The James Hetfield Collection

[iamsuperdan]

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/metallica-james-hetfeild-rehab-return/

 

Scroll through for the eye candy.

 

James from Metallica now has his own car exhibit at the Peterson Museum. Not bad. Not bad at all.

 

 

[Force]

It's a bit funny...I read in the article that he built 11 custom cars in 14 years...well I don't think James built any of them himself, he had them built for him. 
Never the less the man likes cars wich is allright by me, and they are all nice.
I have seen two of his cars live.
The Voodoo Priest 1937 Lincoln Zephyr I have seen twice, it was the first car I laid my eyes on when I came through the gates at the Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale AZ back in November 2012 and this car was also on display at Sacramento Vintage Ford in Sacramento CA when we were there back in April 2016.
The Black Pearl 1948 Jaguar I saw at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas NV back in November 2014 where it was displayed together with another music artists car, the Wiskey Runner 1934 Ford owned by Billy F Gibbons (ZZ-Top).
I have also seen the Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett's all black 36 Ford Coupe live when I was at the California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway CA back in October 2009.

Edited February 1, 2020 by Force

[Ace-Garageguy]

This one was built entirely here in Georgia by Josh Mills and his two-man crew, plus Bert Litton who performed all the upholstery work and built much of the custom top. The top has a steel under-structure designed and fabbed by Josh. The car was a contender for America's Most Beautiful Roadster in 2017.

Everything not fabricated in the shop during the 3+ years of construction was either vintage (the body shell and frame are real steel gennie '32 Ford), or NOS, with nothing newer than 1949. The car is actually a very dark brown, with the frame and running gear finished in black.

This period-perfect piece is a collection of subtle design elements that are largely lost on anyone who's not a 70+ year old rodder who really knows his parts, and though it's turned out to a beautifully high standard, obviously, it's a car that could be built by a real guy in a real garage behind the house.

I was privileged to witness the entire process (I had nothing whatsoever to do with this '32 Ford build), as I was employed during the period to build a '33 Plymouth coupe and a '47 Caddy convertible for Josh's clients, in Josh's shop. 

Working alongside the talented guys who built this thing, who all had the same high standard of commitment to quality, and where cutting corners was an unknown concept, was one of the best times of my life.

Edited February 1, 2020 by Ace-Garageguy

[iamsuperdan]

 

21 hours ago, Force said:

It's a bit funny...I read in the article that he built 11 custom cars in 14 years...well I don't think James built any of them himself, he had them built for him. 
Never the less the man likes cars wich is allright by me, and they are all nice.
 

More like James commissioned 11 custom car builds in 14 years! And really, when you have unlimited funds, and like cars...why not?

 

11 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

This one was built entirely here in Georgia by Josh Mills and his two-man crew, plus Bert Litton who performed all the upholstery work and built much of the custom top. The top has a steel under-structure designed and fabbed by Josh. The car was a contender for America's Most Beautiful Roadster in 2017.

Everything not fabricated in the shop during the 3+ years of construction was either vintage (the body shell and frame are real steel gennie '32 Ford), or NOS, with nothing newer than 1949. The car is actually a very dark brown, with the frame and running gear finished in black.

This period-perfect piece is a collection of subtle design elements that are largely lost on anyone who's not a 70+ year old rodder who really knows his parts, and though it's turned out to a beautifully high standard, obviously, it's a car that could be built by a real guy in a real garage behind the house.

I was privileged to witness the entire process (I had nothing whatsoever to do with this '32 Ford build), as I was employed during the period to build a '33 Plymouth coupe and a '47 Caddy convertible for Josh's clients, in Josh's shop. 

Working alongside the talented guys who built this thing, who all had the same high standard of commitment to quality, and where cutting corners was an unknown concept, was one of the best times of my life.

 

 

I actually think that one is my favourite of James' cars. It's the only one that looks like I could fire it up and take it out for a drive. And it's just...clean. Not over the top. Which is how I like it.

 

[Force]

10 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

 

More like James commissioned 11 custom car builds in 14 years! And really, when you have unlimited funds, and like cars...why not?

 

Yes, that's why I thought it was funny how it was put down in the arcle.
James is allright in my book as it's better to have cars built for him than burning his money up on other stuff...but it looks like he tried to do that too. 

Edited February 2, 2020 by Force

[larman]

Nice collection. Just because you have money, doesn't mean you have a good eye. This guy clearly does. The '32 is near perfection.  The only one that was a little wonky to me is the purple pickup. Don't like the extended cab and the 60's styling, but it is still a outstanding quality custom.

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 hours ago, larman said:

...Just because you have money, doesn't mean you have a good eye. This guy clearly does. The '32 is near perfection.  The only one that was a little wonky to me is the purple pickup. Don't like the extended cab and the 60's styling, but it is still a outstanding quality custom.

Rick Dore is credited as having designed most of Hetfield's builds, and working closely with the builders themselves.

The '32 project was different, in that Mr. Dore had almost no input in it, other than locating an "original" body which turned out to be a nightmare.

The body shell, far from being nice, arrived in black primer covering gallons of bondo. It had been hacked together from several shells apparently, and was so badly warped that getting it to sit on the chassis correctly took a lot of juggling, jacking, twisting, cutting, welding, stretching, and sweat.

Josh Mills himself is responsible for all the design work on the '32, including the dead-perfect lines of the custom top, and was given pretty much of a free hand, by Hetfield, to build the car exactly as he wanted.

Mills was chosen for the project because of his well-earned reputation as a master of period-correct hot-rod building, and his encyclopedic knowledge of vintage parts.

An interesting point...the aluminum cylinder heads on the engine are uber-rare Osiecki parts, actually cast in Atlanta in the late 1940s.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Ace-Garageguy

[DonW]

Thanks for this, lovely to see.

I don't personally get it. It's like having a box of Belgian chocolates and never eating them. For me the '32 needs to be covered in road rash and highway dirt, maybe ticking and cooling in the early evening sun over Big Sur. Or wherever else you wanted to be.

But it's completely up to Mr Hetfeild. 

Does anyone know if he he drives them much?

[iamsuperdan]

36 minutes ago, DonW said:

 

Does anyone know if he he drives them much?

From what I've read, he does actually drive these. 

And if you have a close look at the Lincoln Continental. That driver's seat is worn, the dash is a mess, the engine bay is not looking show worthy to me. The purple car's engine bay looks like it's seen some use. Iron Fist has some road rash. Aquarius has a somewhat normal looking engine bay. Clean, but rough; rad supports for example.

So I'd say that he does actually use these. On the weekends. If it's not raining. Or cloudy.

[DonW]

Thanks Dan. Kind of good to know.