Gene Winfield's 1935 Ford Shop Truck

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1935 Ford Truck originally owned and restyled by Gene Winfield of Winfield's Custom Shop of Modesto, California. Photo courtesy of Beau Boeckmann[1]
Gene's truck as it appeared in the souvenir program from the 1960 Kustom Kar Kapades show and the third annual Renegades Rod & Custom Motorama in 1960.
A photo of the truck taken at an indoor car show.
The truck as it appeared in 1961 after it had been dressed up with custom made hubcaps.
Another indoor car show photo of the truck.
The truck at an indoor car show in 1962. When this photo was taken, Gene had sprayed faded candy red/maroon paint on the accent lines and edges of the firewall. Later he also faded red maroon on the fenders.
In 1963 Gene painted the truck with 40 coats of candy blue lacquer over a pearl base.
The truck was advertised for sale in the classified section of Hot Rod Magazine November 1963.
The Legendary Custom Cars and Hot Rods of Gene Winfield. A hardcover book by David Grant about Gene Winfield. Published in 2008, the book features a foreword by Spence Murray. 176 pages. Plenty of good photos. Click here to check price and availability on Amazon.com.
The remains of Gene's old shop truck as it sat when it was found in 2008.
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Winfield Truck 004.jpg
Gary Hatfield of Hatfield Restorations purchased the truck in 2008. When this photo was taken, the truck was heading to Hatfield Restorations for a complete, detailed, historic restoration back to Gene Winfield's first iteration. Photo by Pete Rose and Dale Barnes.
Photo by Pete Rose and Dale Barnes.
Photo by Pete Rose and Dale Barnes.
Photo by Pete Rose and Dale Barnes.
Photo by Pete Rose and Dale Barnes.
Gene Winfield reunited with his old truck in 2008. Photo by Pete Rose and Dale Barnes.
05.19.2009 - The restoration has started at Hatfield Restorations, and the truck is torn down. Photo by Pete Rose.
05.19.2009 - Photo by Pete Rose.
05.19.2009 - Even though the car was under water 3 times, it has very little rust. The only rust found was in the rockers and the front of the bed. Photo by Pete Rose.
05.19.2009 - Old layers of paint and history brought back to daylight. Photo by Pete Rose.
05.19.2009 - Photo by Pete Rose.
05.19.2009 - The original dropped and filled axle done by Gene Winfield. Photo by Pete Rose.
10.07.2009 - The restored frame. Photo by Pete Rose.
10.07.2009 - The restored engine. Work was done by H&H Flatheads. Photo by Pete Rose.
10.09.2009 - The cab primered and ready for block sanding. Photo by Pete Rose.
10.09.2009 - Photo by Pete Rose.
11.18.2009 - The cab is once covered in gold. Photo by Pete Rose.
11.18.2009 - The debut of the car is now 6 1/2 weeks away. Photo by Pete Rose.
11.18.2009 - The dash was welded to the body, and the new owner decided to sand it down and repaint it. Photo by Pete Rose
11.21.2009 - In this photo red/maroon candy has been faded onto the firewall in order to recreate the car as it appeared in the photo from October 1962.
01.14.2010 - The car as it sat 7 days before it took of for the 61st Grand National Roadster Show. Photo by Pete Rose.
The truck at the 61st Grand National Roadster Show. Photo by Dave Lindsay - www.socalcarculture.com[2]
Photo by Dave Lindsay - www.socalcarculture.com[2]
Photo by Dave Lindsay - www.socalcarculture.com[2]
Photo by Dave Lindsay - www.socalcarculture.com[2]
Photo by Dave Lindsay - www.socalcarculture.com[2]
Photo by Dave Lindsay - www.socalcarculture.com[2]
The Shop Truck at the 60th annual Dallas Autorama in 2010.[3]
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Gene-winfield-1935-ford-shoptruck-dallas-autorama4.jpg
The Shop Truck at the 2010 Detroit Autorama.[4]
The truck at the 2010 Lonestar Roundup. Photo by Sondre Kvipt - Kustomrama.
Gene's old truck at the 2018 Grand National Roadster Show. Photo by ATOMIC Hot Links.
In 2011 Kings of Kustoms released a 90 minute long documentary about Gene Winfield. Click here to watch the documentary on Amazon Prime.


