if you got em, smoke em for Gene... interesting tribute idea! (thanks Mike!)

After than, he disappears in a big cloud of smoke, see the video at https://www.instagram.com/kustomhogue805/reel/DGzGAM1v2lU/

This makes me wonder... if any of us had thought to ask Gene... what would he have said would be a cool tribute he'd get a kick out of? Racing on the salt? Smoking tires? Chopping a Merc? Painting a car? Teaching someone something you're good at? 

Gene did all that, and a hell of a lot more. 

I don't think I ever did a post on Gene... just on the many momentary things he was doing at the time. 

But today I found that Kustomrama did a better bio about Gene than I ever could, seriously. But then, they have FOCUSED on customizers for longer than I've been blogging. So, give the credit where it's due, they knocked it out of the park for Gene 

https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Gene_Winfield (and here's just some of the info there, that I didn't know!) 

At 10, Gene worked as a car hop for his mom's burger stand/lunch bar, joined the Navy right after high school while WW2 was happening, he held a NASCAR license from 1951 to 1953. He joined the Army in 1949, and was transferred to Japan as a trained cook, but when he arrived, he was placed in charge of the battalion hobby shop instead. After arriving, Gene ordered all of the necessary items to open a hobby shop for his battalion. At night he would teach classes in leatherwork, model airplane building, and copper tooling. He also included a photo lab, so he could learn how to process film. 

While putting the hobby shop together, Gene and three other GI's came together and rented a small shop in the city where they started building cars. In the shop, they built 4 cars, a little sports car with a Crosley engine, a full-size sports car based on a 1939 Ford convertible with a loaded flathead and stepped frame, front and rear, a half-chopped and half-sectioned 1941 Ford coupe that they installed 1946 Ford fenders on, and a 1941 Ford convertible that they hand formed new front fenders, hood, and a grille for out of sheet metal.

 Gene raced the 1941 Ford in the first stock car event ever held in Japan!

By the way, SpeedKulture did an interview with Gene a month ago, and they only have the preview clip on youtube so far... so, hopefully, soon they'll have the full video to share 

Gene Winfield has left us behind and gone on ahead. This sorry world won't be any damn good without him... I was lucky to have met and talked with him

 if you want to read his bio, or see what he'd created, I've posted 4 dozen times about him https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/Gene%20Winfield  and covered it all. 

Or read the well written article at https://www.autoweek.com/news/a64040173/gene-winfield-custom-car-icon-obituary

But today I found that Kustomrama did a better bio about Gene than I ever could, seriously. But then, they have FOCUSED on customizers for longer than I've been blogging. So, give the credit where it's due, they knocked it out of the park for Gene

https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Gene_Winfield  (and here's just some of the info there, that I didn't know!) 

At 10, Gene worked as a car hop for his mom's burger stand/lunch bar, joined the Navy right after high school while WW2 was happening, he held a NASCAR license from 1951 to 1953. He joined the Army in 1949, and was transferred to Japan as a trained cook, but when he arrived, he was placed in charge of the battalion hobby shop instead. After arriving, Gene ordered all of the necessary items to open a hobby shop for his battalion. At night he would teach classes in leatherwork, model airplane building, and copper tooling. He also included a photo lab, so he could learn how to process film. 

While putting the hobby shop together, Gene and three other GI's came together and rented a small shop in the city where they started building cars. In the shop, they built 4 cars, a little sports car with a Crosley engine, a full-size sports car based on a 1939 Ford convertible with a loaded flathead and stepped frame, front and rear, a half-chopped and half-sectioned 1941 Ford coupe that they installed 1946 Ford fenders on, and a 1941 Ford convertible that they hand formed new front fenders, hood, and a grille for out of sheet metal.

 Gene raced the 1941 Ford in the first stock car event ever held in Japan!

dang, Gene's place in Mojave is for sale, 72 years after Gene bought it.

