1960s

Dick Kalivoda and John Hamlin's 1925 Ford Modified Model T Roadster of Seattle, Washington. The car had a racing past when Dick bought it, and the car is also known as Ed Norton & Armie Marion's 1925 Ford Model-T Roadster. Dick bought the car from Ed and Armie in the late 1950s,and he hit the strip with it in 1960.

Steve Scott's Uncertain-T of Reseda, California. The build was started in 1960, and completed in 1965.

Bo Huff's 1927 Ford Model T Bucket, of Salt Lake City as it appeared in 1964.

Jerry McGinnis' 1929 Ford Model A Roadster

Bengt Wennergren's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster of Enskedefältet in Stockholm, Sweden was built by Bengt between 1962 and 1966.

Bill Leslie's 1931 Ford Model A Coupe was built in Buffalo, New York in 1964.

Jonas Qvarnström's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster of Sweden as it appeared when it was first completed in 1965.

The Orange Fink version of Lars-Erik Johansson's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster, of Stockholm, Sweden, was completed in 1967.

Lars Erik Ljungkvist's 1932 Ford Roadster, of Huddinge in Stockholm, Sweden, was completed in 1962. At the time there were about 30 hot rods in Sweden.

Lew Wolff's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe was built and raced by Downriver Modified member Lew Wolff in the mid 1960s.

Roland Larsson's 1932 Ford Roadster was built in Sweden during the winter of 1959/1960.

Per Arne Knudsen's 1934 Ford Cabriolet of Oslo, Norway. The build was started around 1964 - 1965, and completed in 1969. Once completed the vehicle licensing department refused to approve the build. After several attempts, Per Arne gave up fighting the law, and he sold the car to Ludvig Bjørnstad. Ludvig turned the hot rod into a drag racer, and it became one of the first Norwegian cars to ever compete in an organized drag race.

Bob Davis' 1935 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Long Beach, California was restyled in 1960. Bob was a member of the Lords of Wilmington car club.

Hasse Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1938 Chevrolet Convertible of Huddinge in Stockholm, Sweden as it appeared in the early 1960s.

Gary Overby's 1940 Chevrolet Coupe was restyled by Gary Overby in 1960.

Don Moore's 1940 Ford Coupe

John Sak's 1941 Ford Convertible was completed in 1960.

Per Ivar Kolgrov's 1948 Mercury Convertible of Oslo, Norway was restyled around 1963/1964. The car is known as the first custom cars of Norway.

Gary Overby's 1949 Ford of Tacoma, Washington was sectioned 5 inches in 1961.

Ken Bausert's 1950 Mercury Convertible

Marshall's 1951 Chevrolet, of Long Beach, California, as it appeared in 1966. The flames were applied by Marshall in 1965.

Tim Smith's 1951 Ford Victoria of Tacoma, Washington was restyled by Dick Page in 1965.

Einar Valsjø's 1952 Mercury of Trondheim, Norway was one of the first custom cars of Norway. The build was completed around 1963.

Art Fortin's 1953 Ford Sunliner Convertible, of Adams, Massachusetts, was started in 1960 and completed in 1962.

Jarle Pedersen's 1953 Mercury was owned and restyled by Jarle Pedersen of Oslo, Norway in the mid 1960s.

Buddy Katlik's 1953 Plymouth 4-door, was restyled by Jess Sandoval of Renewal Body Shop in Clovis for Fresno Pan Draggers member Buddy Katlik, of Fresno, California around 1960/1961.

Dick and Doris Vanadrigham's 1954 Chevrolet, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was restyled by Gordy Brown in the early 1960s.

Al Peirish's 1954 Ford Skyliner of Inglewood, California was restyled by Don Roberts of Bear Custom Shop in 1962. Al's Skyliner was one of the last customs to come out of Don's shop.

John Nadzon's 1954 Mercury of Parsippany, New Jersey was restyled by Korky's Kustom Shop. The car, named The Mysterian, made its debut February 17, 1960 at the Hartford Autorama.

Don Brock's 1955 Chevrolet of Salt Lake City, Utah as it appeared around 1961 Don was a member of the Crusaders of Salt Lake City car club.

Leif Helander's 1955 Chevrolet Convertible

Larry Quatrone's 1955 Ford Crown Victoria was painted candy gold and lime by Larry Watson in 1960.

Larry Nixon's 1956 Chevrolet Nomad of Tacoma, Washington received a custom paint job by Dick Page in 1967.

Oscar and Ernesto Ruelas' 1956 Chevrolet of East Los Angeles, California. Oscar and Ernesto were founding members of the Duke's car club, and their Chevrolet, known as Mr. Know it All, received a custom paint job by Joe Andersen at Joe Andersen's Custom Shop in the mid 1960s.

The second version of Don Von Dwingelo's 1956 Ford Thunderbird made its debut in 1960.

Gene Boucher's 1956 Ford, The Marquis, was restyled by Bill Cushenbery of Cushenbery Custom Shop. The build took two and a half year to complete, and it made its debut in January of 1962.

Dave Jenkins' 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air

Hans Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1957 DeSoto of Enskedefältet in Stockholm, Sweden was built in the early 1960s. Hans and Kjelle belonged to a little club called Sill Drivers, and they were often called "Sillarna". This photo shows the car as it appeared in 1964.

