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Acustom car is a passengervehicle that has been altered toimprove its performance, change its aesthetics, or combine both. Some automotive enthusiasts in the United States want to push "styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor - to truly craft an automobile of one's own."[2] A custom car in British usage, according toCollins English Dictionary, is built to the buyer's own specifications.[3]
Custom cars are not to be confused withcoachbuilt automobiles, historicallyrolling chassis fitted with luxury bodywork by specialty auto body builders.
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Some of the earliest examples of modified cars were cars modified forracing oroff-roading. Thecoachbuilding industry is considered part of custom car history, as companies and individuals built custom bodies to be fitted to early cars and inspired later customizers.[4]
Hot rods were an early type of custom car first popularized in the United States, considered to be one of the earliest defined car customization movements. The origins of the first hot rods are typically considered to be early race cars built to race on dirt tracks and dry lake beds, often stripped downFord Model Ts,Model As, and other pre-World War II cars made intospeedsters and "gow jobs".[5] The "gow job" morphed into the hot rod in the 1940s to 1950s.[6][7] The modified cars used in theProhibition era bybootleggers to evaderevenue agents and other law enforcement are also considered a predecessor to the hot rod.[8] Hot rods gained popularity afterWorld War II, particularly in California, because many returning soldiers had received technical training.[9][10] Many cars were "hopped up" with engine modifications such as adding additional carburetors, high compression heads, and dual exhausts. The suspension was often altered, andengine swaps were to install the most powerful engine in the lightest possible frame and body combination.[11][12]
Another example of early automobile customization were the firstoff-road vehicles. Some of the earliest dedicated offroad vehicles were made using theKégresse track system, starting in the late 1910s, which affixed tracks to an ordinary car in place of the rear wheels for improved off-road traction.[13] AfterWorld War II, the surplus of army Jeeps led to a growth in the popularity of off-roading as a hobby.
Starting in the early 1940s, some US car customizers began to modify cars with a stronger emphasis on looks and self-expression. This led to styles of modification such aslowriders,kustoms andlead sleds emerging and growing.[14] 1950s kustom car builders would often swap trim and panels from other cars, cut through the sheet metal and remove bits to make the car lower, weld it back together, and addlead to make the resulting form smooth. They would alsochop the roof to make it lower,[15]section[16] the body to make it thinner from top to bottom, andchannel[17] the body by cutting notches in the floorpan where the body touches the frame to lower the whole body.
The first drag strip in the United States opened in 1950 on an airfield in Southern California, and a year later, in 1951 theNational Hot Rod Association was formed.[18] In the following years, more drag strips were built across the country, leading to a rise in the popularity ofdrag racing among both amateurs and professionals.
In the post-World War II era, Japan's automotive industry grew, eventually leading to the country becoming the world's largest vehicle producer. This led to a unique car customization culture within the nation. Some of the early custom cars in Japan, starting in the late 1970s through the 1980s, included Kaido Racers, Japanese cars modified with homemade parts to look like racecars of the time; imported and modified American and European cars; cars modified for top-speed and highway racing; andDekotora decorated trucks.[19][20] The 1990s saw the rise of cars modified fordrifting,VIP style luxury sedans, and the continued popularity of highway racing. Japan also embraced American customization styles, importing and building their muscle cars, lowriders, minitrucks, and more.
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Modified cars can be significantly different from their stock counterparts. A common factor among owners/modifiers is to emulate the visual and/or performance characteristics of established styles and design principles. These similarities may be unintentional. Some of the many different styles and visual influences to car modification are:
Custom paint jobs play an essential role in the culture around customized cars. Builders will often use special painting techniques to produce unique finishes, including the use of candy paint,metalflake, andcolor shifting paint. Additionally, builders will often create paint jobs with intricate designs or patterns by pinstriping, painting by hand,airbrushing, taping out patterns on the car and painting inside them, painting overlace, overlayinggold leaf, and more. Some customizers will also opt forvinyl wraps, vinyl decals, orplastidip in place of a traditional paint job. In addition to paint, individual parts of a car may also be chromed, gold plated, or engraved.
Transparent but wildly colored candy-apple paint, applied atop a metallic undercoat, andmetalflake paint, with aluminum glitter within candy-apple paint, appeared in the 1960s. These took many coats to produce a brilliant effect – which tended to flake off in hot climates. This process and style of paint job were invented byJoe Bailon, a customizer from Northern California.
