San Diego

Paul Schiefer's 1925 Ford Model T Roadster of San Diego, California. Schiefer was a member of the San Diego Roadster Club. He started racing his roadster in 1947, and it became one of the few cars campaigned on the lakes and the strips that, within a decade, saw its first-year top speeds on the dry lakes exceeded by its later 1/4-mile ETs.

Chuck Gibson's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster Pickup of San Diego, California. Known as "Hoot," Chuck was a member of the San Diego Prowlers car club. Hoot owned the car in the 1940s and the early 1950s, and he used to race at the dry lakes with it.

Woody Lee's 1924 Ford Model T Roadster of Oakland, California. The build was completed circa 1949-1950. By November of 1951 the car was owned by Chuck Chenowth of San Diego, California.

A chopped 1941 Mercury Convertible custom photographed in front of the Polo Grounds Cafe in San Diego, California. This photo was most likely taken during a Prowlers Rod-Ability Run in the early 1950s, and in addition to a padded top, the car has been dressed up with fenderskirts, dual spotlights, and Cadillac Sombrero Hubcaps. Photo from The Robert Genat Photo Collection.

Bob Smith's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster of San Diego, California. Smith was a member of the San Diego Prowlers car club, and he bought the roadster from fellow Prowlers member Bob Smith. Smith tore the roadster down and rebuilt it, landing on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine March 1958 with his version.

Carl Burnett's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster of San Diego, California. Carl was a member of the San Diego Prowlers car club. He bought the Model T from fellow Prowlers member Chuck Gibson in the 1950s. It was a roadster pick up when he got it, but he built it into a roadster.

Bill Leslie's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe was built in Buffalo, New York in 1964. In the 1980s Bill moved to San Diego bringing the coupe with him.

Vito Marino's 1931 Ford Model A pick up truck of San Diego, California. Vito's truck was built in the 1960s. Circa 2013-2014 it was sold to Sweden.

Joaquin Arnett's 1934 Ford 3-window coupe of San Diego, California was completed in 1951. Shortly after completing the build, Joaquin sold the coupe to Andy Granatelli

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.

A radically restyled custom photographed at a used car lot located at 4875 El Cajon Blvd. in San Diego, California. Running 1947 license plates, the car seems to have started out as a 1940 Mercury Convertible. Modifications include a sectioned body, removed running boards, a chopped and padded top, a custom made grille and front end, molded body seams, fenderskirts, blackwall tires, and flipper hubcaps. Please get in touch with us if you have more info or photos to share of this mystery custom. Photo from The Robert Genat Photo Collection.

Robert Martinez' 1950 Oldsmobile 98 of San Diego, California. Robert restyled the car while working at Styler's Custom Shop. The build was completed around 1955 - 1956.

Roger Honey's 1951 Ford Victoria of San Diego, California. Restyled by Roger, the build was started in the Summer of 1985 and completed a half year later.

Philip Sauers' 1951 Mercury - Sashta, of San Diego, California was restyled by Dean Jeffries, and striped by Von Dutch. It was finished on december 24th 1954.

Bill Leslie's 1960 Ford Thunderbird of Buffalo, New York. Restyled in the 1960s, Bill's Thunderbird was shown as "The Golden Gem." Bill moved to San Diego in the 1980s, bringing the Thunderbird along.

Ivan Peroff's 1956 Buick Century of Kanehoe, Hawaii. Built between 1957 and 1958, the car was sectioned, channeled, and powered by a supercharged Buick Nailhead engine. The car came to California and the San Diego area in the 1980s.