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Dean Jeffries: 50 Fabulous Years in Hot Rods, Racing & Film
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| List Price: | $40.00 |
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Product Description
An unassuming craftsman, legendary car builder Dean Jeffries has always preferred to let his creations speak for themselves. This book provides a rare, close-up look at the man, and the life, behind the Mantaray, the Monkeemobile, the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty, and James Bond’s moon buggy, among countless others.
Drawing on extensive interviews with Jeffries, bestselling Motorbooks author Tom Cotter gives readers the inside story on how, with little more than determination, raw talent, and a high school education, Jeffries became such an extraordinary figure in the automotive world. Cotter details the multiple careers Jeffries mastered at once, from custom painting and pinstriping to metal shaping and design. The book offers Jeffries’ own account of the circumstances behind the famous TV and movie cars that followed, as well as the relationships he enjoyed with personalities as varied as A. J. Foyt, Steve McQueen, James Dean, Bruce Lee, Parnelli Jones, and Elvis Presley. Cotter also chronicles Jeffries’ work on well-known hot rods, sports cars, and Indy racers—including the 21 starting cars Jeffries painted in a single Indianapolis 500. Featuring more than 200 images from Jeffries’ own archive, here finally is a book that truly brings to life the man behind the legend.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #269154 in Books
- Published on: 2009-03-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 192 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
“This book sat on my table for a few days before I picked it up but once I did it stayed in my hands until I had finished it! I liked this book a lot.” - legendarycollectorcars.com
“As Cotter notes more than once in the book, Jeffries tended not to put himself in the spotlight, preferring instead to let his work speak for itself and for his talents — pinstriping, painting, metalworking. Yet the cars that he built — the Monkeemobile, the Mantaray, the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty — often overshadowed the builder. And yes, Cotter does address the issues Jeffries has with George Barris and explains how Barris had taken credit for many of the cars Jeffries built.” - Daniel Strohl, Hemmings
From the Inside Flap
Legendary car designer, builder, and painter Dean Jeffries was never one to toot his own horn, part of the reason his extraordinary career creating hot rods, Indy cars, TV and movie cars, and more has never been detailed as have those of contemporaries Von Dutch and George Barris. Still, Jeffries, who got his start pinstriping and customizing hot rods in car-crazed Southern California in the 1950s, made a name for himself with groundbreaking, stunning, and iconic vehicles like the Mantaray, Monkeemobile, and the Green Hornet's Black Beauty.
In Dean Jeffries: 50 Fabulous Years in Hot Rods, Racing & Film, bestselling author Tom Cotter gives a rare glimpse into the life and work of one of the most talented car builders of our time, who has always preferred to let his creations speak for themselves. Featuring extensive interviews with Jeffries and those who worked with him (including longtime rival George Barris), this book offers an unprecedented look at the man who modified vehicles for everyone from James Dean, Steve McQueen, and Elvis to Cobra builder Carroll Shelby and Indy racer A. J. Foyt. Also part of the package are 250 rare photos and sketches from Jeffries' personal archive, making this book perfect for any car nut.
From the Back Cover
Dean Jeffries: 50 Fabulous Years in Hot Rods, Racing & Filmcelebrates the work and life of one of the most unheralded yet talented car builders of our time--a man whose accomplishments include designing the groundbreaking Mantaray, the Monkeemobile, and the Green Hornet's Black Beauty, along with fueling the dune buggy craze with the Kyote in the late 1960s. Through extensive interviews with Jeffries and those who worked closely with him (including rival George Barris), bestselling author Tom Cotter offers an unprecedented look at a legend who made his way to the top by first pinstriping and customizing hot rods in Southern California in the 1950s. Featuring 250 rare photos and drawings from Jeffries' personal archive, this book shows the breadth of his career, working on everything from hot rods and Indy cars to sports cars, TV and movie cars, and more.
Customer Reviews
An excellent book
A well written and touching story of one of the pioneers of the automotive field. Covers Dean's early life and his beginnings in the painting and striping customization field with people like Kenny Howard (Von Dutch) Dean went from learning early metal working and shaping to the most sought after painter and stripper in the field. Not to content to sit on his laurels he trudged forward with his first full creation the winner of the 1963 Oakland Roadster Show, the Mantaray. He was sought after to create some of the most famous film and TV vehicles around and many are featured here in this book, although Dean does tell me that the book represents only about half of the cars he created. Not liking the term customizer Dean refers to himself as a stylist. He says customizer implies adding junk to an already built car.
The book further chronicles his amazing Hollywood Career as a stuntman working on such films as Back to the Future, Damnation Ally, Romancing the Stone to name just a few.
But all through the book there is a touching story about his dedication and love for his wife, Row.
A great book with a unintended love story intertwined.
