Of all the custom cars builders who came to fame in the 1950's scene, the most prolific was a young man from Modesto, California - the legendary Gene Winfield. Cutting his teeth in the postwar hot rod scene, Winfield eventually gravitated to the media of custom cars, becoming one of its preeminent builders and purveyors. For the first time, Winfield's career is examined in this volume fully illustrated with photography from his personal archives - some never seen before!
Author David Grant is a long-time collaborator and protege of Winfield, and recounts everything from his early days at Modesto, immersion in California car culture, the formation of the Century Toppers Car Club, his involvement in dry lakes racing, the formation of Winfield's Custom Shop in 1955,and the impressive string of vehicles that followed: Strip Star from the film Solar Crisis, based on a 1946 Ford chassis with a 427 Ford engine and hand-finished aluminum body, the sleek gull-wing from The Man From UNCLE series, William Shatner piloting the Reactor car in Star Trek, Woody Allen and the Bubble Car in Sleeper , the spinning police car in Blade Runner , the Ford King T that won the 1963 AMBR award...All these and many more are featured in glorious color and archive photography alongside the voice of a man regarded by many as the king of Custom Cars.
Hardback; 24cms (w) x 28cms(h), 176 pages; 100 color, 100 black & white photos.