The "Lil' Coffin"  

"Freak Week" continues on AJ's Car of the Day...so, here's a spooky rod you may be familiar with...

Lil' Coffin started life as a 1932 Ford Sedan that was customized by Dave Stuckey in Wichita, Kansas. Purchased in 1954 from a car lot ,the car had perfect body and fenders. Dave removed the motor, transmission, fenders, hood and grille so that he could channel it's body 9 inches. He also welded in a straight front cross-member, mounts for the radiator, split the wishbones, mounted a flathead motor and put hydraulic brakes on the car. The first version of the car with a sectioned '32 grille shell was finished in 1956.

A 1940 Ford dashboard was installed ,and the rear fenders were built completely with rods as the understructure and tubing to form the wheel wells. That was then covered with formed sheet metal . A grille was molded into the rear end and fit with special nerf bars. Front pans off a '53 Studebaker were used to form the lower rear of the body. 1930 Ford Model A running boards were used and reworked from sheet metal, and the front nerf bar was formed using a '58 Ford Edsel grille shell. The nerf bar held the headlights which came off a '58 Harley Davidson. Exhaust pipes were incorporated into the fenders and running boards. The car was then finished in '56 Buick Titan Red.

(The name "Lil' Coffin", by the way,  came from a girl that thought the car looked like a little coffin because of the interior.)

In 1960, the Lil' Coffin was reworked. It was sectioned 4 inches, the top was cantilevered, and the front fenders were moved forward. A new grill sporting a tubular arrangement was added , the rear grill was matched to the one in front, the motor was moved back and six carbs were installed on the motor. The firewall and dashboard were changed, the doors turned around, and four bucket seats were installed. The car also got a handgrip steering wheel.

Then the car was sold to Larry Farberand it was agreed that the original owner Dave would finish the car so that Larry could show it. ( Larry was going to take it to California where George Barris had lined up shows for him.) The front seat was changed to a bench seat, a tonneau covered the rear seat, and the upholstery was redone. White Naugahyde covered the seats, while the carpeting was gold. The car was repainted Candy Wild Cherry. Lil' Coffin was displayed at various shows like the 1962 National Roadster Show.

Monogram model company saw the car at that National Roadster show. Monogram's President decided that they just had to have the car, and a deal to sell it to Monogram was made. Monogram bought the car to make a model of it, and how many of you built one? (I know I had mine.)

Later in the early 1980's, while unloading the car from a semi trailer, a leak in the fuel line ignited when the car started. The car burst into flames. The damaged remains were put in storage until 1992, when a 90's redo of the car was started .

In February 2009, restored back to the 1962 version, the Lil' Coffin debuted at the annual Darryl Starbird Exotic Car Show in Oklahoma . Many of you grew up either building the plastic scale model version, or played with the Hot Wheels diecast version as did I...but I'll bet not many knew the story of it's history from start to finish...although, ask anyone who builds customs, and they'll tell you that NOTHING is ever really "finished". Just awaiting it's next rebirth. And man, what a long, strange trip it's been...

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