Salt Lake City

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.

A lineup of Crusaders of Salt Lake City cars at the Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, Utah around 1959-60. Photo courtesy of Gordy Brown.

Bo Huff's 1927 Ford Model T Bucket, of Salt Lake City as it appeared in 1964.

Mike Hemingway's 1948 Plymouth four door sedan of Salt Lake City, Utah. Mike was a member of the Falcons of Salt Lake City car club.

Johnny Burraston's mildly restyled Salt Lake City Mercury captured around 1960/1961. Owner unknown. Photo courtesy of Gordy Brown.

Keith Hunt's 1952 Ford convertible of Salt Lake City, Utah. The car was already customized when Keith bought it in the Winter of 1956. It had been damaged at a used car lot, so Keith had Tanner Body Shop fix it up. The build was completed early in 1957. During the build, Keith became a member of the Falcons of Salt Lake City car club.

Ron Lerdahl's 1952 Ford Convertible, of Salt Lake City, Utah, as it appeared in 1958.

The Official Salt Lake City Division Supporter Shirt - Click here to order yours today.

Ron Lerdahl's 1952 Ford Victoria of Salt Lake City, Utah as it appeared in the late 1950s.

Dick DeCarver's 1953 Ford hardtop of Salt Lake City, Utah. Dick was a member of the Falcons of Salt Lake City car club.

Dick and Doris Vanadrigham's 1954 Chevrolet, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was restyled by Gordy Brown in the 1960s.

Duane Dietrick's 1954 Ford Victoria of Salt Lake City, Utah as it appeared in 2012.

Gordy Brown's Third 1954 Ford Skyliner, Deja Vu, of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Kent Lee's 1954 Mercury four-door of Salt Lake City, Utah. Kent was a custom body and paint guy, and his Mercury, named "One Step Beyond", was a showcase creation.

Don Brock's 1955 Chevrolet of Salt Lake City, Utah as it appeared around 1961 Don was a member of the Crusaders of Salt Lake City car club.

Dave Jorgenson's 1955 Mercury convertible of Salt Lake City, Utah. Dave was a member of the Falcons of Salt Lake City.

Larry DeLuca's 1956 Ford F-100 of Salt Lake City, Utah was restyled in 1956.

Ron Lerdahl's 1956 Lincoln of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Gary Rasmussen's 1959 Chevrolet Impala of Salt Lake City, Utah was restyled around 1959/1960.

Ron Lerdahl's 1960 Cadillac Eldorado of Salt Lake City, Utah featured a candy apple red paint job and factory air ride.

Ron Maxwell's 1932 Austin Bantam of Salt Lake City, Utah. Ron built the Austin Bantam in 1964.

A 1964 or 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle that Gordy Brown of Salt Lake City gave a custom paint job after he had moved back to Salt Lake City from Southern California in the early 1970s. This kind of paint style was pretty new to Salt Lake City at the time. Photo from The Gordy Brown Photo Collection.

A Saints of Salt Lake City club plaque.

Allan Winward's 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Salt Lake City, Utah. Built by Allan, the build, known as "Miss Scarlet," was started in 2010 and completed in January of 2016. Allan is a members of the Salt Lake City Throttlers car club.

According to Gordy Brown, Salt Lake City was a custom car and hot rod mecca in the 1950s and 1960s. State Street, the main route thru Salt lake City, was a cruising boulevard on summer nights and weekends. The kids of Salt Lake could cruise from Don Carlos Drive-In to Fred and Kellys Drive-In and on to Murray Drive-In and the Sky Castle Drive-In. The Sky Castle got its name from a radio broadcasting booth on the roof. When you ordered food you could request a song to be played on the air.^[1]

Salt Lace City has a park named Liberty Park that is two city blocks wide and four city blocks long. In the 1950s and 1960s a road ran all the way around the inside of the park, and all the local car clubs, such as the Crusaders and the Saints had different spots in the park that they claimed for their meeting areas. A Sunday in the park was like a rolling car show. It was the style in Salt Lake City at the time to fly the plaques from the front bumper.^[1]

A-1 Auto Body was one of the major shops for custom work around Salt Lake City. The street of Salt Lake City were filled with extremely low cars. One of the interesting things about these cars was the suspensions. According to Salt Lake City customizer Gordy Brown, the front ends were mostly done with dropped or reversed spindles, or by stepping up the ends of the lower suspension arms. This technique was also known as "Shackeling". The rear was mostly done with de-arched rear springs along with lowering blocks. The rear frame was also C-notched, and the drive shaft tunnel was raised.^[1]