Sweden

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A fenderless Swedish 1932 Ford roadster at an ice-race in the late 1930s. An embryo of what should come. Photo courtesy of Lars Bergmark - Ford V8-Klubb Sverige.
Peter Billing's 1932 Ford Cabriolet was built in Lidingö, Sweden in 1958.
Bosse Ericsson's 1932 Ford Roadster of Norrtälje in Stockholm, Sweden. Built in 1959, Bosse's Ford was one of the first hot rods in Sweden to run a Chevrolet V8 engine.
A group of early Swedish hot rods on their way to Kanonloppet in Karlskoga in 1959. The cars in the front row, from right to left, are Lennart Djurberg's 1932 Ford roadster, Janne Eriksson's 1932 Ford roadster and Roland Larsson's 1932 Ford roadster. The cars in the back row, from right to left, are Peter Billing's brother's 1930 Ford Model A Roadster, Peder Lundgren's Ford Model A Roadster and Peter Billing's 1932 Ford Cabriolet. Photo courtesy of Leif Hultdin.[1]
Roland Larsson's 1932 Ford roadster as it looked by the end of the summer of 1959. By now, Roland has removed the running boards, bobbed the rear fenders and installed motorcycle-type fenders up front and Moon discs. The Moon discs were purchased in San Francisco in the summer of 1958. Notice the Moon and Mobil flying horse sticker on the firewall. Photo courtesy of Leif Hultdin.[1]
Roland Larsson's 1932 Ford roadster next to Peder Lundgren's Ford Model A Roadster. Roland and Peder's roadsters were channeled during the winter of 1959, and they were probably the first channeled hot rods in Sweden. Photo courtesy of Leif Hultdin.[1]
"Festligt Fartåk" translates into "Funny Speedchaser." In 1960 Ed Roth's Outlaw was featured in the Swedish magazine Teknikens Värld Nr 20 1960. The story was written by Bengt Sandkvist, who claimed that the Outlaw really showed how much time and money the hot rodders in the US were investing into their cars. Cars that couldn't be used for any practical driving.
Hasse Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1938 Chevrolet Convertible of Huddinge in Stockholm, Sweden as it appeared in the early 1960s. Bo Sandberg and his girlfriend Morris gave the car a flame paint job in 1962.
Bo Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird of Älvsjö in Stockholm, Sweden. This version of Bo's first Thunderbird was completed in 1962.
Lars Erik Ljungkvist's 1932 Ford Roadster on the cover of Teknik för alla December 1963. According to the caption, the hot rod sport has now come to Sweden. Scan provided by Raggmunk.[2]
The first version of Lars Erik Ljungkvist's 1932 Ford Roadster, of Huddinge in Stockholm, Sweden, was completed in 1963. At the time there were about 30 hot rods in Sweden.
Bengt Wennergren's 1949 Ford of Enskedefältet in Stockholm, Sweden. When Bengt bought the Ford, the rear end was already restyled by Leif "Grillkorven" Rose. The build was completed in November of 1963, featuring a Metalflake paint job. Bengt's Ford might have been the first Metalflaked car in Sweden.
Hasse Broberg's Modified of Enskedefältet in Stockholm, Sweden. The build was started by Pelle Karlson, but Hasse, a member of the Sill Drivers, bought it and completed it in 1964.
The second version of Lars Erik Ljungkvist's 1932 Ford Roadster, of Huddinge in Stockholm, Sweden, was completed in 1964. This version was painted Marigold Metalflake..
Hans Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1957 DeSoto of Enskedefältet in Stockholm, Sweden was built in the early 1960s. Hans and Kjelle belonged to a little club called Sill Drivers, and they were often called "Sillarna". This photo shows the car as it appeared in 1964.
Sven Sandberg's 1956 Ford Sunliner convertible of Stockholm, Sweden. Sven's Sunliner was completed in 1964, featuring a Burgundy Mist paint job by his brother Bo Sandberg. Bo ran a custom shop named Yankee Customs.
The Surfin Bird version of Bo Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird of Älvsjö in Stockholm, Sweden was completed in 1964.
Bo Sandberg's 1923 Ford Model T Roadster, Purple Passion, of Stockholm, Sweden. The build was completed around 1965.
Palle Eriksson's 1924 Chevrolet roadster of Stockholm, Sweden. The first version of Palle's rod was shown at the 1965 Hot Rod Show in Stockholm.
Jonas Qvarnström's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster as it appeared when it was first completed in 1965. The car was sold to Lars-Erik Johansson who transformed it into a show rod called The Orange Fink.
Gunnar Johansson's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Sweden. This is Gunnar's coupe as it appeared in 1965
The first version of Göran Silfors' 1932 Ford roadster of Sweden as it appeared in 1965. Gøran's roadster was named "Early Bird"
Roland Larsson's 1932 Ford Roadster as it appeared in the summer of 1965, after Roland had sold it to Hans-Erik Larsson. Photo courtesy of Norrlands Motorhistoriker.[3]
Sven Sandberg's 1932 Ford 5-Window coupe of Stockholm, Sweden. Sven started the build, known as the Glowing Coupe, in 1961. The first version was shown in 1965, featuring a paint job by Bo Sandberg of Yankee Customs.
Göran Silfors' 1936 Ford Sedan of Sweden as it appeared in 1965.
Christer Lundberg's 1937 Ford Coupe of Stockholm, Sweden. Built in the early 1960s, an early iteration of the coupe was shown at the 1965 Hot Rod Show in Marmorhallarna in Stockholm.
Sven Blüme's 1954 Plymouth Convertible of Lidingö, Sweden. Sven's Plymouth was restyled in 1965.
Matti Johanson's 1957 Ford Ranchero of Sweden. Matti's "Ranchero" started life as station wagon.The build was completed in 1965. The same year it was displayed at the first Hot Rod Show in Stockholm.
