Wow, 40Stude, I've never really thought about flying to a car show. I've always been a road warrior (albeit a junior version compared to you and Dan) and driven to all the shows. I probably could have pulled it off, but a few weeks ago I was informed that my boss was going on vacation during the time of the CCR, so I HAVE to be at work to run things while he's gone. I'm seriously thinking about going to the Leadsled this year as a good friend of mine from California is going to the show as he says "one last time". Might be the last time for me too as it has changed so much. But, I'm thinking my summer trip next year (2017) will be to the CCR. E
What Ever Happened To..........? number 5 1951 Merc "Low & Lovely" Owner: Ernie Roth Selden, New York Ernie always wanted a custom Merc, and in 1979 after attending the Merc/Deuce Reunion, he decided to get with the program and buy one and get started. He had a pair of '59 Fords that he sold to raise money for the Merc, and then this '51 came along. He purchased the car in New Mexico, got it back to New York and got to work. He lowered the car and then the custom work began. Everything was shaved, the hood corners were rounded and he frenched in '59 Caddy taillights mounted in '58 Chevy housings. In the front, he used a '55 Desoto grille, and the headlights were frenched and peaked. Bill Hines style frenched and sculpted twin antennas were mounted in the passenger door. He added lake pipes, dummy spots and Olds hubcaps. The car was then painted matador red. Ernie had "Low & Lovely" lettered on each front fender above the wheel well and on the trunk lid also. He hit the shows and started having a ball. It was in this version that the car was featured in Classic and Custom Magazine in the July '83 issue on page 44. This is the only place I've been able to find pictures of it in the red paint. After a few years of attending shows, Ernie saw a lot of customs and got plenty of new ideas. He decided he wanted to make some changes to the car. It was sanded down and re-painted a dark GM maroon with ghost scallops. The bottom of the car was painted a pinkish-lavender, and the two colors were separated with '53 Buick side trim. Once again he had "Low & Lovely" lettered on the front fenders, but this time it was placed behind the front wheels on both sides of the car. A '52 Desoto bumper was installed in place of the stocker to give the car a heavier look up front. Mechanically it got disc brakes and a dual 4 barrel Olds 350, as well as A/C for the long, hot summer trips. The engine and compartment were all super detailed and lots of chrome plating really dressed everything up. With all the upgrades finished, Ernie attended the '84 James Dean Run and won Best '49-'51 Merc of the show. He also attended the 1985 Leadsled Spectacular in Springfield, Ohio. It was there that Ernie was "interviewed" and he gave a lot of information about the car. After seeing the Mercury in the '85 video, I also found pictures of it at the same event on Rikster's site by Kustom Lincoln Lady and Scott Pavey. After that it took quite a bit of digging to find more pictures. I did find one picture of it at Gettysburg '88 (by Hot Rod Willie) which I believe was Sled Scene East. After that I couldn't find any more pictures of it. I thought the story might end there, but in doing more research, I found a feature article on the car in Tex Smith's unfortunately short-lived Custom Car Magazine, volume 2 #1, 1990 on page 8. Ernie's car definitely deserved more magazine coverage, but this is all I could find in my library. So, is that the end of the story? Is Ernie still cruising around the east coast in his beautiful '51? All we can do is hope, right? E
Don't have much to add to this one..... You pretty well covered it. I did find an Earnest Roth now in Monroe, NY. Here's hoping he's still around and still has this cool Merc.
I just saw this a couple of times (1998) and hadn't seen it in years. Very Kool sectioned Merc and the proportions are just purrfect.. I wonder wheat happened to it???
I don't know how to search or post pictures unless they are already in my camera, but what ever happened to Ray Parettos 1950 Mystery Merc? That was a major transformation for that era.
