Early Barris chopped '41 club coupe. Rear quarter windows filled and full fade away fenders created. '47 Olds bumpers, '47 Caddy grille. Built for Var Martin, it was chopped 3,5 inches in front and 5 ...more

inches in the back. Interior was done by Runyan.

Chopped 5-1/5 inches with the rear window leaned forward and also cut to give better proportions. The flow of the roof is absolutly perfect and is accentuated by the absence of the driprail and ...more

rounded door corners. The fenders where all molded to the body and the taillights shaved for a very elegant back end. '46 Chevy taillights where fitted to the '47 Buick front fender. The runningboards where removed and the doora have been extended on the botom so the wrap around section is now part of the door. At the front the headlights where modled in but not extended. The hood was smoothed and the grille opening reshaped to fit the '49 Oldsmobile grille. The side trim was shortened on the hood and a '49 Oldsmobile bumper was installed at the front. Dodge hubcaps and Appleton spotlights where used as finishing touch.

'47 Studebaker four door, which was sectioned 5 inch and chopped 4 inch. Channeled body and nearly every body panel was reworked. Grille opening was made using 2 '49 Mercury grille openings and a lot ...more

of sheet metal. The grille was made using two '51 Lincoln grilles and other parts as well. The headlights where extended and frenshed and had special aiscoops with small teeth added on top of them. A new hood was made from left over body parts and a scoop was created at the front with 9 small teeth added. The front bumper was created using 52 Olds grille bar and Lincoln bumpper ends. At the rear '51 Mercury fenders where crafted to the body and a scoop was created at theire leading edge. The trunk was also panckaked in a similar way as the hood. DeSoto taillights where frenched using round rod. Bumper ends where cut of from the rear bumper and used as bumperette with vertical placed exhaust openings. The center piece was seperately flowing in the center. A Kaiser guard was added. The car was finished in '52 in lime-gold green lacquer. The interior was handled by the Carson top shop done in white leather and green velvet.

Give-away Custom

Fitted with that georgious Canedian Ford grille. A simple modification but with just the right effect. Stance and style are just perfect on this custom.

This car was constructed for the parts that Kurt McKormick decided not to use in his Johnny Zaro restoration.
The main body was in such bad shape that it was better to use a new body to construct the ...more

Zaro 1940 Merc. All that Kurt used where the top and the dash. The left over parts where used for this convertible. A new cowl was fitted and the the windshield frame was chopped.

This extremely wel proportioned 48 Ford with very nice forward angled B pillar line on the Padded top. The owner and builder are unknown. However in two of the photo's it shows the car in front of the ...more

Barris shop. The "unfinished" car without the fender skirts in front of the Barris shop indicates it was built or at least painted at Barris.

This Buick was built for Jim Skonzakis (Jim Street) by Sam Barris and mr Getz. The car still excits today.

Al Andril and Johnny Zaro decided to have a 40 Mercury Custom and that Barris should do the work. Al's Blue coupe was finished first and is shown on the left in the photo's showing the Andril and Zaro ...more

merc next to each other in the late 40's.

' 48 Caddy Fleetwood rear fenders moved in two inches and modifiede to fit the fadeaway's. Hand formed skirts. '48 Caddy Grille Frenched headlights nosed hood. Later the car was chopped 2,5 inch and ...more

got a gorgious Gaylord top.

The Barris Version of the Bettancourt Mercury.

In late ’52 or early 53 Louie wanted to update his custom Merc and brought it to Barris. The second version of the Bettancourt Merc is one of the ...more

few second version that is as good and perhaps even in improvement over the original version. Ussual second versions get overdone and are just to get ahead of the changes in the scene, but not so with the Barris version of the Bettancourt Mercury. The modifications done by Barris to Ayala’s original custom work where subtile, stylish and with respect for its original look. The original car had the feel of a 40’s custom with its all shaved body. Barris must have realized a bit more sparkling and lines/directions (side trim) where needed to make this custom flow just a bit better.

