Richard Gregg's 1950 Ford

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Photo by George Barris. From www.barriskustomcity.com[2]
Photo by George Barris
Photo by George Barris
Photo by George Barris
The Capri at the 1959 Sacramento Autorama
Richard-gregg-1950-ford-10-best.jpg
The pickup as it sat when Tony Gomes went to check it out in 2016. Located 10 minutes away from Tony, the car had been in storage for 40 plus years, and it was buried in mud. The windows were down, and it sat on flat tires, but it was complete, so Tony ended up buying it. Photo courtesy of Tony Gomes - Tri-Valley Auto-Glass Upholstery.
Tony Gomes with the car the day he picked it up. Photo courtesy of Tony Gomes - Tri-Valley Auto-Glass Upholstery.
The grille and headlights were changed in 1959. After buying the car, Tony held a 1957 Chevrolet bezel in the opening, and it look like it is the same, but with an additional hole. Photo courtesy of Tony Gomes - Tri-Valley Auto-Glass Upholstery.
Tony's father, Dennis Gomes reliving the old days! Photo courtesy of Tony Gomes - Tri-Valley Auto-Glass Upholstery.
Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.
Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.
All the original stripings from 1958. Photo courtesy of Tony Gomes - Tri-Valley Auto-Glass Upholstery.
Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.
Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.
Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.
The remains of the original headliner. Photo courtesy of Tony Gomes - Tri-Valley Auto-Glass Upholstery.
The Capri next to the restored version of Horace Davi's 1949 Ford in Tony's shop. Horace's Ford, known as the Shampoo Truck was in for new side windows at Tri-Valley Auto-Glass Upholstery. Photo courtesy of Tony Gomes - Tri-Valley Auto-Glass Upholstery.
Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.
A drawing of the car from Richard's scrapbook. Photo courtesy of Marcus Edell.
Layers of old paint on the old custom. Photo by Dave Hitchinson.
Dave working on the passanger side door. Photo by Dave Hitchinson.
The belly burner exhaust polished and mounted. Photo by Dave Hitchinson.
Dave working on the driver side headlights. Photo by Dave Hitchinson.
A photo of the car taken two days before the 2017 Grand National Roadster Show. Photo by Dave Hitchinson.
The Capri at Dave Hitchinson's shop January 26, 2017. The photo was taken a few hours before it's bare metal debut at the 2017 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona. Photo courtesy of Dave Hitchinson.
A photo of the Capri taken on the 2017 Grand National Roadster Show move-in day. Photo by Marcus Edell.
Photo by Marcus Edell.
Dave Hitchinson and Tony Gomes with the truck. Photo by Marcus Edell.
The Capri at the 67th annual Sacramento Autorama in February of 2017. Photo by Marcus Edell.


1950 Ford pick up owned and built by Richard "Rick" Gregg of Rick's Body Shop in Sacramento, California. According to an old newspaper clipping about the car, Richard decided to build the pickup after he had been beaten by a souped up pick-up in a race. Richard was driving a Thunderbird. After loosing he yelled back: "I don't have one, but I'll go home and build one." Richard based his build on a wrecked two-door sedan that that he bought in 1957. The build was started in January of 1958.[3] Rick sectioned the body 5 inches. The top was then chopped an additional 5 inches before the front end was modified to accept a 1950 Mercury grille shell.[4] A tubular floating grille was fabricated for the new opening. The front fenders were reworked to accept frenched 1957 Chevrolet headlight rims. The hood was shaved, peaked and reshaped into a pancaked opening. In the rear, 1954 Pontiac taillights were adapted to fit the fenders. The tailgate did also receive a molded and recessed license plate. Total height reduction was 14 inches. When the bodywork was done, the car was painted and scalloped Coppercrust and Sunburst by Translucent Color Company. The scallops were outlined in white. The car had an unique exhaust pipe installation, and the exhaust stacks were routed up behind the doors and mounted on each side of the pickup bed, running along the fender line. Dual spotlights and side pipes were installed to give the car a lower appearance.[5] It featured a full pleated upholstery in Gold and White, Copper rugs, Chromed interior moldings, and a tarp in Copper and White. The engine was kept stock. The build was completed early in 1959. Once completed, Rick named it "The Capri". He estimated that the car cost him $5,000 in labor and material.


National Roadster Show and the Sacramento Autorama

February 14-22, 1959 the Capri was shown at the 10th annual National Roadster Show. It was also shown at the 1959 Sacramento Autorama.


Canted Quads

In 1959, after the National Roadster Show and the Sacramento Autorama, the car received canted quad headlights and a Cadillac grille. This version was also fit with bumper guards. In October of 1959 the first version of the truck was featured on the cover of Custom Cars magazine.


Sold to Charles Bliss

Around 1963 Richard sold the car to Charles Bliss. Charles showed the car in 1964 before he sold it to George Palyak of Fremont, California. After buying the car, George moved to Livermore, California, bringing the custom along. In the 1970s George sold the car to Rich Souza of San Ramon, California.[3]


Lost and Found

Tony Gomes of San Ramon, California came across the old custom in June of 2016. A buddy of Tony called him to say that the father of his boss had an old truck like the Shampoo Truck in his possession. At the time Tony had the Shampoo Truck at his shop Tri-Valley Auto Glass. He asked if it was for sale, and the fellow replied "Yes." The following week Tony met up with a friend, and they went to Rich Souza to check it out. Rich lived 10 minutes from Tony. The old custom had been in storage for 40 plus years, and it was buried in mud. The windows were down and it sat on flat tires, but it was complete, so Tony decided to buy it. The body was in a good shape, no major rust damage, and all bodywork was done in lead, with just a little bit of filler used. It had been painted several times since it was first built, and it featured a Lavender Metalflake paint job when Tony bought it. That same weekend he hauled it back to his shop; "I just sat there for like 3 hours and geeked out on it, asking myself what the **** happened just now!" Tony wrote on Facebook. Tony plans to restore the car back to how it was first built by Gregg. According to an old registration from the 1970s, third owner George Palyak lived on Xavier Drive in Livermore. The same street as Tony! In 2014, two years prior to Tony buying the car, Tony's father Dennis bought Richard Gregg's old scrapbook. The scrapbook contained several build photos of the Capri. [3]


Bare Metal Debut

In January of 2017 Dave Hitchinson started stripping the body for paint, preparing it for its bare metal debut at the 2017 Grand National Roadster Show. Dave also restyled the front end converting it back to how it was first built, with the 1957 Chevrolet headlight rims.


Magazine Features and Appearances

Custom Cars June 1959
Custom Cars October 1959
Custom Cars January 1960
Custom Cars April 1960
Rod & Custom September 1960
Trend Book 197 Custom Cars 1961 Annual


References




 

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