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An Unusual C3 Corvette Redesigned By George Barris: “The Barrister”

The Barrister Custom was a limited production car built by George Barris, based on the C3 Corvette. Though divisive, the styling did attract a slew of celebrity buyers including James Caan, Bo Derek, Sammy Davis Jr, and even Liberace.

The name George Barris may already be familiar to you as he was one of Hollywood’s leading car customizers, he designed and/or built a vast array of film and TV cars – Kitt from Knight Rider, The Beverly Hillbillies car, the “Striped Tomato” Torino from Starsky and Hutch, the Dukes of Hazzard car and many more.

Fast Facts – The Barrister Custom

Based on a lengthened Corvette C3 chassis, the Barrister Custom has a unique fiberglass body designed by George Barris and his team. The styling is difficult to describe to those who haven’t seen it, but the term neo-classical probably comes closest.
George Barris is arguably the most famous Hollywood car designer/builder, the full list of cars that came out of his workshop is a mile long, it includes all of those listed above including the 1966 Batmobile, “Drag-U-La” from The Munsters, the cars in Jurassic Park, The Munster Koach, the car from The Bearcats, and more.
Thanks to its Corvette underpinnings, the Barrister Custom has a 350 cubic inch V8, four wheel independent suspension, a four-speed automatic transmission, and four-wheel hydraulic ventilated disc brakes.
There’s some debate about how many examples of the Barrister were built, it seems the final number was either 7 or 8, with some claiming as many as 12 were made.

George Barris + Barris Kustoms

When George Barris was a seven year building wild car models with his brother Sam no one could have predicted that the pair of them would go on to create some of the most enduringly famous custom cars in American cinema and television history.

Very few would be able to tell that this car is based on the third generation Chevrolet Corvette, the original lines of the car are almost entirely gone, only referenced in the doors and rear fender curves.

After the tragic death of their mother in Chicago when they were just three and two years old respectively, their father sent them to live in California with their uncle and aunty. As they grew the two boys helped at the family’s Greek restaurant, receiving a 1925 Buick in part payment for their help.

This car would become the first Barris Kustom, over the following years George would develop, design, and build some of the most memorable vehicles ever to appear in films and television, becoming the de facto Hollywood custom car supplier for decades.

The Barrister Custom

The Barrister Custom was developed as one of Barris Kustom’s limited production cars, no two of them are the same and no one can quite agree on how many were made – it could be six, seven, or perhaps twelve.

Though the exterior is vastly different, the interior is largely the same. It’s been retrimmed and some new wood panelling has been added however.

Each car started the same way, on a lengthened third generation Corvette (C3) chassis. The original fiberglass Corvette body was removed and heavily modified into a new fiberglass body that featured somewhat outlandish styling that has been compared to the similarly neoclassical Stutz Bearcat II.

Custom cars built by Barris are famous for their ostentatious styling and the Barrister is certainly no exception, the protruding grill and front fender leading edges lead back to a split windscreen over a pair of faux side pipes.

The rear of the car is characterized by a high chrome bumper and jet age inspired brake lights. The interior is largely the same as the original Corvette, albeit with new additions, upholstery, dashboard wood, and a Nardi steering wheel. Interestingly the car does have a custom folding fabric top for weather protection.

Thanks to the Corvette chassis and drivetrain the car is powered by a 350 cubic inch V8, it has four wheel independent suspension, a four-speed automatic transmission, and four-wheel hydraulic ventilated disc brakes.

Under the hood you’ll find a relatively standard 350 cubic inch Corvette V8 producing approximately 300 bhp.

As mentioned above, these cars were ordered new by a number of celebrities including James Caan, Bo Derek, Sammy Davis Jr, and Liberace, giving each of them a rather eye-catching alternative to the common luxury convertibles driven by many of their contemporaries.

The 1969 Barrister Custom Shown Here

The car you see here is based on a 1969 Corvette, though the actual year it was customized by Barris isn’t listed. Is it noted that this vehicle has won several car show and cruising awards including at the Hot August Nights event.