Al the wonderful Ayala bodywork was left alone, that was perfect already. A ’49 Cadillac side trim was added to the side, mounted lower than the stock Merc position and actually covering the top of the wheel opening, thus visual lowering the car.
A extremely beautifull grille was fabricated (arguably one of Barris best grilles) using several ‘52 grilles for the horizontal part and 51 Ford grille end tips. The teeth inside came from a 52 Mercury.

The stock Mercury bumpers where replaced with ’53 Pontiac Deluxe items with those wonderful end extentions. The rear bumper was made from a narrowed and recontoured front bumper. Both front and rear where fitted with ’52 Kaiser guards. And at the rear the exhaust was routed thru the guard bullets. The rear end extentions of the bumper work absolutely wonderful with the frenched taillights Ayala did a few years earlyer.

The Caddy Sombrero hubcaps where replaced with ’53 Studebaker units with fake knockoff’s and fitted with Barris crest. (imho the one thing that was overdone on this version). Two Barris Crest where also added to the frontfenders just in front of the doors. Barris painted the Bettancourt Merc in a mile deep Tingia maroon. Glen Houser of the Carson Top Shop created a fantastic interior using an egg-white tuck & roll with wine colored fabric which was butten tuffed.

In '56 Bettancourt sold his merc to Johnny Zupan and he had Barris made a third version of it. This time however all Barris did was just to much and I lost intrest in the car.

Much later the car was owned by Dean Jeffries and the car had undergone some more ugly modifications including quad headlights!!! The custom was stoledn of his property and never seen again. Although some believe it still ecits somewhere, nobody seams to really know where. I hope however thatone day this car will become in the hands of a tru custom car enthusiast and be turned into its first or second edition. This one is a true milestone custom that should be around for us to enjoy.

Photo's of its original Ayala version can be seen here:
http://public.fotki.com/R...ustoms/louie_bettancourt/

'41 Mercury business coupe chopped 4 inches. Channeled 5 inches molded and ful fade away fenders created. The grille was replace by a '48 Oldsmobile grille and the headlights where frenched. At the ...more

back the taillightswhere removed and the rear smoothed. New bumper guard taillights where created. The car was painted dark maroon and later repainted green. Bill Ortega changed his name to Bill De Carr late. Later the car was sold to Dick Hansen of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

4 inch Chopped Gaylord top with a three piece removable panoramic rear window. '50 Oldsmobile taillights in extended rear fenders, and Oldsmobile rear bumper. Purple lacquer with a purple and gray ...more

interior done by Gaylord. The body was channeled over the frame and a custom grille opening was shaped to fit the large diameter tubular floating griille bars.

'50 Mercury with 51 rear fenders, '54 Pontiac taillights and 51 Lincoln bumpers. Georgious.

Originally chopped and customized by the Ayala Brohers. The unfinished custom was taken to Barris who detailed and fine tuned it in '55.

This car has always had some “mistery” around it who actually built it. Was it Barris or Cerny’s Paint and Metal shop? I believe most of the body work was done at Barris for the then owner Allen ...more

Anderson. The top was chopped beautifully (arguably the best chop on a shoebox ford ever) from three inches in the front to 6 in the rear with a slight rake added to the windshield, and turned into a hard top. The top of the doors where welded to the top and a new graceful door line was made in the doors at the hight of the. The flow of this top is increadible and absolutely flawless from any angle. I must have been Sam who did this one for sure. The front fenders where extended 6 inches and the rear fenders 8 inches with modified and frenched stock taillights. Barris built an floating bar grille for the new oval grill surround. The fenderskirts where cut down '51 Mercury units.
Later the car was sold to Buster Litton who drove it around in the Barris version (not sure if it was all finished and painted though). After a while he brought it to George Cerny to do rest of the custom work. ‘51 Studebaker front fenders where installed and the front gravel pan molded and rolled into the new grille opening. A lip was added on the bottom of the hood using ’51 Mercury pieces. The new lip repeats the lip found on the front wheel opening and the fender skirts, which makes it a very nice overall design element.and the ’53 Chevy grille with ’51 Ford end bullets was mounted. At the rear George Cerny installed his trademark Olds elements in this case a complete 51 Olds rear quarter including taillights. The rear bumper was replaced with a ’53 Ford unit. ’53 Cadillac The ’48 Buick side trim ads even more length to the already lenghned and lowered custom. According the the ’53 Hop Up article the finish is an attention-rousing gleaming maroon bronze lacquer. Gaylord did the interior in a beautiful wide and long rolls & pleats in off white and orange Fabrilite. The car was also known as panoramic Ford.

