Gene Winfield
Robert Eugene Winfield, legendary kustomizer and hot rod racer born June 16, 1927 in Springfield, Missouri. Gene, and his family moved to Modesto, California when Gene was 18 months old. 15 years old, Gene got his first car, a 1929 Ford Model A Coupe. Gene equipped the car with two antennas, foxtails, and wig wag taillights before he hopped it up so he could go street racing with it. The Model A Coupe was the first car that Gene ever painted. When he got it was black, but Gene decided to paint it dark blue. One day, a taxi pulled out in front of the Model A, and the coupe was wrecked. After the coupe, Gene bought himself a 1931 Ford Model A Roadster. If you wanted to be a true hot rodder in California, you had to have a roadster. Gene joined the navy right after graduation in 1945. The war ended 6 months after Gene joined the Navy. He was enlisted in a program where he would serve the duration of the war plus six months. In 1946, after returning from World War II in Europe, and after serving his additional 6 months, Gene began working on cars in a little chicken house behind his mothers house at 1309 Figaro Avenue. One of the first cars that Gene modified in the shop was his brother Frank's 1941 Plymouth. Gene chopped the top and windshield 3 inches, before he sent it to Hall Upholstery for a Carson style top. Working on his own and on his brothers car in the chicken coop, he started to get calls from friends wanting him to work on their cars. In the beginning he was just doing simple modifications such as lowering suspension and shaving emblems. As business were picking up Gene also started doing other work like changing grilles, modifying headlight and taillights, and eventually chopping tops. Before Gene moved out of the old chicken coop he expanded the shop three times, he also added a spray booth. In 1946 Gene Winfield, got together with some local hot rodders and formed the Century Toppers Auto Club. Gene was voted president of the Century Toppers at the first club meeting. When Hot Rod Magazine hit the stands in 1948 Gene became a dealer of the magazine. Gene got 6 copies to sell each month. Using the magazine as a reference Gene built his first complete hot rod, a 1927 Ford Model T Roadster. In 1955, after 9 years in the old chicken house, Gene moved Windy’s Custom Shop into town and renamed it Winfield's Custom Shop. Before he moved, Gene's business had began to pick up, and Gene had started hiring employees. In 1957 Gene Winfield came up with his famous faded, blended candy paint job technique. The technique was discovered after he tried to blend two candy colors together. The faded paint job is a trademark of Gene Winfield, and he has been traveling all over the world laying his famous paint jobs. In 1958 Gene Winfield built the Jade Idol, the car that helped Gene gain national recognition. The Jade Idol was based on a 1956 Mercury, and took Gene two years to build. In 1962 Gene was hired by AMT as a style designer for model kits. Gene worked on a consultant basis until 1966 when he was hired full time to run their new Speed and Custom Division Shop. In the Speed and Custom Division Shop Gene built full scale cars for AMT which would be used as promotional vehicles. Working for AMT, Gene made connections with Hollywood and started making cars for movies and television series. Among the lengthy list of creations are the Maxwell Smart car from "Get Smart," The Reactor, built for the "Bewitched" TV series, and even the shuttlecraft for "Galileo 7" (the Enterprise's scout ship) from the "Star Trek" series. In 1970 Gene Winfield decided to open his own shop in North Hollywood, to be close to the movie industry. Gene called his new shop Winfield's Special Projects. Winfield creations have also found their way into more than 20 Hollywood films, including "Bladerunner," for which he built 25 vehicles, "Robocop" and "The Last Starfighter." He also created the flying version of the Delorean time traveler for "Back to the Future." After connecting with Hollywood and the movie industry, Gene also started to work with advertising related vehicles. Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. wanted to convey the point that they could finance any car. So, Winfield built the "anycar" ... out of 30 different cars. For Chevrolet, he cut a car in half lengthwise and made both pieces independently driveable. For Sunoco, Winfield froze a car in giant block of ice only for it to be chipped out and started. The list goes on. In 1974 Gene closed his shop in North Hollywood, and began working for Traditional Coach Works in Chatsworth. In 1977 Gene quit working for Traditional Coach Works, and he opened a small shop in Van Nuys. In his new shop, Gene continued building late model customs. By 1979 Gene had moved his shop to Canoga Park. Today Gene is running his business out of a shop in Mojave, California. He has been inducted into Darryl Starbird's Custom Car and Hot Rod Hall of Fame, and was honoerd as "Builder of the Year" at the 2008 Detroit Autorama. Gene Winfield's Personal RidesGene Winfield's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster Some of the cars he builtDon Tognotti's 1914 Ford Model T Filmography
SourcesThe Legendary Custom Cars And Hot Rods of Gene Winfield by David Grant
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 Here is Gene Winfield hard at work at the drawing board in the mid-60's. Gene says he really enjoys building cars based on artist renderings.   Gene Winfield's 1935 Ford Shoptruck 
Gene Winfield's First 1950 Mercury  The "Solar Scene" built by Gene Winfield in 1963. "Rod & Custom" magazine called it "one of the most original custom renditions the '50 Mercury."  Winfield received national recognition for his beautiful "Jade Idol." The sculpted body modifications and the new "blended" paint scheme was very popular at shows across the country.  The "Pacifica" was based on an Econoline Pickup and featured an asymmetric design. This was one of several cars Winfield built for the "Ford Custom Car Caravan."  Another customized factory car built by Winfield was the Mercury "Comet Cyclone Sportster. The car featured a cut-down windshield, integrated roll bar, molded-in tonneau cover over the back seats, blown engine, custom interior, and a beautiful pearl green paint job.  The "Strip Star" was a combination of speed and beauty. A hand-formed, aluminum body, powered by a new 427 Ford engine, spawned another show stopper for Gene Winfield in 1965."  To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Hartford, CT Autorama, Winfield built the futuristic "Reactor." It featured an aluminum body, remote control doors, hood, and top, and was Corvair powered.  Gene Winfield's 1961 Cadillac Coupe DeVille - Maybellene |
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