Tom Holden's 1959 Chevrolet El Camino - The Ultimus

Photo courtesy of Carscoops.

Photo courtesy of Carscoops.

Photo courtesy of Carscoops.

Photo courtesy of Carscoops.

Photo courtesy of Carscoops.

Photo courtesy of Carscoops.

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Photo courtesy of Carscoops.

The Ultimus was one of Leon Dixon's all-time favorite custom cars. As a kid, he used to compete in the model car contest at the Detroit Autorama, and he was there when Tom debuted the Ultimus at the show. The car had already been featured on the cover of Cars Magazine, so Leon had Tom sign him a copy. Photo courtesy of Leon Dixon.

A photo of the Ultimus at the 1976 Detroit Autorama. This photo appeared in American Cars of Southern Norway Newsletter No. 1 - 1976. Photo by Steinar Næss, courtesy of American Cars of Southern Norway.

A photo of the Ultimus in red primer. No longer chasing trophies, but still very much alive. Photo from The Roger Lick Photo Collection.

Photo courtesy of Carscoops.

The Ultimus as it sat in 2018, when it appeared in an episode of American Pickers on History Channel. Photo courtesy of Claire Abendroth, Michigan Live.

A photo of the Ultimus taken at Galpin Speed Shop. In January of 2023, Dave Shuten announced on his Instagram that Galpin Speed Shop would bring some really exciting and historic future restoration projects to the 2023 Grand National Roadster Show. One of them was the Ultimus. Photo courtesy of Dave Shuten.

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1959 Chevrolet El Camino, owned and restyled by Tom Holden of Detroit, Michigan. Holden had a little operation out of his garage that he called "KusTOMs Unlimited." Once completed, the car was shown as the Ultimus.

Bubble Tops

According to Leon Dixon, the blue bubble tops were blown over at Cadillac Plastics on Second Avenue in Detroit.

Rick Klibenski

In February of 2018 the Utlimus was owned by Rick Klibenski of Parma, Michigan, and the car appeared in an episode of American Pickers called "Double Bubble Trouble."

The Restoration

In January of 2023, Dave Shuten announced on his Instagram that Galpin Speed Shop would bring some really exciting and historic future restoration projects to the 2023 Grand National Roadster Show. One of them was the Ultimus.