 

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8201-Sierra-Hwy-Mojave-CA-93501/2055704980_zpid/

Gene is 97 years old by the way, born June 16th, 1927

ever hear of the '31 Chevy Roadster/'68 Camaro prop for the Dean Martin show on T.V. ? AMT Model co. had a "prototype shop" in Phoenix in the '60s and hired Gene Winfield, Sam Foose, Bill Hines and others to do whatever needed to be done.

 
Dean Martin drove the Camaro on stage singing to a song, the dancers danced around and past the Camaro, and removed quick release panels of the Camaro, exposing the '31 Chevy Roadster. 

The music's tempo changed and suddenly it was a thirties hot jazz type number

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=769824671611462&set=a.277686480825286

https://books.google.com/books?id=W1bfk91NZikC&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=Dean+Martin+show+camaro&source=bl&ots=Cfh5XjHn7L&sig=ACfU3U0XuChJacz7pC847tpBHSPAiyw2Nw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiosMiS-KaBAxX8mmoFHVMdB3kQ6AF6BAhEEAM#v=onepage&q&f=false

the 1964 AMBR winner built by Tognotti and painted by Winfield is coming up for sale on Bring A Trailer

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1913-FORD-MODEL-T-CUSTOM-ROADSTER-KING-T-197187

Rawlings is selling some of his collection, and 25 vehicles will be sold on Bring A Trailer in Sept

skip to 1:22 to bypass the promotions blitz bullshit, and get to the interesting behind the scenes explanation of why these aren't getting sold at the Scottsdale auction companies

https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-gas-monkey-garage-guy-is-offloading-his-car-collection

https://bringatrailer.com/2022/08/23/gas-monkey-garage-collection-coming-soon-to-bat/

Happy Birthday Gene Winfield! (he was born in 1927)

one of my favorite photos I have taken, it was at the May 2010 EL Mirage event http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/05/el-mirage-may-2010.html

Renowned Indy car and midget builder Frank Kurtis had his shop in Glendale on the same street as Ed Winfield and Barney Navarro

 the 50s were just that incredible for hot rodding, 

Tony Nancy was a shop away from someone famous too, and Barris, Jeffries, etc etc. 

Famous guys just seemed to have businesses in the vicinity of other famous guys

https://patganahl.com/2020/11/02/spence-a-tribute/

Gene is still painting! So, the world hasn't entirely went to hell yet

https://www.facebook.com/danny.brown.98871/posts/3212000582164048

looks very similar to the Gene Winfield Camaros

I posted two others at a couple years ago https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/10/camaros-that-gene-winfield-painted-for.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/stiffspeed/permalink/2095360903943848/

I don't know where it's been hiding since the late 60s, but finally the 1966 Fairlane A Go Go that Gene Winfield built will be on display, at the MCACN

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/12-outstanding-reasons-attend-2019-muscle-car-corvette-nationals/

if you dig this, look at his Merc Comet  https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/12/gene-winfields-1965-mercury-comet.html

I only learned of this car 3 years ago, and there were only 2 images of it on the internet: https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-fairlane-gt-go-go-by-gene-winfield.html

Cat Woman (Eartha Kitt) using Gene Winfields reactor

doesn't appear that the engine was used very much, or very well. All that smoke wasn't from tires, it was the side exhaust

https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2019/07/eartha-kitt-as-catwoman-picks-up-cesar.html

NEWSFLASH While in Finland for a car show this past week, Gene slipped, fell, fractured a hip, had emergency hip surgery, got pneumonia in the hospital from being bed bound

So the doctors won’t let him fly home on a regular plane. He has a couple of months of recuperation ahead

The specialized medical transport plane required to bring him home safely costs approximately $150,000. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched by his friends, to bring him home

https://www.gofundme.com/dr79t-bring-Gene-home

press release in detail: https://www.jenkkiautonayttely.fi/l/gene-winfield/

https://www.facebook.com/EveningGlam/posts/10217938990410919
https://www.winfieldscustomshop.com/

Camaros that Gene Winfield painted for a Chevrolet teen fair promotion.

