New Jersey

The Cam Snappers of Newburyport's 1930 Ford Model A roadster was owned, built and raced by the Cam Snappers of newburyport car club of Newburyport, Massachusetts. The build was completed in 1954. In May of 2014 the car was advertised for sale in Lebanon.

Don Blake's 1951 Ford 4-Door of Lynhurst, New Jersey. Blake was a member of the Drivin Deuces of Carlstadt car club, and he started restyling the Ford in 1956, while he was in high school.

Mike Brodski's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe of Clifton, New Jersey. Brodski started building the car back in 1957 or 1958. In 1962 he sold it to Bob Kovaly, who drove it to high school.

Bob DiBiasse's 1934 Ford Five-Window Coupe

Joe Brienza's 1934 Ford Convertible of West Islip, New York was completed in 1958. It was supposedly sold to New Jersey in the 1960s or 1970s.

Dennis Murphy's 1939 Ford Convertible Sedan of Wyckoff, New Jersey. Murphy purchased the car in Ohio in 1960. He was 15 years old at the time, looking for his first car, and was excited when he saw a hot rod for sale by the side of the road. A deal was made, and his dad drove it the 400+ miles back to their home in New Jersey.

Clarence Schaaf's 1937 Cord Special

Raymond Patricco's 1934 Ford Roadster of Irvington, New Jersey. Patricco didn't build the car, he supposedly bought it in the 1960 or the 1970s. He planned to restore it. That never happened, and it stayed in storage until he passed away in 2018. Rumor has the car was built in the 1950s. Back then it is believed to have run a DuVall Windshield.

Tommy Sanders' 1939 Ford 4-door Phaeton - The Red Bird

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.

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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.

Robert Ansetta's 1951 Ford Crestliner of Morris Plains, New Jersey. Robert owned the car from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, and most of the custom work on it was done during those years. Robert passed away in 1961 before the build was completed, and it was his brother Vinnia that finally completed the build in 1983.

Chris Rusbach's 1941 Ford Coupe of Hackensack, New Jersey. It was Chris' father Harry Rusbach Jr who originally bought the car in 1988 and restyled it. Harry sold the custom in 1999. In 2007 Chris bought it back and got it back on the road again. After a 10 year long rebuild, the car finally received a glossy paint job in June of 2016. Named "Somethin' Else," after the Eddie Cochran song, the entire car, including body, frame and driveline had then been redone and improved.

Harry Rusbach Jr's 1941 Ford coupe of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Harry bought the car in 1988. In 1990 he and three friends spent a weekend chopping the top on the car.

John Sak's Third 1941 Ford Convertible of Syracuse, New York. Named "Barbie" after his wife, the build was started in 1957 and completed in 1960. "Barbie" was John's third 1941 Ford custom.Kenneth Groth of Branchville, New Jersey bought the old custom in 1999.

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Paul Lopez' 1948 Buick Roadmaster Convertible

Vic Morbidelli's Buick

Tom Piantkoski's 1948 Mercury Convertible

Frederic Schaffnit's 1949 Dodge

Leonard Cohen's 1949 Ford Tudor

Sam Barris' 1949 Mercury was sold to New Jersey in 1957.

George Egan's 1950 Ford Convertible of New Jersey. George was a member of the Drivin Deuces car club, and the first iteration of his Ford was restyled circa 1955.

George Egan's 1950 Ford Convertible of New Jersey. George was a member of the Drivin Deuces car club. Known as "The Apollo," the second iteration of Egan's Ford was restyled in the 1960s.

Edward Meritai's 1950 Ford of East Paterson, New Jersey. Restyled by Monego's Body Shop, the build was completed in 1958.

George Mizzi Jr.'s 1950 Mercury Convertible of Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Mizzi was a member of the Driving Deuces car club, and his Mercury was restyled at Monego's Body Shop. Named the "Purple Bug," the build was completed circa 1958 - 1959.

John Rae's 1951 Ford of Kenilworth, New Jersey. John bought the car from Hanover, New Jersey in 1962. It had already been customized when he got it, and John believes the car was done by Korky.

Tom Eliason's 1951 Ford Convertible

Chuck Sanders' 1951 Oldsmobile, The Black Panther, as it appeared in 1957

Andy Belusko's 1954 Ford of Whippany, New Jersey was restyled by Richard "Korky" Korkes of Korky's Kustom Shop in the mid 1950s.

Richard Korkes' 1954 Ford Convertible of Whippany, New Jersey. The car, known as The Parisienne, was restyled by Korky's Kustom Shop.