Red Pierce's 1957 Oldsmobile as it looked in the mid 1960s. Red's Olds was fit with hydraulic lifts all around.

Steve Drale's 1958 Cadillac Brougham was mildly restyled in 1965.

Bruce Schwartz' 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air - The "Blue Car"

Joe Hurst's 1958 Chevrolet Impala was restyled and fit with lifts in the mid 1960s.

John and Rebecca Hackler's 1958 Chevrolet

Forest Cutler's 1959 Chevrolet Impala was built in South Dakota in the early 1960s.

Harald Sannum's 1959 Chevrolet Impala was restyled in 1965, and it is known as one of the first full custom cars of Norway.

Mark Jorgenson's 1960 Chevrolet Impala was restyled in the mid 1960s featuring lifts up front by Dick & Ron's and a pearl blue fadeaway paint job by Joe Andersen's Custom Shop.

Calvin Wilkes' 1960 Ford - The Candy Cane

Geno Janokowski's 1960 Ford - The Black Jack

Mike Perello's 1960 Ford Starliner was restyled and fit with hydraulics in 1964.

Joe Hurst's 1961 Buick Electra was restyled in 1965.

Mike Smith's 1962 Chevrolet Impala was restyled in the mid 1960s.

Mike Smith's 1965 Buick Riviera was restyled in the mid 1960s

Howard Gribble's 1961 Ford Starliner of Torrance, California was restyled by Carl Darling and Howard Gribble. The build was completed early in 1966. Unfortunately a truck smashed one side of the car shortly thereafter.

Carl Darling's 1961 Ford Starliner was restyled around 1967/1968.

Sandy Gordon's 1961 Pontiac Bonnveille Convertible received a fadeaway paint job by Joe Andersen's Custom Shop in the summer of 1965.

Richard Zocchi's 1962 Pontiac Grand Prix was restyled by Gene Winfield of Winfield's Custom Shop in 1962.

Bob Guilbault's 1963 Pontiac Bonneville. Bob was a member of the San Fernando Valley Illusions car club.

Alexander Ruelas' 1965 Chevrolet Impala was originally restyled by Bill Hines around 1966/1967.

Dennis Unea's 1959 Chevrolet Impala was restyled by Bill Hines in 1969.

Allen Duke's 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS of Wilmington, California. Allen's lifted Impala went through several changes between 1965 and 1969. This was how it appeared after Carl Darling had given it a pearl blue paint job with a light cobweb effect on the side panels during the summer of 1967.

Allen Duke's 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS, of Wilmington, California, as it appeared in 1968, after Carl Darling had given it a more spectacular custom paint job.

Allen Duke's 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS of Wilmington, California as it appeared in 1969, after it had been turned into Bloody Mary.

The first version of Bob Huffman's 1965 Chevrolet, of Norwalk, California, featuring a bumperless front end design, restyled rear end and Hydraulics on all four corners was completed in 1966.

The second version of Bob Huffman's 1965 Chevrolet Impala, of Norwalk, California, was based on a design by Harry Bradley. The car was restyled by Bob and Tom Chafin. The build was completed in 1968.

Jim Arkin's 1965 Chevrolet Impala of San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California received a full custom paint job by Joe Andersen's Custom Shop and lifts on all four corners by Dick & Ron's in the summer of 1966.

Nick Hoogoian's 1965 Chevrolet Malibu of Granada Hills, San Fernando Valley received a fadeaway paint job by Joe Andersen's Custom Shop and lifts up front by Dick & Ron's in the summer of 1966.

Jim Arkin's 1965 Chevrolet Impala as it appeared after Joe Andersen of Joe Andersen's Custom Shop had repainted it black pearl with cobweb in 1967.

Bob Stepanion's 1966 Chevrolet El Camino was restyled by Gordy Brown of House of Customs in 1966.

Dave Stuckey's 1965 Pontiac Catalina of Wichita, Kansas was restyled in 1969. The car was Dave's personal driver, and it was sectioned, chopped, channeled and lowered.

Dick & Ron's Custom of Huntington Park, California propably installed more lifts then anyone else in the 1960s. Photo courtesy of Mike Davis.

Custom painter Dick Kalivoda's business card. Dick was from Seattle, Washington. Photo courtesy of Dick Page.

The 2nd annual Tridents Rod and Custo-Rama was held November 16-23, 1961 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.

<-- 1950s - 1970s -->

1 Lowriders
2 Hot Rods of the 1960s
3 Custom Cars of the 1960s
4 Competition Cars of the 1960s
5 Hot Rod, Custom Car and Lowrider Clubs of the 1960s
6 Custom Body Shops of the 1960s
7 Custom Paint Shops of the 1960s
8 Custom Painters of the 1960s
9 Hydraulic Lift Shops of the 1960s
10 Speed Shops of the 1960s
11 Custom Wheels and Accessories Shops of the 1960s
12 Hot Rod and Custom Car Shows of the 1960s
13 Drag Racing Events of the 1960s
14 References

Lowriders

The first hydraulic lifts were installed on custom and show cars in the late 1950s. In the early to mid 1960s most cars running around with hydraulics were considered custom cars. As the trend started moving towards nice, clean cars, most lowriders in the mid to late 1960s weren't considered customs anymore due to their lack of body modifications. The mainstream automotive press began to recognize the importance of lowriding, and used the term as early as 1966 to describe cars like Jerry Cohen's 1948 Chevrolet.^[1]