Voodoo Magic: Jerry Gardner's Voodoo Special

9 And We ’ re Off Jerry Gardner was like many young men from the early 1950s. If you wanted a sports car – and an American sports car at that – you had to build it yourself. Those who had the enthusiasm and courage chose to build it themselves. And those most courageous of all, designed and built the body from scratch – as Jerry Gardner did. To know the car, you need to know the man. Jerry was born on April 9, 1934. He was a founding member of the Woodstock Motor Club of Saugerties, New York . His first car was a 1940 Ford convertible which he extensively customized and drove for over 150,000 miles. He decked it, frenched the taillights, grafted on 49 rear Pontiac fenders, and took the running boards off. This car, in fact, would serve as a major donor car for many parts of the car he would start building in 1952 – the Voodoo Special. Jerry graduated from high school in June, 1952 and proceeded to begin working on his car. He and his father Edward used to scrap cars, so no doubt many of the parts he was gathering for his sports car came from this process too – the engine, rear end, and so on. And as he began to gather parts, he also started working on its design. His inspiration for his sports car was the 1951 C1 Cunningham which was powered by a Cadillac engine. 1951 Cunningham C1: Inspiration for Voodoo Gardner Special