Sad to say but one of THE pioneers of hot rodding pasesd today....RIP GENE!
Gene Winfield died today
- Thread starter WyoGN
- Start date
best thing Gene taught me....although I never met him.....when you stop doing....you stop doing....Keep keeping on brothers
It's a despicable shame what his caregiver was doing to him, and I'm glad she was caught and arrested. I hope his final year was better.
I was lucky enough to have met the "King of The Chopped Top" on a few occasions and he was an extremely kind and gentle man- he had an amazing tolerance for people like me! Sharp memory too. He would set up a table at the Darryl Starbird Rod & Custom Show selling VHS tapes detailing his process of peeling and resticking a roof, and had various little trinkets for sale as well like valve stem caps, shift knobs, and the like. As a pre-teen I had no idea who he was and made a comment to my father "Who does that guy think he is? Nobody wants a VHS tape, DVDs exist now. And the stuff? Junk!" I actually said that out loud, or something like it. Mr. Winfield heard me but said nothing, and I've been embarrassed ever since discovering who I was badmouthing.
That particular car show was something I looked forward to on a yearly basis, as it was my only connection to my father at the time. As such, I ran into Mr. Winfield again years later and immediately approached him just to have a second of his time. I'm not kidding you when I say he remembered my face as well as the nasty words I said. Naturally, I apologized profusely and talked his ear off before shaking his hand and moving on to see the rest of the cars. That 20 minute chat covered everything from the cars next to us to a story about the Navy. I believe he was a judge at another show I went to in Derby or maybe it was the big "Automobilia" show in downtown Wichita but I didn't get to say hello. Yet again I saw him at a car show not terribly long ago and got him to autograph an issue of Rebel Rodz or Ol' Skool Rodz that did a story on him- it's around here somewhere but is "somewhere safe" so I'll probably never find it. I really wish I would've scheduled a time for him to show me something or at least bought his tapes, he had more to teach than just metalwork.
"Gene's fine, son". Nah, I believe I'll stick with Mr. Winfield, Mr. Winfield.
I was lucky enough to have met the "King of The Chopped Top" on a few occasions and he was an extremely kind and gentle man- he had an amazing tolerance for people like me! Sharp memory too. He would set up a table at the Darryl Starbird Rod & Custom Show selling VHS tapes detailing his process of peeling and resticking a roof, and had various little trinkets for sale as well like valve stem caps, shift knobs, and the like. As a pre-teen I had no idea who he was and made a comment to my father "Who does that guy think he is? Nobody wants a VHS tape, DVDs exist now. And the stuff? Junk!" I actually said that out loud, or something like it. Mr. Winfield heard me but said nothing, and I've been embarrassed ever since discovering who I was badmouthing.
That particular car show was something I looked forward to on a yearly basis, as it was my only connection to my father at the time. As such, I ran into Mr. Winfield again years later and immediately approached him just to have a second of his time. I'm not kidding you when I say he remembered my face as well as the nasty words I said. Naturally, I apologized profusely and talked his ear off before shaking his hand and moving on to see the rest of the cars. That 20 minute chat covered everything from the cars next to us to a story about the Navy. I believe he was a judge at another show I went to in Derby or maybe it was the big "Automobilia" show in downtown Wichita but I didn't get to say hello. Yet again I saw him at a car show not terribly long ago and got him to autograph an issue of Rebel Rodz or Ol' Skool Rodz that did a story on him- it's around here somewhere but is "somewhere safe" so I'll probably never find it. I really wish I would've scheduled a time for him to show me something or at least bought his tapes, he had more to teach than just metalwork.
"Gene's fine, son". Nah, I believe I'll stick with Mr. Winfield, Mr. Winfield.
Yeah that caretaker thing was a disaster. Years ago when we had the world of wheels here in Boston he chopped a roof on a Cadillac it was cool to see. I don't know if you guys remember the Monster Garage episode with him, bill Hines and a couple other guys they chopped/channeled a 50's chevy.
That episode was awesome. The amount of knowledge in one room, working on one car.
I saw that he had passed. Very sad day for the industry & automotive hobbyists that were inspired by his creations & ideas.
Sadly we lost the last of the legendary customizers.
I did enjoy the episode of Monster Garage where several other notable customizers came together to chop and section that early '50's Chevy Fleetline.
Also, the episode with Ian Roussel on Full Custom Garage where Ian worked with Gene to do a copy of the Deora Ford Econoline pickup.
Gene will be missed. R.I.P. Gene.
I did enjoy the episode of Monster Garage where several other notable customizers came together to chop and section that early '50's Chevy Fleetline.
Also, the episode with Ian Roussel on Full Custom Garage where Ian worked with Gene to do a copy of the Deora Ford Econoline pickup.
Gene will be missed. R.I.P. Gene.
I'm meet Gene out in California back in the '80s before I moved to Florida. He was a cocky little guy back then. I haven't seen him in years other than on TV. God bless you Gene Winfield.
R.I.P. to a true master.
His contribution to the hobby, industry, world will never be forgotten.
His contribution to the hobby, industry, world will never be forgotten.
