Talking Shop with John D'Agostino

Come meet one of the men keeping custom car culture alive in the modern age! The California Automobile Museum will be talking shop with John D’Agostino of Celebrity Kustoms! D’Agostino currently has the Hirohata Merc Recreation on display in the museum’s Crafting A Rebellion exhibit. 

Inspired by the works of Barris, Winfield, Hines, Starbird, and Watson, D’Agostino’s first custom was a ’56 Chevy hardtop that was lowered, molded, and painted in a two-tone royal triton purple and white by Frank DeRosa in Pittsburg. John was driving his kustom to high school and showing it at local shows. When he attended college in Phoenix, Arizona, he drove a mildly customized pearl white and gold ’63 Pontiac Grand Prix, cruising the streets with cool tunes spun on his 45-rpm record player, which was installed in the car.

There will be a no-host bar with drinks and snacks available for purchase. Of course, the museum floor will be open so come early to check out the Crafting a Rebellion exhibit to get some inspiration for your questions.

The Talking Shop series of speaking event is meant to bring interesting and relevant speakers to our community to talk about various aspects of car culture. In this series, we will discuss everything from African Americans traveling during the civil rights era to the new age of custom car culture.