The first version of John Nadzon's 1954 Mercury of Parsippany, New Jersey was restyled by Korky's Kustom Shop in 1957.

The second version of John Nadzon's 1954 Mercury of Parsippany, New Jersey was restyled by Korky's Kustom Shop. The car, named The Mysterian, made its debut February 17, 1960 at the Hartford Autorama.

Anthony Abato's 1954 Oldsmobile Convertible - The Comet

Bill Carr's 1955 Chevrolet Convertible - The Aztec was sold to New Jersey

George Pillion's 1955 Chevrolet Convertible of Whippany, New Jersey as it appeared in 1960. George's Chevrolet, known as The Sportsman, was restyled by Korky's Kustom Shop.

Ernie Geisler's 1956 Chevrolet Convertible of Lynhurst, New Jersey. Ernie was a member of the Drivin Deuces of Carlstadt car club, and his car, known as "The Black Knight," was restyled by Monego's Auto Body in the late 1950s and the early 1960s.

Irvin Kirschner's 1955 Chevrolet of Westwood, New Jersey. Known as the Princess and the Pirate, the car was restyled several times by Tony Bruskivage of Hawthorne, New Jersey.

Art Guglielmi's 1955 Ford Victoria

The first version of Don Von Dwingelo's 1956 Ford Thunderbird as it appeared in 1959.

The second version of Don Von Dwingelo's 1956 Ford Thunderbird made its debut in 1960.

Errol Huttle's 1957 Chevrolet Convertible, of Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Rich Wroblewski's 1958 Chevrolet Impala of Neptune City, New Jersey. Rich was a member of the Haulin' Gents car club, and his Impala was restyled by fellow club member Terry Browning in the early 1960s. It was shown and known as the "Jade East."

Terry Browning's 1958 Ford Ranchero of Neptune City, New Jersey. Terry was a founding member of the Haulin' Gents, and the "The Ruby Ranch" version of his Ranchero was completed in 1959.

John Zotynia's 1961 Ford Starliner of Teaneck, New Jersey. John and his brother-in-law Nick De Simon restyled the car in 1961 and 1962, turning it into a mild custom.

Ray Soff and Buddy Czyzski's 1953 Ford of Garfield, New Jersey. Known as "Temptation," Ray and Buddy bought the Merc for 50 bucks in Kearny, New Jersey in 1964 or 1965.

Jerry Cove's 1966 Pontiac GTO of Hillside, New Jersey. Les Cove built this car for his son Jerry in the 1960s. Painted blue, it featured a chopped top, Thunderbird taillights, Buick Riviera headlights, and a bumperless design. Photo courtesy of Jerry Cove.

The Ray Soff Tribute Trucker Cap - Click here to check it out

Mike Budnick's 1960 Pontiac - The Golden Indian

Bill Kelly's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe of Warminster, Pennsylvania. The first version of the coupe was built in 1948. Gerard Christensen of Scotch Plains, New Jersey bought the car in the 1990s.

Buddy Hinman's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster of Rome, New York. The build was started in 1947 and completed in 1949, when buddy was 13 years old. A car dealer from New Jersey owned the car around 2008.

Vic Collins' 1955 Chevrolet truck of Rahway, New Jersey. Vic's truck is a clone of George Barris' 1955 Chevrolet truck, the Kopper Kart. Restyled by Customs by Flash and John Maurice, the build was started in 1999, and completed in 2008.

Ron Maxwell's 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Salt Lake City, Utah. The build was started in 1954, when Ron was 15 years old. The first iteration of the coupe was completed in 1955. Ron's coupe ran under flathead and later Cadillac power, competing in B/Altered at strips around Utah. Rob Montalbine of River Vale, New Jersey bought the old hot rod in 2006.

Joe Siclari's 1957 Ford Custom 300 of Union, New Jersey. Restyled by Joe and Moonlite Kustoms, the build was completed in 2010.

Ralph Tyrone Scarfo's 1950 Oldsmobile 88 hardtop of North Bergen, New Jersey. Ralph's Olds was supposedly restyled in San Diego in the mid 1960s. Ralph Tyrone Scarfo of North Bergen, New Jersey bought the car in 2011.

Kalle Jonasson's 1939 Mercury Convertible of Costa Mesa, California. Originally restyled in the 1940s or the 1950s. An earlier iteration of Kalle's Mercury was supposedly spotted in Lynwood, California in 1958. By 1963, it had been repainted in Green Metalflake, and an old photo shows it sitting at a car dealership in San Diego. Kalle bought the car in May of 1978 and spent two years restoring it, giving it his own look. Norman Abour of New Jersey bought the car from James Etter.

