I remember that the model kits of Barris' cars were by AMT, while Roth's cars were put out by Revell (which usually required more talent to build right).
Many years after I had stopped building model kits, I had the opportunity to talk - and occasionally work - with a gent who had been involved with the production of both Revell and Monogram kits, and he told some entertaining stories of the "golden days" including how cheesy some of the customs (and "kustoms") really were under the surface.
Mr. niteowl77
Very interesting. I have no experience with custom cars but helped move the National Motorcycle Museum and some of the custom bikes were virtually unridable props.
Stopped by Barris’s shop occasional and hung out in Von Dutch's one car shop in Hollywood for a few beers quite often in the early 50s.
Many of them were virtually undrivable. Lots of fake stuff slapped on, like fake pipes and headers. They were nice in terms of style, but not in terms of substance.