The Autorama Car Show was in its infancy when it was held in 1961.
This event showcased the best of the best in auto customs, and it tells you where the hobby was in ‘61 and how they got there.
‘Customs Illustrated’ was at Autorama ’61 and they showcased what was hot in the early 60s custom world in their July 1961 edition.
Jerry Sutherland
For the record, ‘Customs Illustrated’ was one of the late 50s-early 60s custom and street road pocketbook—or ‘little pages’ magazines. These publications thrived during the golden era of custom cars.
There was a 1955 Mercury at the show, and it won the Closed Semi-Conservative class.
It was tunneled (deep recessed components) with beaked (extended) taillights and it had Ford trim. These were all standard practices in the early 60s.
A 1959 El Camino showcased other custom techniques circa 1961.
This car had ’59 Cadillac taillights in frenched (recessed) housings, with custom nerfs replacing stock bumpers. It also had rolled pans where the bumpers used to be, Impala seats, and a floor shift. It won third in its class.
There was a ’59 Thunderbird at Autorama ’61.
It had custom Plexi lights, recessed dual antennas, a custom scoop and candy red paint. These were all standard features on an early 60s custom.
A 1951 Olds was another highlight at the show.
This car had a custom grille with quad headlights, the rear end had Vette taillights with a rolled pan, nerf bumpers and a tweaked ’55 Olds V-8. This was a major custom update in ’61.
The ’55 Ford pickup was (and still is) a very popular platform for customs and the ’61 Autorama featured a classic example.
This truck was chopped 4” (roof cut) and the bed was sectioned (shortened) 6”. It also had a Merc Sunliner glass roof, the tailgate was filled (made smooth), and it had roll pans front and back with nerfs upfront. It was 2nd in the truck class.
There was a custom ’56 Ford Crown Victoria at Autorama 1961.
The Vicky had stock (but extended) taillights, Buick signal lights,Continental kit;a chromed bullet front grille and glitter paint. This was a textbook light custom back in the early 60s.
Autorama ’61 had a 1957 Plymouth in the lineup.
This car was modified with a DeSoto-like taillight setup with ’59 Cadillac lenses. It had other period-correct touches like Cruiser skirts (rear fender skirts), long lakers (side pipes), green and white leather interior—plus it was significantly lower than factory ride height.
‘Customs Illustrated’ said a ’40 Willys was “rare as a pink buffalo these days”–and that was in 1961.
The rare car tag hasn’t changed, but this Willys with a blown (supercharged) Olds engine won second place in the Enclosed Competition class. That tells you this classic Willys was a track beast—not unusual back in ’61.
‘Casper the Ghost’ was the name of a ’52 Mercury at Autorama ’61—and yes…it was white.
This Merc was a subtle custom with Lee Plastics taillights, red scallops and an upholstered trunk. Those were all fairly common custom touches back in 1961.
A ’56 Mercury was another guest at the show.
The Merc had rolled pans, custom taillights, molded-in license plate area, horizontal custom grille—plus the exhaust passed through the body. It was a big hit at the show.
There was a seriously modified ’56 Ford convertible at Autorama ’61.
This Ford had two ’59 Plymouth front pans combined in the grille cavity with canted ’59 Chevy headlights. The taillights were—you guessed it—from a ’59 Caddy. This was a clear example of how extensive customs turned out in ’61.
A 1960 Ford is already there in terms of a cool look, but ‘Gold Digger’ added a few new touches.
It had gold appointments, custom grille, striping and trim—these are things you never saw in a Ford sales brochure in 1960.
A ’57 Olds represented the form of a car that had a few familiar early 60s add-ons.
It had a drawer-pull grille (chrome button-like inserts) with a rolled and pleated interior, but the biggest addition was a TV and hi-fi sound system. That was early 60s-style hi-tech.
A 1959 Chevy had some light styling touches.
The biggest change was a ’57 Buick grille, but this car also had a louvered hood, some trim was removed, it had custom taillights—and it was seriously lowered.
They had a ’59 Vette at Autorama ’61.
This car had drop-tunneled (recessed) headlights, a flattened hood and fenders–plus it was pineapple green. This may seem like a drastically bad decision today, but in ’61 this Vette was a two-year-old used car.
The next car was unrecognizable as a ’56 Ford.
That’s because it was a ’56 Ford chassis hidden under a custom fiberglass body. The engine was set back 20”, windows were removable, and it had bucket seats—plus the owner built this classic.
There was a wildly customized ’55 Merc at the show.
This car had quad-beaked headlights in a custom grille, with Buick portholes in the hood.
It also had Rambler taillights, rolled pans and a shaved deck (trim removed).
A ’57 Plymouth also had some trendy early 60s mods.
The list included recessed headlights, Studebaker Lark grille and hood and silver-metallic paint.
The rear of the car had ’59 Buick quarters, two molded ‘59 Plymouth front pans that contained full-width plastic taillights. It wasn’t recognizable as a ’57 Plymouth–but it won the Best Open Semi-Custom class. It was valued at 5000 dollars back in ’61.
The last featured car was a ’54 Olds.
This car had some dramatic modifications including quad fins, scooped Lincoln lights and the custom grille featured chrome-headed bumper bolts. This car was valued at 14K–back in ’61, that was massive money.
There were many great historical lessons at the Autorama ’61 Car Show. The biggest one is how easily custom car guys mix and matched to create some incredible cars.
Jerry Sutheland
