The Joe Brienza Photo Collection

Joe at age 18, with his first hot rod, a stretched 1929 Ford Model A Coupe. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

Joe Brienza's 1949 Mercury. Joe bought the Mercury in 1951 and wasted no time transforming it. The original flathead was replaced with a powerful 1948 Cadillac engine. Six months later, seeking even more performance, he swapped that for a 1950 Oldsmobile engine paired with an automatic transmission—creating a combination he remembers as running exceptionally well. The Mercury’s exterior went through several transformations, from black to turquoise blue, eventually ending up in a striking two-tone. Joe experimented with grilles, first using the 1951 Ford grille seen here. This version did also feature a shaved hood and hooded headlights. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

Joe's stretched coupe was powered by a Cadillac engine. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

A rear end shot of Joe's 1929 Ford Model A Coupe that he bought in 1954. Joe bought the engine of a totaled 1951 Cadillac four-door from a wrecking yard. He took the engine from the Cadilac and installed it in the coupe. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

A photo of Mike with Joe's Coupe. The heart-shaped grille and nerf bar with Joe's name add a playful touch, while the chopped roof gives it an aggressive stance. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

Joe's 1949 Mercury went through many stages. This photo shows it in Turquoise blue with a shaved hood, featuring hooded headlights and the 1951 Ford grille. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

A 1937 Ford coupe, with a 1938 Ford front, that Joe built from parts he had around the yard; "This was just a fun car. I was about 15 years old and raced it around the woods. I wound up hitting a telephone pole making a power turn in the woods." While Joe ran the stock fenders in the back, motorcycle type fenders were installed up front. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

Joe Brienza's 1935 LaSalle Convertible. The car caught fire in 1975. Joe bought the burned out remains, and spent the two next years "street rodding" it. According to Joe, the car was first restyled in the early 1940s. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

The rear fin on the car was supposedly traces after the restyling it went trough in the 1940s. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

An early photo of Joe Brienza's 1936 Ford 3-Window Coupe dated August 1956. Joe bought the '36 after he sold his first hot rod, a Cadillac powered 1929 Ford Model A coupe. He sold the Model A without the engine, so it didn't take long before the original flathead had been replaced with the Cadillac engine. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

A rear end shot of Joe Brienza's 1936 Ford 3-Window coupe dated August of 1956. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

An early stage photo of Joe Brienza working on his 1934 Ford convertible. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

A photo of Joe as he is tearing down the Ford. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

Joe proudly posing next to his in-progress 1934 Ford hot rod, holding the distinctive grille shell he was crafting. The finger in the photo gives it a touch of character, a reminder of the authentic moments that defined this era of hot rodding. The unique grille shell was built from two 1940 Ford hoods welded together with headlight halves. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

The Brienza Special as it appeared when it was featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine August 1959. Photo courtesy of Joe Brienza.

Kustomrama Photo Archive

Joesph "Joe" Brienza of West Islip, New York bought his first car, a 1929 Hudson coupe around 1949/1950. He was 13 years old at the time, and he had to pay 15 bucks for it. The Hudson was in a good shape, and Joe just did ards and ends on it. There were few houses were Joe lived, and hardly any cops, so he used to drive the Hudson to school and park it around the corner so no one would see him.

In 1954 Joe bought a 1929 Ford Model A coupe and a 1948 Mercury chassis that he turned into a ratty Cadillac powered hot rod. The quarter windows were filled in, and the top was chopped 4 inches before Joe channeled the body 10 inches over the frame. Because of the long Mercury chassis, Joe decided to extend the hood. Power came from a 1950 Cadillac engine that was hooked to a LaSalle tranny and a 1941 Cadillac rearend. The build took around 6 months. It was a fun car to ride around in, but as Joe didn't like "rat rods", he sold it and bought a 1936 Ford 3-Window Coupe instead. As the Model A, Joe's 3-Window Coupe featured a Cadillac engine as well. The engine was hooked to a Lincoln side shift tranny, and a 2 speed Columbia rear end. After the 3-Window coupe followed an Oldsmobile powered 1949 Mercury, a 1929 Ford pickup, a 1934 Ford 5-Window coupe, a 1937 Ford, another 1937 Ford with a 1938 Ford grille, a 1937 Lincoln Zephyr and a 1951 Ford Victoria. In 1957 Joe bought a 1934 Ford Convertible. He found the car as a beaten down stocker in a horse barn. The convertible was filled with horse manure up to the dashboard, and the famrer sold it to Joe for $35. Joe spent the next two years, working six hours a night, seven days a week on the car. After Joe had invested more than 1,500 hours in the car, the old Ford had been turned into a trophy winning show car named "The Brienza Special". The Brienza Special landed the cover of Custom Rodder December 1958 shortly after it had been completed. It went on to gain national recognition after it landed the cover of Hot Rod Magazine August 1959. The interior of the Brienza Special featured hidden stitch tufts and buttons. The rug consisted of real white bear skin. The upholstery was done by Baldwin Auto Upholstery. At the time Joe built the car and took it to the upholstery shop, he worked as an automobile mechanic. At the upholstery shop the owner of the shop was so impressed with the car that he offered Joe a job, telling him he would learn him the trade. Joe figured that he would rather do custom upholstery than crawl all over the ground full of grease, so he accepted the job. After building the '34, Joe was asked if he wanted to join the Bay Buggies hot rod club. They kept begging until he coined, and became a member.

After the '34, Joe customized a 1939 Chevrolet that he called The Brienza Special No. 2. The Brienza Special No. 2 was powered by a 400 Buick Nailhead engine, and as the '34, the '39 took many awards before Joe sold it to a guy in Kuiwait. After the '39, followed a 429 Cadillac powered 1960 Volvo. The little Volvo weighted only 1900 punds, so with a stock engine ut turned in low tens at the track. The Volvo was sold off, and Joe bought a burnt out 1935 LaSalle. The LaSalle had a history, and was originally customized in the early 1940s. After two years of hard and dedicated work, Joe had turned the LaSalle into an award winner as well.

Joe worked at Baldwin Auto Upholstery for 10 years. After 10 years he quit and went to work for Grummans Aircraft Company. At Grummans he upholstered airplanes. He was also making the backpacks for the astronauts. When the astronauts returned from the first moon-landing, Joe had the job of repairing the backpacks. Joe worked for Grummans for 5 years. After that he went into his own business with his brother. He worked with his brother for 10 years before he built a 6 car garage in his backyard. In the new garage, Joe worked with his wife for 24 years.

In 1986, Joe bought, restored and restyled another LaSalle, a 1934 LaSalle Coupe. Joe found this one in New Jersey. It was kept in a trailered body, and ut had bullet holes in the right rear panel and fender. In 2012 Joe decided it was time to build another hot rod. This time a fiberglass 1923 Ford Model T Roadster Pick-Up. In 2012 Joe was working on a Pinto powered 1980 Shay reproduction 1929 Ford Model A Roadster.