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

@Moriarity That scan came from the 83 show. That is your trophy in the picture. Here he is with trophys from the 82 Show in Des Moines. Like I said, It was a very nice car. Sancho, Chopped Olds has a buddy in Toms River.

 

@54delray, I'd have to say the pic you posted is of Heart and Soul.....edit: sorry...miss ready your post, you already said it was the same car. d'oh! Mark, I can't believe someone would sell one of those trophies either. Cool that you ended up with it. Sancho, you are amazing! I'd agree with you that it's the same car.

Here's a better copy of my pic of the engine.

 

Nice to know @54delray. I never saw it on the '84 video, but there were so many cars there that year it isn't hard to understand how it may have been there but never got on the video. So, it was still around as of '84. Cool! E

You're welcome @stanlow69. Just trying to give everyone a little more "filler" on these posts. E

I agree @Moriarity. Those lowering block trophies are one of the coolest awards ever made. Maybe some old kustom guy passed away and his wife or family decided to sell off all his stuff and the award ended up on Ebay. Glad you saved it and it didn't end up in a dumpster! E

I think you found it @Sancho. The car had so little done to it in the way of body mods that it makes it hard to stand out from a nice restoration. But, the louvered hood and the striped taillights make me think that you did indeed find it! Any idea how old the classified ad you found is?
The car has New Jersey plates on it in a few of the pictures, so it ended up on the east coast. Any of you east coast guys ever seen it out your way? E

 

Yeah, pretty sure that's it. If only they had posted an engine shot, that would have cinched it!

 

Thanks for posting the bigger engine compartment pic, @drdave. To look at the car just cruising by you would never imagine that the engine was all dolled up like it was.
I don't like seeing customs with the hoods up at shows, but with detail like that I totally understand! E

 

You know Jim, I think you nailed it. I can't imagine that the KKOA would have made more than one award for a category. Since Mark's award is from the '83 Spectacular, that probably is the very award Clarence Crayton received that year for the "Koolest Mill". Wow! E

I thought the same thing after you posted the ad, Sancho. If it is "Heart and Soul", it more than likely still has all the nice bright work and goodies under the hood. With an engine like that, why wouldn't the owner post pictures of that as well to help sell the car? E

 

No Ed, unfortunately I can't find any date on that listing.

IF that listing is current, you can add the car to the trophy and complete the set!

 

Bummer, Bill. It would be nice to know the approximate time a "Heart and Soul" sighting happened (lol)!
There you go Mark. I'm sure "Heart and Soul" would feel right at home among your fabulous collection of customs, hot rods and all the other neat things you have in your museum! E

 

Yep, the magazine trail, inscription on the award and the great kustom guys that pitch in on this thread have spoken. Neat piece of KKOA kustom history you have there, Mark!

Man, this thread is so much fun! E

 

It sure is. And this is a fine opportunity to THANK YOU again Ed for all the work you put into this every week. I look forward to it every week, certainly a highlight for me.

 

Awww shucks, Bill, you're making me blush (lol)! Seriously, thanks for the compliment. I have to send a big thank you back to you and all the guys and gals who follow this thread and participate. Without that, this thread wouldn't even be close to what it is.
Not to toot my own horn, but I'm starting to think this is one of the biggest KKOA history or "kustom record" threads on the web.
Way to go guys! E

 

Remember, @chopolds has a buddy in Toms River. So we might have a connection on the classified add. And possibly the owner of the car back when the add was placed.

 

Don't mean to hi-jack this great thread, but "Heart & Soul" sure reminds me of the 56 Merc I owned back in my youth. Orange & white, louvered hood & a pretty hot engine with 3 carbs etc. No continental kit tho.

Mick

 

Very cool @lurker mick
I came across that 2nd photo searching for Heart and Soul, of course I didn't know it was your car....
What is the name on the quarter panel?

 

The car was originally built to be more performance oriented than custom, so was named after the orange & white 57 Merc "Mermaid" that Bill Stroppe raced at Daytona. I always loved customs so decided to go that way with the car.
You can see just how low the car was with no bags or hydraulics, so it became more of a cruiser but still was able to engage in a good old street race every now and again.

Mick

 

Very sweet car @lurker mick

 

Mick, that is Larry Watson low! I mean, krazy low! I just luv it!
What year(s) was that? Can you share some details? Stories? (Tunneled driveshaft?, Driving techniques, etc?) Surely, there are some here can't translate the printed images to real-world logistics!

P.S., Damn fine striping/scalloping! All in all, a stellar ride!

 

I bet putting the slicks on was a pain in the ass.

 

Love the pictures of your '56 Merc @lurker mick! I have to agree with every body else's comments about how low it sat. Really low for the days before hydraulics and air bags became the norm. It had a great look!
I gotta ask, where was home for you back in those days? I see that you're from Utah nowadays. If you grew up there I'd guess that driving a car that low would be a challenge, especially in the winter. Utah is a lot like Colorado and I know that driving a low car in the winter can be rough, Not just the snow, but the bad roads. Tons of potholes left behind by the snowplows and too much traffic makes for long winters around here. E

 

Mermaid, that explaines the net. I noticed you have a cover behind the front seat. Covering the back seat area. Something seldom done today.

 

Too kool for words! E

 

Those were made by Larry Wolf here in Wichita. Always wanted to win one but never did. Hub harness has 4 or 5 of them. I'm so jealous.

 

@Moriarity, how many did you make and give away at the KKOA Hall of Famers pick at the KKOA spectaculars. Each Hall of Famer pic`s a car and gives away a trophy they make. Usually on Friday night. I know the originals are heavy.

 

Thanks guys, again didn't mean to hi-jack, but this seems to be a good thread for talking about old & new customs.

The photo taken at the indoor show in SLC was taken about 1959, the outdoor photo taken in 1960.
I've lived in the Ogden, Utah area almost all my life, and like most 18-19 year olds the Merc was my daily driver.

I did the pinstriping, and later the scallops (?) were done with an airbrush, no masking.

The front was lowered with cut coils, and dropped spindles (a shop in Salt Lake would cut your spindles and weld them back on higher up on the uprights) sounds a bit iffy today, but we did some goofy things back then.
The rear was simply very tall lowering blocks & notched frame, no problem with driveshaft tunnel, but had to remove the the front air ducting and modify the front wheel wells so the tires had room ride.

Yeah, it was a bitch to drive that low but when you're young you put up with a lot. I knew just about all the potholes in the area, encountering RR tracks I would pull over and wait until there was no traffic so I could creep across them at a snails pace, but I still garnered a bunch of tickets with the car as the local police were not too pleased with our lowered customs. The craziest ticket I ever got was "Destroying a public thoroughfare with an under-slung vehicle"
when an officer saw sparks fly when I hit a bump in the road.
Usually I would go home, screw some spring spacers in the front coils to raise it a bit and have a police officer sign off on the ticket, remove the spacers and hope I wouldn't get another ticket. I couldn't live like that now but like I said when you're young.......

Thanks for the interest.

Mick

 

Ours from 1991 [emoji2]

Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Good stuff, Mick.
Thanks for sharing. And again, very cool ride!
Let them sparks fly!