Ford Beatnik Bubbletop Custom, 1955
Ford Custom
Ford Custom•
•15 views
Chassis No.: U5UG116632
Auction: Larry's Legacy 2025
Auction date: September 21, 2025
Lot No.: S279
$198,000 | Sold
- Engine: V-8
- Transmission: Automatic
- Exterior: Purple
- Interior: White
- Body: Bubbletop
- Professional custom build completed over four years by Gary “Chopit” Fioto
- Featured in Street Rodder magazine
- Previously on display at the 2023 MCACN show
- Extensively customized steel and aluminum bodywork
- Modified 1988 Lincoln Town Car chassis
- Canted quad headlights
- Front bumper adapted from a 1959 Cadillac
- Rear bumper formed from a 1958 Cadillac front bumper
- 1960 Chrysler finned tail lights
- Hand-formed and oxy-acetylene welded steel fenders, door skins and rear section with custom wave-style details
- Custom-molded Lexan bubble top
- 350 CI Chevrolet V-8 engine with period 6-carburetor setup
- Automatic transmission
- Pearl White bucket seat interior
- Chrysler Astradome instrument panel
- Yoke-style steering wheel
- Vintage Air
Crafted in the spirit of George Barris, Gene Winfield and Dean Jeffries, among others, the Beatnik Bubbletop is a professionally built custom completed over the course of four years by Gary “Chopit” Fioto. Attesting to the quality of the build, the car was featured in Street Rodder magazine and displayed at the 2023 MCACN Show. A study in what can be done, Beatnik is built on the modified chassis of a 1988 Lincoln Town Car and features an extensively worked steel and aluminum body that’s been sprayed purple and adorned with a number of unique touches. The front bumper has been adapted from a 1959 Cadillac, while the rear is from a 1958.
The canted quad headlights appear to have been borrowed from a 1958-1960 Lincoln, and the tail lights and fins were grafted from a 1960 Chrysler. The oxy-acetylene-welded steel fenders, door skins and rear section were hand-formed and feature custom wave-style detailing, with a custom-molded Lexan bubble top capping off the wild custom and sealing the interior from the elements. The interior is upholstered in white and fitted with four bucket seats divided by a tubular center console that runs into the rear and becomes a pedestal for an Alpine AV screen.
The dashboard, door toppers and console are finished in exterior-matching purple, and occupants are thrust into a retro-style future with a yoke-style steering wheel, a centrally mounted Chrysler Astradome instrument panel, Vintage Air and an updated audio system. Under the hood is a very well-dressed 350 CI Chevrolet V-8 with a period six-carburetor setup with velocity stacks, Moon valve covers, Hedman headers and a gathering of custom components. An automatic transmission channels the power to the rear end.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/1151243/1955-ford-beatnik-bubbletop-custom/
Cost
727,155 AED
