The car is currently owned by Watson’s good friends, Roger and Marie O’Dell.The identification of the Fordomatic transmission can be rather confusing. Vino Paisano was completely restored in 2000 with the help of Watson himself, who helped match the paint color and outline the panels. It was found in the back of an old body shop, dismantled, where it had sat for nearly two decades. The car was sold several times before it disappeared from the scene. The 1958 Thunderbird appeared in more than 20 publications in the late 50s alone. Vino Paisano hit the show circuit and made appearances at car shows all over the country. Three weeks after the Thunderbird was dropped off at Barris Kustoms, Watson debuted his masterpiece at the 1958 Renegades Rod and Custom Motorama at the Long Beach Auditorium. Some believe it came from a bottle of wine that Watson kept at his shop while others say it was named after the unique paint color on the car. Watson named the car Vino Paisano, but there is some debate about where the name came from. Watson’s unique paint scheme resulted in the very first-panel paint job.

So on a whim, he masked the body lines with 1¼-inch masking tape and sprayed a special burgundy hue blended with purple toner, then pinstriped the edges. It was sprayed with a silver metallic base coat with a mother of pearl made from ground fish scales and seashells, but Watson thought it was too bright. With the bodywork complete, the car returned to Watson’s House of Style for paint. Then they modified the taillights, brass-plated the mesh grill and added dual Appleton spotlights. They nosed and decked the big ‘Bird, rounded the corners, shaved the emblems and replaced the door handles with pushbutton solenoids. The car was then taken to George Barris’ shop, where Bill Hines and Bill DeCarr continued to customize the body. He added dual pipes and then cut the coil springs, which lowered the T-Bird some five inches. Watson drove the brand-new car to his shop and immediately started customizing it.

1958 tbird