America's Wildest Show Rods of the 1960s and 1970s: Analysis and Opinions from George Barris, Darryl Starbird, Candy Joe Bailon, and Others

This is a print on demand (POD) book with color photos. The paper and photo quality in this book, although good, often does not match the original version but the information remains the same.

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of artistic excess. Crazy outfits, new-found freedoms of the boomer generation, and the hippie movement, all created an explosion of style completely unique to the period and generation. The 1960s and 1970s were also a time of intense automotive enthusiasm. New car launches every September were greeted with anticipation, muscle cars with excessive horsepower were the norm, and the average Joe was rodding and racing every weekend.

When these two forces came together, the results were unforgettable. A new breed of car was developed-the Show Rod. These creations were never intended for use on the streets, and many of them were never intended for any use at all. Customizers designed and built them to attract huge crowds to the big car show circuit that was travelling the country at the time, and in that they certainly succeeded.

What began as visions of futuristic cars eventually morphed into cartoon-like representations of cars. Things got wilder when the model car industry got involved, and then television shows and pop music acts jumped in too. Icons like Barris and Roth, household names even to fringe car guys, made their name in this era, as did others like Gene Winfield, Dean Jeffries, Candy Joe Bailon, Bob Reisner, Darryl Starbird and Tom Daniel, all important characters in promoting, designing and building this insane pieces of rolling artwork. This completely unique book is a round-table discussion featuring all of these great customizers discussing the era, their builds, and each others rods as well.

Acknowledgments 

Preface 

Foreword 

Chapter 1: Evolution of the Revolution

Chapter 2: Rampant Silliness

Ron Aguirre’s X-Sonic 

Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Beatnik Bandit 

Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Rotar 

George Barris’ XPAK 400 

Bill Cushenberry’s Silhouette 

Carl Casper’s Ghost 

Joe Cruces’ Crucifier 

Ray Farhner’s X-Ray 

Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Road Agent 

Dave Puhl’s Illusion 

Dean Jeffries’ Mantaray 

Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Surfite 

Lou Schorsch’s Vigilante 

Darryl Starbird’s Scorpion 

Bob Larivee’s Stiletto 

Dan Woods’ Milk Truck 

Bell and Trantham’s Outhouse 

The Alexander Brothers’ Deora 

Chuck Miller’s Fire Truck 

Reisner & Ohrberg’s Monster Cycle 

Bob Reisner’s Invader 

Ray Farhner’s Wake Wagon 

Jack Keef’s Stage Fright 

Reisner & Ohrberg’s Martian Spider 

Joe Bailon’s Barber Car 

George Barris’ Bunk Bed 

Ohrberg & Reisner’s Bath Tub 

Bob Reisner’s Pink Panther 

California Show Cars’ Snake Pit 

Chapter 3: What Came First? 

Ford Levacar Mach I 

The Li’l Coffin 

The Futurista 

The Red Baron 

The Boothill Express 

The Cosmic Charger 

George Barris’ Moon Scope 

The Popcorn Wagon

The Paddy Wagon 

Mark Moriarity’s Deal’s Wheels 1957 Chevy 

The Uncertain T 

Chapter 4: As Seen on TV!

Gene Winfield’s Reactor 

The Munster Koach 

The Drag-U-La 

The Monkeemobile 

The Voxmobile 

The Sleeper Car 

The Raiders Coach 

The Batmobile 

Chapter 5: End Game 

Chuck Miller’s Wood Burner 

Darryl Starbird’s Cecil the Diesel 

Darryl Starbird’s Vantasta 

The Sidewinder 

Stan Peterson’s Roach Coach 

Carl Casper’s Vanturian 

Jay Ohrberg & Bob Reisner’s Turnpike Hauler 

Darryl Starbird’s Trick Truk 

The Pac Man 

Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Stealth 99

Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s Beatnik Bandit II 

Chapter 6: Homage 

Dave Shuten’s Ice Truck Restoration 

Fritz Schenck’s Outlaw Clone 

Fritz Schenck’s Megacycle Restoration 

Dave Shuten’s Mysterion Clone 

Chapter 7: The Future of the Past 

Mark Moriarity’s Futurian 

Aaron Grote’s Atomic Punk 

Fritz Schenck’s Roswell Rod 

Dave Shuten’s Astrosled 

Bill Bierman’s Freakshow 

Alan Cummins’ Hemisfear 

Epilogue