1964 Acadian Called Anvil Makes Great 8

When a 1964 Acadian called Anvil was presented here at the 2019 Detroit Autorama there was a little head scratching required. “What is it?” was a common question. It was the first time a Canadian built car had been shown here at the world’s premier custom car show. On Friday it was announced that it had made the Great 8 competition to vie for the Ridler Award, the most coveted award in the custom car hobby.

J.F. Launier is a familiar name to custom car building. A Canadian from Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada, he won the Ridler Award here in 2014 when he shocked the custom car world with a 1964 Buick Riviera brandishing a Split Window rear look and extravagant Twin Turbo powered monster motor. This year Launier is back with another ground breaking ride which he built for Danny and Sandy Jadresko of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Because of his long history here at the Detroit Autorama, J.F. Launier’s 1964 Acadian custom will be a favorite here in the Ridler Award judging. His company is JF Kustoms, probably the best known of the Canadian custom car building companies. 

We had a chance to talk to Danny Jadresko about his totally custom one-off 1964 Acadian here at the show. Here is what he had to say about the build. (Click the video window to hear the interview.)

In 1964 the Acadian name brand was used by GM of Canada to create another level of sales for their X-body cars. It was sold by Pontiac dealers but had the look of a Chevy II and came with many of the Chevrolet engine choices. It was a big money maker for GM of Canada because it was upscale from the Chevrolet offerings yet cost the same to build. 

Launier’s version, his 1964 Acadian nicknamed “Anvil”, is not at all like its stock Chevy II cousin. The art and design on this car were done by Brian Stupski. The bodywork, assembly and fabrications were done by JF Kustoms. Just like with his former Ridler Award winnner, Launier used a Twin Turbo enine. The engine was built by Tom Nelson of Nelson Racing Engines. It is a 632 ci with Twin 88mm Turbos rocking 2,500 horsepower. This is easily the most powerful motor in any of the cars here in the Great 8 this weekend. Think of that much power in a Chevy II sized body with the incredible weight ratio. 

Here is the way the car looked on here this morning:

The interior was done by Lee Baxter’s Hot Rod Interiors. The one-off custom billet fabrications for the headlight bezels, front grille and wheels were done by Mike Curtis of Curtis Speed. Paint is BASF, one of the sponsors for this car. 

Want to vote for the 1964 Acadian to win the Ridler Award?  Vote in our unofficial poll here. Your opinion matters. 

Follow this link for more 2019 Detroit Autorama coverage from Cars-On-Line’s car show team. You’ll see our photos and videos from the Cobo Center today.