cars September 1957.

Ed Roth's Outlaw was Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's first experience with fiberglass, and the car made its debut at the 1959 Disneyland Car Club Day and Autocade featuring custom made nerf bars.

Art Fortin's 1953 Ford Sunliner Convertible received nerf bars in the rear in 1962.

Buddy Katlik's 1953 Plymouth 4-door, was restyled by Jess Sandoval of Renewal Body Shop in Clovis for Fresno Pan Draggers member Buddy Katlik, of Fresno, California around 1960/1961. Buddy's Plymouth featured two nerf bars in the rear.

Jerry DeVito's 1957 Ford Fairlane of San Jose, California. The third version of Jerry's Ford, was completed in 1959, featuring nerf bars in the rear. Jerry was a member of the San Jose Rod and Wheelers car club.

John Guenther's 1959 Ford Galaxie Sunliner of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Restyled in 1960, the car was shown as "The Beach Boy." It featured nerf bars type bumpers in the rear.

Gerald Zielinski's 1955 Chevrolet of St. Louis, Missouri. Gerald was a member of the Road Angels of St. Louis. His Chevrolet was restyled in the late 1950s or the early 1960s and it featured nerf bars in the back.

Roy Abendroth's 1955 Buick Century of Compton, California. Known as the "BuSonic," the build was started in 1959 and completed in 1963. It featured bodywork by John Schott and Copper Metalflake paint job by Larry Watson of Watson's House of Style. It was also fitted with nerf bars front and back.

John Toohey's 2E-"T" Ford Model R Toadster of Eugene, Oregon. Built by John, the car made its debut in 1965, at the Portland Roadster Show. It featured nref bars front and back.

Christer Lundberg's 1937 Ford Coupe of Stockholm, Sweden. Built in the early 1960s, an early iteration of the coupe was shown at the 1965 Hot Rod Show in Marmorhallarna in Stockholm. This iteration featured chromed nerf bars.

Nerf bars was a race-bred design feature that became very popular in the mid 1950s as both early and late model car owners wanted to fit their cars with the ultimate in custom designed "bumpers".

Cars Featuring Nerf Bars

John Toohey's 2E-"T" Ford Model R Toadster
Larry Neves' 1924 Ford Model T Roadster
Woody Lee's 1924 Ford Model T Roadster
Louis Banto and Jack Perre's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster
Bill Welch's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Carl Fleischmann's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Ed Seltzer's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster
Joe Brienza's 1929 Ford Model A Coupe
Bob Hagerty's 1931 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan - Jade East
Joe Tully's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe
Martin Oja's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe
Ralph Stone's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster
Conrad W. Jacobs' 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe - "The Klondyke Koupe"
Jack Schleich's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Deaner Probst's 1933 Ford Cabriolet - Lil' Dough
Darryl Harvey's 1934 Ford Roadster
Don Broyles' 1932 Ford Roadster
Gene "Clean Gene" Sadoian's 1934 Ford Four-Door Sedan
George Smaldone's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Jerry Berg's 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe - The Northern Star
Joe Brienza's 1934 Ford Convertible - The Brienza Special
Christer Lundberg's 1937 Ford Coupe
Bob McCoy's 1940 Ford
Dick Colarossi's 1940 Ford Coupe
Nick De Simon's 1940 Ford Coupe
Maximilian King's 1940 Mercury Convertible
Art Jones' 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan
Jim and George Bernardo's 1948 GMC Pickup
Tad Hirai's 1950 Ford - The Del Mar
Sonny Morris' 1950 Mercury
Art Fortin's 1953 Ford Sunliner Convertible
Buddy Katlik's 1953 Plymouth 4-Door Sedan
Martin Srabian and Morris Srabian's 1954 Ford Pickup - The Wild Kat
Ed Roth's Outlaw
Roy Abendroth's 1955 Buick Century - The BuSonic
Gerald Zielinski's 1955 Chevrolet
Jerry DeVito's 1957 Ford Fairlane - The Maze
John Guenther's 1959 Ford Galaxie Sunliner - "The Beach Boy"