Thread: What Will the Next Kustom Kandidates?

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I have been told that the following are the very best classic cars to customize:

1936 Ford roadster, phaeton, three-window coupe and Tudor
1939 Ford Deluxe convertible, convertible sedan, Tudor and coupe
1939-'40 Mercury convertibles
1940 Ford Deluxe convertible, Tudor and coupe
1946-'48 Ford coupes, sedans and convertibles
1946-'53 Buick convertibles and torpedo-back Sedanettes
1949 – ‘51 Mercury coupe.
1949-'51 Ford coupes and convertibles
1949-'54 Chevy hardtops, torpedo-back sedans and convertibles
1952-'54 Ford Tudor sedans and convertibles
1957 Ford Tudor hardtop and Ranchero
1957 Olds two-door hardtop
1958 Chevy Impala two-door hardtop and convertible
1958 Thunderbird hardtop and convertible
1961 Chevy Impala two-door hardtop
1961 Ford Starliner two-door hardtop
1961 Pontiac Bonneville and Catalina two-door hardtop
1962 Chevy Impala two-door hardtop
1963-'65 Buick Rivieras

What cars from the past 20 years (or so) will be added to this list?

Prius Xb.

Hottest looking 4 wheel coffin on the road.

First there will have to be a renewed interest in restyling. The customs of the past....and renewed interest in reliving that era, have driven today's interest. Customs, as we have come to indentify them, may never enjoy another explosion of popularity.

You are probably right that they will have to be based on readily available bodies, and who knows what direction they will go? The only restyling that comes to mind in recent years is the abundance of ground effects kits. I know it's not what we may prefer, but it isn't up to us.....It's going to be decided by the next couple generations of enthusiasts.

Candidates will have to be a popular make, with some performance potential, and good bodylines. That is as close as I will get to a prediction. :-)

Noticibly absent from your list are any trucks, and I think modern trucks and even SUVs could be a target for customizers. Others that fit will be the Dodge Magnums and Chrysler 300s (some of them already look hammered), Impalas, Caprices, big Buicks from the 90s. I could see some modern luxery cars like Lexus, BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln and Mercedes going under the saw.

Pat

Ive been noticing alot of 70`s datsuns popping up at shows for some reason. I think guys of my generation will bring back the 80`s style minitruck or the 80`s style muscle cars like the 3rd gen maro`s. I have been thinking about doing a 79 monty lowrider, or a late 70`s datsun truck, both cars from my childhood in socal.

I'm with Pat... Better add the little pickups, S-10s, Rangers, Dakotas, Mazdas, Toyotas and all the rest....

Big cars, Galaxies, Impalas, Bonnevilles, etc could well become the next generation of lowriders now that the '63's and '64's are getting scarce.

And the Dodge whatever it is with the small sidewindows that already looks chopped from the factory.

Somebody mentioned the Camaro's and Firebirds.

I see a whole flock of F-150's turned into Lightening clones....

Certainly no shortage of candidates the way I see it.... and there will always be 'glass bodied roadsters, coupes, and sedans plus a few more of the classics reproduced the sheet metal, there's already a couple Camaro's and a '67 Mustang fastback available in new tin.

Somehow you forgot the '54-'55 Studebaker Commander/Silver/Golden Hawk but they are not easy to find today except as high priced collector items. Part of the old custom recipe was to take a relatively common/available model and make it look low/sporty/fast etc. "Smooth" has always seemed to be a custom attribute since factory trim always seemed to be cluttered and cheesy. Maybe the new customs will be based on common models like the GM Cobalt, the little station wagon that looks like a '50s GM panel truck or even the Chevy pickup that already looks pretty much like the "Dream Truck". With a little dechroming and maybe a top chop these could be modern customs based on inexpensive models? Even so most of these "round-top" bodies will more difficult to chop than the older "square-roof" models.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

First there will have to be a renewed interest in restyling. The customs of the past....and renewed interest in reliving that era, have driven today's interest. Customs, as we have come to indentify them, may never enjoy another explosion of popularity.

You are probably right that they will have to be based on readily available bodies, and who knows what direction they will go? The only restyling that comes to mind in recent years is the abundance of ground effects kits. I know it's not what we may prefer, but it isn't up to us.....It's going to be decided by the next couple generations of enthusiasts.

Candidates will have to be a popular make, with some performance potential, and good bodylines. That is as close as I will get to a prediction. :-)

With all the new Mustangs, Miatas, Dodge Chargers on the road, I am surprised that I have never seen any of them customized.

I also have a customer looking for a big old "bathtub Nash" to build--- looks like, as always, most anything is a candidate for a few kustom touches.....

Yes I think the Dodge Magnum would make a nice Kustom.