vintage car restoration
Carl Casper’s name has been synonymous with the custom car movement for a long time. As a teenager, Casper created his famous ’51 Chevrolet custom, the Exotic Empress. The car went on to win the 1961 NHRA National Custom Car Championship. (You know it was a long time ago if NHRA was promoting car shows!) Carl Casper is a talented guy who can perform virtually every task required to build a world-class custom car, from metal fabrication to paint and upholstery, and while many of his creations took the form of wild custom cars, they were all driveable.
Although few might admit it, Corvette owners owe a deep debt of gratitude to the original Ford Thunderbird. The fledgling Vette, introduced in 1953, was General Motors’ idea of an open-air, wind-in-your-face sports car that was apparently an attempt to recreate Europe’s success with the MG. Unfortunately, the General didn’t get it quite right. The cars were equipped with the underwhelming Blue Flame Six, side curtains for the windows and an experimental body made of that new material called fiberglass, which had more than its share of production difficulties. Only 300 versions of the Polo White cars were completed that first year, and even though 10,000 were scheduled for 1954, only 3,600 actually rolled off the assembly line.
When Honolulu, Hawaii, nightclub owner Fred “Scruples” Piluso was growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he read an issue of Rod & Custom magazine that showed readers how to install a ’59 Ford Thunderbird front bumper onto either a ’55 or a ’56 Ford. “Man, I thought that was really a cool idea! I went right out and installed one of those setups on my ’55 Ford Crown Victoria. It really looked great with that ‘Dago Rake,’ that set of ’57 Mercury fender skirts and the ’55 Mercury station wagon taillights I had already installed.” For being built on a budget, it was definitely one of the most popular customs in the neighborhood for its time!
We’ve all heard stories of fellow street rodders who have searched far and wide for that special car. Weeks are spent on the Internet, days are spent stumbling through hot, dry, cold, wet, dusty or muddy swap meets, and even more time is spent at major rod runs, car corrals and cruise nights. Even with all that effort, time and expense, often times you still don’t find a particularly special car. Of course, you could do what Cecil Watts did and walk next door while your neighbor is having a barbecue for the hot rod club and say, “I didn’t know you were going to sell the Fordor—I’ll take it.” It was really that simple, and the best part is that the car is really special.
By name alone, Reflections Restorations attracts enthusiasts whose worlds revolve around period-correct classics, muscle cars and other favorites built in the Motor City over decades past. Then again, not all of the exquisite creations emerging from this Cabot, Arkansas-based creative shop reflect originality, as an equal number of customers these days prefer a more modern approach to the cars they’ve found and have been attracted to for so long.
If you don’t know the name J.F. Launier, you soon will, as this young craftsman has made a big impression on the hot rodding world in recent years, and from the looks of this, his latest project, he’ll be well represented in the decades to come.
It’s no guarantee that both halves of a married couple will love the automotive hobby. More than one marriage has ended following the ultimatum, “It’s the car or me,” though the same statement has also put an end to a large number of perfectly good hot rod projects. So it’s always nice when a car can bring a couple even closer, as is the case with Dennis and Dixie Gray and their ’63 Fairlane.
