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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Darrryl Starbirds Electra Turns Into X-Cel And Destroyed












Darryl Starbird made a famous custom car that was called the Electra It was 1958 Thunderbird with a double bubbletop.it had a custom interior.It had special metal frame seats with white leather inserts for sitting and back support.The stock engine was chromed.This car had special guages and steering wheel, all electric operated.It was originally painted metalic blue ,with wide whites and chrome reverse with spider caps.The wheels were changed to slotted supremes with three prong knock offs.Darryl removed the lights, and made a case to hold the circular headlights.The apperance was like a bird.Darryl also removed the grill from the Thunder Bird bumper, and put in vertical Buick like horizonal bars, as the grill.He also shaved the bumper area,just keeping the turn signals below the bumper area.Then painted the whole part metalic blue,to make it look like part of the body.The end of Electra came when it was sold to the new owner.He had the new designer,ruin the car by changing the front,taking out Darryl's lights,cutting off the tail fins, removing the the rear spears,removing the rear bullet lower body pieces,removing the horizonial grill.lengthing the front ,putting headlights behind the vertical grilland,putting a vertical grill in back.The car after it was done looked more like a custom late 60s Barrucuda, then a 1958 Thunderbird.Only if you  look close at the door seams, could you tell  it was a 1958 Thunderbird.The car was renamed X-cel and it was repainted  red and the bubbletop brace painted black.It did have both the Supremes slotted mags, and Radir 1Ribbed Mags.X-cel was in a auto body advertisement,they were changed to chrome reverse.The car was forgotten, and abandoned ,and smashed into ruins, after being used in that ad.Darryl Starbird said it would cost $200,000 to build a new one.Customizers should respect another persons work instead of ruining it.

6 comments:

  1. My father purchased that car at an auction in Monroe Michigan in 1973. At that time it was still in excellent condition, but unfortunately for me, seven years old at the time, he re-sold it a month later to someone in the Cleveland Ohio area. When he purchased it, the car was red, presumably after it was used in the car polish ads. I do have a couple of old pictures of it from June of 1973, and although I loved that car, the picture I just received from the original builder of the original car in blue was far superior to the version my dad received. Starbird was contacted about replacement of the bubble a few years back, so hopefully this car still exists somewhere!
    Your assessment of ruining this original is correct, however I would still be interested if this car still exists!

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  2. I own the car I assure you it was never smashed to peices. It was found sitting along a the road for sale outside of Medina Ohio (near Cleveland) in 1993 I bought it from the guy that found it, he really had no Idea what it was , He told me he had found "Batgirls Car" possibly how it could have been promoted by the Ohio owner that had striped the red paint off and painted it in a flat black /grey two tone. I got the guy that found it to send me pictures, I figured out what it was and bought it from him a few weeks after he found it ...The car is currently in the Dave Puhl modified X-cel state it was in when I bought it. I have the car in Maryland. I spoke with the original owner a guy named Scully years ago , Dave Puhl was his brother inlaw back when the car was done at the Starbird Custom shop and apparently Puhl worked for the shop when it was done as the "Electra" then it was redone as the X-cel when Puhl was trying to make a name for himself but I think Dick Scully owned it as I recall until it was sold to LeVarnier's by Scully who bought it new in '58. They had a special plexglass sided trailer built for it and hauled it to car shows to demo there wax on I spoke to Darryl Starbird after I bought it we discussed how the top was made and how he rigged up the center steering the car once had ,.. that was abandon when the car was redone as the X-cel. LeVarnier's was happy to hear the car had been located and they sent me some pictures and posters of the car. I'm not sure what went on in Ohio in its lost years but the engine was frozen with water in it when I got it, but when torn down it looked like someone dumped a box of small screws into the engine when it was running so there was some sort of intentional damage done , The bubble top was also damaged unfortunately a plastics company in Baltimore that claimed they could make a replacement somehow lost it after claiming they involved a subcontractor that supposedly did blown plexglass for them, not really as big a deal as that may sound since it has to be re-blown from a fixture made from the car in one peice anyway. I've always felt it was best to put it back to the "Electra" look and I've collected nice original t-bird doors, hood, and NOS qrt panels ... I own a body shop Darryl gave me a lot of information about what was originally used to create the Electra, but there are some options avalible today that can be used that will make the car much more funtional and durable without straying from Darryl's Electra Design ... The car was radically customized prior to the Starbird Custom Shops Electra Version , but the early custom work was kind of ugly it had 8 headlamps with another 58 T-bird nose turned upside down sort of replaceing the bumper and a not so attractive rear end treatment. Anyway the car has been safely stored away for the 21 years I've owned it

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    Replies
    1. Hi Glen,
      Would you be able to E-Mail (randman516@aol.com) me some pictures if you still have the car? I would like to have some updated pictures.
      Thank You, Randy Scully

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    2. Hi Glen, was wondering if you still have the car? I'm Darryl Starbird's grandson and would love to get additional info if possible. Feel free to shoot me an email if you can (bricebledsoe11@gmail.com)

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  3. Hi Glenn my name is Aaron and I'm a friend of Dick Scully the original builder of Electra. I was wondering if you still own the car and if so could you email me at Trokes3@gmail.com I have a few questions about the car or maybe if you had pictures I could see. Any up to date pictures.

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  4. Good morning...my name is Art
    Im currently building a model of Electra and think this car has a real great survival story behind and all because of that cool bubble top...
    Please email me back with the update on the rebuild ...i would even relocate from Chicago to get in on helping rebuild this underbird...ty
    For saving some cool History

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