Through the Years
This is the collection of cars owned by CCP owner, Jon Wright, from his very first car to his current projects. Just click on the photo to enlarge and see the description!
1949 Ford Coupe. My first car, it was pea green with white walls. I tried to get rid of it as soon as possible, the sides were as wavy as an ocean.
1939 Ford Coupe – 303 olds/ford, 3 speed transmission. My first real hot rod, I learned a lot about cars from this car. I sold it in 1963 to help finance my college. A lot of people thought the snow treads were cool but they were all I could afford.
BSA Gold Star, college days, I drove this bike to college.
1964 Falcon Futura 260/4 speed. This was my first new car. I graduated in the august of 1964 and the day after graduation my wife and I put everything we owned in this car and drove it from Pennsylvania to California.
This '27 Ford roadster was finished one year before I started the business and changed looks as time went on. I really liked this look and drove it to many car shows including the first 10 or so Street Rod Nationals. When I sold it in the 80's it had over 27,000 miles on it and it never had a top! Yes, I often got wet!!
'62 Plymouth Sedan Delivery. My first shop truck, very rare as only about 600 were made. It ended up with a 340 Mopar engine and torqueflite transmission. I don't have a picture of it with it's final paint job but it looked slick in white with 5 color panel painting and chrome lettering advertising our company name
This BSA Hornet was my third motorcycle and my second Hornet. I sold this one in '68 to help fund the beginning of CustomChrome Plating. I would often ride this to my schools where I was a speech therapist and to Akron University where I was working on a graduate degree. The school kids thought it was neat!
The '36 Plymouth is next. I bought this car as a bone stock survivor. I put a Mopar slant 6 and a torque flight transmission in it and had it chopped 4". Great friend Squeeg Jerger painted it right before he left Ohio for Arizona. This car also drove to many long distance car shows.
The midget racer was obtained as a basket case from long time friend Boo Lowery in Florida. The car was a Kurtis copy and the engine was a one off hand built unit that looked like a 99 cubic inch Offenhauser. I had it displayed in my office for a number of years before it went to a new owner.
'56 Ford F100 pickup. This was my first F100 and became a neat shop truck. I put a 351 Windsor Ford engine and FMX auto trans in it, chromed all the stuff on it, added chrome wheels, and lowered it. It was my daily driver for a number of years.
The '49 Buick was a restoration that involved a paint job, a new original looking interior, and fresh chrome throughout done at CCP.
'47 Ford was a partially modified custom that had been chopped by the previous owner. I added a '53 Olds engine, had it painted and upholstered in red and white tuck and roll, and enjoyed it for a number of years.
'69 Jaguar coupe was all original except for the wider chrome rims and tires. All three of these cars were mine in the 80's along with the '63 Austin Healey that will be introduced soon. I drove all of them frequently during my ownership.
The '63 Austin Healey lived down the street from me in Grafton. I bought it from the neighbor and drove it often during good weather. Then it was stored for quite awhile. I restored it in the early 80's and then sold it and the Jaguar coupe to one of my customers.
The '65 Cobra, an original car, was restored by one of my customers in the late '70's. When he picked up the last pieces I told him I would be interested in buying it if he ever wanted to sell. It didn't take him long to call and I bought it. I kept it for a number of years and then sold it. It's the only car I should have kept and didn't!!
I'm not sure of the year of the Jeep wagon, but I installed a 351 Ford Windsor motor and automatic trans, had it painted and got the interior done by my wife in denim. It was a fun little truck.
I traded the Valiant wagon for the Model A roadster pickup to a friend, George Chatterton from the Dayton, OH area. The pickup was a true basket case. There weren't 2 pcs. bolted together when I picked it up from George. Most all of the truck was done by a friend and myself. It had a 425 Buick motor and a Turbohydro transmission and a V/8 quickchange rear for running gear. Eventually I sold it to a guy in CA and have never seen it since! I wonder what happened to it?
As an aside, Chatterson's sons still have the Valiant!!
I purchased this car from Boo Lowery in Florida in the late '80's and it has been changed a bit as the years progressed. I have tracked its history back to 1964 in southern California and have the names of every owner since then. Back then it had a 350 Chev small block, Muncie 4 speed and a '57 Chev rear axle. It also had American 5 spoke magnesium wheels.
The silver was changed to black when I blew the car apart for a redo after a couple years of ownership. That same paint is on there today and it is now powered by a 301 cubic inch Chev that makes 301 HP and the same running gear it had before. The wheel and tire combination changes from time to time for different looks. Li'l Baby is one of my favorite cars.
