DEFINITELY ONE OF THE WORST DAYS in the History of Kustom Cars was the tragic shop fire that destroyed the Barris Kustom Shop, December 7, 1957. It started at night, couldn't be contained, and demolished about 15 cars either under construction, partially finished, or, finished.
In this Interview with GEORGE BARRIS, I wanted to hear the story from George himself...the man who was impacted most by the fire.
We all know now that the Ala Kart was saved, but the others that were lost had lots of work done to them, were of immense value, and George was truly devasted by the entire event. But, at the urging of his wife Shirley, decided to continue and eventually relocated to Hollywood and continued R&C construction there. Thankfully, for all of us, he is still at it today ! JK
(Photo At Top Of Page Courtesy Of Mad Fabricators Society; Ala Kart Pic Courtesy Of Barris Kustom Industries )
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IRONICALLY, BRAD MASTERSON, who's studdied under both GEORGE BARRIS & BILL HINES, has now located his Masterson Kustoms Shop in the old Barris building at 11070 Atlantic Avenue, Lynwood, California !
AND, Brad had a "Barris 53rd Anniversary Fire Party" at his shop on Saturday, December 4th, 2010. That's a copy of the invite above. JK
NOTE: TO HEAR BRAD'S STORY about moving into the old Barris Lynwood Shop just click-on here !
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GEORGE BARRIS' WEBSITE: Go there, take a look, have fun, buy some cool stuff ! www.barris.com
