Dave Ellis

A photo of Dave taken in 2019, when Keith Christensen introduced Sondre and Olav Kvipt of Kustomrama to Dave.

Larry Craig's 1957 Cadillac, shown here with Dave and other members of the Sultans of Long Beach car club. Craig painted the car himself and had hydraulic lifts installed all the way around. The car was later sold to Gary Reynolds. Photo from The Dave Ellis Collection.

Dave Ellis (ca. 1949 – January 2023) was a car enthusiast, automotive memorabilia collector, and founding member of the Sultans of Long Beach car club. Born in Pennsylvania, Dave moved to California with his family in 1950 when he was a year old. He grew up in the heart of the Southern California custom car scene, spent time around builders like Larry Watson and Keith Christensen from his early teens, owned over 35 cars and trucks, and built one of the most impressive private collections of custom car memorabilia in the Apple Valley area.

Early Life

Dave Ellis grew up in the Long Beach and Bellflower area of California. His mother worked as a cashier at a restaurant in Long Beach and knew some of the car guys in the area. She started getting Dave 1:25 scale promotional model cars when he was five or six years old, which sparked his lifelong collecting habit. He started building model cars as a boy and began collecting automotive memorabilia in his pre-teen years.

As a kid, Dave bought model cars and copies of Car Craft and Rod & Custom magazines at a Thrifty drugstore near his house, attached to a Ralph's Market. "I'd look through 'em and stuff," Dave recalled. "And I'd see these guys' hot rods, and customs, and I used to, you know, my little fantasy was, I hope when I grow up I can have bitching cars and get 'em pinstriped."

Growing up, Dave's family took trips from Los Angeles to Chicago every couple of years, driving Route 66 the entire way. The two-lane road passed through small towns across the desert and the Midwest. Dave was fascinated by the neon motel signs and lit-up gas pumps, even when they drove at night. He credited these trips with sparking his love for highway transportation advertising and memorabilia.

According to Keith Christensen, Dave would ride his bicycle over to Compton in his early teens to see customizers, pinstripers, and painters such as Von Dutch, George Barris, Junior Conway, Bill Hines, and Dean Jeffries. One of the places Dave rode his bike to in Compton was Custom City, a motorcycle shop located next to the original Service Center. The Service Center did muffler work, lowering, and louvers, and had engine stands inside with built flathead motors, some with blowers. "When you walked up to the counter to talk to one of the salesmen, all of the back wall was nothing but Car Club plaques from all over southern California," Dave said. This was one of the things that sparked his interest in collecting car club plaques. Another shop Dave remembered from Compton was Dave's Home of Chrome, which operated in the late 1950s and into the 1960s. The shop sold chrome wheels and offered to swap painted window moldings, glove compartments, and ashtrays for chrome ones on popular models.

Television Work

In the mid-1950s, Dave's mother had him and his older half-sister photographed at a studio. The studio later contacted his mother about part-time work in sitcoms. Dave ended up getting a part as one of the neighborhood kids on the Ozzie and Harriet show and worked as a stand-in for Jerry Mathers in background scenes on Leave It to Beaver. He did this from 1955 to 1958.

First Cars

In junior high school, Dave met a kid named Steve Bowman, who was a couple of years older and had been held back a couple of grades, which meant he was old enough to drive a car to school in ninth grade. In 1963, Steve took Dave to his first drag race at Lion's Drag Strip and to Gene's Muffler shop in Paramount on Lakewood Boulevard for the first time. Larry Watson's paint shop was located across the driveway from Gene's Muffler, and Dave started hanging out at both shops regularly. "I'd see when they come out of the booth and stuff all custom, you know, the candy colors and the pearl colors and metal flakes and everything," Dave recalled. "And so I started actually hanging out up there with Steve for a while. We kind of hung out up there, you know, and we're doing nothing else."

Keith Christensen recalled how Dave would sit and watch him and his crew work on cars at Gene's Muffler. "This was his start into the automotive world, even before owning his own car." There was also a pinstriper named Jules Canute who worked out of Keith Christensen's shop at Gene's Muffler. Keith had set aside a spot in one of the garages where Canute could stripe cars for customers who brought them in.

Dave remembered seeing Larry Watson-painted cars around his neighborhood before he was old enough to drive. One Saturday afternoon around 1962-1963, when Dave was about 13 years old, Charles Kuhl's 1957 Ford Ranchero, which Watson had painted silver from the wheel wells down with small orange flames, pulled up in front of his parents' house. Charles Kuhl was dating Dave's older half-sister.

Dave's first car was a 1937 Ford. When he started driving, he took it to Gene's Muffler where Keith Christensen lowered it and installed a set of Bellflower muffler tips. The car already had dual mufflers.

