Silhouette (show rod)

Silhouette was a show car built by Bill Cushenberry in 1962. It debuted at the 1963 Oakland Roadster Show, and earned Cushenberry his first Master Builder Award.[1] In 1968, it was also one of the first sixteen Hot Wheels cars.[2]

Silhouette
Overview
ManufacturerBill Cushenberry
Model years1962
DesignerDon Varner
Body and chassis
ClassShow car
Body style1956 Buick
Powertrain
EngineBuick nailhead V8

History

Designed in collaboration with artist Don Varner, Silhouette was Cushenberry's first full-on show car. He hand-hammered 20-gauge steel over a shortened 1956 Buick chassis, fitting a front-hinged bubble canopy (supplied by Acry Plastics).[3] It was candy-painted, mixed with black, red, and gold.[1] The car was powered by a Buick nailhead V8 (later fitted with Hilborn fuel injection) and ran on reversed Cadillac wheels.[1] Like a number of other show rods at the time, including The Mantaray , it had a bubble canopy.[4]

Silhouette debuted at the 1963 Oakland Roadster Show, and earned Cushenberry his first Master Builder Award.[1]

Around 1968, the engine was changed to a 289 cu in (4,740 cc) Ford. The car appeared in a 1968 television special, "Wonderful World of Wheels".[5]

Somewhat later, Silhouette was stolen and disappeared; in 1998, the car's location remained unknown.[6] In 2013, the bubble top and some mechanical parts had been located, but the engine and the rest of the body remained missing.[7]

  • Hot Rod magazine, May 1963
  • Popular Customs magazine, January 1966

Notes
  1. Mauldin (1998), p. 83.
  2. Anthony Altorenna (18 September 2018). "The Original 16 Hot Wheels Cars From 1968: The Redline Era". Hobby Lark.com. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  3. Mauldin (1998), p. 83–84, 87.
  4. Rothermel, Rich (April 2000). "Dean Jeffries: Runnin' Flat Out Since 1951". Rod & Custom. pp. 67, 71.
  5. Mauldin (1998), p. 87.
  6. Mauldin (1998), p. 88.
  7. "Where is the Bill Cushenbery Silhouette?". Jalopy Journal. 5 July 2013.

Sources
  • Mauldin, Calvin (December 1998). "Bill Cushenberry: Custom Creations for the Future". Rod & Custom. pp. 83–89.


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