El Dub's Nostalgia corner.
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| 1- Rick HARRIS Custom painting | |
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RICK HARRIS CUSTOM PAINTED VOLKSWAGEN!!! We often think that California is the only part of the world as far as Nostalgia VW are concerned... This is a big mistake... In fact, VWs were everywhere back in the 60s/70s and young guys wanted their own custom bug whatever the part of the country they were living... No doubt my teammate BenJ who is searching the Internet every day in the neverending quest of finding old pictures had that in mind when he found awesome pictures of brand new bugs wearing psychedelic paintjobs in front of a Tennesse VW dealership ... BenJ found the complete story behind and believe me, it worth some thousands $$$... We already know of Economotors and some famous others in Los Angeles area but I never thought that a VW dealership from Tennessee would have someone customize some brand new 50 bugs by a young talented pinstriper... Not convinced? Well, here is the complete story... Enjoy...  Rick interest for Volkswagen began when, against all odds, his father bought him a '69 Navy Blue bug. Rick was dreaming of a Camaro Z28, but sometimes, some things not go as planned... There were soooo many VW on the streets... Rick began making the little bug HIS bug by adding some pinestripes there and there... Very proud of his work, he decided to go to Gallatin MOORE VW dealership to show his skills.  MOORE salesmen were enthusiastics and impressed by Rick work. Would you believe they ordered him 50 brand new bug paintings? Most of them were 1302 beetles... Sounds crazy today when you think about it... I don't know of any modern VW dealership who would order such a thing on just off the factory line assembly VW Golf...
The result? A truly awesome Firework of colored bugs you wouldn't believe in if period pictures weren't available through the artist himself... When Benj and I first saw these pictures, we couldn't believe our eyes... NO precedent ever...How in life those pictures never sufaced before? We can't thank enough BenJ for such a find, only on the Nostalgia corner ;-) Spread the words... 
Rick used many different painting methods... Lace panel, swirl, patterns in tape, freak drops, blow outs, endless lines... In the end, and judging by the pictures, any little bug looks like the other, talk about a real challenge... 
Nowadays, question is : where all those 50 bugs gone? I can't believe they've all gone to the junkyard considering they were all signed by the artist himself... While working on this section, I can't stop thinking how cool it would be to come accross such a Harris painted car somewhere in a Tennessee barn... 
Rick is still very active today and has been pinstriping and painting cars for over 40 years now, learning new tricks all the time, and being one of the most sought-after pinstripers ever... Thanks for sharing with us on the Nostalgia Corner Rick! |
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E-mail : eldub@cal-look.com
TO THE PIONNEERS OF VW DRAG RACING
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RICK HARRIS AND SHAKY JAKEI'm sure you already heard of Chuck BABBIT, aka SHAKY JAKE, a californian famous eccentric pinstripper very active in the VW scene back in the early 70s.
In fact, Rick and Shaky were friends and Shaky teached a lot of his skills to his new diligent student. They first met in 1973 in Tusla (Oklahoma) at the Street Rod Nationals. Ricks says 'I owe a lot to Shaky, because he taught me a lot about striping, and how to make money in the striping business'
IT WORKS ON TYPE 2 too...Rick used to paint some cool buses too. Below is a very cool late bay example...
While the actual trend is 80s graphics on the side of many buses right now, I think a groovy paintscheme is also a great option to make it YOUR bus...
RICK HARRIS OWN VW!!!Painting brand new bugs for a VW dealership is one thing, showing his personal skills on his own VW is another thing... So, in 1973, Rick decided to build his personal bug following his own point of view in customizing a beetle starting with his brand new 1302...
A brand new bug on Slot Mags and 14' Good'year Polyglas GT tires is a good candidate to achieve the desired look...
Would you believe that surpringsily Rick choosed the hardest way to customize his bug using only sheet metal, even the flared fenders...
Filling the stock quarter windows the old school way... A rare mod I dot not recommend these days...
Would you do this to your brand new car just out from the dealership?
Front flared Super beetle fenders and stock height change the whole look of the bug.
Finished project stands out for sure, and Rick must have been very proud to hit VW Greats cover back in January 1974 with an already successful Lightning Bug... (unfortunately, the bug is only on cover but what a cover...)
Chosen picture was perfect to illustrate en vogue way of making your little bug looks like no other.
Back in 1973, Rick won the best paint award at Memphis Street Machine Convention. Must have been a real achievement for a little VW chosen in between all those hot rods...
