![]() ![]() Jeffery Jones tackled the task of creating an exact replica of the two-engine beast, an almost insurmountable undertaking since there were no design drawings or specifications available. Everything on the car was chromed, including the chassis.ĭespite its disappearance, the Mysterion lives on! Hydraulics were used to adjust the rear suspension height and to open and close the Mysterion’s bubble top. He sculpted the iconic cyclops eyeball headlight of the Mysterion using the same method. His medium of choice was fiberglass laid up with a plaster mold. Roth never built one of his cars with a steel body. The frame was made of steel, but the wall thickness was too light to support two heavy Oldsmobile or Ford engines, and the structure eventually cracked. He initially installed two 1950 Oldsmobile V-8 engines connected to Hydromantic transmissions but later replaced them with brand new donated Ford Thunderbird 390-cubic-inch V8s. Roth got the idea for dual engines from dragsters, some of which had two, three, and even four engines. The legendary twin-engine Mysterion perhaps represents Roth’s vivid imagination better than any of his other wacky creations. John Gilbert, of Automobile Magazine, wrote: "Big Daddy Ed Roth built the fun stuff, the sort of wild and whimsical cars that tickled the fancy and pickled a kid's imagination for life.” Imagination, some mechanical knowledge, a lot of hard work, and desire were the essential requirements. Roth’s built his first car, the “Little Jewel,” followed by the “Outlaw,” the “Beatnik Bandit,” and “Rotar.” His creations demonstrated that designing and building a car did not require a degree in automotive engineering. Roth also began creating his crazy vehicles in his garage using junkyard parts and a newly developed product called fiberglass. During the mid-1950s, he painted customized cars, accent flames, and became well-known as a successful pinstripe artist who had a close connection with the hot-rodding world. Roth studied engineering in college, hoping to gain some knowledge of automotive design, but he left school before graduating and joined the Air Force, where he learned how to make maps.Īfter his honorable military discharge, Roth worked with Bud “The Baron” Crozier, opening a shop called The Crazy Painters. Roth’s father was a German cabinet maker, and Ed spent hours in the workshop learning how to build crazy mechanisms out of wood. Born in Beverly Hills on March 4, 1932, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth grew up an average student but focused on drawing monsters, airplanes, and hot rods. ![]()
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