Dave Stuckey/Darryl Starbird

Nine Lives
by Darryl Starbird

The Lil Coffin, a '32 Ford sedan owned by Dave Stuckey of Wichita, first came to my Star Kustom Shop in 1954. It was driven by Dave, and it was a rather pathetic sight - flathead, no fenders, barely operable. Dave was still in high school at this time. He had no knowledge of bodywork, welding, or leading, but I was impressed with his enthusiasm for learning custom bodywork and building rods and customs, so I hired him as a sand boy (to sand cars for painting). After being employed only a short time, Dave talked me into working on his '32 Ford sedan during any spare time we had. He spent much of his early salary on the car. The major metalwork was all done by me, since Dave did not have the ability or know-how at this point; he was basically an apprentice.

The channeled the body about eight inches over the frame, hand formed the rear fenders, grated a pair of '53 Studebaker pans to the rear, and altered "Model A front fenders, joining them to the rears with handmade running boards. The sedan was finished in 1956 with a sectioned '32 grille shell. I painted it with 20 coats of Apple Red 87-H Maroon Du Pont lacquer toner over a yellow based. At this point, I wasn't sure of the procedure for Candy Apple Red.

Dave built and installed the DeSoto Hemi V8. He was always into big engines, mechanics, and racing, besides bodywork. Frank Turner, the local trim man, then stitched a tufted frieze maroon-and-white interior (called "Matlasha imported from Belgium" on the tech sheet). The interior looked so much like the inside of a casket or coffin that we gave it the Lil Coffin name.

At this point, the car was shown extensively and driven by Dave. A few months later, we removed the stock '32 grille, and I hand formed a custom grille shell in the Ala Kart vein. This is when the car appeared on the cover of Car Craft. 

In 1960, Dave and I parted ways and he started his own custom shop. He sold the Lil Coffin to Larry Farber, who had Dave restyle it again, chopping the top and building a cantilever roof. The Ala Kart-type grille was replaced by a new horizontal shell formed to enhance the roof treatment. The Lil Coffin then appeared in at least four leading magazines and toured the West Coast shows.

In 1962, Monogram Model Company contracted with me to be its model-car consultant. Among other full-size cars I built for Monogram, 'I convinced the company to purchase the Lil Coffin from Larry Farber. We brought the '32 back to my shop and refined it considerably before it was delivered to the Monogram factory, where it was used to scale the model. The ironic part is that Dave Stuckey had closed his shop and come back to work for me during this period, and was involved in the restoration. Dave Pohl, another employee at the time, sprayed the Candy Red paint job it had when it was delivered to Monogram.

Not long after this, I was approached by American Motors to work in its prototype design department. I was so involved in building custom cars, producing car shows, and designing model cars that I recommended Dave Stuckey for the position. He accepted and moved to Detroit in 1965. Later, he returned to Wichita, went on to build several custom cars, and is still doing metal crafting here, primarily on high-dollar classics.

I purchased the Lil Coffin from Monogram in 1967 and stored it for a couple of years before deciding to put it back on the show circuit. Because nostalgic rods had little value at that time, I extensively restyled it into a sedan delivery. (Deliveries were very popular because of the surfing ad.) Dubbed the "Monkey War Delivery," it toured the show circuit for several years.

In 1980, I decided to get the '32 out of storage and restyle it again. By this time the trend had turned to street rods. This redo included a complete mechanical update with Jag IFS, Corvette IRS, disc brakes, and a Chevy 350 and Turbo 400. I returned the body to the Lil Coffin look, but with a removable Carson-type top. In Candy Red paint with an all-leather interior, it debuted at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, in '81. It then toured the country on the show circuit and appeared in Petersen's Show Car Annual.

The tragedy struck the Lil Coffin. While unloading it from a semi-trailer that had just toured more than 50,000 miles, a leak in the fuel line ignited when the car was started. I was the driver, and almost burned with this historic piece. In a matter of seconds the car burst into flames, completely destroying the interior. I almost didn't exit in time. The Lil Coffin sustained extensive damage, melting out much of the original lead I put in the body. Fortunately, the local fire department put out the blaze before it moved forward of the cowl area.

I put the damaged remains back in storage until a few months ago. Now I have the Lil Coffin back in my shop once again for a complete '90s redo. Hopefully, it will be ready for the '92 show season. Watch for it at rod and custom car shows throughout the country.

More recently, Ron Englert built his own interpretation of the car as the Lil Coffin II. Check out these pics from Jim Kampmann provided to the Custom Clinic site. Thanks, Jim!

Now, Darryl had announced that he is restoring the car to its original Lil Coffin configuration! What great news! We'll keep you informed with the latest news and photos, so check back often! In the meantime, check out the following historical photo essay on the famed Lil Coffin:

Here's the first version of the car that would become the Lil Coffin. Check out the deeply sectioned and channeled body. Dave Stuckey and Darryl Starbird built the car in 1960 when Dave was Darryl's shop foreman.

In its more recognizable form, there were actually two versions. Though little known, check out this photo carefully and catch the seats behind the front bucket seats. Later, a tonneau cover concealed the rear seats.

In this image, too, you can see the small bucket seats in the rear. Also, note the thin whitewalls in the front, and the blackwall drag slicks in the rear. Compare this image to the first in this series and notice how much taller the top of the aircleaners with respect to the cowl. Clearly, when the car was restyled to become the Lil Coffin, it it was even more deeply channeled.

Again, look at the exposed rear seats. Note the vibrant color of the car that experts – who saw the car in person – declare is the most accurate color photograph of the car. Check out the wide wall front tires and the chrome-reversed front wheels.

Here, the rear seats are covered, and the mag wheels shod with thin-whitewall tires are back. We believe this is the version of the car that appeared in the Monogram booth at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

This poor photograph appears to present the Lil Coffin in its Monogram form. 

After the Monkey Ward version (yes, we're looking for a photo), Darryl cut off the over-size "box" at the back and turned the car into this stylish phaeton. This is the version of the car that nearly burned to the ground when the hot exhaust ignited flammable materials under the car at Darryl's shop.

After repairing the fire damage, Darryl built a new top for the car and made this two door sedan with a fresh front end design. This is the car that Darryl will configure BACK to the original, 1964 Lil Coffin.

The Lil Coffin heritage is most clearly evident from the rear. The rear grille shell – that Darryl built in 1960 – is still there!

Here's the official Monogram promotional sheet for their booth in the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. 

Here's a puzzling advert piece. Check out the wide whitewalls, front and rear. Things surely changed quickly back in the day.

Monogram has issued the Lil Coffin in several issues. The oldest (1964) version is at the bottom, with the 1990 issue in the middle, with the 2001 issue at the top.

Monogram has issued the Lil Coffin in several issues. The oldest (1964) version is at the bottom, with the 1990 issue in the middle, with the 2001 issue at the top.

Additional information may be found here:

Bibliography

Here are the references we at the Custom Clinic have found to this great car. If you know of other references, please e-mail us.

Car Craft	November	1960	pgs.22-23, cover
Rod & Custom	November	1962	pgs. 8-9
Customs Illustrated	September	1963	In. Cover, pgs. 12-14
Car Craft	October	1963	p. 46
Popular Customs	Fall	1965	p. 55