1950 RON DUNN FORD COUPE

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Based on: CUSTOMIZED 1950 FORD COUPE

Engine: FLATHEAD FORD 6

Horsepower: 95 HP

Suspension: STOCK LOWERED 2 1/4

Completed:

Restoration is underway and rapidly advancing to completion at Steve’s Auto Restorations, Inc. on the 1950 Ford custom coupe once owned by Ron Dunn. The car was rescued by Steve in 2005 from open air storage in a fenced off driveway in Burbank California where it sat out in the weather for many years under the ownership of Ron’s nephew, Gary Rand. The car was an Oakland Roadster Show winner in 1953 and has had numerous magazine articles done on it since its first restyling in 1950 at Valley Custom Shop of Burbank California at the hands of Neil Emory and Clayton Jensen. Under the care of Gary Rand the car was partially disassembled and left to the hazards of the elements. Luckily it was in Burbank for all those storage years so deterioration was at a minimal. When Steve purchased the car it was brought up to Portland Oregon where it immediately went into heated dry secure storage heading off any further possible deterioration and waiting for the chance to be restored. That chance came in the Spring of 2014. In the process of restoration every magazine article featuring the car will be examined to make sure it will be put back into the exact same configuration that it was when the second customization took place in 1956/1957. Those articles along with 19 letters from Gary spanning the time from when the car was acquired by Steve until the passing of Ron’s nephew will aid in documentation and accuracy. There are going to be literally hundreds of documentation photos taken as the car comes apart to insure an accurate restoration.

The car was originally customized in 1950 and then was in a side swipe accident some time after the restyling and was customized again by Neil and Clayton at Valley Custom Shop in 1956/1957. The first customization was better looking than the second attempt as many opinions have determined. So the big question is does the restoration follow the first version or the second version? Since it is felt that it would be sacreligious to take off “Valley Custom Shop” sheet metal work and throw it in the garbage can or hang it on the wall, and then fabricate new SAR sheet metal to mimic the first version, it has been decided to restore the car to the existing version that it is now. Then at a later date acquire a 1950 Ford coupe and build a “clone” of the first version utilizing all of the knowledge and tear down pictures that were gathered during the restoration. This seems to be the most logical thing to do.

I am seeking any and all information on this car that anyone can provide for me to aid in this restoration process. I am looking for everything from pictures to articles to stories about the car. You can be a part of saving the history of this well known custom. You can also follow the restoration process on the website www.realsteel.com in the “current projects” section.

The car was debuted at the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona on January 23-25, 2015 and was displayed at our booth in a 15’X20′ space in building 4.

Grand National Roadster Show 2015; “1st in Class” & “Outstanding Display”

Sacramento Autorama 2015; “Class Winner”, “Overall Outstanding Full/Radical/Handbuilt Custom”, & “Outstanding Display”

Portland Roadster Show 2015, John D’Agostino “Kustom D’Elegance”, “King of the Customs” award, & “Class Winner”

Cruisin Classics 2015, “Top 5 Wild Customs”

Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance 2015, “First in Class, Rods & Customs”

Pacific Northwest Concours d’Elegance 2015, “First in Class, Customs & Lead sleds”


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