This Barrister was build specifically for Barris’ close family friend Frank Monteleone and it was just the second one made. It’s finished in a two-tone blue over white paint scheme and it comes with a matching dark blue folding top.

The interior follows the same color palette, with white seats featuring blue piping, white and blue door cards, and dark blue carpeting.

We almost never see original Barristers coming up for auction so it’ll be interesting to see what this one sells for when the hammer falls.

It’s due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in mid-March – if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Mecum.

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A Rare Davis Divan: “The Ultimate Car Of The Future” From 1948

This is the unusual Davis Divan, just 12 are thought to have survived to the current day. Upon its release it was billed as “The Ultimate Car Of The Future” and 350+ dealership licenses were sold across the country.

The design of the Divan was based on the “The Californian,” an unusual three-wheeled car built by future Indianapolis 500 racing car designer Frank Kurtis for Joel Thorne – a Californian millionaire and gentleman racing driver.

Fast Facts – The Davis Divan

First shown to the public in 1947, just two years after the end of World War II, the Davis Divan was designed as a revolutionary automobile that incorporated a number of aircraft design elements – like a sleek aerodynamic body and a three-wheeled platform based on aircraft tricycle landing gear.
The impetus for the design was a custom car called “The Californian” developed by racing car designer Frank Kurtis for millionaire racing driver Joel Thorne.
The Divan project was founded and led by used-car salesman Glen Gordon “Gary” Davis, though he had the best intentions for the project his methodology was somewhat questionable. He would end up being convicted of fraud and sentenced to two years in prison.
The Davis Divan is based on a steel chassis with an alloy body and a removable fiberglass roof. It’s powered by either a 63 bhp Continental inline-four cylinder engine or the 47 bhp Hercules four-cylinder. The top speed is said to be up to 116 mph (187 km/h).

The Origins Of The Davis Divan

The Davis Divan is one of many highly-unusual cars to appears in the years shortly after WWII. The war had been a time of rapid innovation led by countless thousands of engineers – many of whom found themselves back working on civilian projects once hostilities had ceased.

Above Video: This period newsreel of the Davis Divan shows the car in action, highlighting its built-in hydraulic jacks and its unusual ability to drive itself in circles.

One key area that had seen significant investment and research during the war was aerodynamics, the lessons learned were later applied to automobiles with a view to reducing drag, increasing fuel economy, and increasing top speed.

The Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-Type is perhaps one of the most famous examples of aircraft technology being applied to automobile design in the decade after WWII, however there were countless others – one of the most obscure being the Davis Divan.

Ambitious used-car salesman Glen Gordon “Gary” Davis came up with the concept for the Divan car in 1946 after seeing a custom three-wheeled car named “The Californian.”

He had his own version created that incorporated a slew of cutting edge technologies taken from the world of aviation including a sleek aluminum alloy body and tricycle landing gear inspired three-wheeled platform.

Gary Davis – Ever The Showman

Gary Davis’ greatest skill was almost certainly his understanding of the importance of showmanship and public relations – likely gained from his years selling used cars.

The name “Divan” is an Arabic term for a couch or day bed, it was chosen as the name for this model due to its wide bench seat that can fit four adults side-by-side.

The work Davis did promoting the Davis Divan was a masterclass in automotive PR, he managed to get he car featured in a slew of major magazines including Business Week, Life, and Parade. The car was also featured in period newsreels that would run in cinemas to millions of Americans before the main film played (see an example below).

The first Divan prototype was unveiled at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles with there assistance of former Los Angeles Herald-Express reporter Jack Adams, as well as actress and famous Hollywood blonde bombshell Cleo Moore.

Davis also hired four American Airlines stewardesses to sit side-by-side on the wide bench seat of the Divan, to showcase the fact that it could accommodate four people – an unusually wide size for the time.

Show-goers were enthralled by the futuristic look of the Divan, with its spaceship-styling, pop-up headlights, built-in hydraulic jacks, excellent fuel economy, and high top speed. It seemed to many to be the car of the future – just like the advertising material claimed.

