Carter Pro Paint

Carl Tucker's 1961 Ford of Panorama City, California. In 1967 or 1968, while attending the James Monroe High, Carl brought the car to Bill Carter's Carter Pro Paint to have it pinstriped by Walt Prey. Walt striped the car in cream and white. "Man, this guy could lay down some lines!" Carl told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama in 2017. Carl remembered being there when he striped it. "Carter's shop was over by Valley College in the Valley. I pulled in. He walked over. We talked a bit. He walked around the car, got a brush and just started running lines. No layout. No grease pencil. No tape. Just running wild! And they were straight. Beautiful! I was blown away!"

Jim Robertson's 1961 Ford of Simi Valley, California. Jim's Ford was restyled in 1969, and it featured a fadeaway paint job by Bill Carter of Carter Pro Paint and pinstriping by Walt Prey.

Rudy and Linda Reyes' 1965 Chevrolet Impala was painted by Bill Carter and pinstriped by Walt Prey at Carter Pro Paint.

Howard Gribble's 1966 Buick Riviera of Torrance, California. Built as a purpose-built show car, Howard's Riviera, dubbed The Uneasy Rider, featured shaved handles, hydraulics by Dick Saller, and a custom Fuschia and Silver Metalflake and veil paint job by Bill Carter and Walt Prey. Howard brought the Riviera to Carter at Carter Pro Paint in Van Nuys for a custom paint job around December of 68. He had been in touch with Walt Prey ever since he pinstriped his 1967 Impala. Back then, Walt was working with Dave Kent. He had now moved on and was working with Carter, so that’s how the Riviera ended up in his shop. Howard and Carter talked about the design, and Carter had an idea about what he wanted to do. He suggested a Fuschia and Silver Metalflake panel paint job with black veilings over the silver. Howard liked the idea, but he wasn’t sure about how the veiling would turn out. “I had seen other cars with veiling on it, but I think I thought that we didn’t really need the veiling over the silver. Carter seemed to wanna do it, and it turned out that he was right. It looked better that way. It was really distinctive.” Veiling is more or less random swirls applied with a special spray gun. A decorative technique said to have been borrowed from manufacturers of household furnishings and first used on cars by Larry Watson. The paint job was completed around March of 1969, and Howard recalled that Carter charged 400 for the job. He also had to pay Walt a little extra for the pinstriping. “They were working out of the same shop, but their businesses were separate.” Satisfied with the result, Howard believes that the paint job Carter laid on his Rivie was one of his best paint jobs. The car made a splash on the indoor show scene when it was completed early in 1969. Though plagued by mechanical issues, the Riviera left a lasting impression before Howard sold it around 1971. He last saw the car at a show shortly after it was traded for Allen Duke's Bloody Mary.

A photo of Jimmy Lemus' 1967 Buick Riviera custom that Junji Nakamura shot at an indoor car show at the Long Beach Sports Arena in 1971. A beautiful lifted and mildly customized Riviera Custom. Lemus was a member of the New Movement SFV car club, and his Riviera featured a custom paint job by Bill Carter. It was shown under the name "Low and Loaded."^[1] Photo from The Junji Nakamura Photo Collection.

Carter Pro Paint was a custom paint shop operated by Bill Carter. In the 1960s Bill's shop was located at Burbank Blvd. in Van Nuys, California. In the late 1960s legendary pinstriper and custom painter Walt Prey worked for Bill at Carter Pro Paint.