Makes you wonder, doesn't it @Chaz? I think this is the first car I've featured so far that no one has even been able to come up with who owned the car. Hope the information shows up. I'd really like to credit the owner on building such a great custom. E
I've been studying the pictures of the shoebox, and I think @rodncustomdreams nailed it. To me, it really looks like it has '56 Chevy quarters on it. The wheel well looks like a '56 Chevy, but what makes me think it's '56 is the way the body panel under the taillight that continues under the bumper extends outward. The Ford looks the same way. I think what threw me off is the way the taillight opening was shortened up vertically, narrowed and then extended out. Unbelievable amount of work in this car! We have to find out who owned it..........E
Don't know if too many care but I found a couple photos to add to the thread. I found both of these on carnut. First up is this early pic of Guy Root's cool Mopar coupe. And then this shot of the "I CUT IT" Merc from the recent GoodGuys show in Nebraska. Now sporting a painted roof and still for sale.
Of course we care, Sancho. Thanks for posting! Great shot of Guy's Dodge (W.E.H.T. #16). Looks pretty cool in the yellow primer. I would love to own an old custom coupe like his someday. I'd like to get a closer look at the "I CUT IT" Merc (W.E.H.T. #40). Since it was at a GG event in Nebraska, maybe it will make it to Salina. E
Yep, it was in the host hotel parking lot. Mickey, DrDave and I looked it over because Mickey said he thought about using that bumper/grill on his car. Of course we didn't know what we were looking at until Jim enlightened us. I believe Jim's more recent photos of it were taken at the show last year.
They were taken in Salina. That`s why people need to go. You can see the main stage in the background. The range of cars that show up change every year.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 69. 1951 Mercury Sedan Delivery "Trouble in Paradise" Owners: Kerry and Dale Fluegge Waterford, Wisconsin This week's car is truly a custom in every sense of the word. Now, I'm no Mercury expert, but I don't think the factory ever built a Merc sedan delivery. That didn't stop the Fluegges though, as they decided they wanted one so they got to work. This car was a real labor of love, and it took a lot of spare Mercury parts to bring it to life. The car started out as a sedan, but to turn it into a delivery they had to use two more sedan roof sections. They also had to use a total of four quarter panels welded together and sedan doors. The rear window is actually a sedan windshield section. The car was chopped and all the pieces were then welded together to make a one of a kind sled. The area above the windshield has a kind of strange look to it--it seems a little too tall, and the windshield looks a tad small, but with the amount of work it took to pull this off, I can overlook this and appreciate the effort. The headlights and antenna were frenched, the hood was louvered and a Desoto grille was used as well as '49 Plymouth bumpers. It also had dummy spots and lake pipes. Early on the car was painted red, and had factory style skirts on it with louvers in them. Later on the skirts were changed to needle nose style cruisers (with no louvers), extra outlets were installed on the lakes, the hubcaps were changed and scallops were added. You would think that something as unique as this delivery was and the fact that it was painted red that it would stand out on video. Well, this wasn't the case. I watched a lot of video this week, and I could have sworn it was on quite a few of the ones I have, but searching didn't turn up very much. It seems the Fluegges were only at the Spectacular in 1985 (Springfield, Ohio) and 1987 (Springfield, Illinois). If they were at any other years I didn't see the car on any other videos. Magazine coverage was slight as well. I know I've seen the car in Leadsled Spectacular coverage in a magazine or two somewhere, but my search found nothing. The car was featured in the first KKOA book on page 126. This is where I got the build information on it. This Mercury was one that was very different from most. I'm sure if it's still out there that it would be easy to identify. It seems to have disappeared as I haven't found any recent sightings. But, I'm sure with the help of you faithful followers that check in every week, more information will come into the picture. I hope everyone has a great holiday today, and if you decide to play with fire, please be careful! Until next week, Happy Birthday America! E
Thank you for posting each week. Its a real education for us lovers of customs! That's a cool machine! I think it would have looked better with a bit less of a chop, but it's an amazing piece of work. Few people realize how much time must have gone into that.
I agree, maybe a little too much chop, but when you think about how much work went into this car it's amazing they pulled it off! Thanks for the kind words, @Chaz. Glad you enjoy the thread! E
Here is a pic that I took of it at the 84 Kkoa show in Des Moines. That is the only time I remember seeing it Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Wasn't that car converted from a woodie? I think @ARNIE may be able to shed some light on this one. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/lets-customize-a-51-merc-woody-wagon.497008/
I built this car out of a woodless woodie. Used sedan doors, chopped the top. Built sides, used sedan lower quarters. Had a flattie in it when sold. Arnie
Nice work, Arnie. I actually like the chop/windshield treatment. I could have sworn I has a photo from 1984 Spectacular in Des Moines, but could only find this shot with the car in the background. This car has GOT to be around somewhere. HAMB power activated!
