This outrageous custom classic has serious wow factor

Star performer

Stars that go out at the top of their trajectory always shine brightest in the memory.

Jackie Stewart won more, but it’s Jim Clark that first springs to mind when pub chat turns to the greatest drivers of all time.

And while there have been beautiful screen sirens since, few can match the effervescence and charisma of Marilyn Monroe.

The Golden Sahara II occupies a similar place in the minds of custom-car enthusiasts; a glittering combination of electrical wizardry and jaw-dropping decadence, with a future cut short when the limelight burned fiercest.

And just like Norma Jeane, the Sahara came from humble beginnings. Here’s its story.

Inspiration strikes

The year was 1953, and barrelling south through the California countryside was legendary customiser George Barris, travelling home to Los Angeles in convoy with his friend Dan Landon from a car show in Sacramento when, in thick fog, Landon’s ’49 Chevy sputtered and stalled before coasting to the side of the road.

The pair lashed the car to the rear bumper of Barris’ 1953 Lincoln Capri before again striking south.

Conditions worsened, and from the gloom a hay truck suddenly lurched into their path. The Lincoln slewed beneath its trailer, smashing the driver’s-side roof and opening the coupe like a tin of beans.

Both men survived and where mere mortals would have seen disaster, the ‘King of Kustomizers’ saw opportunity.

Future focused

The Lincoln’s chassis and running gear were sound, so Barris and friends Bill DeCarr and Jim Skonzakes – better known as Jim Street – hatched a plan to turn it into their vision of the future.

The trio quickly embarked upon a series of wild modifications, creating something more akin to a high-end concept than a traditional custom.

After months in his workshop, the finished car bore almost no resemblance to the ill-fated Capri, with towering front wings looming over the headlamps, bullet-style protrusions at each end in place of the bumpers and a wide, fish-like mouth.

White and gold

Inside, white leatherette and gold brocade adorned the seats, with a decadent curved rear bench split by a central cocktail cabinet and fridge, and white mink carpets across the floor.

The cabin was covered by a T-top Plexiglas roof with partial gullwing sections for driver and passenger, while the long rear wings ended in flamboyant fins topped with futuristic tail-lamps from a Kaiser Manhattan.

Wow factor

The lower sections of the rear wings were finished in 24-carat gold, giving rise to its name, while the elements that would conventionally be chrome were plated to match.

The combined effect was like nothing on Earth and the car caused a sensation when it was unveiled in 1954 at the Petersen Motorama in LA.

The project was said to have cost more than $25,000 – enough to buy three Jaguar XKSSs, with change to take them racing – and, in order to recoup some of the money, Street embarked on an epic tour of the USA, showcasing the car at dealerships and drawing a crowd wherever it went.

In May 1955 it even graced the cover of Motor Trend.

Taking it up a gear

Buoyed by its reception, Street decided to invest further in the Golden Sahara and, with the help of Delphos Machine and Tool in Dayton, Ohio, set about turning the car into an even crazier version of itself.

Lashings of gold was added to each flank and the Plexiglas T-top was reworked to a more elegant open dome design with a vee-shaped roll bar, while outlandish twin-fin wings were added to the rear, capped by unique lenses.

The paint finish was breathtaking. The luscious, shimmering pearl was said to be achieved by grinding up fish scales from the underbelly of sardines – but some of the car’s most innovative ideas stemmed from Street’s passion for electronics.

Outrageous electronics

The Golden Sahara was already advanced, with a black-and-white TV set into the dashboard at a time when having one in your front room was still a luxury, but the car’s second incarnation was truly remarkable.

The conventional steering wheel was replaced by a Batmobile-style yoke, complemented by touchpad steering that could be operated from either side of the car.

Space-age controls

Most fascinating of all was a central joystick – dubbed the ‘Unitrol’ – that was connected to a steering box mounted in the frame and stuck straight up through the floor.

Moving the control from side to side turned the wheels, while fore and aft motions were linked to the throttle and brakes.

When it was not in use, the system could be disconnected so it didn’t get in the way.

All that glitters

Street’s sponsorship drive had led to the car fronting Seiberling’s ‘Tires of Tomorrow – Today’ campaign in its original guise, and it was a later tie-in with Goodyear that gave the Golden Sahara II its most striking feature: translucent tyres that could be illuminated from the inside.