Sven Sandberg's 1959 Chevrolet Impala of Stockholm, Sweden. The car was originally a two-door hardtop, but Sven cut the roof off it and fit it with a tonneau cover in 1965.
Bengt Wennergren's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster of Enskedefältet in Stockholm, Sweden was built by Bengt between 1962 and 1966.
The first drag race of Sweden was held outside of Stockholm, October 1-2, 1966. Svenne Sandberg attended the race with his Glowing Coupe. Due to rain and a wet track, Svenne did the quarter mile in 16,6 seconds.
Lars-Erik Johansson's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster, of Stockholm, Sweden, was completed in 1966. Named "The Orange Fink", Lars Erik's roadster was known as the lowest showrod of Sweden at the time.
The 1966 Showtime Sweden Örebro show was held January 6 thru 9, 1966 at Görtz Motor in Örebro, Sweden.
Arne Lindstrand's 1955 Chevrolet of Stockholm, Sweden. Arne's Chevrolet was restyled in the 1960s. This is how it appeared at the 1966 Hot Rod Show in Stockholm.
Bo Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird of Stockholm, Sweden. Named The Wild Bird, Bo's Thunderbird was completed and made its debut in 1966. Bo ran a customs, paint, and parts shop in Älvsjö, Sweden, called Yankee Customs.
The flyer for the April 1967 Hot Rod Show in Marmorhallarna, Stockholm. Two Hot Rod Show's were held in Marmorhallarna in 1967. The first took place April 5-9, 1967.
Bo Thalinsson's 1953 Ford Sunlinner Convertible of Stockholm, Sweden. Built by Bo, the build was completed in 1967.
Bo Sandberg's Cool Cat. The Cool Cat was a customized Jaguar E-Type built by Bo Sandberg of of Yanke Customs in Älvesjö, Stockholm, Sweden. The build was completed in 1967, featuring a a red and pink Metalflake paint job.
This version of Leif Helander's 1955 Chevrolet Convertible was shown at the 1967 Hot Rod Show in Stockholm. Photo from Aspes Nostalgi & Racebilder.[4]
Bo Hedenström's 1956 Ford Fairlane of Stockholm, Sweden. The build, know as the Avalanche, was started in 1966 and completed in 1967.
Lars Erik Ljungkvist's 1932 Ford roadster as it appeared in 1968. This version had received a Candy Red paint job, and it was owned by Pia Karlseth.
Affe Persson's 1955 Chevrolet was restyled in Sweden in the early 1970s.
John Bozio's 1953 Buick Roadmaster of East Hartford, Connecticut was originally restyled between 1956 and 1957. In 1979 Bengt Sjöberg of Tibro, Sweden bought the car at the Hersey Swap Meet. He shipped the old custom back to Sweden where he had it restored.
Lil John's 1966 Chevrolet Caprice of La Mirada, California. Lil John is the founder and first President of the famous Majestics Lowrider car club mother chapter of Southern California. Lil John's list of Lowrider show cars representing the Lowrider Majestics car club helped set the standards in the 1970s and they each were ahead of their time in paint design, patterns, and murals. The Caprice was completed in 1978. Lelle Gran of Stockholm bought the car in Florida in 1978 or 1979. He brought it to Sweden in 1979, where it became one of the first lifted cars in Europe.
Kalle Jonasson's 1939 Mercury Convertible of Costa Mesa, California. Originally restyled in the 1940s or the 1950s. An earlier iteration of Kalle's Mercury was supposedly spotted in Lynwood, California in 1958. By 1963, it had been repainted in Green Metalflake, and an old photo shows it sitting at a car dealership in San Diego. Kalle bought the car in May of 1978 and spent two years restoring it, giving it his own look. Kalle is originally from Rättvik, but he moved to California in 1973.
Bert Gustavsson's 1957 Ford of Bullaren, Sweden. The build was completed in 1985.
The 10th annual Hot Rod Show Borlänge was held March 1-2, 1986 in Borlänge, Sweden.
The 1986 Hot Rod Show was held March 1-9, 1986 at Skärholmsmässan in Stockholm, Sweden.
Ulf Christiansson's 1951 Mercury of Sweden. Known as "Lucille," Ulf bought the Merc in 1990, while he was working at Winfield's Custom Shop in Canoga Park, California. He started the build there before moving back to Sweden in the fall of 1990. In 1993 he chopped the top on the car and covered it in thin primer before moving back to California, bringing it along.
Eldon E. Schmidt's 1929 Ford Model A roadster of Garden Grove, California. Eldon bought the car in 1960. It came with holes in the body after a rollbar and safety-belts, indicating that it had been raced on the dragstrip. In 1962 he installed a 1958 Chevrolet 283 V-8 engine in the car before he gave it a Metallic paint job and a more contemporary look. In 1995 Pelle Pastell bought the car at the Pomona Swap Meet and had it shipped to Sweden. Pelle sold it to Ulf Haugen in Norway later on the same year.
The first A-Bombers Desperate Old Style Weekend was held at Skeppsvikens Camping in Uddevalla, Sweden in August of 1996. Held by the A-Bombers hot rod and motorcycle club, the show would eventually grow into becoming the biggest traditional hot rod and custom show in Europe. Scan courtesy of Per Graemer.
Peder Behr's 1960 Chrysler New Yorker of Sweden. The build was started at Forsberg Motorcars in Huntington Beach, California in 1996, and completed by Peder in Sweden in 1998.
Henrik Forss' Bucket T of Stockholm, Sweden. The first version of Henrik's T Bucket was completed in the Summer of 2001.
Henrik Forss' Bucket T of Stockholm, Sweden. The second version of Henrik's T Bucket was completed late in 2001.
The first annual Jokers Car Show was held June 5th, 2004 in Tidaholm, Sweden.
Lasse Mäenpää's 1958 Chevrolet Impala was given a Watson inspired paint job by Pekka Wizzard Mannermaa in 2005.
