Marx Barry of Woodbury, Minnesota, is a talented tattoo artist and a passionate hot rodder who is responsible for the slick sedan you see before you.
Though he has 16 years of slinging ink behind him, tattooing was not his original calling. Marx spent a number of years as a graphic artist, but found himself getting burned out, so he walked away from it and spent a couple of years trying to figure out what he wanted to do. The opportunity to begin tattooing literally fell in his lap as he was getting tattooed himself and the shop doing the work asked him if he would be interested in an apprenticeship.–
It was during his time working in a couple different shops that he developed the desire to own a hot rod, mostly from just seeing them around the area and in magazines/movies. Marx had actually grown up in a body shop, but found himself more interested in bikes and built several over the years. Then he set his sights on the four wheeled variety.
Marx initially called on his niece’s husband, Andy, who owns Suicide Axle Hot Rod Shop in Sycamore, Illinois, to build him a car. Andy agreed to do the majority of the work, but told Marx he had to come down and help out. He also told Marx that he needed to pay attention as he was only going to do this once. Marx wanted a Model A and was leaning toward a coupe when Andy suggested a sedan due to price and availability. With Marx’s approval, Andy quickly located a rock solid sedan body and the project was on.–Both Marx and Andy began picking up parts with the thought of having the build be as traditional as possible, yet still be able to be a cruise from Woodbury to Chicago. For this reason, the bulletproof small block Chevy was chosen, backed by a 4-speed.
With the long distance between them, Andy would mock up components such as headlights, dashes, etc on the sedan, and then send pictures to Marx for his approval. The sedan came together quickly as Andy is a workaholic and put in 12-16 hour days in his shop.
When it came time for the front suspension, Andy told Marx about a guy in his area named Titus, owner of East Side Speed Shop, who drops front axles. Titus hooked the sedan up with a 4” dropped I-beam. Marx mentioned to Titus that the SBC he had picked up had been lying on its side for years and was seized. Titus said he had the means to do the machine work on it if he was interested, so Marx brought him the mill.
When the engine was ready for assembly, Titus said to call if he needed any help. Now we’ve all heard those kind words before, but Titus is one of those individuals who are sincere in their offers to help. Marx said he never intended to assemble the engine himself, but with cell phone in hand and Titus guiding him through the process, he successfully did just that.
Marx’s initial plan for the look of the sedan was rusty metal and an unpainted frame but as he put in more and more time on the project, a “finished look” crept up on him. As Marx worked on parts, he saw them clean up and start to look nice, so a coat of primer was shot on them. Marx stated that as he gave the parts further attention, Andy would tease him saying, “don’t go making that part look too nice, or you’ll have to paint it.”
Eventually the chassis got the full gloss treatment and it was time to figure out a paint scheme for the body. Marx spent time hanging out at the local paint store checking out various paint styles and colors. He decided on a color that was almost black, but when the body was shot, the color came out closer to a gun ship grey, which Marx found himself liking even more.–
The sedan neared completion in the span of one year with Marx putting in long weekends and vacation weeks doing as much of the grunt work as possible. A tri-power was scored from eBay with the seller stating the set-up came off a “running car.”
Ever heard that before? In this case Marx says he got lucky. He bolted the intake on, never touching the carbs, and the engine purred like a kitten. Lake headers were built by Matt at Geardrive in Golden Valley, Minnesota, and early Mustang seats received the tuck-n-roll treatment from the amazing Jennie at Upholstery by Stich Bitch.–
Marx now recalls that he really got connected into the hot rod scene in the Midwest from the connections and friends he met through out his sedan’s build. He also noted how cool it is that people seem to come out of the woodwork when you are building something and he was impressed by their willingness to help out.
The sedan roared to life in the early fall, and Marx put about 50 miles on it, hanging close to the shop. A final thrash fest that ended at 3:00 AM on the Friday of the Hunnert Car Pile-Up gave the sedan a new top insert. After a couple hours of sleep, Marx successfully attended the show, then made the long trip home to Minnesota the following day, proving the sedan more than reliable.After several years of enjoying the sedan, Marx made the leap of faith to start his own tattoo shop along with three friends. Like many builders and artists who have made the same decision, personal sacrifices were required. Marx sacrificed his sedan to fund the starting of the tattoo shop, “Rose of No Man’s Land,” where he hooked me up with some new ink as I wrote this feature.
The shop has really taken off and Marx is already deep into the build of his second hot rod, a ‘27 T roadster.
The ‘27 is being built primarily by Marx as he applies the skills handed down to him by Andy and a host of other great hot rodders involved in his sedan’s build. First hot rods often teach us a great deal and are hard to let go of, but their memories live on. If you see Marx’s old sedan rolling around be sure and check it out and keep an eye open for his future roadster that will be tearing up the back roads of Minnesota very soon.
