Crazy custom cars lit up gearheads’ imaginations in the ’50s and ’60s, and this “Moon Rocket” made a big splash in that scene. Beginning life as a 1955 Thunderbird, the hopped-up Ford suffered a front-end crash that prompted California owner Jerry Anolik to re-imagine the Ford with custom fiberglass work and an insane blown Cadillac V8. Anolik kept the Moon Rocket for decades before selling it on Craigslist in 2009, and it’s back here on Craigslist now, with a $150,000 asking price. After a meticulous and seemingly faithful 21st-century restoration, the Aromas, California classic looks better than ever. Thanks to Mikey P. for spotting this California creation.
Four two-barrel carburetors top the supercharged Caddy V8. The Quad-Dual Cragar (mis-spelled Crager in the listing) intake came from a Horne design purchased by Cragar that mates four twins to the OHV Cadillac V8s. I recently sold a car for $1500 on Craigslist and my listing included a host of engine and interior pictures. This is the best engine picture of the lot on this amazing custom priced 100 times higher. Let’s not normalize such behavior, folks.
White wall slicks, open pipes, trumpet exhaust, and louvers check off the ’50s Custom punch card, along with ’59 Buick tail lights and other mods. You’ll be unlikely to spot this former magazine cover car trolling the “5” in traffic, but I can’t help but cringe wondering what today’s phone-focused steering wheel holders would do to that gorgeous louvered rear.
No interior shot made the listing, but here’s an older view from CustomRodder.ForumActif, where you’ll find a lengthy article and pictures on this amazing car’s history. Here we see some recognizable T-bird elements, though the towering shift lever stirring the three-speed gearbox certainly didn’t come stock.
Another CustomRodder picture shows the Moon Rocket’s “as retired” state, after a 163 MPH run at Bonneville ended in flames. Unlike many customs, Anolic’s old Thunderbird dodged being butchered, normalized, donating parts to other projects, or having its engine yoked out. Do any modern customs compare to this crazy Moon Rocket Thunderbird?