Raising Capital For Production

Investors poured capital into the Davis Divan project, funding a coast-to-coast tour in one of the prototypes which Davis used as a way to sell dealership licenses – he sold over 350 of them and raised $1.2 million USD in total, the equivalent of over $17.3 million USD in 2022.

This car is fitted with the 47 bhp L-head Hercules four-cylinder engine, power is sent to the rear wheels via a three-speed manual transmission and the top speed is said to be over 100 mph.

The Davis Divan In Production

Unfortunately, Gary Davis wasn’t quite as good at getting the Divan into production as he was at promoting it and drawing in investors. A factory facility was established in a large hangar at Van Nuys Airport, workers were hired and equipment was acquired.

The reality of getting a prototype into series production is a difficult feat that has led to the downfall of countless fledgling automakers over the years, famous examples like Tucker, Bricklin, and DeLorean come to mind but there are hundreds of others.

People who had paid for dealerships began to get frustrated as deadline after deadline was missed and they still received no cars to sell, some even travelled across the country to the Van Nuys airport to see what was happening for themselves.

Ultimately the money dried up, Gary Davis was sued by both his investors and by his workers. Unable to pay back the money he was sentenced to two years labor in a work farm prison camp. Davis insisted he was innocent until his dying day, and it’s widely believed that he wasn’t guilty of malice but of inexperience in getting a car into production.

The styling of the Davis Divan is said to have been inspired by aircraft design, its narrow nose flares out to a wider rear end and it has excellent aerodynamics by the standards of the time.

Later in life Davis would redesign the famous “Dodge-Em” bumper car using a design clearly reminiscent of the Davis Divan, and he would later try to get a new road car into production with a 360º Dodge-Em car-style bumper around it for safety.

The 1948 Davis Divan Shown Here

The car you see here is the third Divan production car ever made, it was built at the Van Nuys facility along with the other 10 production vehicles. Two earlier prototypes had been built for a total of 13 Divans, and impressively they all survive today bar one.

After the company was liquidated this car ended up in storage in Michigan where it remained for decades. It was rediscovered in 2011 by devoted Davis enthusiasts and it was restored shortly thereafter.

This car is fitted with the L-head Hercules four-cylinder engine paired with a three-speed manual gearbox, it has its original removable fiberglass hardtop, and it’s in excellent condition throughout.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual vehicle or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on RM Sotheby’s. It’s due to roll across the auction block with RM Sotheby’s on the 5th of March in Florida with a price guide of $150,000 – $175,000 USD.

The post A Rare Davis Divan: “The Ultimate Car Of The Future” From 1948 appeared first on Silodrome.

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A Rare Davis Divian: “The Ultimate Car Of The Future” From 1948

This is the unusual Davis Divian, just 12 are thought to have survived to the current day. Upon its release it was billed as “The Ultimate Car Of The Future” and 350+ dealership licenses were sold across the country.

The design of the Divian was based on the “The Californian,” an unusual three-wheeled car built by future Indianapolis 500 racing car designer Frank Kurtis for Joel Thorne – a Californian millionaire and gentleman racing driver.

Fast Facts – The Davis Divian

First shown to the public in 1947, just two years after the end of World War II, the Davis Divian was designed as a revolutionary automobile that incorporated a number of aircraft design elements – like a sleek aerodynamic body and a three-wheeled platform based on aircraft tricycle landing gear.
The impetus for the design was a custom car called “The Californian” developed by racing car designer Frank Kurtis for millionaire racing driver Joel Thorne.
The Divian project was founded and led by used-car salesman Glen Gordon “Gary” Davis, though he had the best intentions for the project his methodology was somewhat questionable. He would end up being convicted of fraud and sentenced to two years in prison.
The Davis Divian is based on a steel chassis with an alloy body and a removable fiberglass roof. It’s powered by either a 63 bhp Continental inline-four cylinder engine or the 47 bhp Hercules four-cylinder. The top speed is said to be up to 116 mph (187 km/h).

