Custom Car: George Barris, Part 6

Contrary to rumor, Barris had nothing to do with the De Lorean time machine from the Back to the Future movie series. There had been such speculation over the years, especially since a couple of De Loreans actually were customized by Barris' workshop. In 2004, though, Bob Gale at the De Lorean Car Show went on record and said that George Barris had no part in the design of the De Lorean in Back to the Future. Barris has also claimed to have built, or had a large hand in designing and customising Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, the Monkeemobile (in truth, designed by Dean Jeffries), the Black Beauty (also built by Jeffries) from The Green Hornet, the Munster Koach and Dragula from The Munsters (both were designed by Tom Daniels).

Barris still works out of his shop, assisted by his son and daughter. The firm remains busy with 'kustom' creation, charitable functions, and even a Barris clothing line. The founder himself is still in the public eye, receiving awards, appearing at auto-related events, and recently being featured on ABC TV's popular show Extreme Makeover.