At age 15, Dave got a job as a lot boy at Parkwood Chevrolet in Lakewood, where he detailed and washed used cars. When customers traded in cars with license plate frames from other dealerships, Dave would swap them for Parkwood's frames but kept the old ones instead of throwing them away. He stored boxes of them in his parents' garage. This was the beginning of his license plate frame collection, which eventually grew into a large collection of license plates as well.

In 1965, while working at Parkwood Chevrolet, Dave spotted a 1957 Ford that a customer had traded in on a new 1964 Chevrolet Impala. He had $1,000 saved and asked his father to cosign a personal loan for $700. "I was still in high school," Dave said. He had the 1957 Ford nosed and decked, then painted Sky Blue Metallic on the bottom with a silver top and a pinstripe at Danny's Auto Painting in North Long Beach. Dave explained that a Larry Watson paint job was out of reach at that point: "I couldn't afford a Watson paint job back then. I just started, I didn't really have a big paying job or anything."

Car Clubs

T-Timers

Dave joined the T-Timers car club when he got his license in 1965. He belonged to the Bellflower chapter. The club's biggest annual event was a run to the Smokers Meat March (now known as the March Meet) in Bakersfield.

Sultan Car Club

Around the same time, Dave met some guys from North Long Beach who were starting a new car club called the Sultan's. He joined as a founding member in 1965. The club held car shows in Signal Hill. Gary Reynolds was another original member.

The Sultan's lasted until the early 1970s. "Guys were getting drafted going to Vietnam and guys were getting married and having kids and so the car club just kind of fizzled out," Dave recalled. He always kept his plaque and jacket.

Early Times Car Club

Later in life, after building his 1934 Ford, Dave was asked to join the Early Times Car Club. He became a member and served as president for a few years.

Lion's Drag Strip

Dave went to Lion's Drag Strip every Saturday night, starting from 1963 when Steve Bowman first took him. Even before Dave was old enough to drive, the two would hitchhike to the track if Steve did not have his car. They did not live far from Lion's.

They often got rides home with drag racers. One regular ride was Les Allen from Bellflower, whose family ran Junior Fuel dragsters called the Wasp and the Stinger. Les drove for his parents as a teenager and had an old 1953 Chevrolet four-door he used as a street car. Les's younger brother Jeb Allen later drove the Praying Mantis Top Fuel dragster with Rebel sponsorship.

Dave also recalled the first time he saw Big John Mazmanian's gas supercharged Willys. "Bright red with beautiful lettering on it," he said. "I just thought that was the greatest thing in the world."

At the drags, Dave used to buy water slide decals at ten cents each. "When I went to Lion's, I'd buy at least 10 or 15 decals, different ones every time I went," he said. The decals featured sponsors of the race cars, including wheels, manifolds, and blowers. This was one of the starting points for his decal collection.

Cruising

Dave and his friends cruised multiple Southern California boulevards regularly in the 1960s. "We used to cruise every night after work back in the 60s," Dave said. Their regular routes included Bellflower Boulevard, Atlantic Boulevard in North Long Beach, Whittier Boulevard in Whittier, and Van Nuys Boulevard in the Valley. On weekends, they would head up to Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. According to Dave, Larry Watson "always wanted" to go to Hollywood and cruise Sunset Boulevard.

More Cars

Over the course of his life, Dave went through more than 35 cars and trucks.

1955 Buick Century

Dave owned a 1955 Buick Century in the 1960s. His high school friend Ronnie Long painted it pearl lavender and also did the bodywork, including nosing and decking and installing 1956 Buick taillights and a rear bumper. The car had flames, a Romer steering wheel, and reverse chrome wheels fitted with wire baskets and knock-off spinners. "Back in the day they used to make these things called wire baskets. They had a knockoff, you could set the wire basket, had a ring, you set it on there and turn the knockoff on it," Dave explained. "They look like wire wheels."

Dave said he was always involved in the work done on his cars, even though he did not do bodywork himself: "I could help guys lay out flames and stuff, tape them off. And I was always part of it."

Chevrolet Two-Door Sedan

Dave owned a Chevrolet two-door sedan similar to Larry Watson's Grapevine. It had a deep black paint job that Dave described vividly: "You ever look at a piece of black licorice in the light? It was that color. So good." The car featured a full 1964 Impala Super Sport interior with bucket seats, console, backseat, door handles, and window cranks. All black.

Around 1967-68, Dave installed hydraulic lifts on this car.

1952 Chevrolet

Dave owned a 1952 Chevrolet that appeared in a car magazine, likely Rodders Journal. The car was purple and was associated with the Sultan Car Club.

