1956 Chevrolet - The Venturian - Bobby Massaron - Alexander brother's

restyled by the Alexander Brothers for Bobby Massaron. The car is also known as The Venturian.
http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Bobby_Massaron%27s_1956_Chevrolet


Photos from the David Jenkins collection.

The Venturian was one of the more interesting vehicles constructed in 1964 by The A-Bros for Bob Massaron (who still owns the car, and restored it in 2002 for the 50^th show in Cobo Hall). The car won the very prestigious Ridler Award in 1965. Based on a 1956 Chevrolet, the bodymen grafted on '60 Mercury rear quarter panels and reshaped the headlight area in a squarish design into which round headlights were fit. Though some elements of the design a bit odd, the craftsmanship was typically first-rate and showed an attention to detail that was seldom matched by any other customizer.






The rich candy gold color nicely offsets the radical restyling. A thickly-padded white, one-piece (non-folding) convertible top balances the body color and matches the highly sculptured interior.






The A-Bros designed all of the interior details and it shows. The almost-over styled interior nicely balances the bone white leather with the custom-dyed Mouton carpet.  Check out how the leading edge of the '60 Mercury rear quarter panels integrates, sympathetically, with the "Darren-Dip" of the stock Chevy body – a brilliant design! 




The Cobo Hall display card gives some history on the car. It is cool that the original owner still has the car! 


Custom Craft - July 1962 - pgs. 52-53

Custom Rodder - November 1962 - p. 37-40

Custom Chevies, - Petersen Spotlite Book 1963 - p. 23

Classic & Custom - January 1984 - cover, p. 4

 
http://www.customclinic.com/fullcust/Abros/Venturian/venturian.html

2013 Detroit Autorama








Bob Massaron Venturian 1956 Chevrolet 1965 Ridler Award winner