 | This article's citations lack bibliographical information.(October 2018) |
William Chandler Hines (23 March 1922 - 20 May 2016), also known as "The Leadslinger", was an American custom car builder.
| | This article's citations lack bibliographical information.(October 2018) |
William Chandler Hines (23 March 1922 - 20 May 2016), also known as "The Leadslinger", was an American custom car builder.
Hines was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, to Edward and Willie (Chandler) Hines. [1] He had a twin brother, Edward, and a sister Elizabeth.
Born with a severely deformed spine, the result of spinal kyphosis, he was unable to stand completely upright. At age two, he was sent to an Erie hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove two vertebrae. [2] The hospital recommended he be sent to a special camp, where he was laid on a board in the sun all day for seven months, returning over the course of two and a half years; it helped relieve the unusual curvature. [2]
Soon after Hines was initially released from hospital, his father died of tuberculosis. [1] Hines' mother moved to Detroit, Michigan to work, while her children were sent to be raised by their grandmother in Jackson, Tennessee. In 1932, the Hines children went to Detroit. [3]
In high school, Hines preferred art and shop classes to academics, and 1941, while in Grade 11, dropped out to rent a garage in Ecorse, Michigan, where he set up a custom shop. [2] It was there he began working with lead body filler. [2]
His first project was a 1934 Ford, fitted with a flathead V8 with milled heads. [4] He opened a gas station in Lincoln Park, Michigan, with an attached custom shop later the same year. [4] His first custom, built in 1941, was a 1941 Buick, with molded fenders, widened rocker panels, cut-down doors (a Hines trademark), fender skirts, Appleton spotlight, and single-bar flipper hubcaps; he repainted the original turquoise to red, claiming every custom should be red with a white interior. [2] [5] He would later add a tailfin in the center of the trunklid, a feature earning so much ridicule, he changed back to a stock lid. [4]
He went on to build and race a midget powered by a 60 hp (45 kW) flathead. [2]
In the late 1940s, Hines did bodywork and painting for Vick Sawitskas' Nash dealership in Wyandotte, Michigan. [6]
Hines finally opened his own dedicated custom shop in Lincoln Park early in the 1950s. It was there in 1957 he built Lil' Bat, a 1950 Ford with a 6 in (150 mm) chop, frenched headlights, the grille bar from a 1951 Ford Meteor, and large fins fitted with taillights from a 1956 Ford. [7] The car made its debut at the 1959 Detroit Autorama, and was featured on the cover of Rod & Custom Magazine in March 1959. [7] When he visited George Barris' shop driving this car in 1958, Barris' shop manager, Gene Simmons (not to be confused with the artist), hired him immediately on the strength of the work. [2]
Hines moved back to Detroit just before Christmas 1959,.[ citation needed ] setting up shop where he did several custom jobs and specialized in candy paint jobs. He also hired the Alexander brothers.[ citation needed ]
He served as mentor to customizers Richard Sawitskas, better known as Dick Dean, [2] and Detroit's Alexander Brothers. [8] [9] [10]
Hines returned to California in October 1960, setting up Bill Hines Kustom Auto in Lynwood, next door to Eddie Martinez's shop. [11]
In 1962, Hines installed one of the first hydraulic lift systems on Tats Gotanda's Candy blue 1959 Chevrolet Impala; this became known as the Buddah Buggy , and was Hines' most famous custom project. [2]
Hines also collaborated with Joe Bailon to produce the Panthermobile in 1969. [12] [13] [14]
Hines worked without drawing plans, able to, for instance, construct a custom working convertible top from scratch without them. [2] He also fabricated hydraulic systems. [2]
While living in Garden Grove, California, in 2015, Hines suffered a heart attack. He died five months later, at age 94.[ citation needed ]
The term 1932 Ford may refer to three models of automobile produced by Ford Motors between 1932 and 1934: the Model B, the Model 18, and the Model 40. These succeeded the Model A. The Model B had an updated four-cylinder engine and was available from 1932 to 1934. The V8 was available in the Model 18 in 1932, and in the Model 40 in 1933 & 1934. The 18 was the first Ford fitted with the flathead V-8. The company also replaced the Model AA truck with the Model BB, available with either the four- or eight-cylinder engine.
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made to go much faster." However, there is no definition of the term that is universally accepted and the term is attached to a wide range of vehicles. Most often they are individually designed and constructed using components from many makes of old or new cars, and are most prevalent in the United States and Canada. Many are intended for exhibition rather than for racing or everyday driving.
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