The Origins Of The Davis Divian

The Davis Divian is one of many highly-unusual cars to appears in the years shortly after WWII. The war had been a time of rapid innovation led by countless thousands of engineers – many of whom found themselves back working on civilian projects once hostilities had ceased.

Above Video: This period newsreel of the Davis Divian shows the car in action, highlighting its built-in hydraulic jacks and its unusual ability to drive itself in circles.

Ambitious used-car salesman Glen Gordon “Gary” Davis came up with the concept for the Divian car in 1946 after seeing a custom three-wheeled car named “The Californian.”

Gary Davis – Ever The Showman

Gary Davis’ greatest skill was almost certainly his understanding of the importance of showmanship and public relations – likely gained from his years selling used cars.

The name “Divian” is an Arabic term for a couch or day bed, it was chosen as the name for this model due to its wide bench seat that can fit four adults side-by-side.

The work Davis did promoting the Davis Divian was a masterclass in automotive PR, he managed to get he car featured in a slew of major magazines including Business Week, Life, and Parade. The car was also featured in period newsreels that would run in cinemas to millions of Americans before the main film played (see an example below).

The first Divian prototype was unveiled at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles with there assistance of former Los Angeles Herald-Express reporter Jack Adams, as well as actress and famous Hollywood blonde bombshell Cleo Moore.

Davis also hired four American Airlines stewardesses to sit side-by-side on the wide bench seat of the Divian, to showcase the fact that it could accommodate four people – an unusually wide size for the time.

Show-goers were enthralled by the futuristic look of the Divian, with its spaceship-styling, pop-up headlights, built-in hydraulic jacks, excellent fuel economy, and high top speed. It seemed to many to be the car of the future – just like the advertising material claimed.

Raising Capital For Production

Investors poured capital into the Davis Divian project, funding a coast-to-coast tour in one of the prototypes which Davis used as a way to sell dealership licenses – he sold over 350 of them and raised $1.2 million USD in total, the equivalent of over $17.3 million USD in 2022.

This car is fitted with the 47 bhp L-head Hercules four-cylinder engine, power is sent to the rear wheels via a three-speed manual transmission and the top speed is said to be over 100 mph.

The Davis Divian In Production

Unfortunately, Gary Davis wasn’t quite as good at getting the Divian into production as he was at promoting it and drawing in investors. A factory facility was established in a large hangar at Van Nuys Airport, workers were hired and equipment was acquired.

The styling of the Davis Divian is said to have been inspired by aircraft design, its narrow nose flares out to a wider rear end and it has excellent aerodynamics by the standards of the time.

Later in life Davis would redesign the famous “Dodge-Em” bumper car using a design clearly reminiscent of the Davis Divian, and he would later try to get a new road car into production with a 360º Dodge-Em car-style bumper around it for safety.

The 1948 Davis Divian Shown Here

The car you see here is the third Divian production car ever made, it was built at the Van Nuys facility along with the other 10 production vehicles. Two earlier prototypes had been built for a total of 13 Divians, and impressively they all survive today bar one.

The post A Rare Davis Divian: “The Ultimate Car Of The Future” From 1948 appeared first on Silodrome.

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The Gilbern Genie: A Rare Production Car From Wales

The Gilbern Genie is one of the better known cars from the only Welsh automaker in history – Gilbern Sports Cars Ltd. Gilbern was founded by a Welsh butcher and his friend, a German engineer who had been a POW in England during WWII, choosing to stay on in Britain after the war.

This unlikely pairing would create a highly regarded series of production cars, the first vehicles were built in 1959 in a shed behind the butcher shop. Within a few short years the company had displayed their vehicles at the finest motor shows in Britain and produced hundreds of automobiles.

