History What Ever Happened to..........?

The second photo you posted there Sancho seems to have the shortened upper trim (Looks like that was what was done to me anyway) but still lettered Arctic Gold, then the later pics changed to Arctic Sands. Good eye on the molded vs separate bumper pans. I always thought this was a cool looking car although over the years I have seen mixed reviews on it and have, sadly, more than once seen it referred to when talking about "ugly" customs.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I edited that one ( C-cab) from the post.

 

My wife and her sister remember the car being purple when they were young. The wife was born in 1958.. So I am thinking that the white color was first then the purple.. Don"t know for sure

 

That Buick that Connie Winkler built, he posted it on facebook the other day.

BB

 

That Buick is GORGEOUS!

 

.... Bobby Bleed Instagram .... Midwest Fabrications hero dad productions .....

 

^WOW!

That is a terrific find! Just goes to show that some of them are still around.

Amazing that it hasn't changed a whole lot.

 

Also, I remember seeing this somewhere before. Maybe in article from back then on car names?......

 

Wow! Thanks for letting us know about the find, @Bob K and thanks @kidcampbell71 for posting the great pictures. Glad to see that Connie's old Buick is still around! E

 

I remember seeing this article, From Rod and Custom or Custom Rodder. I also have seen pics with the logo on the cowl. In the Little pages magazines, the original car was featured back in the fifties.

 

Wow, just wow!!! This thread is great and I appreciate all the effort you guys are putting into it, thank you! E, your choices are impeccable, almost every car you've chose, I'd love to cruise. I've finally caught up to current times so now I have something to look forward to on Tuesdays. Thanks again guys

Spive

 

Thanks for the encouragement, @Spiveywhiplash! Knowing that a lot of people out there are following, reading and enjoying this thread makes it all worthwhile.
I've been working on the custom for today's post, and I'll post it later this evening. Stay tuned..........E

 

Ive been out of town and was just going to post some pictures but it seems I've been beat to it! The Buick as basically hiding in a garage since 1990. Its so cool in person! Needs some TLC but its pretty well preserved! I'm not sure what I'm doing with it yet. Dont really have space for it, but I couldn't believe it when I saw it! It will probably get a good going through and then be for sale, but I'm sceaming ways to keep it, we will see. I really love it, its a great old custom!

heres a picture from a magazine it was in in 1985! Cant wait to read it!

 

What, to me, was special about the Arctic Sand was the incorporation of the headlights into the grille. Very unusual for a forties car, or even early to mid-fifties!
Most other examples came off as full-on show cars (including svelte two place T-Birds), but this one appears so natural I would wager most have not given it a second thought!
This was done using a pair of '50 Ford PU grille shells (one inverted). Truly inspired!

Incidentally, I once read an interview with Bob Kaiser, saying that Ron Clark (Clark/Kaiser) wanted nothing to do with this build, as he thought it too ornate.

That bric-a-brac across the deck originated on a 1950 Packard, and was said to be a major challenge in building the clone.

 

I've been going nuts since you posted the article sands. I seem to recall an add in Roundup or one of those classified magazines where it was for sale. It's been probably 7 to 10 years ago, haven't heard from it since. I saw this car in person in Springfield and Hamilton ohio sled shows in the mid to late 80s, always have liked it. A 46 to 48 sled is definitely on my bucket list

 

That's some great information, @'Mo. In all the articles I've read nothing was ever mentioned about the rear end treatment. Now I know. If that Packard trim was hard to find in the early 80's, it has to be really hard to find nowadays! E

 

Gee @DANSLED, I haven't picked-up a Roundup in ages. I must admit I don't frequent the newsstand at all anymore. With the internet age upon us, do they even print it anymore? E

 

Yep, still print it. Haven't bought one for a long time either, but just got a complementary one in the mail trying to get me to subscribe for a year.

Love this thread! Thanks for starting it.
I still haven't got together with 49toad on those dad's, my fault tho, just been to busy

 

Might as well throw my thread on the "Patterson Hurricane" into the mix; sure would like to know what became of it:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/patterson-hurricane-custom-dodge-where-is-it-now.727283/
Not a lead sled per se but a nice attractive custom nonetheless. If I had an extra hundred grand to throw around I'd be cloning it...

 

What Ever Happened To..........? number 29.

