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EMAIL: aautobody@sandpoint.net

Anderson's Autobody is proud to offer custom pinstriping and graphics by the one and only
Jeff "Von Dago" Scozzaro.

About Jeff Scozzaro
Since age three, Jeff Scozzaro has been fascinated with automobiles. It started with small scale plastic models that his dad assembled then Jeff carefully painted. He showed an unusual gift for design and originality and at age 10 when the family moved from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to southern California, Jeff won an award in the "Best Paint" competition sponsored by Revell, the model car manufacturer.

In his high school years Jeff experimented with paint on friend's cars and motorcycles in his garage. With a fascination for paint, Jeff worked at numerous local paint & body shops, devoting his weekends at home for more experimental paint techniques, so in 1969 he decided to open "Jeffs Place".

With his own shop, he became very successful, won numerous awards and was featured in hundreds of automotive magazine articles showcasing his outstanding and creative paint jobs. Starting in 1972, Jeffs unique designs won class championship awards at major custom car shows throughout the United States including:
• A 1976 Honda representing Jeffs Place won the International Show Car Association's CISCA) Pacific Division of its class. Also, 22 of Jeffs Place painted cars won major awards that season. His own truck won its class in the ISCA Pacific Division as well as the National Award.
• In 1978 Jeffs Place was awarded the ISCA's Pacific Divisions highest honor - "Manufacturer of the Year".
• Jeff won the "Rex Riggs Memorial Award" for color and design at the Los Angeles International Car Show and "Best Paint" seven out of the first eight NAMTO Mini Truck Nationals.
• In 1979 and 1980, Jeffs painted cars won "Best Paint" for trucks, vans and cars at the Car Craft Nationals.

At this stage in his career, Jeff was presented with the ultimate challenge - a customer wanted a flawless "candy apple red" paint job and money was no object. Jeff spent nine months to create the results. Entered in its first show, this deep candy-red car won "Best Paint" & "Best Candy" with the judges scoring "Perfect in Body" and "Perfect in Paint".

Over the years, major automotive magazines have called on him to complete special projects commissioned by various automobile manufacturers. Over 45 of his customized vehicles have graced their covers, a few most noteworthy being:
• Hot Rod Magazine was asked by Buick to modify a 1978 Century for its special "Project Road master" series and Jeff was recruited to apply his painting wizardry.
• Firestone Tire Company enlisted Hot Rod Magazine to create a "Super Stones" trio of trucks and once again, Jeff handled the paint work.
• Group Promotions of Detroit wanted something special for its Trans Am Van - not only was the van to be channeled, but also sectioned. After the radical body modifications Jeff added his spray gun and pinstriping mastery.
• Car Craft Magazine hired Jeffs Place to customize an AMC Pacer with Porsche front end, custom fenders, and then requested the services of the man they dubbed the "Michelangelo" of car painters - Jeff Scozzaro.
• In addition to all of this, Jeff was writing a "question and answer" column for McMullen's "Truckin" Magazine.

Show cars like the "Mafia Mixer" and cars for the Pink Panther movie promotion were painted at Jeffs Place. Scozzaro also handled a promo car for Star Wars, and a car for a commercial staring Wolfman Jack. The care and maintenance of the Happy Days car while on tour was entrusted to Jeffs Place. Six of his creations have become featured designs of the Revell company's models including "Redneck Power" the tow truck Billy Carter used at his Plains, Georgia gas station as well as custom vans for two popular television shows, Charlie's Angels and The ATeam.

With all this experience in the custom paint world, magazine publicity grew enormously. Radio interviews were followed by a French documentary on car customizers, a Belgium film on American customizers, and an interview for Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show", Because of these exposures, Jeff was contacted by major TV studios and advertising agencies for one-of-a-kind signs and artwork for TV, movies and commercials.