1934 Ford

Dave built a 1934 Ford hot rod, inspired by the movie The California Kid. After finishing the car, a couple of his friends asked him to join the Early Times Car Club, and he became a member. Larry Woods, a designer at Mattel who worked on many of the Hot Wheels cars, approached Dave about photographing the 1934 Ford for a cover contest in Street Scene magazine, which was the publication of the National Street Rod Association. Woods asked if Dave knew anyone with a chromed-up semi truck. Through fellow Early Times member Dennis Manifer, they connected with Manifer's neighbor's kid Darren, who had a fully chromed tractor. They all met at an old trucking company in Dominguez, where Woods shot the 1934 Ford in front of the semi using star filters to catch the chrome. The photo won the contest, and Dave's 1934 Ford appeared on the cover of Street Scene magazine. The car also appeared on the cover of Hot Rod magazine. Dave had the car for a few years before selling it.

Buick Century (Purchased 1984)

After selling the 1934 Ford and a 1940 Ford pickup, Dave wanted to build a 1955 Chevrolet Nomad, having owned one when he was younger. A friend found a one-owner Buick Century in the Los Angeles Times. The original owner's father had bought it brand new, and when the father passed away, it went to the son, who never got rid of it. The seller lived in Hemet. "I called the guy on it and talked to him. I went out there one day and I liked it and I bought it right on the spot," Dave said.

The car was nosed and decked, and a shop in Bellflower did the tuck and roll interior. Three different pinstripers worked on the car over the years: Jules Canute did the original striping, Juan Perez added to it, and Rick Morgan did the Route 66 murals and other detail work. "It's all done by hand. It's all hand brushed and all airbrush, there's no decals or nothing," Dave said.

1957 Chevrolet Cab

Dave owned a 1957 Chevrolet cab with hydraulic lifts all the way around. It was painted by Larry Craig, a custom car painter who had moved into the shop across the driveway from Gene's Muffler after Larry Watson relocated. The car had an S-10 clip, a 350 Chevrolet engine, a three-speed automatic transmission, and a Monte Carlo swaybar. Dave drove it at the lowered height without raising the lifts. The car dated to the 1990s.

Working for Larry Watson

Dave worked for Larry Watson for a period, color-sanding cars at Watson's shop on Lakewood Boulevard and Artesia Boulevard in Lakewood/Artesia. "He was actually an asshole," Dave said about Watson as an employer. "When it came to business, he was just, you know, just spinning his mood." Dave added that they became better friends later in life: "I actually became better friends with Larry when I got older."

Dave also mentioned that Watson installed a payphone in his shop office because people kept using his business phone for personal calls. Watson saw the custom knobs on Gary Niemie's 1956 Buick Century at Keith's shop and asked where he got them. When Niemie told Watson he made them himself, Watson traded him a scallop paint job for a set of handmade knobs. This took place at Watson's North Long Beach shop, dating the encounter to the late 1950s. Niemie and Watson were close friends for the last ten years before Watson's death. Niemie had a museum in the Victorville area with photos of everything Watson painted.

Hydraulic Lifts

Around 1967-68, Dave installed hydraulic lifts on his Chevrolet two-door sedan. He purchased the parts from a supplier called Earl's on Hawthorne Boulevard in Hawthorne, which sold airplane surplus hydraulic equipment, including hoses and pressure lines. The setup used a single 12-volt battery in the trunk. "These guys today, they got a whole truckload of batteries," Dave noted about the difference between his era and later lowrider hydraulic setups.

Dave learned about lift installation by watching a man named Barry at a local muffler and welding shop. Barry lowered cars by cutting springs and did other custom work. Another early lift installer named Mark worked out of Santa Fe Springs. Mark owned a 1958 Pontiac Bonneville, all black, with lifts all the way around and Buick Skylark wire wheels. Mark also installed lifts on older cars for other people. Dave could not recall Mark's last name but said Keith Christensen knew him.

Motorcycle

Dave owned a motorcycle that Larry Watson painted the fenders and tank on in 1966.

Career

Dave graduated from high school at age 17. He wanted to become a roofer and join the roofer's union, but could not join until he was 18. In the meantime, he got a job driving a truck hauling roofing material. The trucks had scissor beds that lifted up so workers could walk shingles directly onto roofs.

Through his roofing work, Dave met a coworker named Danny who introduced him to Gary Gabelich, the future land speed record holder. Danny had gone to school with Gabelich. Dave had already seen Gabelich at the drags driving Top Fuel cars and at Marine Stadium driving drag boats. Gabelich had also done testing for the space program, being spun at high speeds. Dave recalled that Gabelich once wanted to ride a motorcycle through the quarter mile standing on steel-plated boots, but the track would not allow it.

