Words & Photos courtesy of Kustomrama
The automotive community has lost another friend, contributor and passionate custom car enthusiast. Dave Jenkins of Ypsilanti, Mich. was a founding member of the Ann Arbor Timing Association. He started the club with friends while studying at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
On Oct. 19, 1956 Dave drove his mildly customized 1955 Chevrolet to the local Chevrolet dealer to check out the long awaited showing of the brand new 1957 Chevrolet. Three days later he had convinced his dad to buy a car.
On Dec. 6 the car arrived, and Dave drove it straight to Jimmy Jones so he could install a pair of Inkster Skirts on it. The car went through several modifications, and was even worked on by the legendary Alexander Brothers.
Dave had plenty of nice old color photos showing different versions of the car. He had a 35mm slide camera that he used frequently back in the day. Sometimes he got lucky, he said, and the shots came out nice.
A photo of Dave's first car, which he got at 15 years old. The mildly restyled 1950 Chevy ran a pair of hand formed Jimmy Jones Inkster Skirts.
Dave's beloved '57 Chevy Bel Air. This was his third car, and the first thing he did to it was install a set of Jimmy Jones skirts.
A photo of Dave with the Chevy taken in 1958. This version featured silver scallops by Mich. custom painter Paul Hatton.
A photo of the Chevrolet as it appeared in 1962, after the Alexander Brothers gave it a Candy Red paint job.
The Chevrolet as it sat in 2011.
RIP Dave, and thanks for all the great stories you shared with us! You will be missed!