Daemon Löfman's 1957 Oldsmobile 88 of Älvkarleby, Sweden. Rumored to come from Northern California of the Midwest of the US, the car came to Sweden around 2008.
The Juxtapod is a Swedish show rod built by Mattias Andersson of LeBeef Kustom Metal Works for Johan Belin and Ludvig Löfgren. The build was completed in 2011.
John Svedberg's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster Pickup of Vaggeryd, Sweden is a California survivor Hot Rod built in the late 1950s. John bought the car from Castro Valley, California in 2011.
Jon Karlsson's 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 of Stockholm, Sweden. Jon bought the Ford in 2011. He is a member of the Los Boulevardos Car Club, and in 2012 he hit the streets with the car restyled in a mid to late 1960s custom, early lowrider look.
Klas and Fredrik Wallin's 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan of Falköping, Sweden. The car came to Sweden from Colorado. When Klas and Fredrik bought it in 2013, they were told that the car was first built in 1957.
The Dreamster version of Kent Jonsson's 1934 Ford Roadster of Sweden made it's first public debut at the 2013 Custom Motor Show in Elmia. The car is made out of carbon and fiberglass, and total build time was 9 years.
Andreas Åberg's 1950 Ford Tudor of Munkedal, Sweden. Andreas' Ford is a tribute to Buster Litton's 1949 Ford, known as The Panoramic Ford. The car was completed in March of 2013, and it made it's first public debut at the 2013 Custom Motor Show in Elmia, Jönköping.
Tobias Närholm's 1960 Chevrolet Impala of Nyköping, Sweden. Tobias is a member of the Undertakers of Sweden car club. The dark green version of the car hit the streets during the spring of 2013.
Johan Eriksson's 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 of Nyköping, Sweden. Johan is a founding member of the Undertakers of Sweden car club, and the restyled version of his Galaxie hit the streets during the spring of 2013.
The second annual Bastardized & Undertakers Fest was held May 25, 2013 in Nyköping, Sweden.
Timo Hersti's 1941 Lincoln Zephyr of Tuusula, Finland. The coupe was restyled by Timo at his Hersti AutoShop. He completed the build early in 2013, and it made it's first public debut at the 2013 Custom Motor Show in Elmia, Sweden. Later on in 2013, the coupe was sold to Sweden.
Pontus Karlsson's 1959 Buick of Stigtomta, Sweden. Pontus is a member of the Undertakers of Sweden car club, and his Buick received a panel paint job by Johan Eriksson in 2013.
Janne Lundell's 1941 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe of Umeå, Sweden. The Zephyr was originally built by Timo Hersti at Hersti Auto Shop in Tuusula, Finland. Janne bought it in June of 2013, and during the winter of 2013 - 2014 he gave it a Deep Espresso Brown Metallic paint job. After painting the car, Ludde named it "The Carnelian Zaphir."
Vito Marino's 1931 Ford Model A pick up truck of San Diego, California. Vito's truck was built in the 1960s. Circa 2013-2014 it was sold to Sweden.
Darren Chapman's 1949 Buick Sedanette of Karlstad, Sweden. The top on Darren's Buick was chopped by Ola Thorslund of Olas Garage, and the build was completed in May of 2014.
Johan Löfgren's 1949 Buick Sedanette of Åmotfors, Sweden. The build was completed in June of 2014, and it made it's debut at the 6th annual Coupe Devils Rod & Kustom Bonanza June 28, 2014.
Eddie Dominguez' 1939 Mercury convertible of El Paso, Texas. Eddie bought the already customized Mercury from a local kid in 1960. According to rumors the car came from the San Diego area. Another rumor claims that it was sold new in Long Beach, and restyled shortly thereafter. Dusters cc member Ronnie Lindblom of Borlänge, Sweden bought the old custom in 2015.
Delwyn Triska’s 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Kagel Canyon, California. Del's coupe was restyled in the late 1940 or the early 1950s. He bought it in 1948 or 1949, shortly after he had graduated high school. Micke Hedberg of Borlänge, Sweden bought the old custom in November of 2015.
Cecilia Gustafsson's 1955 Oldsmobile Super 88 of Habo, Sweden. Known as "Miss Lavendel," Cecilia's Olds was restyled by Old Iron Kustoms. The build was started in 2015 and completed in 2016.
Daniel "J:son" Johansson's 1951 Mercury of Habo, Sweden. J:son runs Old Iron Kustoms with Christian Carlsson. He chopped the top on the Merc around 2000 and drove it around in primer for about 15 years until he decided to upgrade it was an interior and paint job. The rebuild was completed in 2017.
Qvintus Brusefält Ån's 1949 Chevrolet of Borensberg, Sweden. In 2018 Qvintus and Gene Winfield chopped the top on the car at the Yankee Car Show in Finland.
Hence Forsman's 1956 Cadillac Eldorado of Moliden, Sweden. The body on Hence's in-progress build has been sectioned 2 inches.
Mikael Blomberg's 1932 Ford Roadster of Motala, Sweden. Blomberg bought the roadster from Indian Mike of La Cañada Flintridge, California, early in 2019. Advertised for sale as an authentic drag car from the late 1950s or the early 1960s, Mike believed the roadster probably ran in the A/Roadster class back in the days. Blomberg got the car back on the road and drove it to the Santa Barbara DRAGS before he shipped it home to Sweden.
Mikko Kiviniemi's 1953 Chevrolet of Örebro, Sweden. The body on Mikko's Chevrolet has been sectioned 3 inches and chopped 3 inches, reducing the height with a total of 6 inches. The build was started in 2013 and completed in 2019.
Bert Gustafsson's 1941 Cadillac Roadster of Åmål, Sweden. The build was completed in 2019, making its first public appearance at the 2019 CKOS Lead Parking custom car show in Skultuna, Sweden.