The Mystery Merc has been fully restored by Chis Ito. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/chris-itos-49-merc-vert-is-it.623174/
Wow, hard to believe it's almost Memorial Day. 2016 is close to half gone. With that being said, on the last Tuesday before the holiday, here's What Ever Happened To..........? number 6. 1951 Merc Owner: Rich Michaelson Kokomo, Indiana This Mercury is a little different than most, since it features a four inch chopped top with a landau style Carson half top. It is unusual, but I've always liked it because the top has an east coast style to it. I've always been crazy about a lot of the east coast style customs, and growing up around lowriders, there was always a "phantom top" among my family and friend's cars. Rich Michaelson was video interviewed at the '86 Leadsled Spectacular, and according to that interview the car had just been completed shortly before that show. In the interview it sounded like he had been to other Leadsleds, but this was the first one he attended in this car. It was still flathead powered, had cut front coils and five inch lowering blocks. It had a Desoto grille, '54 Mercury taillights, skirts and the custom top. Another unusual thing about it was the absence of dummy spots and lake pipes. The car was painted by the owner and was a Volvo green color with "pearl mixed in it". Rich attended the Leadsled in '86 and it is seen cruising around the show on the '87 video. That's all I could find of it in the videos. Also, I couldn't find any articles on it in any of the magazines I have, or even a small photo of it at any car show during the 80's and 90's. I'm guessing that maybe the magazine people didn't really warm up to the landau top too much and because of that it was never put into print. I did find a picture on Carnut's site that I believe is of this car way later on. The photo is dated 2001 (not that that really means anything) and the car had undergone quite a few changes. It had molded and frenched side pipes instead of the more common lake pipes. It was also minus any hubcaps and had been painted red. The top is pretty distinctive, so I'd say that this is the same car, but I've been wrong a lot lately, so who knows. This is an obscure one, and the trail on it is very short and mysterious. So guys, who has more information on the car or the owner? "Inquiring minds want to know"..........E
I was born and raised in Waukegan but don't remember seeing this car around town in the late '60s or '70s before I moved to California in 1977. Back then everyone would "Scoop the Loop" on Genesee Street in downtown Waukegan similar to what they did in American Graffiti. According to the obituary he has one great-grandchild whose name is Crash. RIP Dick....
What Ever Happened To..........? number 7. 1951 Merc Owner: George West New Concord, Kentucky For this week's post I'm dipping deep into the barrel for an obscure sled that has a few untraditional modifications to it. It might make the leadsled police cringe a little, but this thread isn't just about the cars, it's also about the people that built and drove them, especially the unknown backyard "little guys" that I really admire. This '51 Mercury was completely owner built by George West, and from what I've been able to find out he seemed to use a lot of just what he had lying around. The car was chopped and Ford Crown Victoria style trim was wrapped over the top. It was completely shaved and had side pipes exiting from the front fenders. In the front it had an unusual headlight treatment in the fact that he used the dual headlight assemblies from a '60 Buick. The grille was from a '57 Buick and he used parking lights from a '56 Ford. The front bumper is a rear bumper off of a '74 Oldsmobile. It's amazing how well the shape of the bumper matches the Ford parking light assemblies. In the rear he incorporated a '77 Cadillac bumper as well as the taillight assemblies. For power, George really thought outside the box and used a GM diesel engine. He also wanted to be really different in the fact that it is front wheel drive. This guy was thinking about fuel economy way before everyone else was. He was interviewed at the '86 Leadsled Spectacular and that's where he told of a lot of the modifications that were done to the car. In the interview he seemed like a very likeable man, and he had an ornery, playful way about him. Definitely a character. George said in the interview that he had been to every Leadsled up to that point ('86), as well as all of the Last Passes'. His car is also in the closing shot of the 1985 Leadsled video. It shows him in his '51 and Ed Lepold in his incredible chopped '50 Merc leaving the show together. Both guys were in the Lincoln Land Kustoms, which was one of the biggest custom clubs at that time, with membership well over 50. George and Ed were also among a small group of Lincoln Land Kustoms members that were gathered together and filmed towards the end of the '85 video, where they were being honored as the "Koolest Club" of the show. George took his Merc to the '88 KKOA show in Arkansas, as I found pictures of it taken by our own Dr. Dave. I'm not sure if that was a Hangin' Dice show or another one. One of you long time KKOA guys will have to chime in to verify which show that was. After the pictures from 1988, I couldn't find anything else on the car. No glimpses of it in any videos up to '93, and I found no pictures of it in any of my magazines. So, like last week's entry, this one ends without much information. I'm sure somebody out there knows (knew) George and his crazy diesel-powered leadsled. It would be nice to find out more about Mr. West, the ornery custom nut from Kentucky..........E
Yes, I took this pics at the Hangin' Dice show. I thought it was a real cool car and definitely outside the box. Even as my tastes have "refined," I still think it's a cool looking sled and would still drive it. I remember the bar over the roof being several layers of different finished metal and studying it quite a while. Never saw it again after that show.
