The Alex Jordan, Jr.'s Special

An early photo of Alex's custom.

A later photo of the car, taken after the build had been completed. This photo comes from a display shown at the House on the Rock. Photo courtesy of Adam Henderson.

Another photo from a display shown at the House on the Rock. Photo courtesy of Adam Henderson.

The Alex Jordan, Jr.'s Special is a Sport Custom owned by Alex Jordan, Jr. of Madison, Wisconsin. Alex was best known as the creator of the House on the Rock, an eccentric architectural and entertainment attraction in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Jordan tried a variety of conventional paths in life before focusing on his childhood love of architecture and electronic gadgets.

Built by Harry Whitehorse

Alex's custom is mentioned in the book "Never Enough - the creative life of Alex Jordan," by Tom Kupsh. Kupsh is one of Alex's former sculptors and a creative consultant for the "House on the Rock." "Alex was always designing or building something. He came up with the idea of creating a custom car using the body and running gear from an early 1930s Cadillac V16 roadster. He did the planning and Harry Whitehorse, whose family ran an auto body shop, did the welding." Harry fitted the car with later model Cadillac rear fenders, fadeaway fenders, a chopped top and an Oldsmobile grille surround. In 2017 Harry's wife, Deb Whitehorse told Kustomrama that the chassis on the car was from an old truck; "Harry always laughed about it, shook his head, and kind of treated is as a joke." Harry's brother, Walter, was in partnership with Harry when the car was built. According to him, Alex did pay them for services, which was highly unusual given Jordan's reputation as someone who didn't pay his bills. In fact, Harry would work on it when they needed money and Alex would show up and pay them cash.

"What a Car!"

According to Kupsh, Alex drove around town creating a scene wherever he went; "at times sporting a rubber nose, and with a cigar in hand he wowed the crowds with stories about getting the car from movie star Ann Sheridan. He intimated years later that the car served him well as something of a chick magnet. Twenty years later spotting a picture of the car ont he wall of the workshop, he walked over to it, starred a long time, and mused, "What a car!""

Junked

The car ended up being sold in the 1950s and it met its end in a junkyard near Janesville where Alex's friend Tom Every found it thirty years later with small trees growing up through it. "When Tom asked Alex if he wanted to buy it, Jordan said, "No, we can build a beter one." It was a decision he later regretted."