Miles Masa's 1962 Chevrolet Impala of Downers Grove, Illinois. Restyled from a wreck in 1963, the car was shown as "The Stardust." In August of 2023 the old custom was advertised for sale in Sweden

Sweden is a country with a tradition of inventors and high technological skills since the 19th century.
Maybe this is why the hobby of customizing and improving cars has grown so deep. Sweden is definitely the country with most Customs, Hot rods, and American cars overall, in the world counted per citizens.

Here at Kustomrama, we will focus to cover the time-span of built cars (and their owners) until around 1985.
Before that, you had to collect your parts at junkyards, and construct almost everything yourself. What we call Traditional.
Today, you can buy a turn-key car with a new fabricated chassies, driveline and body.

Our ambition is to, as correctly as possible, document and tell the stories from the past, including both cars, their builders/owners and everything around the culture.


Brief History

The Swedish traditional hot rod and custom scene has roots back to the early 1950s. There were different activities in several parts of Sweden, but from the Stockholm county area we have the most information.

Except from racing activities with old cars both before and after WW2, the idea of customizing and hotrodding cars in Sweden grew in the late 1950s. Inspiration came naturally from U.S.A. with imported magazines like Hot Rod Magazine, Hop Up Magazine, Rod & Custom etc. and several movies.

Around 1960 there was approximately 30 cars in Sweden that could be defined as Hot Rods or Customs.
As we define "Hot Rods" mostly with pre-WW2 cars, it is natural these were to be modified first. They were getting old and affordable by the younger generation.
"Custom car" means mostly a post-WW2 and 1950s car. These were quite new and naturally more expensive.

As the interest grew among the generation born in the 1940s, many more cars was built during the 1960s. Public shows and exhibitions further fed the interrest along.
Maybe there were around 400-500 cars in the late 1960s. Nobody knows exactly.

Hot Rod Magazine had an article about Swedish hot rods in their 1967 January issue.
The first Swedish magazine for dragracing, rods and customs was Start & Speed starting 1965. As Start & Speed slowly moved focus for dragracing, Bo Sandberg started his own magazine Colorod in 1970. More (color) photos and less text was the intention to feature the design of custom cars, hot rods and choppers.

By the increased media, the interest literally exploded and even though tougher regulations was introduced, Swedes (by tradition very ingenious people) were building cars and bikes in garages all around the country.
The movie "American Graffiti" (1973) was a great contributing factor!

More magazines like Wheels magazine (1977) and Power magazine (1976) started by enthusiasts Sture Torngren, Göran Ambell and Kjell Gustavsson.

Local clubs established in most larger cities, uniting people with the same interest.

Some guys moved to USA to work professionally with their hobby at famous shops like Boyd Coddington, California Street Rods etc.


Kustomrama Swedish contributor Mats Wallander wrote two longer articles about the Swedish Hot Rod history (between 1945-1965) for the SSRA members magazine.

An English translated version can be found here.

In 2022 another article was added describing the years 1965 to 1970. Swedish Hot Rod history (between 1965-1970)


The Sollentuna Gang, First generation Hot rodders in Sweden?

A group of teenagers from the Sollentuna Municipality in Stockholm were amongst the first hot rodders in Sweden. The time is mid-1950s and inspiration came from magazines like Hot Rod Magazine and American movies.
Members of the gang included Lennart Djurberg, Janne Eriksson and brother Ronny Eriksson, Björn Hagelfors, Göran Almen, Peter Billing (from Lidingö), Peder Lundgren, Bosse Åberg and Leffe Karlsson.
Janne Bellander and Björn Bellander, who were from Värmdö, did also join the guys.
From Värmland county came Roland Larsson moving in bringing a 1932 Roadster with a hot tuned 1936 engine.

There were several car shops in the area and also a big junk-yard Sollentuna Bildemontering driven by Karl-Hugo Werner.

The guys used to hang out at the garage of Lennart Djurberg's dad. Lennart's dad had a garage connected to his house, where he used to repair Ford's for a living.
Lennart had his 1932 Ford roadster in the garage, a car that fascinated many of the guys in the area. Lennart on his side, also did all he could to recruit his friends to build hot rods.[5]

Lennart's dad's garage did also attract younger kids on mopeds from other parts of town, such as Lars "Junken" Ljungkvist, who went on to become one of the second generation of Swedish hot rodders.

From Norrtälje, north of Stockholm, Bosse Eriksson joined, known for his Ford 1932 Roadster.

The Second Generation of Swedish Hot Rodders and Customizers

Geographically the most action now moved to the southern parts of Stockholm. The new wave of Swedish hot rod and custom enthusiasts included Bosse "Gamen" Sandberg and his brother Sven, who had moved from their parents on Kungsholmen to Älvsjö.

Many grew up at Enskedefältet, like Hasse Broberg, Kjelle Gustad who called themselves "Sill_Drivers". Bengt Wennergren, Håkan Lindell, Jonny Burger and Göran Silfors also lived in Enskede.

Palle Eriksson in Västerhaninge, Richard Bergström in Johanneshov, and Junken, who lived with his dad in Huddinge. The group back then counted about 30 guys. They were all born in the early 1940s.

