The Again L.A. Barris Kustom Estate Sale at Barris Kustom Car Garage and Showroom, North Hollywood, August 16, 2018. (Photos by Monique A. LeBleu)
UPDATED: 8-20-18
Photo contribution in media by Mitch Braiman.
The Barris Kustom Garage Estate Sale took place this weekend at the Barris Kustom Garage and Showroom in North Hollywood. Through Again L.A. Estate Sales, the Barris family assembled a vast collection of magazines, original scripts, toys, nodders, model cars, lunch boxes, vinyl–including factory-sealed vinyl–from over four decades and more, all collectible by Barris. The sale began on Friday, August 17, 2018, where collectors waited overnight for the doors to open, with several begging to get during the preview.
George Barris, who died in November 2015, was the creator/customizer of cars such as the Batmobile, the Munster Koach, and cars for celebrities like Cher, KISS, and Elvis Pressley.
A massive collector of 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s memorabilia and generator of his own brand, Barris’ collection in the Barris Kustom Garage Sale also featured many mint condition magazines such as rock magazine Creem, rare hotrod magazine Barracuda, and a wide variety of custom car, hotrod magazines, vinyl albums, posters, and many new in box and assorted toys and collectibles from the Batman series, The Munsters, Speed Racer, Ironside, The Monkees, KISS, Scooby Doo, and various movie and television scripts.
The Again L.A. Barris Kustom Estate Sale at Barris Kustom Car Garage and Showroom, North Hollywood, August 16, 2018.
The magazines varied in years, but most were from the 1950’s to the 1990’s, with several signed by Barris. Barris collected rock, gossip, and popular culture magazines in order to research the celebrity clients who came to him for custom car designs. Many of the magazines are sleeved, in good condition, and contain Certificates of Authenticity from Barris Kustom.
“We take this personally. We want you to know ‘Hey, you got it from us! You came to the Barris Kustom shop!,'” said Joji Barris-Paster, George’s daughter. “This is the first time we are doing this. And to have the Certificate, you’ve got it from the Barris Kustom shop!”
Aside from the sale, on display in the showroom were a few examples of Barris’ work from popular television shows, including the KITT car from Knight Rider, the Munster Koach from The Munsters, and the (man, that car is sexy!) Batmobile of the hit 60’s television show Batman. Although not for sale, the cars are kept in high shine and ready for their close-up along with yours.
Targeting the best of in the sale was difficult, as there was so much and a wide range of items. All of the items were collected specifically for Barris’ personal research on his clientele or are models of his own work.
“To me, the highlights are that [the sale] kind of gives you an insight into [Barris.],” said Dan Jordan of Again L.A. Estate Sales. “George would design cars for celebrities. You’ll discover that they are limited to a certain number of actors. Bo Derek, Cher, or Farrah Fawcett, those are three that he worked with a lot–so we have tons of stuff related to those three ladies…We have the KISS dolls because he did some work for KISS.”
All of the toys in the sale were related to projects Barris worked on, with many of the toy cars still On Card, with many signed by Barris himself.
“A lot of the toy cars are George Barris cars,” said Jordan. “Because he worked with Ahi and Remco.”
Barris Kustom Industries garage and showroom is located at 10811 Riverside Drive
North Hollywood, California 91602 where. The Again L.A. estate sale was scheduled only from Friday, August 17 – 19, 2018, unless by some miracle it gets extended to a future date. The showroom still features The Batmobile, The Munster Koach, and KITT on display. Call for details and updates at 818-984-1314 an any available remaining merchandise or for info on custom work at the shop.
