Reshaping Metal: Metallica frontman James Hetfield's cars see spotlight at Monterey

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Cars and rock ‘n’ roll have always gone together, like a driving backbeat and a catchy riff. At a surface level, the stars of popular music can always be seen in the flashiest wheels. For some, the enthusiasm runs deeper: AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has an enduring love of pre-war Bentleys; guitarist John Oates raced Porsches in IMSA. And Metallica singer and guitarist James Hetfield? As with his music career, he took metal, and he reshaped it.

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At this year’s Car Week in Monterey, a selection of Hetfield’s creations were shown at The Quail. The Quail is an ultra-exclusive concours event that is one of the signature jewels of Car Week, second only to the Pebble Beach concours itself. It is a genteel affair, and you have to imagine a few straw boaters were blown off the heads by the likes of the “Crimson Ghost.”

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But Hetfield’s cars certainly deserved to be front and centre among all the glittering automotive elite. Of the eleven cars he’s had a hand in, ten of them are now in the possession of The Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, one of the finest collections of historic cars on the planet. Should future travels take you there, plan on stopping in to take a look at what Metallica’s lead singer hath wrought.

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Hetfield’s car story begins like many other young gearheads. Born in Downey, California, in 1963, he grew up in a miasma of SoCal car culture. Downey can boast the third McDonald’s restaurant ever, and currently the oldest one remaining, and the parking lot there was often filled with hot rods and lead sleds, sparkling chrome and pinstriping.

The tidal wave of fame would come early, along with a a tumultuous personal life. But, just as it was in his youth, Hetfield would find the garage to be a refuge. He started tinkering, learned to weld, got involved with a crew of car customizers called the Beatniks of Koolsville. Then, along with the help of more experienced fabricators, he started making cars.

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The first project with others would come to be known as the “Skyscraper.” A 1953 Buick Skylark convertible, it was at first turned into a lowered “sled” by Hetfield himself. Noted car customizer Rick Dore then worked on the details and driveline. The pair would go on to collaborate on multiple projects.

Two of the most daring are “Slow Burn” and “Aquarius.” The first is based on a 1936 Auburn Boattail Speedster replica — chopping up a genuine Auburn would be something of a sacrilege. Hetfield added his own touches to details like the grille, the custom wheels, and the taillights. Finished in a two-tone dark brown, the Auburn is a sleek teardrop of a machine, seemingly in motion even when at rest.

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Perhaps even more jaw-dropping is Aquarius, built from a 1939 Packard. This time, Hetfield’s vision was to blend classic pre-war Art Deco themes with post-war 1950s hot-rodding tropes. In theory, this approach shouldn’t work at all.

But in execution, Aquarius is nearly flawless. The enclosed fenders, flowing lines, and rear fin are all 1930s signatures. Hetfield references prestigious coachbuilders like Figoni et Falaschi as influences, and Aquarius does indeed resemble some of the gorgeous, streamlined Delahayes in the Petersen’s larger collection. But under the hood growls a 6.2L Chevrolet LS3 crate engine, and the windshield, roof, and rear details are pure ’50s hot rod.

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Of the ten Hetfield cars at the Petersen, nine are V8-powered. One, the crimson-red “Voodoo Priest,” has a V12 instead. As the build was based on the ground-breaking 1937 Lincoln Zephyr, one of the first American streamlined cars, the decision was made to keep the car’s 4.4L flathead V12.

Voodoo Priest is typical of most of Hetfield’s builds in that it was essentially a rescue car. Abandoned by its Vietnam veteran owner, it sat in a Sacramento driveway for decades until it was bought and resurrected as a custom creation. The front suspension is independent, from a Mustang. The V12 was rebuilt by a California flathead engine specialist. The custom front windshield came from Finland.

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Other vehicles in the collection include a 1936 Ford with a clear-coated steel body, called “Iron Fist.” There’s a 1948 Jaguar Mk 4 with an entirely custom body, nicknamed “Black Pearl.” There’s also a 1961 Lincoln Continental done entirely by Hetfield, which he calls the “Dead Kennedy.”

All ten cars have previously been shown at some of the biggest hot-rod shows around the globe, from Los Angeles to Sweden. You can find them on display at the Petersen until November 17, at which point they will still be available to be viewed in one of the museum’s special vault tours.

Now based in Colorado, Hetfield said that the decision to donate his car collection was a practical one. He has a Ford Raptor for getting around, and the country roads aren’t suited for California low-riders.

He did, however, confess to keeping one car, a green 1952 Oldsmobile called “The Grinch.” Because rock ‘n’ roll and cars have always gone together.