Wishin' and Hopin'

Here, in his own words, Johnny Seagul explains how he got into American cars, rock ’n’ roll and acquired this simply magnificent 1958 Ford Skyliner, after literally years of wishin’, hopin’ and searchin’…

- Johnny Seagul

It all began for me, here in the UK, when I was a boy – my mum and dad loved swing music, rock and roll and dancing, and I can’t think of a time when I wouldn’t see them jiving if they got half a chance. I was born in 1966 and by eight, and after seeing Jailhouse Rock on the TV, I was buying Elvis Presley records myself and asking my mum to make me clothes ‘like Elvis wore’ or which I’d seen those ‘Teddy boys’ at the fairgrounds wearing.

As I grew older, I realized that girls were more interesting than football and moved into Teendom. Naturally, I found resonance in period films depicting teenage angst and frustration, such as Rebel Without a Cause, The Wild One, Rock Around the Clock and The Girl Can’t Help It. I was becoming hooked on all things Fifties and American: clothes, hairstyles, the lingo, dancing, the cars, planes, architecture and design generally. It all just seemed so cool. Looking at images wasn’t enough. I wanted to touch, hold and own stuff, so I started collecting things from the Forties and Fifties and over the years my passion developed and grew.

By the age of 14 I was playing double bass and already had my own rock and roll/ rockabilly band and bought, listened to and collected what I could afford from that era. My bedroom walls sported posters and ephemera, and in pride of place was the ultimate, my ultimate Fifties dream car. And what was my dream car? You guessed it, a Ford Skyliner. I couldn’t get over its retractable roof…