The 2007 restoration was incredibly comprehensive. The body was reworked, the under carriage was cleaned up/primed and painted body color, and all of the underbody parts – first chromed in 1960 – were replated. The color was a custom-mixed by Darryl’s son. Check out the painted frame, the detailed the rear brake backing plate. Remarkably, the doors, hood and bubble top frame were painted off the frame – a difficult job of color matching!
In 2009, the car was displayed outside. In this view, its abundantly clear that the trunk was built from a hood and is angled as it sits atop the rear grille shell – this detail is entirely absent in the kit.
Darryl went to an incredible amount of work to smooth out the frame rails and the underbody (of course, with no suspension components in place. All of the suspension bits were treated to a fresh coat of chrome! The car was never this well-finished when first built in 1960, nor thereafter until the car’s final restoration in 2007.
Shortly after completion, the finished car was displayed at Darryl’s Wichita show. The pearl highlights in the paint cause the color-shifting appearance. Check out the underbody mirror.
When seen outside, the grace and subtlety of the car are easily seen. Decades before the wedge look appeared in mainstream new cars, the car tapers to the front of the car. The building in the background is Darryl’s Rod and Custom Museum – it’s quite a place!
Darryl drove the Predicta into the display hall. The car looks much larger when occupied – it is actually quite small. Darryl is much less than 5 feet tall and he virtually fills the driver’s compartment. The angled-front of the car, forward of the grille, is an intelligent way to resolve the height of the front of the hood to the low-mounted front grille shell.