Dave eventually started his own roofing business. Through the business he met Tom's Muffler owner Tom, who had properties Dave roofed. Tom ran a six-cylinder dragster at Lion's Drag Strip and raced Ike O'Connell from San Pedro in the final round every Saturday night. He also met Paul Gomey, a Ford hot rod enthusiast and drag racing participant who owned rental properties.

After his first marriage, Dave lived in North Long Beach.

The Stolen Camaro

In 1986, Dave bought a new Chevrolet Camaro. One evening, he and his girlfriend went to Shoreline Village in Long Beach. Earlier that day, Dave had shown his photo album of custom car pictures to a renter in the back house on his property, and left the album in the backseat of the Camaro. When they returned to the parking lot, the car was gone.

"What I was worried about is they take my album," Dave said. "You can't replace all pictures. They're gone." Dave believed that the tow truck operators who recovered the stolen car kept the album, as it was full of custom car photos.

Collection and Memorabilia

Dave was a lifelong collector of custom car memorabilia. He started collecting at age five or six, when his mother began bringing home 1:25 scale promotional model cars. At the time of the 2019 interview at his home in Apple Valley, he had an estimated 150 photo albums, along with business cards (including multiple Larry Watson cards from different eras), car show discount coupons, stickers, decals, and an original full-size car show poster featuring Sonny and Cher and Rat Fink. He also had AMT model car club memorabilia and items signed by George Barris.

Dave had copies of Norwalk Coachmen car show films from 1955 and 1957, shot at Norwalk High School. The films were in color and included aerial footage taken from a helicopter. They showed Keith Christensen handing out trophies as a teenager, Big Daddy Roth's shop pickup, Norman Grabowski's first T-bucket, and all the Renegades club cars.

His 1015 Wurlitzer jukebox came from a swap meet where he was buying parts for his 1934 Ford. His mother had taken him to a place in Long Beach that had one of the same jukeboxes when he was a child, and he had always wanted one. He bought it around 1980-1985.

Dave's interest in car club plaques was sparked by the wall of plaques at the original Service Center in Compton, and later expanded from Southern California clubs to plaques from across the United States.

Dave collected license plates from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in 1949, his birth year. His goal was to find matching dealer frames for all of them. License plate frame collecting came first, starting when he was 15 and working as a lot boy at Parkwood Chevrolet in Lakewood.

After moving to Apple Valley, Dave enlarged his garage and turned his home into a showcase for his collection. "From gas pumps to jukeboxes to oil cans and car parts, his collection soon became the envy of many out-of-town collectors," Keith Christensen wrote. "The trading and selling of vintage items became a retirement avocation for him." Dave used to host an annual barbecue at his home that drew 75 to 80 people of all ages.

People Dave Met Through the Car Scene

Through Keith Christensen's shop, Dave knew Jules Canute, a pinstriper who worked out of one of the garages at Gene's Muffler. Dennis Manifer was a pinstriper who worked at Norm Reeves Honda during the day and did striping work at his own shop in the evenings. Dave used to hang out at Manifer's shop at night.

Dave also knew Gary Canning, a member of a car club called the Tridents, who became a car show promoter. Canning held shows at the LA Sports Arena, Long Beach Sports Arena, San Diego Sports Arena, and the Orange Show in San Bernardino. He later started a swap meet in Pasadena called the Loose Change Fun Fair, which focused on jukeboxes, coin-operated machines, records, and movie posters.

Dave Ellis Passes Away

Dave Ellis passed away in January 2023 in Apple Valley, California, due to complications from diabetes. "In his affable and friendly ways, Dave has left so many wonderful friends saddened by losing him," Keith Christensen wrote. "We all have an empty spot in our world as well as our hearts that he once filled. We were all blessed to call him a fine friend."

Personal Rides

• 1937 Ford
• 1957 Ford
• 1955 Buick Century (pearl lavender, 1960s)
• Chevrolet two-door sedan (black, with hydraulic lifts)
• 1955 Chevrolet Nomad
• Buick Century (purchased 1984)
• 1952 Chevrolet (purple, Sultan Car Club)
• 1954 Chevrolet
• 1957 Chevrolet cab (with hydraulic lifts, 1990s)
• 1966 Pontiac Ventura (sold to Gary Reynolds)
• 1934 Ford (hot rod, Street Scene and Hot Rod magazine covers)
• 1940 Ford pickup
• 1986 Chevrolet Camaro (stolen)
• 1986 Chevrolet pickup (daily driver)
• Motorcycle (painted by Larry Watson, 1966)