I remember a '54 Chevy painted lipstick red and un-chopped the first time I saw it at a show in eastern PA. Then, at a Wheels of Time show in Macungie, it was chopped like pink one, so severe, it stuck in my mind. Later on, they removed the roof entirely and made it a convertible! I always thought they were the same car, but now seeing the purple version, I'm not so sure.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 120. 1961 Ford Galaxie Owners: Tom and Mary Ann Sapos Stafford, Connecticut Most of the cars we've covered here have been from the 50s and earlier, with a sprinkling of early 60s cars thrown in. You see quite a few of the early 60s cars prowling around these days as mild customs, but back in the early days of the KKOA there just didn't seem to be that many. Maybe this was because of the year cutoffs the KKOA had back then. Another reason may have been that back in the late 70s and throughout the 80s fifties cars were still fairly plentiful and affordable to buy. Tom and Mary Ann Sapos decided to build their mild custom '61 Ford as a reminder of the car they once dated in. They did a nice job on the car with plenty of period correct touches including a louvered hood, Cal Custom tube grille, fender skirts and a great looking red tuck'n'roll interior. After all the mods were done, it was painted a nice bright red that would stand out at any show. Subtle white pinstriping finished it all off. Tom and Mary Ann were very active within the KKOA. So much so that Mr. Sapos was the KKOA state colonel for the state of Connecticut. According to what I was able to find, they were regulars at the Leadsled Spectacular for many years. Odd thing is that after all the video watching I've done, I was only able to find their car at the 1993 Spectacular in Springfield, Ohio as well as at the '94 Spectacular in Huntsville, Alabama. You would think the car would have appeared on other videos, but I had no luck finding it. I even checked on the few Sled Scene East videos I have but came up empty. I've been searching online for pictures of this Galaxie for quite sometime and I've been unable to find any. As far as printed material, I had no luck in magazines. It seems I saw it in a modern little mag in show coverage, but my exhaustive search came up empty. Fortunately Mr. and Mrs. Sapos sent in a picture of their car to the KKOA when the first KKOA book was being compiled. Their car was chosen and it was proudly printed on page 37. Unfortunately the first KKOA book was all done in black and white, so you can't see the beautiful red paint on the car. In the videos the car was a true standout! After the '94 Leadsled Spectacular, I found no more on this car. Information was hard to come by like most feature cars lately, but a bright red, somewhat scarce '61 Galaxie seems like it would be easy to track down if it resurfaced again. We'll see what comes up, as Mr. and Mrs. Sapos and their beautiful Galaxie have seemed to go in to hiding. I hope they're still out there cruising around in their personal memory time machine having great times! Until next Tuesday, take care everybody! E
Thomas John Sapos, 58, of Lamb Rd., Stafford Springs, died Tuesday, (July 3, 2001) at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA. He was born in Steubenville, OH, the son of the late Stephen, Jr. and Irene (Gray) Sapos. Thomas retired as a senior systems engineer for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft after 33 years of service. He was a member of St. Mary's Parish in Ware, MA, the St. Mary's Men's Guild, Kustom Kemps of America, where he was colonel for the New England States, the Hartford Gun Club, and the East Windsor Sportsman Club. Thomas is survived by his loving wife of 36 years of marriage, Mary Ann (Wasak) Sapos of Stafford Springs. There will be a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, 10 a.m., at St. Mary's Church, 60 South St., Ware, MA. Burial will be at the convenience of the family. Calling hours will be held TODAY, 5-8 p.m. at Introvigne Funeral home, Inc., 51 East Main St,. Stafford Springs. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Brigham and Women's Transplant Fund, Tower 3A, 75 Francis St., Boston, MA 02115.
@Sancho does it again! More great detective work. Very sad to see Mr. Sapos passed away way too soon at the age of 58. Rest in peace..........E
OK, I don't remember if I ever put this car up here, might have done a separate thread to try to locate it. Back in the late 70's, early 80's I was still learning the custom tricks from my mentor, John Pazsik. We worked on a 55 Ford for Rich Ciubinski, from Jackson, NJ. The car was worked on, little at a time, kept in "prime and putty", as most of John's customs were. It never got finished, and Rich sold the car to a truck driver from PA, as he remembers it. He thinks it may have been painted green after he sold it. No one I know has seen it since, but I was talking with Rich, and he is interested in where it went. I though the experts here might give us a clue! Specs: 55 2 door sedan, 54 Chevy grill, flush door buttons, nosed, decked, tunneled antenna ( may have been square?) 55 Dodge partial side trim, Olds tail lights, bubble skirts. It had an original six in it, with a 3 speed. The six had lots of hard to find speed parts on it, dual exhaust, 2 carb intake, I believe it might have had a dual point conversion. The engine had lots of chrome on it, even had a chromed bellhousing! Enough unique parts to identify it, even if it was changed a bit. Anyone know anything about it?????
The car doesn't ring a bell @chopolds, but I'll see what I can find as well as @Sancho. Back then there were so many '55 and '56 Fords it might be kinda tough. Maybe not though, as the kustom faithful on this thread are great detectives as well as a wealth of information! E
True, OG, but when we worked on this one, there was very little interest in customs. Being on the East coast, it probably neve got any ink, either. Was hoping a local type guy might recognize it. Rich later went on to build a 54 Chevy, a custom Falcon, a radical 58 Chevy, and last, an 82 Olds I did for him (a strange looking one with leopard flames!) But this was his first custom!