Gil Ayala's 1955 Ford Thunderbird of East Los Angeles, California. Known as the Wild Bird, the car was restyled by Gil and Al Ayala at Gil's Auto Body Works. The first version was completed in 1956. Sometime between 2011 and 2014 the old custom was sold to Ocean, New Jersey.

Dennis McPhail's 1960 Ford Fairlane of Wellington, Kansas. Restyled by Hooligan Hot Rods and Jeff Myers the build was completed in 2010. Jerzy Saganowski of Park Ridge, New Jersey bought the car in 2011.

Del Roy's Speed Parts was a speed shop in East Paterson, New Jersey. Photo courtesy of Matthew Lilienthal.

The 3rd annual Slim's Rod & Kustom Invitational - April 30, 2017 in Whippany, New Jersey.

Rob Ida of Millstone, New Jersey bought Lew Thompson's 1932 Ford roadster in August of 2017. Lew's roadster was originally hot rodded in the Los Angeles area in the 1940s. In 1948 Gene Winfield reworked the car at Winfield Custom Shop for current owner Joe Cardoza. Joe sold the car to Modesto Century Toppers member Lew Thompson. Circa 1960 Joe sold the roadster to fellow Modesto Century Toppers member Peter Hischier, who gave it a Candy Apple Red paint job. Circa 1963 Peter had Gene Winfield rework the car and give it a black paint job. This incarnation did also feature a fully chromed undercarriage. After buying the car, Rob and his crew at IDA Automotive spent some time bringing the car back to how it appeared when Winfield originally reworked it.

Jack and Carolyn Kiely's 1950 Mercury Convertible of Rumson, New Jersey. Restyled by IDA Automotive, the build was completed in 2018.

Chris Rusbach's 1956 Ford Crown Victoria of Stanhope, New Jersey. Rusbach, who is a member of the Certs Jersey car club bought the car already customized in the summer of 2019. He was told that it came to the East Coast from West Nevada around 2016 - 2017.

John Corigliano's 1951 Ford Victoria of Boonton, New Jersey. John bought the Ford from Florida early in 2022. It came without any info or history, but according to John, it looks like it was originally done in the late 1950s or the early 1960s, and then later redone.

The 1958 MacMinn Le Mans Coupe, designed by Strother MacMinn and engineered by John Bond of Road & Track, was a vision of dual-purpose excellence. Powered by a Corvette V8, it was hailed as a groundbreaking American sports car design, showcased on Road & Track's cover in 1960. Only five were built. In August of 2023, the car owned by Dennis and Karen Kazmerowski, John and Shannon Fudge, Califon, New Jersey.

1 Ray Soff remembers junkyards filled with affordable customs in the 1960s
2 Hot Rods of New Jersey
3 Custom Cars of New Jersey
4 Sport Cars of New Jersey
5 Custom Car and Hot Rod Clubs of New Jersey
6 Traditional Hot Rod and Custom Car Shows of New Jersey
7 Custom, Body and Paintshops in New Jersey
8 Upholstery Shops of New Jersey
9 Speed Shops of New Jersey
10 Citizens of New Jersey

Ray Soff remembers junkyards filled with affordable customs in the 1960s

Ray Soff of Saddle Brook, New Jersey has been into cars since he was a kid, and his passion for custom cars can be traced back to the early 1960s. "When I was 15 years old I bought a 1951 Ford convertible for $80.00. It needed parts. I bought a Flathead motor. An old one that was shot." It was an automatic transmission, so Ray put a stick shift in it. "I was going to customize it." He used to go to a junkyard to get parts. "My dad knew a junkman," Ray told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2021. "We would go to the yard every Saturday. Dad would bring him a cool sixpack of beer and we would take anything for free." Ray and his dad went every Saturday. He never brought a camera, but in 2021 he still recalled that the yard was filled with old customs. "One was a '51 Ford hardtop. '50 Merc grille shell, '51 Ford headlights frenched in, '51 Packard taillights. Maroon paint. I asked the junkyard owner why it was there. Flathead went out." He asked Ray if he wanted it, but his dad refused, reminding Ray about the one he already had at home. "Next one was a black '50 Ford Coupe. Louvered hood. Flames all over it. The hood was on the side of it and it had no motor." Other cars included a green 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe. Half done. A 1950 Oldsmobile convertible. Baby blue with a dark blue top. "When we were there it was towed in. It had race decals on the windows. I opened the hood. It had chrome valve covers. I took them." Ray also recalls a Purple Metalflake 1956 Chevrolet Sedan that had been hit in the front. "It had 1956 Packard taillights."^[1]