After reading an issue(late 80`s or early 90`s) of the Leadsleder, My dad commented that George had passed away. We both knew his car and talked about him. A very likeable guy. You could tell he loved Customs. He also used A blue velour furniture print with stained wood accents for the interior. A busy style of custom, but for back then, it seemed to have worked. I always wondered why the Cad taillights weren't used more. I always liked them on his merc as well as the crown vic roof trim. Refer to post 598, page 20 for pictures.
Bummer, I was afraid of that. After reading Dr. Dave's post about never seeing it again, and my research turning up nothing, I kinda figured he was gone. Wonder what ever became of his sled.......... Thanks for the reply, stanlow69. E
Got a message from Bob Tindale that the George's Merc is Ontario, Canada and the last time he saw it it was painted burgundy. Seems to me now that I think about it, somewhere once upon a time I came across a picture of it painted burgundy, but I can't remember where. You'd think I would have saved the pic, but I'm not finding it. I am glad to know it's still around though...sure would be cool to see it again.
I remember seeing that car back when and really being impressed. In my opinion it still holds up today. Custom, to me, is all about flow and all the components on this car work together in harmony. A little busy for some folks taste I suppose but you can't say it is not a pretty well thought out design. The man had a good eye.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 8. 1959 Buick Owner: Conrad "Connie" Winkler Milwaukee, Wisconsin When I was very young growing up in Denver's west side, it was a great place to live. There were mostly older folks on the block, with a few young families sprinkled in. It was a barrio--even back then, but it was far from being run down and dumpy. All the families were of the working class, and everyone took pride in our neighborhood. Every yard was well kept and trimmed, and most everyone had older cars, but to look at them you'd never know it. No beat-up junkers anywhere. Our next door neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Jordan. I can't say how old they were, but to me they seemed to be about the age of my grandparents. During the summer, Mr. Jordan was always out working on his yard, with Mrs. Jordan sitting on the front porch knitting and "supervising". Mr. Jordan's yard wasn't big, but it was very lush. His lawn rivaled any golf course, and his flowers and bushes were just the crowning touch. These were all small houses without many frills, and they had no garages. In Mr. Jordan's back yard, he had a small covered carport with flowers growing all around it. It was there that he kept his car, my favorite of the whole neighborhood. He had a pristine '59 Buick 2-door hardtop. It was a two-tone baby blue and white, and it looked like it just came off the showroom floor. It was their only car as Mrs. Jordan didn't drive. Every time they would go out somewhere, if I heard the Buick start, I was out the back door like a shot to see The Jordans cruise by in the alley to go out to Irving Street. I called it "the jet car". I've always loved '59 and '60 Buicks. The first time I watched the 1985 Leadsled Spectacular video, I fell in love with Connie Winkler's '59 Buick. It was an orange-ish red that was bright, but I can't tell if it was candy. I always thought it was the true definition of a mild custom, that is until I compared it to a stock '59. The front end has had quite a bit of custom work done to it--too much to be considered mild. It had a custom formed grille shell that the headlights and tube grille were set way back in to. It also had a rolled front pan and what I think are Pontiac split bumpers. The door handles were shaved as well as the emblems. In back it also had a split bumper that I think is Pontiac, too. At first I thought it was a '60 Buick rear bumper with the center section removed, but the ends look too short to be Buick. It also had what looked to be flat Lee lenses in the rear taillights replacing the factory Buick bullet lenses. That is really about all the custom modifications to the body. These Buicks don't need much since it is such a crazy body style from the factory. Unusual is that it doesn't have dummy spots. Connie did add triple cap lake pipes after the '85 show season, as it has them on it in the '86 video. On