Not many people get the chance to live 97 years, but Gene Winfield did. The creator of hot rod and Kustom icons born in 1927, passed away Tuesday after spending time in a professional care facility. He leaves behind cars and innovations, of course, though more valuable than that are the impressions he left on the generations of builders who followed him.
Much of Winfield’s life was spent building cars that earned him the title “King of Kustoms.” So many of these were far beyond what others were doing, even in the ’60s, a romanticized era of creativity in the scene. His work made it into Hollywood more than a few times, and many of those are featured in The Autopian‘s sweet tribute to the man who started by modifying cars behind his mom’s chicken coop in Modesto, California.
Even people unfamiliar with Gene’s shop in Mojave, California—Winfield’s Rod and Custom—will recognize his creations. The Reactor was built in 1965 and appeared on the biggest TV shows of the time, from Bewitched and Star Trek to Batman and Mission: Impossible. A lot of his best-known projects barely looked like cars, showing that his genius went beyond tradition and actually pioneered a style that was often imitated but never duplicated.
Of course, Winfield also had a thing for chopped-top Mercuries, as Autoweek points out in its tribute to the man. That story includes tons of quotes from Gene’s friends and dearest admirers, like this one by David Steele, executive director of the American Hot Rod Foundation:
“We all know Gene Winfield as the brilliant custom car builder and designer that he was, but there was a generosity and concern for the future of the hobby that was always at the front of Gene’s thoughts. He expressed this by way of his wonderful fabrication master classes where he’d teach younger builders the techniques of chop topping and leading, as well as paint fading and other disciplines that Gene had mastered, and was always promoting this thing he loved to the younger audience.”
That sums up so much of what people loved about Winfield. The comments on the social media post announcing his passing are filled with words from folks who learned from him directly, whether we’re talking about automotive TV stars like Richard Rawlings from Fast ‘N Loud or grassroots builders whose names you wouldn’t know but Gene definitely did.
Posts and articles and videos honoring Winfield will trickle out long from now, and like I assume you will, I’ll be taking them in to learn more about the way he shaped the hobby we’ve all built our lives around in our own ways
