1960 Di Dia 150

The DiDia 150 is an exotic vehicle that is overdone in every detail, and in every respect, an iconic dream car. Its metallic red paint was from 30 coats of paint with real ground diamonds for sparkle. In the back are large tail fins that would be better suited on the underside of a boat or on the wings of an airplane. The body is from hand-fashioned soft aluminum. There are hidden headlights and tail lights that swivel as the car turns. Inside, the seats each have their own ashtray, cigarette lighter, and radio speaker. On the dash are oversized levers that control the air conditioning, heater and defroster. The car rests on a 125-inch wheelbase and is powered by a V8 engine.

The car was created by Andrew DiDia, and only one example was ever built. It was later sold to the singer and actor Bobby Darin. It currently resides in the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, MO. It took seven years to complete, from 1953 to 1960.

Andrew Di Dia
Andrew was born in Detroit, Michigan on July 15, 1917, and was named after his grandfather (Andreas) who had immigrated to the United States with his wife, Caterina, in 1904. During the 1950s, he worked as a clothing designer, and he had little association with the automobile industry before his entrance into this field. His father and grandfather had worked in Detroit automobile factories, the former having worked as a machinist for Cadillac. Andrew worked as a 'gap inspector' at a Detroit factory before finding employment as a Detroit city bus driver. During the early 1950s, Andrew commissioned several custom automobiles built to his specification. Later, he built a custom automobile of his own.

When Andrew decided to create his own automobile, he sought help from his neighbor, Edward V. Francoise, a designer working at Chrysler. Several designs were created and when the final design was selected, a clay scale model was created. Clarkaiser Customs, who had created several of Andrew's previous customs, was commissioned to transform the clay model into a road-going vehicle. Rather than using an existing chassis, a custom frame was built using chrome-molybdenum tubing. The front suspension was independent and the rear used a swing-arm setup designed by Ron Clark.

It is believed that Mr. Francoise was never compensated for his design work or the clay model creation.

The fabrication process was documented by Ron Fetherston in the July 1995 issue of Rod & Custom. In the article, he described where many of the components were sourced, including a Chrysler windshield, an adjustable Thunderbird steering column, a Plymouth steering wheel, a Cadillac engine and transmission, and Pontiac seats. Most of the other components were custom creations, including the hand-formed aluminum body.

An initial time estimate projected the car to be completed in two years. That mark was missed as the project took over six years to complete. Upon completion, the Di Dia was towed to Los Angeles where it made its official debut at George Barris' third annual Bakersfield Motor and Boat Show in November of 1960 at the Kern County Fairgrounds.

The car's name was derived from an announcement in the November 12, 1960 edition of the Bakersfield Californian which described the vehicle as having been built to the tune of $150,000. The official build costs (parts) were closer to $93,000. The article described the vehicle as an 'all-aluminum, 510-horsepower 'dream car' designed by Andrew Di Dia, which took six and a half years to build.' A United Press newswire article from March 31, 1961, written by Rick Du Brow recorded Darin's agent as saying 'Well, actually it only cost $97,000 for parts, Bobby's been offered $150,000 for it.' 'Actually it only cost $93,647 and 29 cents,' said Andrew Didia, a Detroit men's clothing designer. ''The parts weren't much,' said Didia. 'It was labor. It kept four men busy for seven years in my Detroit garage.'

Bobby Darin
Born Walden Robert Cassotto, he took the name of Darin when he began to record music, using the first name of actor Darren McGavin. Bobby Darin's first million-selling single was 'Splish Splash' released in 1958. His popularity and fame were cemented by several additional hit songs that followed, including 'Dream Lover', 'Mack the Knife', and 'Beyond the Sea.' His career would reach beyond music, with several prominent acting roles in major films and TV. In 1963, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Captain Newman, M.D.

Andrew Di Dia was hired in 1960 as Bobby Darin's personal valet and remained in that position into 1970. During the 1960s, De Dia accompanied Mr. Darin on many of his trips. This close association is how Mr. Darin learned of Di Dai's project.

The Di Dia 150
Bobby Darin's growing stardom and his unique talents as a singer and showman equaled the uniqueness of the Di Dia 150. Andrew owned the automobile, but Darin's agent was given permission to say it was owned by Darin. Period articles described the vehicle as being owned by both Darin and Di Dia, with Darin having a smaller share. They also state that Darin helped with the design. The car was often referred to as the 'Bobby Darin Dream Car' and the Didia Detroit Dream Car. At some point, (perhaps in the late-1960s) ownership was transferred to Darin who donated it to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri in 1970. In 1981, the car was given a restoration by Mike Manns of Manns Auto Body Shop in Festus, Missouri. Upon completion, the car wore a gold undercoat with pearly red.

The Di Dia 150 was a handmade custom with towering tail fins, an eye-catching maroon paint scheme, and most of the top section is glass. The sky view glass sections on the sides raise up at the same time. When the doors open, a torsion bar lifts and opens the skyview top section, increasing the headroom and improving entry and egress. The headlights, door handles, windshield wipers and mufflers are concealed; the headlights swing down when in use, the mufflers are under the front bumpers, and the doors (a foot thick) are electronically operated via an exterior button on the top (there are no door handles). The windshield wipers turn on automatically when rain is detected. The front, razor-type grille wraps around on either side and is continued behind the front wheel, sloping to a point within the door. The automatically swiveling turn signals are located in pods flanking the rounded front bumper. The single-piece custom-made rear glass was formed of Plexiglass at a cost in excess of $1,500. The tail lights and directional signals are housed in the tail fins. The large bumper rings at the back contain white, frosted backup lights in the center of combination tail lights. The power-operated trunk lid is hinged from the driver's side, lifting from the passenger side, up and over until standing erect on the driver's side.

The exterior was finished with approximately thirty coats of imported (from Sweden) pure pearl oil of essence with sparkle created from the added crushed diamond dust (some articles also stated crushed fish scales were used). The paint was applied by Barris Customs of North Hollywood.

The all-aluminum body measured 219 inches in length and the car was initially powered by a modified 365 cubic-inch Cadillac engine that developed approximately 407 horsepower. It is currently powered by a 427 cubic-inch Ford engine offering 365 horsepower. The engine bay panels are stainless steel or chrome-plated brass. The torque tube and transverse spring arrangement were later replaced by a standard axle with leaf springs at the rear.

The interior is rust-colored Naugahyde to contrast with the ruby-colored exterior with pleated, metallic broadcloth inserts. It is equipped with the first backseat-mounted radio speakers. There are four bucket seats and the seats are four-way power operated. The console switches activate the power windows, doors, hood, cooling fans and trunk. The air conditioning is thermostatically controlled and there are individual cigarette lighters, ashtrays and radio speakers for each of the four bucket seats.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2010