1950 Merc "The Canadian Kid"
Owner: Chip Coffin
Canada

My pick for this week's "What Ever Happened To..........?" is one of two firsts. The first being it's the first car I've featured from Canada. The second is it's the first car I've featured with square headlights. Now, I know that as a rule, with most traditional customs square headlights are unacceptable, but there are exceptions to every rule.
Chip Coffin put this car together in under six months, working out of his own body shop by himself. He was interviewed at the '84 Leadsled and he said he used the square headlights to "modernize" the car and give it a different look. Another thing Chip did that is pushing the envelope a little is utilizing '70 Oldsmobile taillights. They are an unusual choice, but believe it or not, they actually work pretty well.
Aside from the few untraditional body mods, the car's chop is dead on, and how can you not love the fact that the car is so low without hydraulics or airbags?
When Chip was interviewed, Rowdie asked him if the car had anything to lift or lower the car. Chip said that the car had air shocks in the back, and it had dropped spindles in the front with some sort of removable spacer. Chip said that they would remove the spacer to cruise around the show for the weekend, and then re-install them for the long ride back home to Canada. Unfortunately in the interview, Chip's home town was never mentioned, just that he was from Canada.
The car won the "Lowest Kemp on Blocks" award at the '84 Leadsled Spectacular in Des Moines. Well deserved I might add. The only other Merc that might give this one a run for "the lowest" would be Dick Crouther's orange and gold scalloped '50 Merc (W.E.H.T. #1).
The coolest part of the '84 Leadsled video was a night shot when a group of sleds had gathered at George's Chili King. Chip came cruising up the street and proceeded to turn into George's. Well, the car was so low that it got high centered in the drive way and got stuck. Chip hammered the gas pedal and the car just sat there "like a ton of lead" going nowhere. The tires started smoking and the shot almost completely disappeared in the fog. Chip stopped, backed the car up and tried it again. This time not as much smoke, and with the help of four guys pushing that were hanging out in the lot, they managed to get the Merc into the lot. In the commotion around the camera, you could hear somebody close by say "I know the cops are gonna be comin.........". That must have been a fun evening at the ol' Chili King.
Chip attended the Leadsled in his Merc in '84 and '85. Those were the only video appearances I could find. As far as magazine coverage, I couldn't find a thing. I guess that even in the early 80s, the magazine coverage guys couldn't warm up to the square headlights. Hardly something that should have kept the car out of the magazines, especially with the terrific chop and slammed suspension. I was only able to find one picture on Rik's site, so this car turned out to be more obscure than I expected.
This would definitely be a great car to find today and change a few things. After all, there is nothing on a car that can't be reversed without some hard work. Just ask our own @straykatkustoms. He took a Merc that someone had put Datsun Z car headlight assemblies in, and with the help of the late Mr. Schindel (we miss you Ralph!), they manged to get her looking great again.
So it can be done. Let's keep searchin'! As they say, "they are still out there!"
Until next week, keep cruisin'. The snow can't be far behind! E

 

Thanks for the compliment @DANSLED. I really appreciate all the positive replies about the thread. I'll continue on as long as I can!
When you get a chance, give Doug (@49toad) a holler. The DVDs are awesome. They are some of my favorite things I own!

That's a tough one @Chrisbcritter. I'm sure there are many people looking for that one! Start collecting a piece at a time, and maybe one day you can put together your own Hurricane! E

 

Thanks Mark! I was a little worried about the car having the square headlights, but it really is a cool sled.
Love the story about working on the suspension in the hotel parking lot. Now that is HARDCORE!
Just goes to show you, once again, how great the KKOA was in the 80s and early 90s! E

 

If you look at the pic you posted of Chip`s car, Party Doll is sitting next to it. Marks is right, the car was painted orange with the same paint scheme and sitting just as low. Chip was kind of a hell raiser, he had flame thowers on his Merc. Sometime after the Des Moines show, they were banned from all KKOA events. If you look at Marks coverage of the Custom car revival 2016, you can see Chip`s current custom. A 49-51 Chevy with Buick portholes. He was only there on Thursday and left Friday morning. Changing the headlights might make the car more traditional, but it would ruin the looks of the car, as known to most as The Canadian Kid Merc.

 

That's some great information, @stanlow69. Nice to know Chip is still into customs.
Have to agree about the headlights, too. They definitely set this car apart from all the other Mercurys out there, and they work well on this car. E