November 2017 KoolWheelz Release Party!

[airdave]

This Druid Princess is an odd thing.
To be honest, I'm not sure why you guys like it?

I can see its vaguely similar to the shape of Stage Fright, but its a very different style of hot rod.
And, its no where near as refined a design.

And the colours astound me...but not in a good way. lol

Okay...so Ed Roth was an artist and Tee Shirt painter at car shows and similar events.
And he got the idea to build and bring a custom car to shows as an attention getter.
This sparked a short career of building wild custom show cars and hot rods.
His main quality being outrageously sculpted fiberglass bodies.

The Beatnik Bandit. The Mysterion. Some absolutely FANTASTIC designs!!

And then, the TV studio that gave us The Addams Family decided to add their own custom vehicle to the show.
In direct competition with The Munsters TV show, which had the Munster Koach by Barris Kustoms.

So they approached Ed Roth?
...as opposed to a dozen or so other qualified designers who already created top notch customs for movie and tv.

And he designs this thing...which I can't seem to connect visually to the Addams Family.
Maybe, when it was finished...painted, and properly decorated... it would have made more sense.

But the car doesn't get finished before the TV show gets cancelled.
So Roth keeps it...and finishes it later...painting it a wild combination of colours that makes even less sense to me.
There's a Child's Coffin on the back of what looks like a Royal Carriage
...and its all painted up like a Kindergarten playroom!
And where is the "Druid" element?...if anything, its dressed up like 16th century French Chateau!

The car was restored at one point by Ed Roth's son, who reversed the paint scheme colours.
*see John's photo above.

Apparently it has now been restored to its original look, which isn't necessarily an improvement! lol
And it sold at auction recently for $235,000.

I'm sorry...but this is probably my least favorite Ed Roth creation.

[JohnM]

Hey now ... I never said I liked it, I was just aware of it and it was my guess for your silhouette No3.. This type of Rod never did much for me either and even if you did Koolwheelz it, I probably wouldn't build it. Nor am I likely to build Stage Fright, Boot Hill express, and a few others I won't mention in the Koolwheelz section, but it's your list ... You feel free to put what you like in it mate.

Strangely enough though, there is a half=built Rommel's Rod on me desk. Dunno why that appeals to me? I guess it's just the ridiculousness of the Half track dragster concept. .

For me, the bestest rod ever was the one Kookie drove in 77 Sunset Strip, and I've never seen that in colour. Then again, it was probably the first rod I'd ever seen.

[airdave]

Ed Byrnes drove a Corvette didn't he?
I have to go check.
Hold on.
...
...
...
...
oh...the T-Bucket.
Kookie had a basic Model T Hot Rod.

I'm sure there was a special Corvette in Sunset Strip though.

[JohnM]

You know, I can't even remember who the prime characters were in 77SSS, but my memory is seeing a Yellow T-Bird. My parents thought I was mad 'cos I could understand every word Kookie spoke. You're not thinking of the 'vette in Route 66 are ya.

I didn't think you were old enough to remember these Dave, or are they still being cranked out on TV over there?

[airdave]

ah, right! the 'vette in Route 66...thats it.

Yeah, those shows were before my time.
not even sure if I ever watched any reruns of either of them.
I might have seen the odd one.

Efrem Zimbalist (Hawaii 5-0)
Who doesn't know "Kookie, lend me your comb"?
Martin Milner (Adam 12)
George Maharis (in every show on TV)

[gotham]

Dave - thanks for the answer to my question. The 'art' and originality of customs has indeed gone now. I loved looking at import copies of US Hot Rod mags growing up in the 70s with their wonderful builds, and airbrushed artwork. Maybe it'll have to stay a a memory now, luckily, there are your Koolwheelz to build of some of these creations.

[Wad Cutter]

Jack Keef's Stage Fright - Thank you Dave for another fantastic add to your collection. This is a very bad-ass model. Many thanks. wc

[Richschindler]

Ahh, Big Daddy Ed Roth. He was the king of custom. And who can forget his side kick, Rat Fink. Now there’s something I wish someone would design, a large model of the king rat, RatFink himself.
I met Ed Roth a few times over the years at car shows. He was a great guy. Now he’s gone.

[rickstef]

Interesting, when I first started reading Big Daddy in this thread, I was thinking about Don Garlitz, and his dragsters, never once realizing that Ed Roth was also referred to as Big Daddy.

Thanks for clearing up the confusion

[airdave]

Big Daddy is a drag racer.
Big Daddy is an artist.
There's a clear distinction.
Keep up.