The '49 Cadillac grile was v-cut, split and reshaped to fit the Chevy body. The front bumper was replaced by a '49 Buick unit, The hood was smoothed and the headlights where frenched. At the rear the ...more

rear fenders where raised and reshaped to folow the trunk shape much better than stock. '50 Chrysler taillights where placed low on the rear fenders. The rear bumper is a '49 Oldsmobile unit. The body has been channeled over the frame, and painted Chromatic Blue. The Padded top and blue and white interior where created by Gaylord.

The top was chopped 3 inches and the georgius padded top created by the Carson Top Shop. At the front a new grille opening was created using exhaust tubing which was molded to the surounding metal. ...more

The top bar was molded to the hood which was cut down to the grille opening. The grille was made up from '51 Henry J, '52 Kaiser and '53 mercury grille pieces. The parking lights are '50 Studebaker. Scoopes where formed in the lower rear quarters in fron tof the rear wheel opening. Two '53 Mercury teeth where used in the scoop and a cut down '51 Mercury fender skirt was fitted. All corners where rounded and front and rear gravel pans where molded in. At the rear a set of round '53 Pontiac taillights where set into reshaped windsplits. At the front a set of '53 Mercury headlights where molded into the front fenders which wher extended 2 inches. Front and rear '51 Ford bumpers where smoothed and shaved and fitted with '53 Kaiser bumper guards. At the rear the exhause was routed thru the bullets of the guards. The side trim was made up of '52 Buick Riviera Sweepspear and '53 Oldsmobile side trim pieces. The car was painted a deep fuchia-orchid metallic paint. Appleton spotlights, and some unusual wire wheel hubcaps finish this one up.

Chopped 6 inch in the front and 8 in the rear. Angled foreward and rounded B pillars. look carefully at that B-pillar that is one of the best looking pillars ever done on a 46-48 coupe body. The top ...more

corner is rounded with a very large radious and flows so perfect with the rear side window and is almost a miror image of the doors front corner. The headlights where molded in and a '48 Cadillac grille was installed in a reworked opening. All fenders where smoothly molded to the body and the running boards where rolled. The side trim was shortened at the front (another Barris trademark) and the hood nicely peaked and trunks smoothed. The interior used '42 Chevy seats which where 3 inches lower that stock Mercury units. This was needed to ad extra comfort after top was chopped. Cadillac Sombrero's on whide whited and appleton spotlights complete this perfect package. Color was deep brown and later the car was sold to John Logg who rear raised and fenderskirts removed... why?

Gil Ayala chopped the top on this coupe 5-1/2 inch, the windshield was leaned back and a chopped one piece Olsmobile winshield replaced the two piece original unit. The rear of the top was angled ...more

foreward and the complete top was sectioned to give it all new much better proportions. All door and trunk corners where rounded. With the top chopped the car went to Barris.
At the front a new grille opening was shaped from 2-1/2 inch round tubing. The top portion was welded and molded to the hood. The grille was made up of three '51 DeSotto grille teeth and Kaiser Fraiser horizontal bars. The headlights where extended and molded to the body. The rear fenders where extended 8 inches and a set of Kaiser taillights where perfectly fitted to it. The rear fender taillight combination is one of the best around. A Kaiser side trim was added to create some visual length. The bumper at the front is from a '49 Pontiac and at the rear from an Oldsmobile. The car was lowered using a kicked up rear of the frame and cut coils at the front. The body was painted solid metallic rusty bronze and outfitted with a set of 112-Appleton Spotlights. The interior was handled by the Carson Top shop in brown and antique white leatherete.

Mild custom with perfect speed boat stance. ' 48 Chevy bumpers dechromed body and tiallights set into the bumper guards for ultra clean rear end. Color is deep purple.

