Manuel Gonzalez's 1940 Ford

1940 Ford Coupe owned by Pharaohs of Wilmington member Manuel Gonalez of Wilmington, California. Photo courtesy of Mickey Gonzalez.

George Barris shot Manuel's coupe for Car Craft Magazine and it appeared along with Bob McCoy's 1940 Ford Tudor Sedan on the cover of the October 1956 issue of Car Craft. Both cars appeared inside the magazine in a story titled "Secrets of Flame Painting."

A photo of Manual with the coupe in 1956. He was 19 years old when this photo was taken. Photo courtesy of Mickey Gonzalez.

Photo courtesy of Mickey Gonzalez.

Photo courtesy of Mickey Gonzalez.

Photo courtesy of Mickey Gonzalez.

1940 Ford Coupe owned by Pharaohs of Wilmington member Manuel Gonalez of Wilmington, California.

Flames by Von Dutch

In 1956, when Gonzalez was 19 years old, he had Von Dutch dress the coupe up with a flame paint job. Von Dutch laid bright red flames that he tipped with yellow peaks and white outlines. Additional pinstriping was also added under the headlights and on the deck lid. The job was most likely done at "The Crazy Arab's" Competition Body Works in Los Angeles, where Von Dutch moved his operation in 1956.

Car Craft Cover Car

George Barris shot Manuel's coupe for Car Craft Magazine and it appeared along with Bob McCoy's 1940 Ford Tudor Sedan on the cover of the October 1956 issue of Car Craft. Both cars appeared inside the magazine in a story titled "Secrets of Flame Painting." According to the story, the flames on Manuel's Ford featured irregular blue shadows that were found spasmodically throughout the flames. The fading effect was achieved by wet-sanding the paint with 600-grit sandpaper followed by a rubbing compound. "Well, it looks like we'll all go up in flames shortly for the fad of flame painting is back bigger than ever," the story stated. In addition to the flames, the coupe was dressed up with Dodge Lancer Hubcaps. It was lowered and featured a forward rake.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Car Craft October 1956