In 1963 Lars Ljungkvist's 1932 Ford Roadster was featured on the cover of Teknik för alla December 1963. The caption on the cover stated that the hot rod sport had now reached Sweden. According to the story, there were about 30 hot rods in Sweden at the time.[6] A couple of guys got together and found a large "barn" in Huddinge where they could build their cars and help each other. Several Hot rods were fabricated there.
Every gang should have a name so they called themselves "Road Knights".

The "Hot Rod Barn" is still there and maintained by Tommy Andersson.

Tommys older brother Lelle "Skägget" Andersson ran for many years (1958-2008) a junk-yard nearby where many parts could be found.

A couple of guys from Stockholm area went on a adventurous Trip to Italy summer of 1964.

Meanwhile (in the mid 1960s), people in other parts of Sweden started building Hot Rods and Customize cars. Some examples are Leif Heden in west Dalarna, several young guys in Enköping, Sundsvall and Örebro. Many of these took the car to display at Hot Rod Show in Stockholm.

Searching for objects

The junkyards in Denmark and Norway were filled with old Fords, and everyone went across the border to get project cars. Junken and his buddy Richard supposedly smuggled more than 40 Model A and B Ford's across the border from Denmark. People used to buy a small car in Stockholm that they drove down to Denmark and traded in for an old Ford. The license-plates from the little car were mounted on the Ford so they could drive it back home.

Skillingfors was the best place to cross the border from Norway. At Skillingfors there were a sign with Sweden on one side, and Norway on the other one. That was it. There was also a narrow dirt-road that went trough Ed that was popular to smuggle cars out of. Cars carrying Norwegian license plates were often driven across the border. Back home the licenseplates were so mailed back to the owner in Norway.[7]

The reason why pre-WW2 cars were easier to find in Denmark and Norway is that there was an import-ban for new cars after the war.
Thus, they took better care of the existing cars during the period.
In Sweden older cars were demolished in Stock-car races or torn apart in the woods or junk-yards.

Getting parts

In the early days of Swedish hot rodding, BoMac Racing in Älvsjö, Stockholm was the only place you could order hot rod parts from the US. BoMac Racing was a company run by Bosse Kasby and his brother Ove. After moving to the US, Bosse went on to work for Dean Moon at Moon Equipment for many years in the 1960s. Bosse moved to the US in the 1960s, where he went on to work for Dean Moon at Moon Equipment when he was only 17 years old. Ove started out selling racing-parts, that Bosse shipped from the US, out of his garage in Älvsjö. When Bosse returned to Sweden, he became a Moon dealer.[8]

Extract from order book. Photo courtesy: Kenneth Wik

Another early dealer was Jordbro Hot Rod Center in Handen south of Stockholm, run by Sixten Persson. Owner of a black 4-door 1932 called 'Black Power'.

Bo "Gamen" Sandberg ran his own store Yankee Custom Parts from Flensvägen 27 in Örby.

In 1966, American Auto-Accessories opened located in Orsa, Dalarna. Became later Roach.

Other companies started in the 1960s were:

California Racing, Stockholm.

Rogers Custom, Gothenburg. Stig Andreasson became new owner in 1967.

Hansen Racing, Stockholm. Carl Hansen.

Americano Enterprises, Linköping.

Car Shows and Meetings

In the 1960s, Stockholm became known as the hot rod capitol of Sweden. In the spring of 1964 Roffe Skoghag started working on an indoor car show in Stockholm, and according to a story by Micke Östberg that was published in Gasoline 6/2015, Roffe got the idea after seeing Sillarna's, Junken and Palle's hot rods parked at Kungsgatan in Stockholm one night. Roffe was 24 years old at the time and a Swedish go-kart champion. He stroke a deal with Scania, who let the young kid borrow their facilities at Tanto in Södermalm to host a Hot Rod Show. He also convinced his go-kart sponsor Gulf about to run the advertisements for the show. Roffe's show became a success, attracting loads of spectators.[9]

Roffe's show caught the attention of Bo "Gamen" Sandberg, and in 1965 he decided to host his own Hot Rod Show at Ostermans Marmorhallar in Stockholm. Back then, Picko Troberg had the exclusive rights to host auto-shows at Marmorhallarna, and because of that Roffe was not able to rent the location for his show. Gamen was able to convince the superintendent of Marmorhallarna that hot rods were more art than automobiles, so they let him have his Hot Rod Show at Marmorhallarna. Gamen hosted the show together with Acke Nordström and Jonas Qvarnström. It took place about a week prior to Roffe's second show and it became a major success, while Roffe's became a disaster.[9]

The show was normally during week 8 or 9 when schools were closed for winter vacation.

Gamen understood soon that there were a big interest to display the cars in other cities.
So, during the winter period, there were numerous shows in e.g. Gothenburg, Linköping, Örebro.
The tour was called Hot Rod Festival and occured between 1966 to 1969.


Picko Troberg continued to arrange Hot Rod Show in Marmorhallarna until 1976. After that the show moved to Sollentuna. See more about Hot Rod Show.

For some years there was also a Happy Car Show held in Solnahallen, north of Stockholm. Arranged by Jerker Vinnå, Easy Rodders and more.


The Hotrodders around Stockholm eventually arranged local runs and meetings. Popular places was Skokloster or Östa in Uppland.
There were also a traditional Hot Rod Parade during Dragracing events at Mantorp Park.

In September 1977 Teknikens Värld organized a Street Rod Parade in Stockholm from Brostugan to Tekniska museet on Djurgården. It was a big success.

In 1982, SSRA arranged an Outdoor show outside the amusement park Gröna Lund in Stockholm, including also Choppers and original cars. Click on the link for more information.

