Daily Slideshow: Watson's 1957 Corvette Was Definitely the Wildest
When a legendary automotive painter and pinstriper gets his hands on an early 'Vette, you know the results are going to be good.
Watson's Wildest
Larry Watson is a legendary name in the world of custom cars, a painter and pinstriper who drew his inspiration from the all-time great artist Von Dutch. In a world where innovation doesn't happen terribly often, Watson managed to come up with a variety of famous paint techniques, including lace painting and panel paint jobs. One of Watson's coolest projects was this 1957 Corvette he painted for Pinky Richards. And thankfully, Hot Rod stumbled across historic photos of the wild 'Vette recently.
>>Join the conversation on the Watson's 1957 C1 right here in Corvette Forum.
Black and White Beauty
The only bad news about this discovery? All the photos are black and white, so you can't fully appreciate the flamed, candy orange metal flake paint job in all of its spectacular glory. But even sans color, you can still see the incredible level of detail that went into this amazing period paintwork. The Corvette was featured in the May 1964 issue of Rod & Custom magazine, during a time when color pages cost big bucks.
>>Join the conversation on the Watson's 1957 C1 right here in Corvette Forum.
Seeing Color
Hot Rod does point out that the site Custom Car Chronicle has some color pictures of the car, which allows us to see the paint job in all its glory. Watson first rendered the flames in black metal flake before surrounding them with a yellow outline. Green and gold metal flake coves provide a sharp contrast to the red and orange body. But we must admit, we kind of appreciate the colorless photos, which seem appropriate for the car and the period. Even if they don't fully show off those details.
>>Join the conversation on the Watson's 1957 C1 right here in Corvette Forum.
Only in the '60s
Richards wasn't finished after Watson worked his magic, either. When the paint was dry, he proceeded to add nerf bars that wrapped around both the front and rear fenders. The taillights came from a 1960 Mercury, the hubcaps from a Buick Riviera. Throw in groovy stuff like a fur/leather interior and console-mounted record player, and you've got one wild 'Vette!
>>Join the conversation on the Watson's 1957 C1 right here in Corvette Forum.
For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section in the forum.