I bet some collector would love to find these!

images from the 2008 book by David Grant:  “The Legendary Custom Cars and Hot Rods of Gene Winfield,”

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2008/04/17/the-lost-gene-winfield-muscle-cars/

I think I've found another, but it had no information with it

https://www.facebook.com/groups/stiffspeed/permalink/2095360903943848/

Gene Winfield's Camaro? I don't recall ever hearing about that

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1823504987698983&set=gm.1565428953603715&type=3&permPage=1

AnyCar II (1972) -

1929 Hudson, 1973 Triumph, 1973 Toyota, 1958 Volvo, 1970 Pontiac, 1961 Imperial, 1970 Mustang, 1970 Catalina, 1973 Mercedes, 1971 Dodge, 1969 Cadillac, 1954 Chrysler, 1969 Toronado, 1973 Plymouth, 1967 Volkswagen, 1968 Ford, 1961 Valiant, 1966 Corvette, 1971 Mach I, 1971 Continental

http://www.carstyling.ru/en/entry/AnyCar_II_1972/
https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/22337

I've posted Reactor before, but Mike got a better view inside to show the steering

Mike got a really good shot of the steering wheel, which is only possible when you can get a look in through the passenger side, not possible at the GNRS due to ropes

previous post gallery was the 2017 Grand National Roadster Show http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/01/gene-winfields-reactor-car-that-was-in.html

the Ford Custom Car Caravan 1962 - 1965, a direct imitation of the General Motors Parade of Progress

Ford reached out to additional customizers and eventually either commissioned or adopted the work of the Alexander Brothers, George Barris, Clarkaiser, Bill Cushenbery, Dearborn Steel Tubing, Fostoria Customs, Dean Jeffries, and Gene Winfield.

Starting with the Barris-built but factory-designed Mercury Super Marauder and the Ghia-bodied Mercury Montego, this Caravan was joined by the Dearborn Steel Tubing-built Super Cyclone and the Winfield-built Comet Cyclone Sportster.

Some of the other cars were Dean Jeffries Python Falcon, George Barris' Starburst Landau Fairlane, Bill Cushenberry's Astro Galaxie, and the Alexander Brother's Alexa Galaxie 500, Gene Winfield's  Pacifica truck and the '65 Comet Cyclone Sportster for the Lincoln-Mercury Caravan.

George Barris turned a 1963 Fairlane 500 into the Landau Starburst and gave it an alligator-skin-covered top.

Gene Winfield's 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone Sportster

http://www.carstyling.ru/en/car/1965_mercury_comet_cyclone_sportster/

https://www.highdefforum.com/car-forum/115098-muscle-cars-1962-1972-a-640.html

What does Gene Winfield, Art Himsl, Charley Hutton, and Jon Kosmoski have in common? They are all legends in the car painting world

for those reading along, who don't understand what's going on... Gene Winfield is a legend in custom car building, chopping, and painting with a fade from one color to another... Art Himsl is a AMBR winner for "Alien" for his custom build and paint, and is another legend, Charley Hutton paints Ridler and AMBR winning cars, and was Boyd Coddington's paint and body guy for those stunning customs, and Jon Kosmoski is the owner and founder of House of Kolor, and invented the incredible colors and candy paints and was credited by Von Dutch for saving his profession

the can is one of the Devilbiss paint gun cans I inherited http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-devilbiss-spray-gun-and-how-it-is.html  and there are a couple more autographs I'm going to try and get, but it's not very easy to do with other people.

Robert Martinez, color chrome and lowrider legend
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-thorough-look-at-lowrider-car.html
Bobby Alloway 1st winner of every major award for paint and body
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/10/alloway-hot-rod-shop.html
Bill Carter
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/05/bill-carter-you-may-not-know-name-but.html
Chip Foose,

and Darryl Hollenbeck
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search/label/Hollenbeck