Painting has become such a part of the custom car scene that in many custom car competitions, awards for custom paint are as highly sought after as awards for the cars themselves.
Engine swaps are a common modification involving taking the engine from one car and putting it into another, often one that did not initially come with that engine. A few of the most common engines swapped into other vehicles include theBMW M54,Chevy small block,Chevy LS,Chrysler Hemi,Cummins B Series,Ford Barra,Ford Coyote,Ford flathead V8,Honda B,Honda K,Mazda 13B,Nissan RB,Nissan SR,Subaru EJ,Toyota JZ,Toyota UZ,Toyota S, andVolkswagen VR6.[24][25] Completing an engine swap typically requires a high level of modification and fabrication to fit the engine and connect it to the host vehicle's body, transmission, and electrics. Many companies sell kits for common engine swaps that include adapter plates for the transmission, K member, engine mounts, front subframe, and more, depending on what ss required for the particular swap. Some engine swaps will use the vehicle's original transmission, while others opt for the transmission from the donor car, or a different transmission entirely.
Solid axle swap (SAS): replacing independent front suspension (IFS) withsolid axle.[26][27][28]
Examples of notable American customizers includeGeorge Barris,Vini Bergeman,Bill Cushenbery, theAlexander Brothers,Bo Huff,Gil Ayala,[29] Darryl Starbird,[30]Roy Brizio,Troy Trepanier (ofRad Rides by Troy),Boyd Coddington,Darryl Hollenbeck (working out of at Vintage Color Studios; winner of the 2016America's Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) trophy with a custom Deuce)[6]Harry Westergaard,[31]Dave Stuckey,[30]Dean Jeffries,Barry Lobeck, Phil Cool (who won the 1978 AMBR trophy with a bright orange Deuce, cover car for the July 1978 issue ofHot Rod),[32]Troy Ladd ofHollywood Hot Rods,Doane Spencer (builder of a 1940s Deuce considered the template for the hiboy),[33]"Posie",[34]Ron Clark andBob Kaiser (ofClarkaiser Customs),[35]Joe Bailon[30] (inventor of candy apple paint),[36]Gene Winfield,Rick Dore[37]Joe Wilhelm,"Magoo",[38]Chip Foose,[39]Pete Chapouris and notable custom car designer [40]Keith Kaucher.
Others, such asVon Dutch, are best known as custom painters. Several customizers have become famous beyond the automobile community, including Barris, Jeffries, and Coddington, thanks to their proximity toHollywood; Barris designed TV'sBatmobile, while Chapouris built theflamed '34 three-window coupé in the eponymoustelefilmThe California Kid. Another Barris creation,Ala Kart (a '29Ford Model A roadster pickup), made numerous appearances in film after taking two AMBR wins in a row.
One of the most coveted awards for American customizers is the AMBR (America's Most Beautiful Roadster) trophy, presented annually at the Grand National Roadster Show since 1948 (also known within the customizer community as the Oakland Roadster Show until it was moved to Southern California in 2003). This competition has produced famous and radical customs.
Another is theRidler Award, presented at theDetroit Autorama since 1964 in honor of show promoter Don Ridler. With one of the most unusual car show entry requirements, the Ridler Award winners are selected as the most outstanding among cars being shown for the first time. This prompts builders of many high-end roadsters to enter Autorama first and then the Grand National show to have the chance to win top honors at both shows. Few cars and owners can claim this achievement.
Some customs gained attention for winning awards at shows or for their outlandish styling. Some examples includeSilhouette andEd Roth'sMysterion. Some notable custom cars have been turned intoHot Wheels cars or other scale models, such asThe Red Baron.
Other custom cars became notable for appearances in film (such asAla Kart {1958},[40]The California Kid three-window {1973},[41] the yellow deuce from "American Graffiti" {1973}, theBatmobiles from Batman, thePursuit Special fromMad Max, and more) or television (such asTheMonkeemobile from the"Munsters", andKITT fromKnight Rider).
Other notable customs exemplified a trend. One of these is the 1951 Merc built by the Barris brothers for Bob Hirohata in 1953, known as theHirohata Merc. Even without an appearance in the film ("Runnin' Wild"), it is one of the most iconic 1950s customs.[42] The same year,Neil Emory andClayton Jensen ofValley Custom Shop builtPolynesian for Jack Stewart, starting with a 1950Holiday 88 sedan.[43]Polynesian made the cover ofHot Rod in August, and saw 54 pages of construction details inMotor Trend Custom Car Annual in 1954.[44]
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