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| Here
is the L.A. Tub as it looks in Steve
Stanford's Concept illustration. Well
show the finished car on the next
page, and you can judge for yourself
how well the concept transferred into
reality. |
With
the brookville rear fenders, running
boards , and splash aprons mocked
up in place, the rolling chassis is
already starting to look like the
L.A. Tub. Eight inches or so were
removed form the rear fenders. |
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When
the Ala Cart, built in 1957 at Barris Kustoms
in Lynwood, California, made its first appearance
at the 1958 Grand National Roadster Show,
people went nuts. As one of the first vehicles
to take the distinctive styles of hot rods
and custom cars and blend them in a single
ride, the Ala Kart helped kick off the whole
new category that is still sometimes referred
to as custom rods. The innovative new style was
a big hit with the public and with GNRS
judges. The Ala Kart won the AMerica's Most
Beautiful Roadster award at its debut even
and grabbed an unprecedented second consecutive
AMBR win in 1959.
Tommy Otis has created a noticeably different
custom rod with a style right out os the
'50s, but with the 21st century technology
and taste. That car is the L.A. Tub, which
made a pretty big splash of its own at the
2006 Grand National Roadster Show, where
it debuted on the main floor, in the shadow
of the AMBR award. Although the concept
of a custom rod goes back more than 50 years,
the presence of one still turns heads, especially
when it's one as unusual as this four-door
phaeton. We talked Tommy into lending us
the "judges book" and telling
us the story of this out-of-the-ordinary
car.
At the genesis of the project, Tommy was
looking for a way to pay homage to the legendary
creations of George Barris-a tall order,
he knew.
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 The
core of the L.A. Tub consists of a relatively
simple chassis with a lot of design and
detail. Total Cost Involved built the
Model A frame slightly Z'd at the rear
axle. The chassis was muscled up in front
with hairpins, a monoleaf spring, a sway
bar, Pete & Jake's shocks, and a dropped
I-beam axle. At the other end, the Ford
9-inch is suspended by a four-link with
coilcovers and Total Cost Involved shocks,
and a panhard bar. |
 The
finished' rails were painted Aztec Candy
Apple Gold with some 'flake thrown in
to sparkle it up, provided by Specialized
Powder Coating of Huntington Beach. Tommy
added his sense of humor to the oil pan.
Can you read it? It says, "Use only
extra virgin olive oil, imported from
Greece!" |
Rick
rounded the inner fenders and built braces
to provide plenty of support to eliminate
vibration when the L.A. Tub is
rolling down the street.
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On
the original Ala Kart, you can see the
front wheels when looking down at the
fenders from above. Rick Cresse at Tri-C
Engineering took the '28-29 fenders,
attained from Gaslight Auto Parts, and
bobbed, peaked, and curved them to emulate
the Ala Kart look.
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Don
Armstrong at U.S. Radiator built a cardboard
mockup to use as a template for the upper
and lower tank and core of a custom radiator
to make sure it would fit within the grille
shell. |
The
'28 touring body didn't look like this
before Arty Regan applied his bodywork
talent to the project. Michael Black modified
the cowl, which maintains a functioning
vent. John as Rydell Chevrolet in Northridge,
CA, did the finishing touches to the body
before Joe Arndold at Arnold's Auto Body
in Northridge shot the PPG pearl white,
modified with a blue tint. |
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This
earlier photograph shows the headlights
in place in the L.A. Tub. Tommy used a
pair of Volkswagon Golf headlights, tilted
90 degrees, to combine modern headlight
power with the old-timely vertical look |
The
sheet metal hood and nose, built by Michael
Black in Prescott, AZ, is a direct tip
of the hat to the original Barris custom
rod. The front of the grille shell was
a Deuce shell narrowed at the bottom.
The lower chin does not extend than the
axle, so it won't get torn up on steep
driveways. |
Thanks to Rod and Custom's writer Tim Bernsan
for creating this write up on this genuine car.
Photography by Tommy Otis.
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