Ed Roth’s “Surfite”

Before the Beatles dominated the charts, the early 1960s revolved around surf culture. Films like Gidget (1959) and Beach Party (1963), along with the music of Dick Dale, the Ventures and the Beach Boys, fed the sand-soaked dreams of teens from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Always on the hunt for a new angle, custom-car legend Ed “Big Daddy” Roth came up with the ultimate surfer’s fantasy ride: the Surfite.

According to Roth’s official site, it’s powered by a chrome-plated 1,269-cc Austin engine sourced from a Mini Cooper. Built with the beachgoer in mind, it offered just what a dedicated surfer needed: a spot for a board, one seat and, naturally, a windshield wiper.

Though not among Roth’s most famous creations, the Surfite still earned some screen time in the 1964 film Bikini Beach and later lived on as a Revell/Monogram plastic model kit.