Originally designed with safety in mind, the use of urethane was pioneered by Goodyear in the 1960s under the brand name Neothane, with a full set adorning Street’s creation for its second spell on the show circuit.

Glass slippers

Having no banding, the ‘Gold Glass Slippers’ were created using a device that resembled a front-loading washing machine.

A mould was filled with molten synthetic rubber before being spun and tilted from side to side, depending on the required thickness of tread and sidewalls.

The tyres were lit from within using 12W bulbs more commonly found in aircraft and elevators, the hubs capped with crystal that flashed in time with the indicators.

TV and movie star

Such was the car’s star status that it soon appeared on film in the 1960 Frank Tashlin flick Cinderfella, serving as the futuristic carriage for lead man Jerry Lewis.

By that stage the Sahara owed Street $75k and its star continued to rise, making a memorable appearance on the panel show I’ve Got a Secret in 1962, where Street showcased some of the abilities of his ‘laboratory on wheels’ in front of a live studio audience.

Then, just as it seemed as if the Golden Sahara II was at the height of its fame, the car abruptly disappeared from public view without warning.

Hidden in plain sight

The Golden Sahara eventually resurfaced following Street’s death in 2017 – it had remained in his possession all along, a closely guarded secret in his Ohio garage alongside Norm Grabowski’s legendary Kookie Kar.

The Sahara first saw the light of day in the estate sale, offered at auction to great fanfare by Mecum in May 2018 before being snapped up by collector Larry Klairmont.

A half century of inactivity had not done the car any favours: though solid, the once pearlescent white paint had discoloured with age, becoming yellow and stained, while the gold leaf had tarnished and flaked; the urethane tyres are said to have disintegrated almost instantly.

The long road back

Eager to once again share the car with the world, Klairmont and Goodyear hatched an ambitious plan to put it on display at the Geneva Motor Show in 2019 – as you can see, they achieved it. But it was quite the task.

And it quickly became clear that the costs of recreating the pneumatic Neothane tyres would prove prohibitive.

Brighter than bright

“We formed the recreations using an eight-piece silicone mould made from a vintage Kelsey tyre, and cast solid – rather than pneumatic – urethane tyres on reproduction Golden Sahara II wheels,” says Goodyear’s Keith Buckley.

“Like concrete, urethane produces heat as it cures – 209ºF [98ºC] in this case. The LEDs were rated to 194ºF [90ºC], so we installed three strips in case they failed – that’s why the tyres are so much brighter today than they were in period.”

Getting stuck in

With a similarly tight schedule for reviving the rest of the car, a full nut-and-bolt restoration was out of the question – but the interior was mouldy and damp, so had to be completely redone.

“We managed to match the material with a period fabric, but we had to totally remove the paint and the wiring was really bad,” explains Klairmont Kollection’s Robert Olsen, who led the renovation effort.

Smoke and mirrors

The further the team went, the clearer it became that some of the gadgets touted during its time on the show circuit had been talked up – unsurprising given Street’s flair as a showman.

“Whether he was testing things, or whether he had the vision but simply hadn’t done it yet, some features just weren’t there,” says Olsen.

“There was a little bit of showmanship involved, but that’s part of the car’s allure. It’s 80% accurate, 20% showmanship.”

The latest techniques

In addition to conventional restoration techniques, technology that was inconceivable in the 1950s – even to Street – played a key part in the rebuild. For example, a 3D printer was used to replace the hubcap fins that had gone missing during the car’s internment.

But recreating a damaged tail-light lens required more intricate work, says Olsen: “All four look the same, but they are all completely different. We had to scan one by hand and 3D print it in solid white plastic. That piece was then used to create a mould, into which we poured acrylic that matched the colour of the lens.”

Looking to the future

The Golden Sahara II’s enduring appeal is no doubt partly due to its disappearance while at the peak of its power to amaze, yet the reason why remains a mystery.

“The paint deteriorated so badly it was probably due for restoration when Jim put it into hibernation,” suggests Olsen, “and the availability of tyres may have played a part.”

Goodyear’s experiments with urethane ended in the ’60s – despite their breathtaking looks they lost traction in the wet, became unstable at more than 65mph and melted under heavy braking.

“Also, Street had travelled across the US for three or four years, and I’ve been told by people who knew him that he was just tired.”

Whatever the reason, he chose to quit while he was ahead, and now at last his legacy lives on.