Featured Story - Gene Winfield


1935 Ford Truck originally owned and restyled by Gene Winfield of Winfield's Custom Shop of Modesto, California.


Custom Moficiations

The 35 Ford was Gene's second shop truck, and when he got it, half of the kustomizing had been done by Rick Lefelt. Modifications included rear fenders from a 1939 Chevrolet and a grille made of 1/4 inch chrome-plated rods. In March of 1960 Gene's truck was shown at the Kustom Kar Kapades in Monterey, Calfiornia. In the souvenir program for the show, there is a photo of the car with steelies fit with a bullet in the center, but without the custom-made hubcaps. This version of the car was painted in a copper-bronze color. The same year it was also entered at the 3rd annual Renegades Rod & Custom Motorama. According to the program, the car was chopped 3 1/2 inches and powered by a full house chromed Mercury flathead V8.[5] The truck was often driven to the shows where Gene Winfield displayed it. If he didn't drive it, it was mostly flat towed behind Gene's other shop truck, a 1958 Ford Pickup. It was also used to tow the Jade Idol around.


Candy Red Highlights

After going through boxes of photos with Gene Winfield, Hot Rod Deluxe Magazine discovered some pictures of the truck taken in August 1962. In the pictures, the truck featured candy red highlights on the fenders. The candy red paint was used to cover up damage around the fenders' edges, resulting from driving it on the road.


TwiceNice

Before the 1963 show season Gene repainted the truck, this time with 40 coats of candy blue lacquer over a pearl base. Inside, the dashboard was pinstriped by Tommy the Greek. The second iteration of the truck was called "TwiceNice."


Sold to Oregon

After showing the second version of the truck for a couple of years, Gene decided to put it up for sale. The truck was listed in the classifieds section in Hot Rod Magazine November 1963. The truck's price was $1875, and according to the ad, it featured Chrysler Wires and a Corvette engine. It was eventually sold to a guy named Buddy from Oregon in 1965. He traded it for a Thunderbird and cash. After Buddy bought it, he showed it a few times. Buddy changed the truck's appearance by having it painted with flames and pinstriping. After that, it was involved in a minor wreck. Dee Wescott was responsible for repairing the truck again after the accident. After that, it seemed to disappear from the public eye. For many years the truck was stored away in a barn. In 2006, it was pulled out of the barn and parked outside. After spending the next two years in the elements, it was sold to Gary Hatfield of Hatfield Restorations in 2008.


Restored by Hatfield Restorations

After buying the truck, Gary towed it to Hatfield Restorations in Canton, Texas, for a complete, detailed, historic restoration back to Gene Winfield's first iteration. In May of 2009, the restoration was well underway, and the truck had been completely torn down and was being blasted and repaired. The only rust found on the car during the restoration was in the rocker panels and the front of the bed. Before and during its restoration, the truck was displayed at various hot rod and kustom related shows. October 2009, the frame restoration was completed, and the motor was back in the car. H&H Flatheads was responsible for the engine's restoration. The body was then almost ready for paint, requiring a few more weeks of block sanding. On November 15, 2009, six and a half weeks before the Grand National Roadster Show, the bed and body returned from paint, and the guys at Hatfield Restoration could continue to assemble the pickup. January 29, 2010, the newly restored shop truck made its debut at the 61st Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California.


Magazine Features

Rodding and Re-styling August 1960
Spotlite Book 532 Custom Pickups
Trend Book 205 Restyle Your Car
Hot Rod Magazine November 1963
Hot Rod Deluxe May 2009


Sources

The Legendary Custom Cars and Hot Rods of Gene Winfield
The HAMB - GENE WINFIELD SHOP TRUCK FOUND (official restoration thread)


References




 

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