Darryl Starbird’s National Rod and Custom Car Museum

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While my wife and I were on a road trip, driving east on the Will Rogers Turnpike through Oklahoma, I spied a small billboard advertising Darryl Starbird’s National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame Museum at the Afton, Oklahoma exit.   Some quick checking on the web revealed that it was closing time, but we drove back a half hour the next day from Joplin, Mo.  The museum was another 20 miles off the Turnpike.

Darryl Starbird is a customizer known as the Bubble Top King.  His first claim to fame was with the Predicta at the 1960 Oakland Roadster Show.  After winning the car of the future award, this car became a model kit issued by Monogram, selling a million units and remaining in near-continuous production.  For many years, anyone building car models probably had one of these in their collection.  This was the beginning of a long relationship for Darryl Starbird with Monogram, overseeing the production of many kits, including the Orange Hauler, the Futurista, and the ’58 T-Bird.  He was also involved in Monogram’s line of 1:8 scale hot rods like the Big T, The Big Duece and Big Drag.  He built the 1:1 scale Big T to match the 1:8 scale kit, and restored the Lil Coffin, originally built by Dave Stuckey with Starbird’s help.  The Lil Coffin is another iconic model kit.

After buying land in Oklahoma in the early 90’s, Darryl built the museum next to his house.  Donna Starbird, Darryl’s wife since 1953, came over from the house and opened up the museum.  The museum is not as slick and polished as some, but I found the funkiness appealing.  The walls are covered with magazine articles and photos that Donna has collected over the years.  There are some 50 cars in the museum, many on loan from other builders, in addition to Darryl’s builds.  We did not get to meet Darryl, as he was busy working in his shop (at 82 years old), but enjoyed talking to Donna Starbird.

If you are ever in Oklahoma and up for a side trip, the museum is recommended, especially for those of us with memories of the model kits.  Check out Darryl Starbird’s story: https://darrylstarbird.com/

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