Customer Reviews

American Custom Car

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There was a time when the American male was a lot more involved with his automobile. In the old days, when cars, like life, were a lot simpler, men would not only perform their own repairs, they would personalize their vehicles to set them apart from their neighbor's cars. Utilizing sheetmetal, lead, and parts from other cars, they would lower and lengthen their cars sometimes until they were unrecognizable from what they started from.

The custom car era was not that long, but there are many chapters. So many players, so many cars, that any sort of attempt to really cover the bases is difficult at best. Not to mention that many of the pioneers of the field are either getting up there in age, or have passed on to that great custom shop in the sky.

Fortunately for us, we have Pat Ganahl. Pat has been around long enough to have met many of the important people involved.
Pat is not only a writer's writer, more importantly, he is a reader's writer. A professional in every sense of the word, Pat Ganahl not only can make you understand what he's writing about, he can even make the most technical subject INTERESTING.

Of course, this book would be interesting anyway, but Pat's knowledge and passion for the subject really shine here. As former editor of Street Rodder, Hot Rod, Rod & Custom, and former cohort of the excellent Rodder's Journal, Pat is not only infinitely qualified to discuss the subject, he also demonstrates great taste. You could hardly find a better curator for this museum between two covers.

The cars and people Pat discusses here are of great historical relevance. From the beginnings back in the 30's with the great coach builders, to Harry Westergard, the Barris brothers, and Ed Roth, on up to the modern customizers like Boyd Coddington, Pat Ganahl takes you on the tour, and shows you how we got where we are today.

This book is loaded with great color and black & white photos of classic customs (Kustoms?), such as the Hirohata Merc, and the Rod & Custom Dream Truck, leading up to modern day customs, like the ZZ-Top Cadzilla. Not only are there vintage photos, but Pat has even seen fit to include a "Where are they now" section, so we can see how some of the survivors look today, thanks in no small part to keepers of the flame like Kurt McCormick, who painstaking restore and preserve these pieces of rolling history.

While the history and state of the American Custom Car goes well beyond the scope of this book (Hey, you only get so many pages to work with!), you'd find it pretty difficult to top this veritable treasure trove, without going out and spending thousands of dollars on vintage magazines. (Which you may find yourself doing anyway, as this book will surely stir up your interest!)

As an old time "car nut" I must say this is the best example of
reference material available today. The photography is absolutely first rate. I highly recommend this to all
"gear heads" out there.

If you are a car enthusiast, this book will show you a lot of things you'd like to know about custom cars, great pictures on the inside, and a lot of well organized information. This is the book I recommend the most to some of the students I have in a "custom car course" I teach.

This book is superb.In the tradition of "MBI" this book has maintained the standards.Beautiful photography that will impress.If you're looking for ideas for your next project or just love the art of customized cars then this book is for you.

If you love custom cars then you really should own a copy of this book! The photos are fantastic, the history is deep, and I promise you will spend hours and hours just flipping through it over and over. I don't agree with every point Ganahl makes (I'm still trying to figure out why "Miss Elegance" is considered a "tour de force" when to my eye it looks like the "uglified" cars in an earlier chapter??), but this man knows his lead sleds and kustoms and writes from a depth of knowledge and experience that few could hope to match.