Here are a couple more pictures of it. It`s nice that we all take pictures from different angles. You can see the Dodge in the back ground featured earlier in this thread. @ARNIE Where did it go when you sold it. When it was at the KKOA show in Springfield Illinois, it was the first car you saw as you rounded the corner and headed in the main area where the cars were at.
Thanks for posting the picture Mark! It is the only picture I've seen from the back other than seeing the rear on video. I'm going to have to watch the '84 video again and see if I missed the car being there. Since Bill (@54delray) has a picture from '84 with the car in the background we know it was there. Thanks to everyone for jumping on board and finding lots of information, and a special thanks to @ARNIE for giving us insight to the actual build! Great stuff guys! E
Found these pictures in "Classic & Custom" November '83. According to Nick Pulera, president of Mid-Century Mercury Car Club at the time, The Mercury was built by Tom Jones. I took this picture in Springfield '85. I believe the Chevy next to the Merc belongs to Dale's brother.
I've been reading this thread religiously. What wonderful memories it has brought back! I know most of you have wives, girlfriends, significant others, etc., that are with or have been with you throughout your love (lust..lol) of these cars, no matter the style, year, original, rod or custom. This post is about my perspective (a woman and now an old woman) of this love of automobiles. My husband, Horace, aka Pop, passed away back in February, 2017. For over 50 years he and I together shared a mutual love of cars. We bought, sold, built and just plain "wallowed" in our love of old cars. Swap meets and car shows were our form of vacation. The people we met have become life-long friends extending as far away as Australia! We started with taking a few parts in our '59 Chevy and ending with an 18 foot trailer pulled by a 1982 Dodge 4 door truck with the frame stretched 16 inches to accommodate body modifications, powered by a 1992 Cummings diesel (he built this one of a kind truck by himself and affectionately named Kong), we traveled from here in Middle Tennessee to as far west as Nevada, north to Wisconsin, east to the Carolinas and south to Florida, working swap meets, collecting parts and buying cars. The first car he built in the 1970s, was a '40 Ford 2 dr sedan and the last one was a '65 Chevy SS convertible, 4 speed, 327hp, one owner, which we sold last year. He was a visionary, buying NOS parts from the Chevrolet dealership while he worked in the parts department, for the '63, '64 and '65 Chevys long before they were "cool", and the 348/409 engines and parts while they were considered "boat anchors". And yes, I was a part of all this. No, I can't claim I have a fraction of the knowledge or did a fraction of the work on the restorations, but I was there for him. Working those swap meets was almost as physically as hard as my 31 years of nursing, but, as much as I loved my professional career, I loved working alongside Pop and those cars and parts. Now, in the process of selling the few "builder" vehicles and parts and engines, I've come even more respective of the love he had for his "hobby". Diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in early 2000 and fighting Diabetes, he stayed as active as he could for as long as he could. Unable to physically restore and work the swap meets, he focused his attention on the collectables of the car world, filling two bays of our garage....I did fight him over "my bay" for my vehicle, and won.... Reading back over this post, I realize that though I tried to express my, as a woman, view of this wonderful love of cars, I realize that it is also a tribute to Pop. I know there are many more women like me who "stand by their man" throughout their time together and never look back. So this is a tribute to them as well. This is just my tale.... Thank you for reading, Claire
Austinrod.....that show stopper Magazine was that a local publication? The 56 Buick (Panty Dropper) on the cover was my ride for better part of the early 80's ,82-86 or7, it belonged to a friend of mine but due to his work schedule it was in my possession 5-6 years that pic there is before all the under hood ,trunk tuck&roll was installed then we put a couple of logs of 97's and a lot of chrome under the hood I hit all the shows and damn near all the cruise in events sometimes 2 or 3 a weekend car was a lot of fun the last show I did was the Portland Roadster show 85-6 I think.. the car only took 3rd that pissed off the owner, he would always show up just as they where giving out the awards, he couldn't under stand the car was burning it's self out for showing , so after the show it went back to his garage and then was sold...The Drake did a piece in one of the Magazines on the show and there was a nice color 1\2 page pic of the car and me bent down doing some pre-show polishing .. I lost my copy of the magazine and don't remember what one it was ...would like to find one....just saying.... Thanks Sent from my QTASUN1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks for posting Claire (@csern)! That was a great read and was very touching. I'm sure you miss Horace very much. So sorry to learn of his passing. Very cool how you guys dove into cars headfirst and made a life long hobby of it. Not too many people can do that nowadays. The price of vintage iron is making it a lot harder, plus the price of travelling as well as the whole outlook of the automotive hobby. It makes me wonder how much longer the whole thing will last. Thanks for following the thread and I'm glad that it's bringing back great memories for you. Take care of yourself! E
R.I.P. Pop. I didn't know you, but I know many like you.. It's a great hobby/lifestyle, especially when shared with a loved one! Dave
Does anyone know the current location of this car? It was built in Dayton Ohio in 1981. It went to Bristol Virginia in 1985 and sold in the mid 90's. It was seen in Charlotte NC in 2001 and that is the end of the line. Any help would be great.
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