Here is a collection of Swedish show vehicles over the years: Only for Show

Dragracing

New years eve 1965 Richard Bergström, Junken and some other friends emigrated to California. They returned full of impressions the next Summer, and decided to form a Dragracing club. Stockholm Dragracingklubb was formed in September of 1966. The weekend after, October 1-2, 1966 the first organized drag race event of Sweden was held outside of Stockholm. The race found place at the new freeway between Stockholm and Enköping. It was still under construction, and not open for the public at the time.[10] Amongst the cars attending were Bosse Gamen's dragster, Sven Sandberg's 1932 Ford 5-Window coupe, the Glowing Coupe, Lars Erik Ljungkvist's 1932 Ford Roadster, and Göran Silfors' 1932 Ford Roadster, the Early Bird. Bosse's dragster did the quarter mile in 11 seconds reaching a speed of 230 km pr hour. It rained on the second day of the event, and due to the wet track, Göran's roadster did the quarter mile in 18,4 seconds, while the Glowing Coupe did it in 16,6 seconds.

In 1967, the SHRA, Swedish Hot Rod Association, was founded after a big meeting at Carl Hansens home. The "First Go" was arranged at Anderstorp Raceway in August 1968.

As Swedish dragracing evolved rapidely during the 1970s, street-driven Hot Rods became less competitive.
Instead they were showed at very appreciated Hot Rod Parades during racing intermissions.

However, some Dragracing cars have become "retired" as Hot Rods. One example is Tony Jönsson's 1933 Plymouth coupe.

Fighting the Law

The possibility to legally modify/customize and improve car and MC performance has strongly affected the culture in Sweden.

Until 1965, no governmental control was done, it was up to the local police to assess the security of both cars and drivers.

1965, Svensk Bilprovning AB started, with mandatory yearly inspections of cars older than 5 years. As there were no formal specifications of which modifications were allowed, it was mostly up the local examiner to check and assess.
Modified cars could thus still be passed with correct data in the registration data sheet.

1968, Trafiksäkerhetsverket established, setting up detailed regulations on deviations from fabric manufactured vehicles, in practice meaning no modifications could be accepted.
For example, your own built car must pass a crash test to get approved which of course was impossible for a citizen.
These new regulations were introduced in 1970. Luckily many succeeded to get their cars approved before 1970. Many lost interest, some went racing etc.

But as you all know - Hot Rodders don't give up too easily! The activity in the garages didn't decrease.
Some smart people soon found out that Pickups were excluded from the new rules, leading to many new Hot Rods with a lorry bed at back!
Others installed a 100 hp flathead V8 that was original in the 30s. You could also change body on a, for example, Volvo Duett frame, and get it approved!

Since the founding of SSRA, 1975, hotrodders in Sweden got better organized in discussions with the authorities. Thanks to Sture Torngren, Göran Ambell and many more, the Ministery of Communication were contacted with well-stated suggestions on how to solve the problem.
The idea was to establish a new organ with car experts able to assess calculations on physics, strenghts, suspension and security as a primary instance for approval.
This way, it should be possible to build a car or MC from scratch without being a professional. The same idea was already in place for aeroplanes.

Some years later, 1982, the new rules was set, and Svenska Fordonsbyggares Riksorganisation, SFRO established!!

The new regulations involved two mandatory controls done by SFRO staff. One when the basic construction of frame and suspension is made and one control when the car is finished and driveable.
After these controls are made and the car is approved by SFRO, a regular inspection and registration is finally done by Svensk Bilprovning.

Due to lacking competence with old cars generally at Svensk Bilprovning and decreasing number of vehicles, Sweden has introduced exempion to the yearly inspections for cars older than 50 years. Meaning no regular governmental control at all!
From 2019 this can also be achieved for "new" amateur build vehicles.
So there is a unique trust from the authorities, important for the car people to protect and not impose on!


Media and artwork

Both the American and the incipient Swedish Rod & Custom scene were sporadically published in Swedish motor magazines from the 1940s and ahead.
Teknik för Alla, Teknikens Värld, Motor have several interesting articles. Here is is scrap from the annual Tekniken Idag from 1968.



Film by Tommy Andersson
Showing in order from 0:32 . Bengt Andersson T-23, Peder Landberg T-23 Ford Pickup, <Duett T-23? TBD>, Sture Torngren T-23 Ford, Weine Andersson T-23 Pickup, Sven Sandberg's Glowing T, Willy Mattsen 1930 Chevrolet delivery, Rogge Carlsson 1931 Ford, Janne Råström 1928 Ford, Thomas Kaakinen 1931 Ford Roadster, Benke Björkman 1932 Ford Cab, Kent Larsson 1932 Ford 3w Coupe, Gunnar Johansson's 1932 Ford 5-Win Coupe, Per Bessing 1935 Ford Coupe, Lars Femtvik 1936 Ford pickup, Anders Åslund 1936 Dodge conv. etc.

Lately, great movies have been produced to show the start of Rod & Custom culture in Sweden;

- "Rod and Customlife", a film by DEon productions. Trailer: Available here

- "Pionjärerna", a film by DEon productions. Trailer: Available here

- "Flammor, Asfalt, Nagellack", 1963-1973 by Norrby Design and Perry Ahlgren. Trailer: Available here

- "Kult", a film by DEon productions 2022.

The cars has also been a source for painted art with artists like Ulf Wahlberg, John E Franzén, John Eyre etc.

Awards and Hall of Fame

In later years several initiatives have taked place to award the founders of Swedish Hot rodding. Please see this page.


