Barris Kustom Techniques of the '50s

The one name, the one man, who epitomizes kustom cars is George Barris. A man who started working on cars during World War II, George is still promoting shows, handing out trophies and still kissing the trophy girls. In the 1950s, George and his brother Sam developed what came to be known as the “Barris look.” All of the cars to come out of their shop in southern California exhibited a certain cleanliness of line and sophistication that had more in common with sophisticated coach-built European cars than American hot rods of the same period.  At the same time that George and Sam were building some very famous cars like the Hirohata Merc and the Polynesian, George started to photograph their cars and write stories for magazines like Rod&Custom.  Not only does George Barris write as an expert on custom cars, in many cases he was the builder of the car he’s describing.