The Pioneers of Car Customization

Custom cars are great examples of living life on the wild side. Take a look at the pioneers of this creative industry, whose imaginations have transformed the entire automotive industry. For more amazing car customizations, make sure you tune into Car Warriors tonight, when the country's top car customizers will go head to head in the ultimate high stakes challenge of turning one junker into a brand new fantastic set of wheels.

• 1. The Alexander Brothers

  

  This duo's work is that of brilliant designers and builders. Their most famous creation to date is the futuristic looking truck called the Deora that became so popular it was eventually released as a scale model kit. Talk about raw talent.

• 2. Joe Bailon

  

  Emerging as a presence in the late 40's, Joe was one of the very first customizers to have his cars rolling down the hills of Northern California. No mistake about it, this man made his mark on Hollywood.

• 3. George Barris

  

  Barris started his career as a customizer with a bang, winning the America's Most Beautiful Roadster Award with his pickup dubbed Ala Kart. With this award under his belt, Barris went on to build the original Batmobile and other Hollywood cars that were used on television shows such as The Monkees and Beverly Hillbillies. Barris, without a doubt, will go down as one of the most recognized customizers in history and will also be making a special guest appearance as a judge on the first episode of Car Warriors. Make sure you don't miss it!

• 4. Sam Barris

  

  When Sam Barris bought the 1949 Mercury, he saw a car with great potential. He decided to chop the top and make it a one-of-a-kind. The result, as you can see above, was the first chopped '49 Mercury. Killer!

• 5. Carl Casper

  

  Casper's custom car, dubbed "Ghost," is definitely the wildest car to ever win the America's Most Beautiful Roadster Award in 1965. With its molded fins and stealth nose, there is certainly no other custom like it. What a sensation!

• 6. Norm Grabowski

  

  Does the car that Kookie drove on 77 Sunset Strip ring a bell? Well, that was none other than a Norm Grabowski original. The car sparked a trend and later inspired the 'Fad T', which led to dozens of companies creating fiberglass '23 Model T Roadsters.

• 7. Art Himsl

  

  The work of Art Himsl can't be described as anything other then brilliant, creative and tasteful. And his paint jobs are just as stunning as his custom creations!

• 8. Tommy Hrones "Tommy the Greek"

  

  We're talking about the original hod rod pinstriper. Tommy is the man who started it all!

• 9. Ed Roth

  

  Roth's cars blew everyone who laid eyes on them out of the water. It's no wonder...

• 10. Darryl Starbird

  

  Darryl Starbird's radical bodywork and bubble tops are his trademarks. This is a man who knows design. Can you imagine driving this baby up the coast? There isn't a head that wouldn't turn. Starbird's still active in the custom industry, designing more awesome wheels and even put together a museum dedicated to classic custom cars and their creators.