In reference to posts 722 & 723, here are a few pictures I took of that car at Lead East. It was in primer at the 1985 show, but painted by the 1986 event. This is such a great thread, glad I can finally add something.
Lets see some shots of the 48 Ply just picked one up very clean car ready to cut the hell up for a real 50 custom
Here is the Wehr`s Merc after turning it into a convertible. . It was in the KKOA`s Trendsetters 2011 issue along with the orange and white 39 Lincoln. You can read more about the Wehrs on page 22 with car number 40 in this thread.
I guess I have a pic of that one as well. I took it at the Merc/Duce Reunion in Davenport Iowa in 99.
Awesome pics Jim! Now, I have to ask, are you stapling these pics back up on the wall after you're scanning them? I sure hope so.
I`m guessing it was after Norms death. Jan`s name was the only name listed in the add. I need to adjust the air pressure on my stapler before I start to put them back on the wall. Otherwise, the pic`s will be mutilated if I have to remove them again. I guess I don`t need any tags(?) on the pic`s. The staple holes are identifiable enough. If people have pic`s, I wish they would post them. It tells more of the story on the cars and where they have been and the people who owned them.
I found a couple more pic`s in the Trendsetters lastnight. The first is from 96 and Elwoods is from 2005 at the Leadscene East show. .
What Ever Happened To..........? number 43. 1956 Lincoln Capri Owner: Ron Box Komoka, Ontario, Canada For this week's W.E.H.T. I'm going to mix two cars that were built by the same guy. I'd do a "Two fer Tuesday" on them, but one of the cars I had a hard time finding pictures on, so I'm just going to wing it and feature them together. Ron Box was a custom builder from from Ontario, Canada. He built both of this week's cars in about the span of two years according to the time that he attended the Leadsled Spectacular. The main car for this week is Ron's 1956 Lincoln Capri. It was built around 1992, a time when a lot of these fine Lincolns were showing up on the scene. The unique thing about this Lincoln from what I've read is how the top was sunken into the body 10 inches versus just chopping it. The car was a pale yellow and light green. A lot of 50s cars had strange color combinations from the factory, and they worked then, so why not again? Just talking about it you'd think it was a strange color combination, which it was, but it looked great! This Lincoln sat very low and looked super. I remember when Rod & Custom covered the '93 Leadsled Spectacular in the January '94 issue, on page 21 there was a picture of it at night with the under car neon lit up. The caption read "Ron Box's low, lengthened, pale yellow and green '56 Lincoln from Komoka, Ontario, Canada, had everyone on the grounds whispering to themselves." One of the koolest lines I've ever read in a car magazine. I've always remembered that quote, and I made it a point to find the picture of the Lincoln in that magazine and scan it to share here. Ron also built an awesome '60 Pontiac that he had at the Spectacular the previous year in Holland, Michigan. I had a hard time finding pictures of it online. I was only able to find a picture in the Custom Rodder Winter 1993 issue on page 41, but it isn't the greatest shot. I did manage to find a nice write up on the car in my newly purchased Kustom Kemps of America 1980-1992 book. The car was the Canadian model known as a Parisienne. It had the factory 261 inline 6 with lots of goodies like an Offy intake with dual carbs, split manifold with duals and a full hydraulic suspension. Now, as a rule I'm not a square headlight kind of a guy, but on some cars it works--like on Chip Coffen's '50 Merc "The Canadian Kid". Well, Ron used square headlights out of a 1991 Dodge Dynasty of all things, and it worked well, too. White paint, blue scallops, bubble skirts and sitting on the ground works for me. I did more research and I didn't see either car in a magazine or a video after '93. Hard to believe a guy that was so talented and built two cars in such a short time span just walked away from customs. Maybe Ron decided to start skiing or some other cold weather Canadian activities and left the kool sleds behind. I hope not! 'Til next week, see you later..........E
Hey guys, I just had an update for a past What Ever Happened To..........? After almost two weeks of waiting my new copy of the Kustom Kemps of America 1980-1992 book arrived today. With this being Tuesday and having to post today's W.E.H.T. I really didn't get to look at it too much. Glancing through it though, I did see a lot of great customs that I've been looking for information on that will be a great help for upcoming Tuesday customs. I found the book on Ebay for a great price, and the seller I bought it from has tons of copies. If any of you out there is interested in a copy, send me a PM and I'll send you a link to the Ebay ad. Anyway, I found out the owner's name and location for the '57 Ford four door sedan that was W.E.H.T. #12. His name was Wayne LaPuglia from Stratford, Connecticut. I'll be sure to update that post. Just wanted to let everyone know, and continue to try to keep the record straight. E
Looks like he is still at it! And has built quite a few.... http://canadianhotrods.com/features-v3.php?action=hotPage&ID=69
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/0505cr-1951-mercury-coupe/ Mercury built by Ron. Haven't had much luck finding anything on the Lincoln or the Pontiac....
Great finds Sancho! Ron has built some awesome cars. He must hole up in his garage in the fall (might be pretty early up in Canada--September or early October?) and just build, build, build. I definitely think he'd be a fun person to meet and I'm sure he'd have a ton of great stories and a lot of tips to share! E
seemed like Ron had a new custom at the spectacular every few years. the build quality was always top notch. with that said I liked most of his cars as the proportions were spot on. except that Pontiac, being a die hard traditionalist I hated those damned modern awful headlights on it. they ruined the whole car for me....Great job again this week Ed.. I really look forward to these
Ed, Ron was in Indy last year with his 51 Merc. My pic`s are still on my camera. I was able to meet him. The first pic is his Pontiac in the Trebndsetter in 93. I love the bubble skirts. The second scan was when he was nominated in 2002 for the Hall Of Fame. and the last pic is of his Cad in Davenport Iowa Merc/Duce Reunion(99) or the year before in Davenport for the KKOA show(98). I think, in his Cad, He used a chrome spoke bicycle wheel with a white tire for his steering wheel. Most people don`t have a clue who he is.
Glad to know that Ron is still alive and well and building customs. Was the Merc he had at the CCR this one that Sancho posted the link to? E
Ron lives about 10 or 12 miles from me- he is still at it. He's about 80 years old and still turning out killer cars. I see him on a regular basis through the summer months. The fit and finish on his cars is second to none. Drive Em
Too nice of a Merc to look at it upside down, @carhunter59 (lol). Hope you don't mind, I spun it around. E
The Merc in post #770 was Ron's- not sure about this one in post 775- Ron's did not have the spot lights- I heard from someone a few weeks ago he had sold it but haven't talked to him to confirm. Drive Em
I have been born and raised in minnesota This 59 is an old custom not sure on back story. But i know where the car is , he wont sell it he stopped showing it 20 years ago . Was hoping to find some history on it.
I loved that Merc at CCR last year and took a bunch of pics of it. I especially liked the front end and it became the motivating factor for me to go ahead and make the jump to swapping out my wonky front cap for the fresh one I have on hand rather than continuing to make due with what I have during this phase of "undorkifying."
Looking at the scan in post # 768-I know that all of the cars (with the exception of the 50 Ford which I can't confirm) have been sold over the years to new owners-most of them fairly local to our area.
Im thinking that this is rons merc but closer look the frenched lake pipes either a nice coppy or some added touches later buick side trim and spots added , has same treatment to hood, chop, color ,pretty much same car especially the grill my pic was dated 1993. Not sure when ron had his