Fast Facts – The Gilbern Genie

It’s unlikely that any other automaker in history has been founded by a Welsh butcher and a former German POW, but this is the origin story of Gilbern – famously the only company to ever build production cars in Wales.
Gilbern was founded in 1959 by butcher Giles Smith and German engineer Bernard Friese. The company took its name from the first letters of each of their first names – Giles Smith and Bernard Friese.
Their cars used steel chassis with a lightweight fiberglass body, engines, transmissions, and other parts were largely sourced from the British automotive industry including automakers like MG, Austin-Healey, and Ford.
The Gilbern Genie was the second production car from Gilbern, it’s a more up-market model powered by either the 3.0 liter Ford Essex V6 or the 2.5 liter version. It was built from 1966 to 1969 with 197 produced in total.

Gilbern – The Welsh Component Car Company

Famously founded by a butcher and a German POW Gilbern would rise to become the most successful Welsh automaker in history – helped along by the fact that it’s also the only Welsh automaker in history.

With its 2+2 seating, ample trunk space, and highway capable 3.0 V6, the Gilbern Genie is a surprisingly practical classic that won’t break the bank.

Modern-day Gilbern owners look dimly on anyone calling the vehicles built by the company “kit cars,” they prefer the term “component car” as they feel it better describes the more high-end construction process of each owner-built Gilbern.

Starting with the Gilbern GT in 1959, the company built a series of component cars that people could buy as kits to avoid the purchase tax on a new car. The designs all used a steel chassis with a fiberglass body, and a front mounted engine sending power to the rear wheels.

Engines, gearboxes, axles, brakes, suspension components and many other parts were sourced from larger British automakers like MG, Austin-Healey, and Ford. This helped to keep costs down and it vastly simplified the sourcing of spare parts for Gilbern owners.

Gilbern would ultimately stay in business from 1959 until 1973, selling hundreds of cars in the UK and some in Europe. Thanks to their rust-free fiberglass bodies many have survived to the modern day, they’re now highly prized thanks to their rarity and historical uniqueness – particularly in Wales.

The nicely appointed interior of this restored 1968 Genie is a testament to the quality of work the original Gilbern workers put into each car.

Gilbern may soon no longer be the only automaker in Welsh history – TVR, the sports car builder and the black sheep of the British motoring industry, is currently fitting out a factory in Wales to build the new TVR Griffith – a Ford Coyote V8-powered GT car with a chassis designed by Gordon Murray.

The Gilbern Genie

The second car released by the company was the Gilbern Genie in 1966. This was a notably more refined car with better overall fit and finish, and a considerably more powerful engine – buyers could choose between the 2.5 and 3.0 liter versions of the Ford Essex V6.

The Genie is built on a semi-spaceframe steel square tube chassis, the fiberglass body is then bonded and riveted into place. When ordering your Genie you could order either the 4-speed or the 4-speed with overdrive gearbox and you had the option of choosing electric windows.

There were some changes to the suspension over the course of Genie production, earlier cars had suspension sourced largely from the MGB as well as the rear live axle, though some cars got the axle from the Austin-Healey 3000.

With its 2+2 seating, ample trunk space, and good performance, the Gilbern Genie and its closely-related successor, the Gilbern Invader, became the best selling model line in the history of the company – with a combined 800 units sold. In total there were 197 Genies sold and 603 Invaders.

The Ford Essex 3.0 liter V6 was mounted as far back as possible for optimal weight distribution.

For a number of reasons the company would go bankrupt in 1973, the final nail in the coffin was likely the 1973 Oil Crisis which saw money for sports cars evaporate globally, causing the demise of a number of automakers and model lines.

The 1968 Gilbern Genie Shown Here

The car you see here is a 1968 example of the Gilbern Genie, it was originally bought by an owner in Dorset before being returned to Welsh ownership.

In 2009 the car was fully restored and it now comes with a large folder of bills and receipts, documenting the time from its rebuild in 2009 to the present day. The car has also had a full engine rebuild, and it now has a stainless steel exhaust system.

The quality of the car throughout is listed as excellent, and thanks to the 3.0 liter Ford Essex V6 under the hood it will have no problem at all keeping up with modern traffic.

This car is currently being sold in a live online auction by Car & Classic out of the UK, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here.