Over the years he has -done work for numerous celebrities including retired LA Dodgers coach Tommy Lasorda, Houston Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini, and 1984 Olympics champ and NFL's "Fastest Man" Ron Brown to name just a few. Early in the 1970's an unknown rock guitarist came to Jeff with a crazy idea of painting black and white stripes going every which way over a hot pick base color on his guitar. Little did he know that this early rocker, Eddie Van Halen would be as famous as he is today. The heavy metal band Motley Crue hired Jeff to design and make some custom signs for their "Doctor Feel Good" video along with customizing the group's many cars and motorcycles. Peter Townsend of The Who hired Jeff to custom paint his Porsche, and Patti Smythe of the Motels had Jeff custom paint her bass players guitar with a wild color combo of candy green and purple flames. In the mid 1980's Playboy hired him to custom paint their 25th Anniversary Playmate's car, and he accented both Sylvester Stallone and Larry Hagman's limousines as well as lettering Elizabeth Taylor's yacht The Cleopatra. He painted the World's Fastest Airplane called the "Tsunami" owned by JR Sandberg of Minnesota, and lettered the fastest Corsair airplane owned by Steven Hilton in Chino, California. All of the restored World War II airplanes at the world famous Planes of Fame air museum in Chino were entrusted to Scozzaro where he meticulously recreated the "Bomber Art" of the 1940's.

In the racing circle, Jeff displayed his talents with brush, pinstriping, lettering, and airbrush techniques. Included are cars for 12-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force, Don 'The Snake' Prudhome and his driver, top fuel champion Larry Dixon, Roland Leong's famous "Hawaiian" funny car, along with all the West Coast race cars for 'Jungle Jim' Leiberman. In 1985 The Skoal Bandit Company flew him to Richard Petty's South Carolina racing garage where he handled the lettering on one of their special race cars. Custom paint jobs by Scozzaro were featured on a five truck team of "big rig" diesel trucks called "Super Truckers", one of which held the title of 'The World's Most Beautiful Diesel Truck' and 'The World's Fastest Truck' (1/4 mile drags, diesel class).

Boyd Coddington is legendary among street rod and custom car buffs worldwide. Jeff was there when Boyd got started. He used to rub out and buff Boyd's paint jobs when Boyd was working out of his house. Jeff gave Mr. Coddington his first ISCA entry blank and convinced him that his cars were worthy of showing. When "Hot Rods by Boyd" opened, his first choice for a painter was Jeff Scozzaro, but Jeff said, "No thanks, I'm retired from painting cars".

In 1982 Jeff retired from the spray painting aspect of his custom paint business and decided to become a photographer and consultant for custom car magazines. He did this for two years but then his need for creativity began to build again. In 1984 he opened another shop, The Custom Sign Studio where he specialized in the fine art of pinstriping, lettering and freehand airbrushed art. Since relocating to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in 1992, Jeff is having fun stripin' and letterin' cool street rods, boats and race cars which the area seems to be a hot bed for. His work here includes the famous Hot Rod Cafe in Post Falls where his talent is featured on all of the automotive decor, and signage. Tim Stromberger of Tim's Hot Rods, builder of America's Most Beautiful Street Rod and Don Wilbur Motorsports, promoter of Spokane's International Auto Boat Speed Show both use Jeffs pinstriping skills regularly on many of their custom cars. In 2002 Jeff was one of six artists hand-picked by the owner of Oakley Sunglasses and flown to Montreal, Canada to custom paint his prestigious $45 million corporate jet.

After 35 years of experience and fame, history seems to be in the making as some of his early creations are being restored and added to museums. In 1996 came the nomination to make Jeff a member of the Route 66 Hall of Fame in San Bernardino, CA, and he also became the 38th inductee to the Pinstripers Hall of Fame in Jonesville, Michigan.

Since becoming a permanent resident of Idaho and rapidly building up his clientele, Jeff picked up a nickname thanks to the local street rodders. He now signs his name and his work as "Von Dago". The 'Von' in Von Dago keeps the name and tradition alive in memory and out of respect for Von Dutch, who started the "kustom" pinstriping culture in the 1940's and 50's. Thus it was Von Dago who was asked in 2002 to join the "Legends of Pinstriping" National Tour by the Stokesberry Group of Des Moines, Iowa, and in August 2003 -was included in the book Masters of Pinstriping II.

Even though he is not actually spraying on the base coat and graphics as he did in the 1970's, whatever your fancy when it comes to unique striping, lettering or artwork, Von Dago is the man who can definitely handle it!