Do you dream of owning a Rolls-Royce? Don’t want to deal with the expense or headaches that come with a ’70s British luxury car? Well, reader Michael M’s Custom Cloud might just be the car for you! Being based on a Chevrolet Monte Carlo means parts will be affordable and easy to find, you won’t have to battle dodgy British electrical components and you still get that beautiful massive grille.
The Custom Cloud was the idea of Jon Dean. He had built a reputation after building custom cars and VW based kit cars. The story goes that a Chevrolet Dealer had approached him about helping them draw more traffic to their dealership, so he came up with the idea of making a Monte Carlo look like a Rolls Royce. During the process, he somehow discovered that Rolls Royce had never patented the design of their grille in the US, so he filed for a patent for them. And soon he was taking orders for kits to convert new Monte Carlos into Rolls Royce rip-offs. Of course, it didn’t take Rolls Royce long to file a lawsuit.
With the publicity from the pending lawsuit, demand for these custom Monte Carlos skyrocketed, but Dean’s company struggled to produce more than a few kits per day. The exact number of kits built vary wildly, from just 100 to 700. The number of cars given the full Custom Cloud treatment and actually completed is likely less than a hundred or so. A few cars were put together by Dean’s company and tend to be the nicest examples, but the majority were done by dealers or individuals. Michael purchased this one from the previous owner’s widow, who claimed that it was built by Custom Cloud Motors, Inc. in Miami. It’s entirely possible, but it’s hard to know for sure.
The previous owner’s widow provided Michael with photos of the car prior to it being repainted white. At that point, it was silver and in need of some repairs to the fiberglass. It appears that they cleaned the body up and made a few changes to the front end to make it look a bit more like a Rolls. When I think of this era of Rolls Royce, I actually picture one in silver, but white looks classy too.
Behind that knock off grille is a 400 cui V8 that runs great. The interior has been customized to match the exterior. Everything works as it should, including the original stereo system. Michael and his wife Patty have been driving and enjoying the car, but have decided it’s time to move it along. It really is a unique car and as Patty puts it, “this truly is a one of a kind dream car”. So if you’d love to hit the road in this Custom Cloud, be sure to make Michael an offer! You can message him via the form below with your offer or questions.
- Asking Price: $9,500 OBO
- Location: Ozone Park, New York
- Mileage: 4,500 Showing
- Title Status: Clean
- VIN: 1H57V6D482297
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Reminds me of that movie “The Car”. It was just as ugly,too.
Did I hear ”Pimp my Ride”???
An abomination
It is Rolls-Royce. Not Rolls Royce, and yes, it matters.
Excuse me when I step outside to lose my lunch.
Too many zeros in the asking price.
Superfly,
You gonna make your fortune by and by”,lol
I can one-up it with a 71 ford country squire wagon with a period Rolls front clip, rear lights faired in full dash board, front and rear seats. I spotted it in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin along with a 66 Ford wagon.
I wish I could upload pictures I took…could not find it on Craigslist.
Supafly in da sky….I just lost my Dinna and now I want to cry! 🤢🤮
Not feeling it yet, Porcus Lipstickus
This is the type of car Ted Vernon in Miami likes. His Speciality is clown cars. Someone needs to send him a link.
Where’s Hug E. Bear?
This and the shorty Cad need a gallon of gas and a book of matches!!
Abomifreakinnation.
This is one of those cars that makes me say WHY.
Thank goodness they didn’t base this car on the beautiful ’70-2 monte.
I’m not sure if the stock ’73 monte looks any better than this custom cloud. lol
Don’t let this car fool you! It IS the car from the movie The Car and it STILL IS possessed! Have a great weekend, barn finds readers!
I remember the hilarious writeup on Custom Clouds in Car & Driver in ’74 or so. Cool
cars were few and far between back then. Someone actually bought one!
Uh…NO. Looks worse from the side.
In 1976 I worked for a Chevrolet dealer. He pulled a brand new Monte out of stock and built it into one of these. Or, I should say, his body shop did. To see what they did to the original car was abominable, to install the kit. The end result, thusly, was an abomination, as this one still is. The good part about it was that it was in the upper Midwest. Rust should have remove it from sight a long time ago.
The saddest day I can remember was having to put my beloved dog down. Then I saw what someone did to this car. Weird, but suddenly I feel a little bit better now.
ugly !
At least they used Monte Carlos and not a good looking Chevrolet.
And even better that they didn’t ruin a Ford to do this! I have one of these! I got it in a package deal, the 400 small block and Turbo 400 ran and shifted perfectly! The steel on the car is beyond roached, the original fiberglass Custom Cloud parts are all still good though.
What a hideous abomination. Keep this thing away from anyone with eyes
A face that only The Duke from Escape from New York could love.