The top on Carter's '41 Ford convertible was chopped 5 1/2 inch and Gaylord made the georgious padded top and interior.The frame was C'd, floor chanelled, so the rear of the car was lowered 8 inch and ...more

the front 3 1/2 inch for the perfect speed boat look. The center grille was filled in with sheet metal and the hood was peaked and the side trim shortend. '48 Ford bumpers with the taillights set into the rar bumper guards. The trunk was ofcoars releaved of its chrome for ultra clean rear end.

Purple paint padded top by Carson

Customizing on this Buick had started in 1949. The windshield was chopped and Hall made th padded top on frames grafted by Barris. The 1948 Cadillac rear fenders where sectioned three inches to fit ...more

the Buick Body, and where fitted with 1952 Cadillac taillights. The bumpers front and rear are also from a 1948 Cadillac. The cut down grille has the parking lights intergrated and comes also from the 1948 Cadillac. The hood had a lot of work done to it. The front lines where reshaped to end at teh center point just above the grille. And the latch mechanism was removed and replaced with units just behind the grille. Paint is a deep Purple mist lacquer. The interior was done by Gaylord in two tone leatherette. and the steering wheel and shift knob where made of clear acrylic plastic. A very unique feature back then. Appleton spots, Caddy Sombrero hubcaps anda aperfect stance make this one and all time favourite.
The car was later sold to Jim Collins of Gardena California.

Motor Trend November '52

41 Ford cabroilet with '50 Oldsmobile fenders (front and rear) '50 Mercury grille shell.

1950 Ford also known as the 7-tooth Ford. The grille opening was shaped using 2.5 inch exhaust tubing, which created a wonderful lip. The hood was extended downwards and the lip was made part of it. ...more

The hood and front gravel pan where nicely peaked. The grille was made using sheet metal folded to form the horizontal bar to which 7 die-cast teeth where added. The end spinners come from a 51 Ford grille in tubes of unknown origin.The front bumper is stock but smoothed of the bumper guards. At the rear a '49 Mercury rear bumper was modified to fit the Ford and the taillights where set into the bumper guards using red lucite. The rear fenders where peaked and the stock taillights and windflairs where completely removed..
The windshield was chopped 2 and ahalf inch and Glen Houser of the Carson Top Shop madea wonderful padded top for it. And they also where responsible for the red and white pleated upholstery. Paint was Fire Engine Maroon Metallic and hubcaps came from a Oldsmobile. Appleton spots where standard custom procedure.

A georgious mild custom, using '50 Oldsmobile top grille bar and a 51 Kaiser floating grille bar. Headlights are frenched and hood is dechromed and peaked. The rear fenders where relieved of the ...more

taillights which are now grafted into the '50 Oldsmobile rear bumper guards mounted on similar year brand bumper. The trunk has also been dechromed and rear fenders molded to the body for an extremely wonderful design.

Original built by Tony Pisano. Later the car was rebuilt by Barris for its new owner Herb Ogden. Among other things the original straight eight was replaced by a Cadillac OHV engine.

This dark Purple custom has never been featured enough in the custom car magazines in the early 50’s. Why not? perhaps because it was one of the first ‘49 Mercury’s that received a chopped top. ...more

This all happened basicly before the custom car magazines started to be published. The top of the factory blue 49 Mercury was cut the night after Jerry bought it as a brand new car in november ’48, he was just 20 years old at that time. Jerry and Sam Barris performed this extreme chopped top. Caracteristic for this top is the angled forward and rounded B-pillar and drip rail removal for an ultra smooth look. A lot of metal work and later stainless steel trim work went into this one. Other than the chopped to this custom has not much radical body work done to it. Some corners where rounded, but not the now so common hood corners. The grille shell was molded in and the stock Mercury headlights where frenched. The hood was dechromed and the door handles shaved. At the rear the stock taillights where removed and new custom units where elegantly set into the bumper guards using red plastic. Fender skirts where scratch built, and the rear window was filled with a single piece ’50 Mercury window. Jerry likes his customs low so the car was lowered a lot which in combination with the heavy chop created an ultra low custom. The car was driven around in white primer with stock grille and hubcaps for a while before being painted by Jerry with 32 coats of dark purple with color sanding in between each coat. A new custom grille bar created from ’51 Ford components was also added at this time. ’49 Cadillac hubcaps replaced the Mercury units. The grille on Jerry’s Mercury is the same as the one on Sam Barris his own ’49 Mercury. The current whereabout of the car is unknown.

