Fred Thomas' 1950 Ford

A photo of Fred with his first custom, the black 1950 Ford. Fred's ego depended on his restyled Ford. "I could feel my chest swell whenever someone made a complimentary remark about it. Whether cruising the local high schools or the drive-in restaurants, the Ford provided me advance recognition. Friends saw it coming and knew immediately who was driving. I was the car, and it was me!" Since April of 1957, hot rods and custom cars have been an integral part of Fred's life. Photo from The Fred Thomas Photo Collection.

Another photo of Fred's Ford. "A bull nose hood molding smoothed the frontal appearance. A stubby antenna was relocated to the left rear quarter. Parking light bulbs were tinted blue. Chrome headlight and taillight rims were painted black to match the car. That gave them a “frenched” look." Cut coil springs and lowering blocks brought the profile down. "Full ripple wheel discs fore and handcrafted, sheet metal fender skirts aft completed the exterior enhancements. I always wondered if Jimmy Jones, the bubble skirt creator from nearby Inkster, Michigan, made the pair I owned. I had no proof as I purchased them used." Photo from The Fred Thomas Photo Collection.

In 1998 Fred undertook a multi-year research project to record the names and locations of hot rod and custom car clubs that existed prior to 1970. He documented over 9,000 of them. During his research, he had the opportunity to solicit personal stories from a number of former club members across the U.S. In 2008, after ten years of hard work, Fred finally published the book Car Club Memories: Personal stories from three dynamic decades of Cruisin’ Competition and Cool Cars. Fred's book is a trip back down memory lane to the earlier days of hot rodding. Car Club Memories shares personal stories of young men and their car-related adventures. The anecdotes and snapshots make up Fred's book. Using the photos and stories he had collected, he was able to write biographical sketches and had them approved by the respective donors prior to the book’s publication. He also included some of his own experiences. The book has 116 pages and it contains 165 vintage black and white photos. It has become hard to come by, but it is a good read, and we recommend you all to check it out. Click here to check price and availability on Amazon.com.

1950 Ford Two-Door owned by Fred Thomas of Ypsilanti, Michigan. In 1957 Michigan began offering driver's education courses in high schools. January 22, 1957 he went to the local county sheriff's office annex in Willow Village where the written examination and accompanying road test were to be taken. Fred's parents allowed him to drive everywhere after he became licensed. His dad ran a used car lot, and the next two months he mainly drove "lot cars." Fred had adopted a 1950 Mercury Tudor from his dad's business that suffered from a power deficiency. Fred never got the Mercury in shape, and the project was abandoned in favor of a black 1950 Ford two-door that came into his dad's lot. "It was splendid, a one-owner car with only 24,000 miles on the speedometer. Its 100 horsepower motor purred at an idle. The light gray interior showed absolutely no wear. The exterior surfaces exhibited no accident damage. However, road salt from several Michigan winters had taken its toll on the rocker panels. I knew I could replace them. What a beauty it was to the eyes of this young, car-crazy kid!" Fred's dad told him he could buy the well-preserved car if he wanted to. The purchase price was $233.74, "exactly what the Sesi Lincoln-Mercury dealership had charged for it." Fred's dad suggested he could sell the hydroplane to get funds for the car.

A Mild Custom Treatment

Fred bought the Ford in April of 1957. "Most of my spare time was spent working on it. Cleaning the inside, washing and polishing the exterior, changing the oil, and making mild modifications consumed my life. When I hit the road, it had to look its best, so others would appreciate it as I did. Often I would ad- mire its shiny reflection as I cruised by large store windows." An experienced body man from the local Lincoln-Mercury dealership, that used to moonlight for his dad, helped Fred install new rocker panels on the car. "A bull nose hood molding smoothed the frontal appearance. A stubby antenna was relocated to the left rear quarter. Parking light bulbs were tinted blue. Chrome headlight and taillight rims were painted black to match the car. That gave them a “frenched” look." Cut coil springs and lowering blocks brought the profile down. "Full ripple wheel discs fore and handcrafted, sheet metal fender skirts aft completed the exterior enhancements. I always wondered if Jimmy Jones, the bubble skirt creator from nearby Inkster, Michigan, made the pair I owned. I had no proof as I purchased them used."