The man they call Bones has been throwing ideas around in this hobby for quite some time. Forty years ago, he was just a lanky, young punk helping out at Dean Jeffries' shop in L.A., back when the kustom scene was in full swing. In those days, men like Jeffries, Roth, Barris, and Watson were building show cars so wild and far-out, they captivated the minds of a generation, and thousands of youngsters brought home tiny plastic kits to satiate their own metal-flaked, bubble-topped fantasies. Fast forward four decades, and there aren't many visionaries left with the ability to conceptualize a car that never was and then help guide it from sketches on paper to a road-going vision of chrome and steel. One of these rare modern visionaries is Bones Noteboom.
Bones has built a lot of pretty wild rides over the years, many of which have graced the pages of this very magazine. Roadsters, woodies, or sleds, the body style never mattered. The only consistent things about a Bones project are that his cars are usually phantom body styles never offered by the factory, and they are always wild, visceral experiences that can captivate a crowd as easily as a painting or sculpture by a famed artist. Nothing is stock, and the only thing held sacred is the concept of kool.
As for the wild tangerine dream you see pictured here, the Zef-Fire started life as a Steve Stanford sketch that Bones commissioned after wondering what a '39 Lincoln Zephyr four-door would look like if it were morphed into a woodie. Once the bodylines and shapes were finalized on paper, veteran metalman Ken Ginnings was brought in to perform the actual surgery on the rare, old sedan. The roof was cut off to make way for wood, while the frontend was widened 6 inches and a new grille was fabricated with horizontal bars filling the gaps. For a sleeker look the hood was sectioned on a slope from 0 to 2 inches, front to back. A windshield from a '92 Toyota pickup was cut down to fit and installed by Hot Rod Glass. Front fenders were lengthened and shaped to flow towards the back of the car like those on a '50s-style Delahaye, while the rear fenders were reshaped to accept handmade taillights. The '51 Chevy bumperettes were picked up at a swap meet and modified to fit out back. Finally, the rear doors were removed, and the front doors were lengthened 14 inches.
Once the major metal sculpting was complete, the car was hauled over to Pinkee's Rod Shop, where the wood was carved and shaped to fill the sides of the newly born surf wagon. A 32-valve, 4.6L V-8 from a Lincoln Mark VIII was stuffed under the hood, and after the paint work was finished, the cockpit was decked out in stunning, art-deco-style sculpted leather by legendary upholstery man Ron Mangus.
So how long did it take to build this wood and metal marvel from start to finish? One year. That's right, you didn't read that wrong; the entire project was built in one calendar year, a feat that Bones credits to careful planning and a heroic effort put forth by builders. As for what the next Bones vision might be, your guess is as good as ours. One thing is for sure though, whatever happens to roll out of his wild imagination and onto tarmac is sure to be one helluva cool ride.