LeBlanc-Bardahl Streamliner 4

Industrial Plastics Service was a plastics and fiberglass company, later noted for specializing in making automobile bodies. It was owned by J. Fraser Rae. 5

The earliest reference is in 1949 at 3807 Harrison Street, a decidedly non-industrial area. 1

By 1952, they had moved to a Quonset hut at 4425 Linden Street, where they manufactured car bodies for the Maverick sports car. 2 In 1953, they made a custom body for the LeBlanc-Bardahl Streamliner, a special car designed by Gene LeBlanc to try to break the land speed record. 3,4

One of their products, Astrolite R-250, was used in a building a 36-atmosphere cloud diffusion chamber at Lawrence Berkeley Labs in 1955. 6

The Linden Street building was home to Flecto Company beginning in 1971.

1949 11954 classified

Links and References

Hop Up Magazine, November 1953 3

  1. classified ad Oakland Tribune April 23, 1949
  2. Oakland Produces Plastic Car Body Oakland Tribune August 24, 1952
  3. The LeBlanc Special on kustomrama.com
  4. Along Auto Row Oakland Tribune November 29, 1953
  5. 1952 Maverick sales sheet Forgotten Fiberglass
  6. A 36-Atmosphere Diffusion Cloud Chamber lbl.gov