ValleyCustom

Valley Custom

Valley Custom was one of the great early customizing shops in California. Headed by Neil Emory and Clayton Jensen, this was the greatest of the genuine "coachbuilding" (as distinct from mere customizing). The Custom Clinic has neglected to focus our attention on this great shop. That's odd, too, since we were aware of Neil and Clayton due to their great work on Spencer Murray's Dream Truck: go here for information on Mark Gustavson's Dream Truck book.or here for some information on this most famous of all custom vehicles:

So, we're going to remedy this oversight. First, here is some bibliography on Valley Custom:

Rod & Custom June 1990 p. 70

Now, our first tribute will be to probably their greatest work – the creation of the famed Ron Dunn '50 Ford coupe. This car was recently discovered and will be restored. Sometimes known as the Monte Carlo, the Dunn Ford was one of the best shoe boxes every built – and might well be the most aesthetic example of a restyled '49-'51 Ford. Gary Rand, nephew of Ron Dunn, inherited the car in 1970 and ended up as the caretaker for the car for 35 years. The car was in a garage for most of the time, but spent a little time in the California sun before being acquired by Steve's Auto Restorations (SAP) in Portland, Oregon.

After the car was acquired and loaded on a trailer, it was delivered to the SAP where it was reassembled to check on the presence, and fit, of all of the parts. It turns out the car was remarkably complete. For further information on this car, go to the May 2006 issue of Rod & Custom magazine, on pages 76-77.

The car is in utterly remarkable condition – a tribute to the quality of the original build as well as to the care it was given over the years. More on this car will be posted as the restoration progresses.