Days” and “American Graffiti.” They wanted to show what the 1950s were like to an audience that for the most part had not been born then. Fine. But I was looking for something more. Then I saw it. Low, bright red, with elaborate fins—my heart did a small flip as I recognized it: The X- 51, a radically transformed 1951 Ford coupe built in the mid-fifties by Ron Courtney, a McMinnville bodyman. The X-51: the name suggested flight, an experimental rocket. I was amazed by the coupe’s pristine condition, as if it had existed in a state of grace during the past 25 years. It was exactly like the version that lived in memory, the bright red paint unsullied by parking lot encounters, the' red and white leather interior uncreased, the chrome flawless. How had it not changed!, I wondered, thinking of all that had happened since the first time I had seen it. It had been a simpler world in many ways, a world where a car, and especially a custom or hot rod, seemed to be not interesting but of major importance. I first saw the X-51 in 1957 at the Portland Roadster Show—the second annual show, and the first to be held at the Gresham Fairgrounds. I was 22 and for seven years had been working on my own car, a Model AV-8 which was on display. Because I’d brought it in early, I had time to look around before the show was opened to the public. Of the plethora of street and competition cars in the greater Portland area, the cars being shown were the creme de la creme-. Don Fancher’s Ardun dragster, Bill Peterson’s red full-fendered ’32 roadster, Bob Knowle’s blue ’32 highboy roadster with a quartet of carbs protruding through the hood, Gene Ames’ white ’32 roadster from Spokane, and some 50 other chromed, bobbed, chopped and channeled machines. Also on display was the famous Rod and Custom magazine “Dream Truck,” a chopped, channeled and sectioned 1950 Chevrolet truck built by Los Angeles’ George Barris, King of the Kustomizers. hen I saw it. LOW9 bright red9 with elaborate fins — my heart did a small flip as I recognized it9 the X-51. Into the midst of this pre-show activity came Courtney’s X-51—it was driven, mind you, not pulled on a trailer—as if it were immune to the dangers of traffic, as if it were simply everyday transportation. People quit waxing fenders, spreading angel hair and arranging mirrors to watch the X-51 as it backed into its designated area. The car was literally a show stopper, even before the show began. What Courtney had done to attract so much attention was to build an aesthetically pleasing custom, a more unusual accomplishment than one might expect. Most customs were built on a hit-or-miss basis, the owner’s plans fluctuating with the amount of money he had in hand. Courtney had actually designed his , radical car. He knew at the onset what he wanted the car to look like and he took two years realizing his dream. What set the car apart from the other popular customs of the day was that it seemed sleek and light, not the usual “lead sled” as some were called. Its roof was standard height and it rode regulation distance off the ground. The car was relatively practical. This was in marked contrast to other radical customs whose roofs were sometimes chopped to such an extent that the front windshield became a large slit, and which rode two or three inches off the ground. At least one car had casters mounted on the rear bumper to help it in and out of driveways. The X-51 was so aesthetically pleasing, so well-proportioned, that it might have been mistaken for a factory prototype, a five-passenger Thunderbird perhaps, or even a limited production Ferrari coupe. To achieve the X-51’s streamlined look, Courtney had sectioned the car, removed a five-inch section from the car all the way around, an extremely difficult task to do well. Refusing to rely on a melange of factory parts as most customizers did, Courtney had made his own grill and fitted it into an opening shaped from tubing and sheet metal. He also made his own taillight lenses, and the small scoops on the back fenders. There was hardly an inch of the car that had not been meticulously cut apart and reassembled to create the subtle changes that would complement his total design. While the five-inch section job was the most difficult alteration, the rear fins were the most obvious. Fins symbolized the fifties; they got bigger and bigger each year until some Detroit models seemed like cartoon cars—and the fins on the X-51 were the biggest and most exotic fins anyone had ever seen on a custom! The car was the smash of the show, fins and all, and it was declared the sweepstakes winner. Courtney took home a trophy which stood a foot taller than the X-51. He showed the car in Seattle, where it also took top honors, and at the same two shows again in 1958. It was a big hit wherever it went. When the X-51 was featured on the cover of the October 1958 issue of Hot Rod magazine, their caption suggested that the car could be a view of the future. Now, 25 years later, I stood looking at the X-51 and wondering how it had lasted. Custom cars do not endure. They represent years of work, they enjoy a brief moment of perfection, and then the paint, up to a quarter of an inch thick, begins to crack, lead pops out of old holes, and seams begin to separate. Normal bumpers override lowered bumpers, negating a blacked- out deck lid or custom grill. The fate of the exotic machine follows a typical pattern: The original builder labors to maintain the car, then Casual, intimate, and family dining in the comfort of our bucket seats. Enjoy fine steaks, seafood, omelettes and sandwiches. 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