The Larry Watson Imposter

Rudy Rodriguez’s 1954 Ford at the 1958 Muncie, Indiana Auto Show. When Jerry bought his 1955 Ford Fairlane, Lloyd Cooper of Cooper Body Shop had already started restyling Rudy Rodriguez’s 1954 Ford and Terry Smith’s 1954 Ford. Jerry and Terry were rivals, so in order to keep his project secret from Terry, Jerry decided to approach Ed Blaisdell about restyling his Fairlane. Rudy was a friend of Jerry, and his Ford was scalloped by a Larry Watson imposter; “It was done either at the Muncie or Fort Wayne show. He had an “exclusive” to the show. He laid out Rudy’s scallops on Saturday night after the show had closed, and painted them with “rattle cans.” He was going to stripe them on Sunday, but someone who knew Watson personally “blew the whistle” on this guy and he was asked to leave the show immediately.” Photo from the Jerry Drake Photo Collection.