HotRod Hotline would like to express our condolences at the passing of Dean Jeffries. He died on May 5, 2013. Jeffries was known for his distinctive styling, paint, body work and vision. He fabricated vehicles for Hollywood, and put his original touches on them for racers, teams and individual enthusiasts. Jeffries was pin-striper, stuntman, customizer, and consultant for Hollywood, for the Indy 500, and for those friends and fans who came to his shop. Jeffries will be deeply missed in this community where he made such a striking impact.Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.
The following excerpts are from the tribute posted at DeanJeffries.com:
Dean Jeffries, also known as “Deano” began pinstriping cars with the legendary Von Dutch in Lynwood, California, in the early 1950s...Jeffries first major success was in the 1964 Grand National Roadster Show with his asymmetrically styled Mantaray, which featured a Maserati Grand Prix chassis and a Cobra engine. Other cars from the Jeffries stable include the “Monkeemobile”, the original Green Hornet’s “Black Beauty”, James Bonds’ “MoonBuggy” from Diamonds Are Forever, and the 35 foot long 12 wheel “Landmaster” built for the movie Damnation Alley.
Jeffries was also enamored with the Indianapolis 500, where he crewed for many years for the legendary AJ Foyt. Jeffries also painted many of the Indy 500 entries, and in fact one year painted 22 of the 33 starters in the field...
In his semi-retired years, Jeffries could occasionally be found as a special guest at car shows across the country, but his passion was to be at his shop five days a week restoring his personal car collection and meeting with old friends.