Wilkenson’s Body Shop

Al Forrester's 1950 Mercury Hardtop

Bill Schott's 1950 Ford Coupe of Portland, Oregon. Bill was a charter member of The Kings of Portland. He bought the Ford late in 1958 and had Wilkenson’s Body Shop lower the car for him.

Bill Hoffman's 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air was restyled by George Schultz and Von Hunter at Wilkenson's Body Shop in 1958.

John W. Peterson's 1957 Ford Thunderbird was restyled by Von Hunter at Wilkenson Automotive. Photo by Ralph Ehorn, courtesy of Rod & Custom Magazine.

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Wilkenson's Body Shop of Portland, Oregon was owned and operated by Jim Wilkenson.

Von Hunter

Well known custom builder Von Hunter worked for Jim in his shop the late 1950s. Ron Gerlitz grew up in the area, and he met Von when he worked for Wilkenson. "I was 16," Gerlitz told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2020, "and I had a '49 Chevy. My dad told me don't you be changing anything on that car. First thing I did was to put a '58 Impala steering wheel on it." After the swap, the Impala wheel ended right up in his face. Wilkenson Automotive was about four blocks from Ron's house so he went up there. Von asked Ron what he could do for him. Ron showed him the car, and Von told him he could cut the column for 25 dollars. "That's how I met him. After about three hours he had cut the column and put my steering wheel down where it belonged."

Cars Restyled by Wilkenson's Body Shop

Bill Schott's 1950 Ford Coupe
Al Forrester's 1950 Mercury
Bill Hoffman's 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air

John W. Peterson's 1957 Ford Thunderbird