Early Hot Rods of Sweden

Built before 1960

Gunnar Jonsson's 1933 Nash Roadster
Lennart Djurberg's 1932 Ford Roadster
Janne Bellander's 1931 Ford Roadster
Björn Bellander's 1932 Ford Roadster
Peter Billing's 1932 Ford Cabriolet
Roland Larsson's 1932 Ford Roadster
Bosse Ericsson's 1932 Ford Roadster
Peder Lundgren's Ford Model A Roadster
Janne Eriksson's 1932 Ford Roadster
Gunnar Johansson's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Göran Almen's 1936 Ford Cabriolet


Built between 1960 and 1965

Rune Jonsson's 1935 Hudson convertible
Lars Erik Ljungkvist's 1932 Ford Roadster
Hasse Broberg's Modified
Bo Sandberg's 1923 Ford Model T Roadster - Purple Passion
Palle Eriksson's 1924 Chevrolet Roadster
Björn Wallman's 1932 Ford
Christer Lundberg's 1931 Chevrolet Roadster
Sven Sandberg's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe - The Glowing Coupe
Göran Silfors' 1932 Ford Roadster - Early Bird
Lars-Erik Johansson's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster - The Orange Fink
Staffan Runhag 1937 Ford Tudor Slantback
Christer Lundberg 1937 Ford Coupe
Sixten Persson's 1932 Ford Fordor - "Black Power"
Richard Bergström's 1932 Ford Tudor
Lars 'Lare' Wahlström's 1938 Dodge - "Maffia Mobile"
Bennet Landén's 1932 Ford 3-win coupe
Bengt-Göran Karlsson's 1923 Ford (in USA)
Rune Jakobsson's 1939 Buick Coupe
Kenneth Josefsson's 1939 Chevy coupe
Kent Larsson 1932 Ford 3w Coupe

Built between 1965 and 1970

Eldon E. Schmidt's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster (built in USA)
John Svedberg's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster Pickup (built in USA)
Tommy Lindblom 1932 Roadster
Bengt Wennergren's 1931 Ford Model A Roadster
Ronny Haglund's Ford Model T Roadster Pickup - Spader Ess
Jonny Burger's 1931 Ford Roadster
Janne Råström's 1928 Ford
Pelle Widholm T-23 bucket
Vito Marino's 1931 Ford Model A Pick Up (built in USA)
Björn Hagelfors' 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Klas and Fredrik Wallin's 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan (built in USA)
Jan 'Benjamin' Wahlström´s 1932 Ford 5-win Coupe
Leffe Karlsson's 1937 Ford Cabriolet
Stig Dahlin T-23 Yankee Car
Ture Lindholm 1934 Ford Tudor
Ivve Hallberg's 1932 Ford Cabriolet
Benke Björkman 1932 Ford Cabriolet
Jan Adolfsson 1936 Ford 3w Coupe
Staffan Runhag's 1947 Ford Pickup
Janne Serrander's 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Lars Larre Andersson 1938 Ford Convertible
Thomas Kaakinen 1931 Ford Roadster
Bosse Edberg Hot Rod
Sture Torngren's T-23 Ford
Peder Landberg T-23 Ford Pickup
Tommy Andersson 1939 Chevy Coupe
Stig Sinclair 1939 Ford Convertible
Bill Palmgren's 1940 Ford Coupe
Staffan Runhag 1936 Ford 3-Window Coupe
Kent Larsson 1932 Ford 3w Coupe
Per Iggsten 1937 Ford Convertible
Per Johansson's 1939 Ford 4-door sedan
Hasse Zetterqvist/Greg Ekholm 1937 Ford
Sven Sandberg 1937 Ford Coupe - Mystic Blue
Tony Jönsson 1933 Plymouth Coupe
Jan Adolfsson 1936 Ford 3-win Coupe
Leif Hedén's 1932 Dodge Coupe
Ingemar Becker 1934 Ford Tudor
Freddy Petersen/Anders Lantz 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Lars Skogberg's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Lasse Huber 1932 Ford B400
Lasse Huber 1932 Ford Convertible
Gunnar Axelsson 1930 Ford Tudor
Sverker Ekström 1939 Ford std coupe
Bengt Aronsson's Ford 1946 coupe
Anders Reinli's 1939 Chevrolet - Prinsen
Sven "Hottis" Granberg's T-23 bucket
Åke Johansson's T-23 bucket
"Lusses" A-Ford coupe

Built between 1970 and 1975

Karl-Ola Englund's 1923 Ford
Sven Sandberg's Glowing T
Per Bessing 1935 Ford Coupe
Michael Feffer/Bo Sandberg/Lee Sandberg T-23 Ford (built in USA)
Christer Carlbaum 1932 Ford Victoria
Anders Åslund 1936 Dodge conv.
Lars Torngren 1938 Ford Club Coupe
Bo Bernulf 1939 Oldsmobile Cabriolet DL
Lars Femtvik 1936 Ford Pickup


Built after 1975

Sven Sandberg T-23 Ford - The Zipper
Henrik Forss' Bucket T
Olle Thorslund 1939 Ford Coupe
Hugo Dahlgren 1937 Chevrolet Coupe
Ove Skog/Doc Forest 1934 Ford Coupe
Göran Ambell 1934 Ford Tudor
Göran Ambell 1932 Ford Roadster
Ivve Hallberg 1946 Ford Business Coupe
Uffe Ringblom T-23 Ford
Olle Thorslund 1928 Ford Pheaton
Mikael Blomberg's 1932 Ford Roadster
Ulf Andersson 1934 Ford Coupe
David Bergström T-23 Ford - Silver Dollar
The Juxtapod
Bengt Albertsson/Martin Andersson 1937 Ford Tudor slantback
Christer Karlsson's 1934 Ford 3-win coupe
Tommy Cougar's T-23 Ford


