Sadly, another icon of the hot rod and custom car world has passed: Sam Foose. Though many know the last name because of Sam’s famous son, Chip, it was Sam who, decades ago, helped pioneer the car customization genre we all know today.
Born in Southern California in 1934, Sam served in Korea and found he had a knack for repairing Army vehicles. Back from the service he married Terry and had four children (Lindi, Chip, Jodi, and Amy) and soon started working at AMT with another legendary customizer, Gene Winfield, building full-scale concept cars, race cars, and the vehicles of all types for television shows (from Get Smart to Star Trek).
By 1970 Sam opened Project Design and began his own career creating a long line of one-off vehicles that drew the attention of many automotive magazines including Hot Rod, Street Rodder, and Rod & Custom. From Chip’s earliest memories, he was out with his dad in the shop trying to help but always learning. At the memorial Chip even had the Rolls Royce grille he crushed in his youth during a driving lesson from his dad.
By the early ’90s Chip began his career in the automotive design scene, and the two often collaborated on many projects together. When Chip was given his own television show called Overhaulin’, it was only natural that Sam would join that team of builders and help make it a success, too. Chip often quoted his father’s thinking, from “You’re only as good as your customer allows you to be” and “Less is more, but doing more with less is better.” Even though his father had worked on hundreds of vehicles in his lifetime, Chip was recently able to re-purchase Sam’s first custom ride he’d ever built, and had that car on display at the memorial.
Sam passed away on November 28, 2018, but will always be remembered for his boisterous laugh, good humor, straight talk, and immense talent. One comment from the memorial summed it up best: In a world where beauty is rare, Sam spent his life building beautiful things. srm
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