Beatnik Bubbletop 1955 Ford To Be Auctioned

This amazing looking custom automobile is up for grabs.

I bet this is how most people from the fifties imagined the future of automobiles would look like; a hovering bubble-roofed, strangely-shaped retro-future 1950s vehicle.

Except this weird looking thing is not from the atomic decade, nor is it a hovering vehicle. It is, in fact, very new, very odd and it rides on ordinary wheels and tires.

It’s called the Beatnik Bubbletop and it started life as a 1955 Ford. Now, it remains only “Ford based”, since you won’t find much “Ford” left in it, but a mixture of different cars. It rides on a modified 1988 Lincoln Town Car chassis, for crying out loud, and its rear bumper is actually a front bumper taken from a 1958 Cadillac.

If you look more closely and analyze the car’s design, you’re bound to find a plethora of components “borrowed” and adapted from various Cadillacs, Chryslers and Lincolns. Like the finned tailgates taken from a 60′ Chrysler.

But guess what? It works. It shouldn’t, but it does, and the finished product looks outstandingly awesome. Kitschy cool, that is.

This car went through the talented hands of Gary “Chopit” Fioto, which, by judging from his nickname, has an affinity for chopping cars. The “kustom” work can be admired by looking at the teardrop skirts, pancaked hood and, of course, the biggest-ever handcrafted Bubbletop roof.

According to Auction America – the auction company handling this vehicles sale – Chris Shelton from Street Rodder magazine asked Fioto what elements he feels are essential for a great custom chopped car, to which he replied:

“It’s gotta have attitude. That’s what I look for when I chop a car. I look for coolness; whatever makes the car look good is what I go for – it’s just got to say something to me; it’s got to look like it’s moving, even when standing still.”

The engine is the ever-present-in-a-custom-build Chevy 350 (5.7-litre) V8 with a six-carb induction system, a serpentine belt system, Hedman Hedders and delicate finned Moon valve covers.

The vehicle has received countless awards, including the“George Barris Kustom d’Elegance Award”, which sounds very, very impressive indeed.

It’s estimated to bring between $150,000 and $250,000, but it has air conditioning, don’t worry.

Photos: Patrick Ernzen