Sam Barris build this exceptional custom from a 41 Ford sedan, the windshield of a convertible replaced the cut of sedan windshield/top. Channeled, sectioned, chopped and raised rear fenders and ...more

raised fade away front fenders give this car totally different lines. The grille is 47 Olds, bumpers are '46-'48 Ford, and at the rear the taillights where set in the bumper guards. The Dashboard is from aa '47 Studebaker

Johnny bought this 41 custom as it was in photo number 2. George Barris had built it for John Vara. Soon Johnny had Barris paint it Tokay beige, then the grille was modified from 48 Pontiac bars to ...more

'50's Pontiac bar and Studebaker teeth, and once again the car was painted maroon with gold dust mixed in. The top was done by Chavez and the interior in leather by Bill Hilborn. The car first had small round taillights and later the first set of its kind bumper guard taillights where installed. Totay the car lives in good condition in Illinois.

Former Louie Bettancourt Mercury first created nu the Ayala's and later restyled by Barris.

This famous Barris custom was built in 1950. The top was chopped 5” in the front and 7” vertical measurements in the back. Most of the sheet metal on the “c” pillars was made using preshaped ...more

metal from Californian metal shaping Inc. Sam Barris worked almost a year on the roof to get it just right. The windshield was chopped less and its leading top edge was moved upwards to open up the opening.

The side window chanels where hand formed from squire 3/8 inch chanel and later chrome plated. The chanels are fixed and do not roll down.
Both front and rear fenders where molded to the body. All emblems and handles where removed. Aftermarket fender skirts for '39-40 Ford/Mercury's where use and at the back a ‘46 Ford gravel shield was molded- to the body and ‘46 Ford bumpers and bumper guards where used front and rear. The bumper guards at the back where placed further from the center on the bumper and Barris cut a section from it to create the taillights using clear red plexiglass.

The interior was created by the Carson shop and uses white and oxblood red nuaghide and black carpets. The dashboard was fully chromed and the center panel was created out of red plexiglass. A ‘50 Mercury Monteray steering wheel was used.

Wide white walls with ‘50 Cadillac Sombrero’s on red wheels where used. The doors open with solinoids hidden in the running boards. The side trim was shortened a few inches at the front.
The custom was painted a high gloss Royal maroon lacquer with gold iridescent highlights.
In its short live the “Matranga Mercury” has won many awards at some of the major shows from that time. The wonderful side window opening style was later used on another famous Barris custom the “Hirohata Mercury”.
The car was later sold when Nick Matrange left to Korea. The new owner wrecked the car soon after that, wraping it around a telephone pole on a rainy night, the car was totaled.

Who knows more about this car in the background against the Barris office building. It appears to be a '41-48 Ford coupe body, very nicely chopped with possebly '49 Oldsmobile front fenders raised a ...more

lot, and '49 Caddy rear fenders with Caddy taillights and bumper. There is no hood in any of the photo's but I assume is has been pankacked in a similar fashion as the Jack Steward 41 Ford. If you have any info on this car or other photo's please let me know by e-mailing me at rik@rikhovingkustoms.com Or leave comment at one of the photo's in this album.

Thank you

'41 Ford Busines Coupe radically chopped with perfect flow of the top helped with the leaning back of the windshield. At the front the sheet metal was reshaped to fit the contours of the '46 Chevy ...more

grille. The headlights where extended and frenched and the hood was dechromed. Removed and covered runningboards ad tto the models look. Both front and rear fenders where molded to the body with an absolutley georgious smooth line on the rear fender to body. The door and trunk corners where rounded and the drip rails removed.
'47 Ford bumpers and bumper guards where used. First the tailights where set into the rear bumper guars in a similar way as was done on the Matranga '40 Merc and Jesse Lopez '41. Later stock bumper guards where added and small round taillights set into extentions made from molded in tubing where added to the rear fenders. Paint was a deep metallic green.