the '85 Leadsled video, Rowdie gathered a group of eight Buicks together and interviewed the owners. The cars ranged from '54 to '59, and it's an awesome sight to see them all parked next to each other in a row. Harold Olsen did the interviews, and each owner gave his or her name, year and model of his or her Buick, and a quick rundown on the car. Connie's car was among the eight, and it was here that Connie mentioned that he had been to every Leadsled Spectacular up to that point ('85). Another shot in the video that I will always remember is where the camera is fixed on the driver's front fender of Connie's '59. As the camera shot expands, the car slowly begins to pull away. "Over the Mountain, Across the Sea" by Johnnie and Joe starts to play. The car stops and Connie looks back over his left shoulder to talk to the cameraman (Rowdie, I'm guessing). You can't hear the conversation because of the music overdub, but it sure would have been neat to know what was said. In the car are a pair of long, narrow boxes that go the whole length of the car. They are resting on the center of the dashboard and they stretch across both the front and rear seats and are sitting on the rear deck. Of course, I'm guessing again, but I think he bought a pair of lake pipes from one of the vendors at the show and was hauling them home himself to save the shipping costs. That might explain why it had the lakes on it in '86. As Connie pulls away, he gives a thumbs up and rides off. It's a great shot. The combination of the song, the car, and how Connie is talking to the cameraman and then drives away has a wonderful "Twilight Zone" feeling to it. He cruised off into KKOA history. The car is also seen briefly on the '86 video, but that's it. I couldn't find it in any other videos, and I found no little pictures of it in magazine show coverage, and, as far as I know, it was never featured in a magazine. In the '85 video, there is a "for sale" sign on the dash, so maybe he sold the car and moved on to another custom, or away from cars altogether. I only managed to find one picture of the car online (courtesy of Rikster's site and Scott Pavey). Connie is the guy in the tank top standing by the passenger door. Since the car has lakes, I'm pretty sure this picture is from the '86 Spectacular. All the details of the rear of the car I described from the video. That's all I could come up with on this one. It's definitely an elusive custom that deserved much more coverage than it received. I hope someone out there has more information. It would be a real shame if ol' Connie disappeared in anonymity.......... 'Til next week, keep cruisin'..........E
Agree with 'Mo, that is a cool Buick and I don't remember this one either..... I love the front end treatment.
Found this post from Buick Boy in: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/kustoms-blues-i-need-to-see-some-kustoms.946075/page-54
A little more, sadly most of the photos don't show up in this old thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/conrad-winklers-51-oldsmobile-convertible.379480/
Nice detective work Sancho! I can't recall seeing Conrad's coupe before, although I've seen the Carson topped car in a number of my videos. I'll have to research this. I don't know what the place is called in the picture, but it looks like where the '87 Leadsled Spectacular was held in Springfield, Illinois. It was unique in the fact that at the site the buildings were all up on a hill. The cars were all parked along the roads around the place, and many were parked in a lot down below the buildings kinda "down in the valley". E
Wow, it looks like Connie Winkler owned quite a few nice customs over the years. Makes you wonder "What Ever Happened To........." him. Bummer that most of the pictures on that thread are long gone. In the above thread that Sancho posted, "Shaggy Dog" is mentioned. I wanted to do one of these posts on a chopped and Carson topped '40 Ford he had at the '85 Leadsled Spectacular, but I haven't been able to find pictures of it anywhere. The "Shaggy Dog", as he was called, was John Jordan from the Chicago area. He was interviewed at the '85 Leadsled and he seemed like a very likeable guy, and it was very clear that he was all about customs. I'm still looking for pictures of his '40, so maybe I'll be able to feature the "Shaggy Dog" sometime in the future. E
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