Ron Price's 1933 Ford

A photo of Ron's coupe that Andy Southard took at the 1961 Grand National Roadster Show. According to the later owner Steve Montgomery, the car made its debut at the show. In 1997 this photo appeared in Andy Southard's book Hot Rods & Customs of the 1960's. Wrongfully listed as a 1934 Ford Coupe, Andy had a hard time identifying the car while researching it for the book; "A few of the cars in this book couldn't be identified despite my research. My complete magazine collection in the 1960s never had a feature of this outstanding coupe." He also mentioned in the caption that he never saw the coupe again after the show. Photo courtesy of Andy Southard.

An Oakland Tribune newspaper article from February 27, 1961, that announces the winners of the 1961 Grand National Roadster Show. Ron took home the "All-America" Street Rod Coupe Award that year. Photo courtesy of Newspapers.com.

An old magazine photo of the car. Most likely taken at the 1961 Grand National Roadster Show.

Rolling on chromed and reversed wheels, Ron's coupe featured cut motorcycle-style fenders up front.

A photo of the coupe from the Joe Bailon Facebook Page. Patti Baker from Redwood City was the model in the photo. She also modeled in photos of Joe Bailon's 1958 Chevrolet Impala. Photo courtesy of The Joe Bailon Facebook Page.

A flamed iteration of the coupe as it appeared when Wayne Piva owned it in the 1970s. Photo courtesy of Wayne Piva.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Piva.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Piva.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Piva.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Piva.

A photo of the coupe that Ron Brooks took from his car coming home from the Lodi Mini-Nats in 1978. Photo courtesy of Ron Brooks.

New wheels. A photo of the coupe that Ron Brooks took at an indoor car show. Photo courtesy of Ron Brooks.

Photo courtesy of Ron Brooks.

Another iteration of the coupe dressed up with wire wheels and radial tires. Photo courtesy of Ron Brooks.

The coupe as it appeared after Ed Roth was commissioned to redo the car in the late 1970s. This photo was taken in 2007 when it was part of a Rat Fink Ed Roth exhibit at the Petersen Museum. Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

In 2010 the coupe was sold at Barret-Jackson Scottsdale auction. Later owner Steve Montgomery believes Mark West purchased it at the auction. Photo courtesy of Barret-Jackson.

Photo courtesy of Barret-Jackson.

Photo courtesy of Barret-Jackson.

Photo courtesy of Barret-Jackson.

Photo courtesy of Barret-Jackson.

In 2017 Steve Montgomery of Phoenix, Arizona bought the car from the Mark West collection. "It is a custom, and a hot rod," Steve told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2020, admitting that he was really fascinated by all the mysteries surrounding the car when he bought it from Mark West. Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Steve giving the thumbs up, getting ready to cruise his historic hot rod. Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

In October of 2020, Steve decided to advertise the historic hot rod for sale. "Sadly for me, it just sits and is now not being driven at all," he told Kustomrama, adding that he would like to pass it on to the right type of owner. A true car and custom enthusiast that would enjoy it and appreciate the opportunity to own it. The car still retained the original Ed Roth paint job and pinstriping, along with the driveline and chromed undercarriage from 1961. Steve is asking $85,000 USD for the historic hot rod, and he can be reached at rockabillykid75@gmail.com or 602-295-7501 if you are interested in the car. Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Photo courtesy of Steve Montgomery.

Kustomrama Marketplace

1933 Ford 3-Window Coupe owned and built by Ronald Price of San Jose, California. Built in the early 1960s, Ron gave the car an ultra-low silhouette by chopping the top 3 inches and channeling the body an additional eight inches. A special track nose was fabricated and installed along with a 1957 Edsel grille, a custom hood, nerf bars, 1960 Cadillac engine, and a three-speed LaSalle transmission. Price was a lending broker from San Jose, and the bodywork on the car was done by Joe Bailon at Bailon Custom Shop.

The engine ran Offenhauser speed equipment and three Stromberg carburetors. The undercarriage was fully chromed, and molded modified fenders covered most of the rear wheels. Cut motorcycle-style fenders were installed up front, and it ran chromed and reversed wheels with whitewall tires. The door and the trunk corners were rounded. Inside, it featured custom upholstery by Jerry Sahagon.

1961 Grand National Roadster Show Debut

According to the later owner Steve Montgomery, the car made its debut at the 1961 National Roadster Show where it also won the "All-America" Street Rod Coupe Award. That iteration of the car was painted green.

Rod Weltz and Wayne Piva

Later on, the car changed hands, and in the 1970s it was owned by Rod Weltz and also Wayne Piva in the Bay Area.

Reworked by Ed Roth

In the late 1970s Ed Roth was commissioned to redo the car. Roth gave it an orange paint job that he dressed up with pinstriping.

Hot Rods & Customs of the 1960's

In 1997 a color photo of the car from the 1961 Grand National Roadster Show appeared in Andy Southard's book Hot Rods & Customs of the 1960's. Wrongfully listed as a 1934 Ford Coupe, Andy had a hard time identifying the car while researching it for the book; "A few of the cars in this book couldn't be identified despite my research. My complete magazine collection in the 1960s never had a feature of this outstanding coupe." He also mentioned in the caption that he never saw the car again after the show.

The Cerveny Collection

Diane and Gary Cerveny bought the old hot rod in the mid 1980s. Carefully maintaining the finish, the car stayed in the Cerveny collection in Malibu for decades. While they owned it, it was also loaned to the Peterson Museum where it was displayed in the Peterson's Retrospective of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's career. The complete drivetrain on the car was rebuilt in 2007 or 2010.

Sold at Pebble Beach

In 2007 Gary and Diane sold the coup at the Gooding & Co Pebble Beach auction. It was Lot 137, and it sold for US $55,000.

The Mark West Collection

In 2010 the old San Jose hot rod was sold at the Barret-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.Steve Montgomery believes Mark West purchased it in Scottsdale.

Sold to Steve Montgomery

In 2017 Steve Montgomery of Phoenix, Arizona bought the car from Mark West's collection. "It is a custom, and a hot rod," Steve told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2020, admitting that he was really fascinated by all the mysteries surrounding the car when he bought it from Mark West.

For Sale

In October of 2020, after owning the car for three years, Steve decided to advertise the coupe for sale. "Sadly for me, it just sits and is now not being driven at all," he told Kustomrama, adding that he would like to pass it on to the right type of owner. A true car and custom enthusiast that would enjoy it and appreciate the opportunity to own it. The car still retained the original Ed Roth paint job and pinstriping, along with the driveline and chromed undercarriage from 1961, and it is one of the few original surviving examples of Roth's paint and pinstriping. "One cool feature that the car still retains from the original 61 show car is the turn signal assembly still has a clear green plastic bullet that lights up on the turn signal lever when you activate the blinkers," Steve added.

Steve is asking $85,000 USD for the historic hot rod, and he can be reached at rockabillykid75@gmail.com or 602-295-7501 if you are interested in the car.