It's not just for emblems.
For as long as anyone can remember, custom builders from low-riders to hot-roders have not only been in love with their cars, how they look and perform, but have had a knack at dressing them up with some amazing typography and decorations from pin-stripping to characters.
Here are just a few of the ones I've stumbled on to while going to car shows this summer.
And just for fun, a few very funny signs and warnings on some cars warning of the consequences of touching.
The last automobile striping on an american car was done by General Motors in 1938. Then, in the mid-fifties, customizers brought it back in style in mostly radical form believing they were doing something entirely new! Kenny, the motorcycle mechanic was the man who started this "new" vogue under the name "Von Dutch."
The Von Dutch "Flying Eyeball" logo.
No discussion of Von Dutch would be complete without touching on the subject of his famous Flying Eyeball logo. What's the story behind it?
According to Von Dutch, the flying eyeball originated with the Macedonian and Egyptian cultures about 5000 years ago. It was a symbol meaning "the eye in the sky knows all and sees all", or something like that. Dutch got a hold of this symbol and modified it into the flyin'eyeball we know of today. He always believed in reincarnation, and the eyeball, somehow, was tied to that.There have been numerous "incarnations" of this design over the years. It still remains an icon of the '50s and '60s street rod crowd.
Dutch lived life hard. His bad habits eventually caught up with him, and he developed a stomach abscess. He didn't like doctors, but towards the end, the pain got so bad, he finally saw a doctor. By then it was too late. Dutch died on September 19th, 1992, leaving behind his two daughters, Lisa and Lorna. (source: Letterville)
As with most articles on Cartype, they never remain static and are always being updated with relevant content to the issue of the article. Keep visiting, you'll always see something new.
Mr. Norm Dodge Hell Raiser.
