About two weeks after I
got it running we drove
it straight to Chopped,
800km away
PEOPLE LIKE US
STORY CARLY DALE PHOTOS BRENTYN WAKEFIELDSAM ‘TIKI’ HARRISON
CLEARVIEW, SA
S
AM ‘Tiki’ Harrison and his beautiful wife
Molly are not only stalwarts of the South
Australian custom scene, they’re also a
part of the furniture at Chopped. We
caught up with the ever-approachable Sam as he
wielded his pinstriping brush at the 15th Kustom
Kulture Weekender in Adelaide.Tell us about your ride.
It’s a ’52 Pontiac, nicknamed The Yak. It’s running
a straight-six with a ‘Traumatic’. I bought it locally
about seven years ago as I wanted an old 50s car,
and this is something different.
What condition was it in?
Everything had been pulled off the car and put
inside the body; it was all hanging out every which
way. I then built it at my friend Steve’s house with
help from our clubmates in the Grinders CBB and
a few others.
What are the body mods?
Well the roof was chopped off when I bought
it, but the metal was all jagged from the cut so
we tidied all of that up. Ashley Cave showed
me how to weld and do bodywork, while SeanFitzsimmons showed me the shrinker/stretcher.
We then frenched the headlights, and shaved the
door handles, filler cap and boot trim. Ashley also
did the interior. Another mate, Aaron Bray, did
the grille and surround, and rounded the bonnet
corners. Michael Ahrens did, among other things,
the exhaust and the suspension to make it sit right.
Then it went for a long test drive?
About two weeks after I got it running we drove it
straight to Chopped 2010, 800km away. It blew
up on the way back. The tranny was playing up,
then it lost all the oil onto the road 300km from
home, seizing the motor. It was 3am and I started
a new job several hours later!
Any further plans for it?
Yeah, apart from a V8, I’d love a stark white
padded Carson top and to lengthen the doors. I
want to paint it a really dark metallic copper – the
colour is like a Coke bottle held up to the sun.
Possibly I’ll add some shoebox tail-lights, but I’m
not sure, as everyone wants 50s Pontiac tail-lights
and this already has ’em. I just want a smooth 50s
custom. But not showy, more like the young guys
had them back then.How long have you been pinstriping?
I started when I was 19 years old, so I’ve been
doing it for about a decade. I always loved art
and painting stuff. And now I have a signwriting
background, which is a help.
Who taught you?
Ray Moondog. Before I knew how to ’stripe, he
said to me: “I’ll teach you, but once I do and you’re
big and famous you need to say that you learnt
from Moondog.”
Moondog is also part of the KKW team. How
many have you been to?
I’ve had a stall here for the past seven years and
laid lines on cars at every one. I’ll do handbags,
shoes, Eskies, helmets, saws, guitars; whatever.
Today I’m ’striping Chris from the Adelaide
Rumblers’ Ford sedan.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ’striped?
A prosthetic leg. It was a mate’s mum’s boyfriend.
He asked that I ’stripe it while he waited. It was
pretty cool and he was really happy with it. sCHECK out Sam’s work on Facebook at
Pinstriping By Tiki.