      • plus of course many many more cars... Stay tuned on Kustomrama! ***



Custom Cars of Sweden

Inge Carlberg's 1955 Chevrolet-"Shadow"
Kent Jonsson's 1934 Ford Roadster
Delwyn Triska’s 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe
Göran Silfors' 1936 Ford Sedan
Hasse Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1938 Chevrolet Convertible
Eddie Dominguez' 1939 Mercury Convertible
Bert Gustafsson's 1941 Cadillac Roadster
Janne Lundell's 1941 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe - The Carnelian Zaphir
Darren Chapman's 1949 Buick Sedanette
Johan Löfgren's 1949 Buick Sedanette
Qvintus Brusefält Ån's 1949 Chevrolet
Bengt Wennergren's 1949 Ford
Magnus Karlsson's 1949 Oldsmobile
Andreas Åberg's 1950 Ford Tudor
Bert Gustavsson's 1951 Dodge
Daniel "J:son" Johansson's 1951 Mercury
Ulf Christiansson's 1951 Mercury - Lucille
John Bozio's 1953 Buick Roadmaster
Mikko Kiviniemi's 1953 Chevrolet
Bo Thalinsson's 1953 Ford Sunliner Convertible
Tobias Andersson's 1953 Oldsmobile
Sven Blüme's 1954 Plymouth Convertible
Leif Wendel's 1955 Ford Sunliner - "Blue Heaven"
Arne Lindstrand's 1955 Chevrolet
Leif Helander's 1955 Chevrolet Convertible
Cecilia Gustafsson's 1955 Oldsmobile Super 88 - "Miss Lavendel"
Hence Forsman's 1956 Cadillac Eldorado
Bo Hedenström's 1956 Ford Fairlane - The Avalanche
Sven Sandberg's 1956 Ford Sunliner Convertible
Kjell Larsson's 1957 Chevrolet
Hans Broberg and Kjelle Gustad's 1957 DeSoto
Bert Gustavsson's 1957 Ford 300 Sedan
Matti Johanson's 1957 Ford Ranchero
Daemon Löfman's 1957 Oldsmobile 88
Lasse Mäenpää's 1958 Chevrolet Impala
Sven Sandberg's 1959 Chevrolet Impala
Lasse Theander's 1958 Ford Thunderbird - The Mystery Bird
Pelle Åberg's 1955 Ford Sunliner - "New Heaven"
Pontus Karlsson's 1959 Buick
Bo Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird - Surfin Bird
Bo "Gamen" Sandberg's 1959 Ford Thunderbird - Wild Bird
Tobias Närholm's 1960 Chevrolet Impala
Peder Behr's 1960 Chrysler New Yorker
Miles Masa's 1962 Chevrolet Impala - The Stardust/The Goofy Grape
Johan Eriksson's 1964 Ford Galaxie 500
Jon Karlsson's 1964 Ford Galaxie 500
Bo Sandberg's Cool Cat
Bengt-Olof Johansson's 1955 Chevrolet Custom
Hilmer Svensson's Chrysler

Lowriders of Sweden

Lil John's 1966 Chevrolet Caprice


Custom Body and Paint Shops of Sweden

LeBeef Kustom Metal Works
Olas Garage
Yankee Customs
Frittes Billack
old Iron Kustoms
Ingersjö lack
Skurk & Flytlack, Ingemar Becker and Jarmo Pulkkinen


Custom and Hot Rod Clubs of Sweden

The Road Devils, Stockholm
Sill_Drivers, Stockholm
SSRA
A-Bombers, Uddevalla
Customs of Sweden
Dusters
Hammers
Jokers
Undertakers
Easy Rodders, Stockholm
Early Times, Nacka
Ekens Gassers, Nacka
Idlers, Stockholm

Traditional Hot Rod and Custom Car Shows of Sweden

A-Bombers Old Style Weekend
Bastardized and Undertakers Fest
CKOS Lead Parkin'
Hammers Back to the 50's Weekend
Hot Rod Festival
Hot Rod Show
Hot Rod Show Borlänge
Jokers Car Show
Rumble in the Jungle
Showtime Sweden
SSRA Street Rod Nationals

People of Sweden

Anders Lake
Andreas Åberg
Arne Lindstrand
Bengt Sjöberg
Bengt Wennergren
Bert Gustafsson
Björn Bellander
Björn Wallman
Bo Hedenström
Bo Sandberg
Bo Thalinsson
Bosse Ericsson
Cecilia Gustafsson
Christer Lundberg
Daemon Löfman
Daniel "J:son" Johansson
Darren Chapman
Erik Henriksson
Fredrik Wallin
Gunnar Johansson
Gunnar "Gurra" Jonsson
Hasse Arhagen
Hans Broberg
Hence Forsman
Henrik Forss
Janne Eriksson
Janne Lundell
Janne Ullman
Johan Eriksson
Johan Löfgren
Janne Bellander
Janne Ström
John Svedberg
Jonas Qvarnström
Kent Jonsson
Kent Larsson
Kjelle Gustad
Klas Forsberg
Klas Wallin
Lars-Erik Johansson
Lars Erik Ljungkvist
Lasse Järnesjö"A-Ford Lasse"
Leif Helander
Leif Hultdin
Lelle Gran
Magnus Karlsson
Matti Johansson
Mattias Andersson
Micke Hedberg
Mikael Blomberg
Mikko Kiviniemi
Ola Thorslund
Palle Eriksson
Peder Behr
Pelle Carlsson/Stenberg
Pelle Pastell
Peter Billing
Pontus Karlsson
Ralph Lysell
Raymond Öström
Roland Larsson
Rolf "Fride" Eriksson
Ronnie Lindblom
Rustan Haeger
Ryde Brundin
Sven Blüme
Sven Sandberg
Tobias Andersson
Tobias Närholm
Tommy Svensson
Torsten Manby
Qvintus Brusefält Ån
Örjan Molins

References




 

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