Ray Soff and Buddy Czyzski's 1953 Ford

The Temptation as it sat while Ray and Buddy owned it in 1964 or 1965. The rear quarter panels on the car were extended. It featured tunneled homemade taillights and the rear bumper had been replaced with a pan that ran a bumper underneath made of a chromed pipe. Two chromed bullets were placed between the bumper, inside the taillight housings. Photo from The Ray Soff Photo Collection.

When Ray and Buddy bought the car it was hit on two doors and a fender. They replaced the doors and cut the fender off. "The front end was welded together. I didn't have tools, only a hammer, and a chisel, so I cut the fender off and put a stock fender on. I bolted it on." Photo from The Ray Soff Photo Collection.

The front end had a 58 Thunderbird bumper with a tube grille and the hood was pancaked, and according to Ray it was wild! Ray ended up selling the Ford for fifty bucks in 1966. "I sold it to a guy. He put a set of plates on it. I said, don't drive it home, it had been laying in garages for years. "Well, Im putting gas on it and I'm going to drive it home," he told me." Ray didn't get his name, and that's the last time he ever saw the car. "I never knew who owned the car to this day." Ray has spent much of his life chasing old customs, but in 2021 he still hadn't been able to find out who the original builder or owner of his old custom was. Photo from The Ray Soff Photo Collection.

Lost and Found

1953 Ford Hardtop owned by Ray Soff and Buddy Czyski of Garfield, New Jersey. In 2018 Ray told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that the two friends bought the car for 50 bucks in Kearny, New Jersey in 1964 or 1965. "Buddy worked with a guy that had a chopped 1950 Mercury for sale. He wanted $50.00 for it. I had a 50 dollar bill, so we went there to buy it." When Ray and Buddy arrived the seller had changed his mind, but he had this 1953 Ford he could sell for $50.00, "so we took it."

No title

One trouble with the Ford was that the fellow didn't have a title for it. "He owed a guy 15 bucks, then he would get the title. We went to this guy's house to pay him. Another trouble was trying to break a $50 bill when you are 18 years old. A local bar helped us, and we towed it home with just a chain."

Temptation

"The Ford was hit on two doors and a fender." Ray and Buddy replaced the doors and cut the fender off. "The front end was welded together. I didn't have tools, only a hammer, and a chisel, so I cut the fender off and put a stock fender on. I bolted it on." The car was called Temptation. It was Candy Blue with primer on the doors and fender. It was nosed and decked, and the rear quarter panels were extended. It featured tunneled homemade taillights and the rear bumper had been replaced with a pan that ran a bumper underneath made of a chromed pipe. Two chromed bullets were placed between the bumper, inside the taillight housings. "The front end had a 58 Thunderbird bumper with a tube grille and the hood was pancaked. The car was wild!"

Do you recognize this mystery custom?

Ray ended up selling the Ford for fifty bucks in 1966. By then, he had laid a coat of primer over the whole car. "I sold it to a guy. He put a set of plates on it. I said, don't drive it home, it had been laying in garages for years. "Well, Im putting gas on it and I'm going to drive it home," he told me." Ray didn't get his name, and that's the last time he ever saw the car. "I never knew who owned the car to this day." Ray has spent much of his life chasing old customs, but in 2021 he still hadn't been able to find out who the original builder or owner of his old custom was. Do you recognize Ray's old custom? Do you know who built it? Or maybe where it is today? Please get in touch with Kustomrama at mail@kustomrama.com if you have any information to share about the Temptation.