Bob Fryz grew up in Detroit, so you might say it's in his blood. An auto enthusiast from the beginning, his first car was a 1955 Ford Sunliner convertible. Through the 60s when drag racing was in its heyday, you could find Bob out at the track driving a ¼-mile at a time. After doing that for awhile, he purchased his first showcar in the early 70s. It was a 1938 Chevy and Bob got a taste for prizewinning cars when it won him a trophy at the Detroit Autorama. From there, the enthusiasm only deepened – Fryz Kustoms isn't a shop for hire, but the name Bob has dubbed for his full stable of cars. He’s become a fixture in the Detroit-area car scene, as the collection of yearly cruise stickers below attest to. Bob was nice enough to give me a tour of his personal collection following the Woodward Dream Cruise this summer - and it's a collection well worth sharing! Although some could mistake Bob's cars for trailer queens, they are anything but! Never intending to buy a car and let it sit, Bob loves driving them and he does so often. Earlier this year we shared a couple of Bob’s signature customs in Built for Fun: Twin Custom Ford and Cartoon Drag Merc. ‘Sh Boom’ has become well known throughout the Detroit area - it’s wild looks and flame throwing exhaust are hard to forget. When I posted a picture of ‘Sh Boom’ on Instagram during the Woodward Dream Cruise, numerous comments popped up about how they always look forward to seeing it pass by during the cruise or how they’ve been seeing it since they were a kid. Bob got ‘Sh Boom,’ a 1951 Ford, in the early 90s when it was already started as a custom and since then he’s taken it through 4-5 different stages to get it to where it’s at today. While ‘Sh Boom’ is Bob’s most iconic car, and probably the one he drives the most (weekly), his collection doesn’t start or end there. His involvement in the automotive scene, both near his Detroit base and across the country, have continued bringing him in touch with cars he just can’t pass up. Car by car, his collection has filled his shop and sprawled beyond. During my visit, one of the first cars to catch my eye was a beautiful golden 1951 Mercury named ‘51 Karat Gold’. Bought as a finished showcar, Bob's done some restoration to keep it looking good as new - showcars are notorious for not holding up against the years. With over 200 custom modifications, it’s hard to tell what’s what when looking at the body – unless of course you’re an expert at identifying parts from mid-century cars. Bob shared that he brought this car to show at Ford’s 100th anniversary celebration and Edsel Ford II came over to thank him for bringing it and tell him how out of all the cars there, this golden beauty was drawing some of the most attention. You’d never guess by looking at him, but I think Bob likes a little attention – why after all would you drive such outrageous cars?! As he told me, he’s thankful and lucky to be able to play with so many toys. What brings a big smile to my face isn’t only the cool cars, but how much Bob clearly enjoys them and enjoys sharing them with others as he takes them out on the roads. Wandering through his garage I find not only plenty of spare parts, cool stuff, and trophies… …but also some cars that haven’t even been touched yet… …as well as some that are in need of a little TLC. Often what happens with a custom showcar is it takes to the show scene and wins trophies for a couple years, then gets put away and fades out of memory...like a thrown out toy. Over the years, paint and bondo begin cracking and little by little the car falls out of glory. This ‘Golden Rat’ is one such example. At one time a fully-built show car, now you’d probably have to pay most people to take it home. But its beautiful custom details still remain and they're what caught Bob's eye when he bought it; they just need some love and skill to shine again. While you may not guess by looking at it, Bob says the ‘Golden Rat’ could start up and drive. Looking to the rear, I see Bob has added one of his favorite customizations, fire-breathing exhaust pipes. The ‘Golden Rat’ is just one of many fire-breathing cars of Bobs. Carrying on the ‘Sh Boom’ namesake, Bob needed to create a car that would breathe fire even more than the original, in order to show up some other guys who thought they could beat him. His answer? ‘Sh Boom Great Balls of Fire’. Only making appearances on very special occasion, ‘Sh Boom Great Balls of Fire’ shoots flames further up in the air then your local fire marshall would approve of. It’s not something many people have been privileged to see, a classic car pulling up and letting out a towering wall of fire and smoke, but Bob smiles with a mischievous glint in his eye and says “It isn’t rocket science.” Numbering out the ‘Sh Boom’ series to four is ‘Sh Boom Topless’, a 1948 Fordillac. Found in yet another garage with a varied number of other finished and in-process customs. This car's golden flames are kept to the front. While many of these cars may be seen as outlandish to some, Bob does have some milder customs in his collection - ‘One Mint Julep’ is one of those. A car featured in both ‘Street Rodder’ and ‘Rod and Custom’, Bob notes that he chooses cars which he “likes”. Which when you’re not aiming to build an investment portfolio in vehicles (which is extremely difficult to do)…is a good motto to buy cars by - get whatever floats your boat. Over the years, Bob has built close friendships with some of the world’s most legendary customizers, such as Gene Winfield. Bob currently owns the Jade Idol II and Golden Sunrise, both built by Gene. Bill Hines, who lived near Detroit in his early years, is another customizing legend who Bob’s gotten to know. Known for his fins and “bat” cars, Bob recently acquired one of Hines’ original bat car projects. Story is that this was Bill’s personal car, which he left behind mid-project to go out West and work with Barris in making the original Batmobile. It’s a remarkable slice of history glancing at the early un-finished work of such a legend. As I poked around the car, I couldn’t help but notice the bolt put through this key…and wonder why on earth it was there. I’m sure Bob has something in mind for this project – as he does the many other projects in his collection - one’s thing is for sure, he’ll never be rid of things to do! Being in “Motor City” where muscle reigns, Bob’s customs, a style made popular on the West Coast, stick out more drastically then they would in many other places. Next time you find yourself in Detroit, catch a burger at Miller’s Bar, and then keep your eyes peeled for a Fryz Custom roaming the streets. -Kristin Cline