The chopped '32 was also purchased from Boo Lowery. It was a semibasket case car with a full race flathead with Granatelli heads and 3 carb manifold, a Lincoln Zephyr trans, and a Culver City quickchange. The engine was gone through since it had been done years before, the body came off, the chassis disassembled, and CustomChrome plated some of the hardware. Body and chassis were done in black primer, and a simple interior was added. The car was featured in Street Rodder when it was finished.
A few years ago Johnson's Hot Rods and I got together to re-do the flathead car with a new Johnson's chassis and as many parts that they manufacture as possible. The flathead was replaced with a Level Performance 392 Hemi, a Bowler 5 speed and a Winter's Quickchange rear. Johnson's took the finished chassis to the Grand National Roadster Show to display in their booth in 2015 and I drove the finished car to the Father's Day Show in June. It was featured in the Rodder's Journal later that year.
The red F-100 was my second one and was not a good piece when I bought it. That was in the '90's and monochromatic was all the rage with hot rodders. Soooo, I fell for the idea and had a local shop do the build. It had a 351 Cleveland Ford and a built automatic trans. The interior was gray tweed and no chrome on the outside. I took so much heat from everyone about that so off came the parts and the second rendition was born. Much better!!!
The white Harley was in my possession for a few years but I didn't use it much and sold it locally. Recently a customer told me the guy still has it!
The Legends race car was my foray into racing, also in the '90's. I got a broken shoulder blade in a racing accident, I was 53 years old and began to realize I owed more to my employees than to have my arm in sling for 2 months, so down the road she went!
The Ford dually was my first big truck and I got it to pull trailers. It was outfitted like that from the dealer and made a kool daily driver, but not very economical. It was the beginning of a long relationship with me and big trucks. I sold it to a local guy and he had if for a number of years.
The Suburban was next and I didn't do the dually thing until it was out of warranty. I really liked this one and used it for a number of years before selling it to a local racer that used it to tow his race car. I've had a number of other trucks since then and my latest "Cowboy Cadillac" is a 2015 Chevrolet dually!
The white Chevrolet dually was my next shop truck and this one was diesel powered. I had it lowered, added chrome wheels and the sleeper, and had our local sign guy do some lettering.
I bought the '57 Ford Del Rio wagon from my photo journalist friend Jerry Berger in the early 2000's. It had a 429 Ford engine and C-6 trans in it and was in original red and black paint. Out came the drive train and in went a built 302 Ford and AOD trans. Then it was repainted as it is now.
I have used it as a summer daily driver since that time and it is another favorite of mine. That 429 engine sat in my shop for years and my wife wouldn't let me sell it. Then Geoff Miles of Rodder's Journal fame offered his F 100 for sale. My wife told me to buy that truck and put the 429 in it. I did both!!
The XJS Jaguar was one of my more elegant rides and even though it was used when I got it I always enjoyed driving it. V12 engine, leather interior, stereo, automatic, air...living in tall cotton!!!
The red Harley is a '92 FLHS that I rode for many years and finally sold to one of my ex employees. He did a good job of destroying a very nice bike! I also had a Harley Road King for awhile but no photos to show.
The "Chrome Harley" was custom made by one of my friends and me. Everything on it except the tank and the lower front forks were aftermarket parts. It was done to showcase CustomChrome's work in the biker world. The only parts not plated were the engine block and cylinders! I still have it and keep it looking bright.
As noted in the '57 wagon write up, the 429 Ford engine and transmission sat in my garage for a number of years since Janet wouldn't let me sell it! When Geoff Miles of The Rodders Journal offered his '56 Ford F100 for sale Janet insisted I needed to get it and plant the 429 in it!! What a wife!!! So I did.
I am the third owner of this survivor and it is now in the process of getting a new chassis, 4 wheel disc brakes, air conditioning, and new wheels and tires. We replated all the bright work, got new tinted glass, and added a simple interior. The patina is all original California weathering and that is just how Old Blue will stay!!!
The '36 Ford roadster is by far the most ambitious project of my life with cars. This car came from Western PA and when I was a young teenager I would see it cruising through town with that white '39 Ford that became my second car. Many years later I purchased this '36 not knowing it was that same car!!
My long time great friend Squeeg Jerger created the '36 from drawings by our friend Dave Bell, a cartoonist whose work was showcased in Street Rodder magazine for many years until his passing a few years ago. The car is powered by a 351 Ford Windsor engine with tripower carbs and an automatic transmission. It made its debut at the 2016 Grand National Roadster Show as a contender for America's most beautiful roadster.