Started in '48 by Barris who chopped the top 2-3/4 inches in the front and 2-1/2 inch at the rear. The windshield was leaned back and the rear window leaned foreward. Corner on the rear top door ...more

corners where neatly rounded and the driprails removed for ultra clean look. All fenders where molded to the body and at the rear the gravel pan was also molded in. The narrowed '49 Pontiac rear bumper had the exhaust tips running thru them and at the rear the taillights where set into the bumper guards and at the front the parking lights where inserted into the front bumper guards on the narrowed '49 Pontiac bumpers. The hood was peacked and the side grilles where replaced with solid panels which where molded to the body. The headlights where molded in and all chrome removed. Fender skirts appleton spots and v butted winshield complete this georgious custom. In its firs version the car was painted fuchsia orchid and later it was repainted in light metallic blue with lighter scallops. Later the molded in headlights where replaced with a set of double molded headlights. The car still excits today. Hopefully somebody will bring it back to its former glorie.

Starting with a ’47 Studebaker convertible was very unusual thing to do, but the Barris brothers did an fantastic job. The windshield was chopped 4 inch, the front fenders where extended 2.5 inch ...more

and headlights frenched into hand made rings. A new grille opening was completely hand formed and fitted with a grille made of two ’50 Lincoln grilles and topped of with round parking lights. Bumpers front and rear come from a ’52 Lincoln. At the rear the rear fenders where molded to the body and ’52 Studebaker taillights where mounted horizontal in hand made extentions. The 30 inch long and 8 inch wide extentions where molded to the body and give the car a very elegant and much longer look. The exhaust tips where relocated into the bumper guards.
All emblems and handles where shaved and corners rounded. The gravel shield front and rear where molded to the body and the rear fenders where extended downward to level them with the rest of the body.
The interior was upholstered with white rolled and pleated leatherette by the Carson Top Shop. They also created the padded removable top, which was upholstered in royal dark blue cloth. The unusual color for the top was a nice contrast for the ice blue paint which covers the body. A ’52 Pontiac side trim was used on the smoothed body and the space between the side trim pieces was painted dark blue to match the Carson top. The dashboard was left factory stock.
Apperently the car was later painted marroon, its current whereabouts are unknown at this moment.

Barris did work on this very nice Buick as well as some other shops. Carson dit the wonderful top.
The grille is from an 1946 Chevy. The headlights wheree "sealed" into the fenders, which where ...more

molded to the body. Th erear fenders where also molded to the body using a very elegant flair. Taillights where from a 1949 Mercury placed low in teh rear fender. SIngle bar flipper hubcaps on whide whites, this one was built in the late 40's

This 1950 Mercury was purchased new by Wally Welsh and taken to the Ayala Brothers, Gil and Al, for customizing. The top was chopped, head and taillights frenched, frame c-ed, door handles removed and ...more

solenoids installed. All emblems were removed and DeSoto grille teeth installed in the frenched shell. The Merc was finished in Metallic Lime Green. As one of the first chopped Mercs, the car was considered one of the top ten radical customs of the 50's. It was featured in several magazines and was awarded the Best Custom title at the 1951 Pan Pacific Autorama. In late 1951, Wally took the car to Barris Kustoms where two teeth were added to the grille and it was refinished in deep-deep purple. It was then named Purple Rage.
In 1953, Purple Rage was sold. Its second owner enjoyed it for two years, then Uncle Sam called. The car was placed in storage where it remained for thirty years. In 1985, it was found and purchased by its former owner Joe Eddy who began a 3 year restoration. The car was stripped to bare metal and the body massaged where necessary. The running gear was rebuilt and updated with a Chevy 400 engine. Turbo-hydro transmission, 9 inch Ford rearend and power steering. All chrome was replaced and, in 1987, Purple Rage was reborn, glistening in a lustrous new coating of Candy Grape.
In 2004 the Mercury was sold again and will now be restored in its former Lime green/gold Ayala version.

Click here to see the Ayala version:
http://public.fotki.com/R...s/wally_welch_49_mercury/