Hey @chopolds, I seem to remember seeing the '82 Olds in a magazine somewhere--maybe in the reader's rides section of Custom Rodder. If I remember right, the car also had Edsel bumpers. Is that the car? I'd start searching for the magazine and post a picture, but I don't want to get in trouble (lol)! E
Ha ha ha! Now that's funny @kidcampbell71! I could see myself behind bars with my tin cup rattling the bars saying "Let me out, I have to post W.E.H.T. #121 on Tuesday!" E
I posted that while working an event called the T.A.S.S.P. ..... here in Dallas. ( The Texas All Star Spanking Party. ) Don't ask .... I just work here ... but if you do need to go to HAMB Jail .... call me !! You can hold the keys to your cell, probably. Mind you .... I've bartended in topless environments for 15 years ... so its just another day in Texas for me .... yeeeeee' ha !!! Hell .... I'm likely in HAMB jail now. Bail please .
What Ever Happened To..........? number 121. 1951 Mercury "First Love" Owner: Jim Musgrave Fairfield, Illinois It really is amazing how over the years there have been so many customs built, many the same, but still very different. There are literally millions of ways to customize a sled in traditional style, and you can bet that no two will ever be completely alike. Something I've noticed after all these years of studying customs is how many guys will build a sled in true era correct style with nothing being out of the time frame they are trying to represent. Other guys seem to just do what they like or follow a trend that was popular at the time the car was built. A few different things come to mind in that mind set. I'd say the biggest thing that varies is the interior styling. In the 70s and 80s lots of guys put pile carpeting and velour interiors in their cars. One that immediately comes to mind is George Beluscsak's incredible '50 Merc (W.E.H.T. #2). The interior was far from traditional but it was wild and really fit the car's style. I don't think anyone would do that today. In the late 80s and even through today guys will use tweed and colored vinyl in their cars with expensive billet steering wheels. Trends come and go, but traditional style is timeless. The other thing that seems to come and go are the choices of colors that people decide to paint their cars. We have talked numerous times about how popular yellow was in the 70s and 80s, and how it is rarely used on customs these days. Another color that seems to come and go is red, whether it's candy red, or "Porsche India Red" or whatever the latest red paint is called. Ah, that damn red. It has tormented me ever since I started doing our weekly Tuesday night ritual. I never realized how many different red sleds there were back in the 70s through the 90s. This has made tracking the history of the red customs (especially the '49-'51 Mercs) a real mind bender to decipher. Well, this week's car falls into the "red sled club". Jim Musgrave built a slick '51 Merc that was absolutely incredible. Perfect chop and proportions, super straight bodywork and then it was painted..........red. This car was hard to trace, and from my information search seemed to be around in this form for just a short time. Jim took his Merc to the Leadsled Spectacular in Springfield, Ohio in 1983. It was on the video of that show that I saw just one rear shot of the car. The dead giveaway was the Illinois license plates "FUN 173". That plate is one of the easy ways to tell Jim's red Merc from all the other red Mercurys out there. I seem to recall Jim's car at the '84 Spectacular in Des Moines as well, but my DVD player is acting up and I couldn't watch that DVD to verify if he was there or not. So, the '83 Spectacular video is the only show I can confirm seeing the Musgrave Merc at. Those of you that were there in '84 might remember seeing the car there and can let us know for sure. As far as magazines and books go, I was only able to find the '51 in one magazine. It was featured on page 47 and page 50 in Custom Cars by Hot Rod Volume 1 number 5 (1983). It was in the super article "Those Magnificent Mercs". I only scanned the pictures on page 47 since they were in color and looked so nice. The picture on page 50 was in black and white so I let that one go. In the pictures the car looks like a pinkish red, but on video it looked straight red. Having never seen the car in person I can't say for certain which red it was, but either version is gorgeous! As far as pictures go, I was able to find two great pictures of it from Rikster's site taken by Scott Pavey. I can't say where or when the pictures were taken, but I'd guess at the Spectacular in 1983 or earlier. These are the only two pictures I could come up with. It looks like the trail on this beautiful Merc is a short one, but I'd be sure to bet that it's still around. Mr. Musgrave may still own it. Or, maybe if this car has changed hands it looks different today with a new coat of paint and some different custom modifications. I sure hope so! Until next Tuesday, have a great week!
Good shot from Phil Waters 1982 Des Moines coverage found on the Custom Car Chronicle. https://www.customcarchronicle.com/custom-car-road-trips/1982-road-trip-to-des-moines/#comment-2105
Great find @Sancho! I would love to find video of the first two Leadsleds. It seems like there were some real rare shots of customs that weren't around for very long or were only there for those first years. Talk about elusive--I'm beginning to believe there is no video footage of those two events to be found. E
Here is a frontal shot of his Merc from the 82 show from Mike Keys Leadsleds book. More to come later. The first 2 pic`s Ed posted are from the 82 show as well. The car was sitting on the far west end of the grounds. Before it was pinstriped.
The rear end pic from the same book. It looks like the rear of the car was pinstriped. Maybe it was done at that show.
Here are a couple pic`s taken by my dad. In 83 in Springfield Ohio`s KKOA show. More than likely the same location as the ones Ed posted. In one the pic`s, the hood is not completely closed. One more pic to go.
View attachment 3948757 View attachment 3948758 It looks like the trail on this beautiful Merc is a short one, but I'd be sure to bet that it's still around. Mr. Musgrave may still own it. Or, maybe if this car has changed hands it looks different today with a new coat of paint and some different custom modifications. I sure hope so! Until next Tuesday, have a great week![/QUOTE] Hum, I was just searching for a few old shots of another car on this post and found these two in my old photos, those were mine not Scotts LOL but I am not sure where we were, I'll have to study them LOL
What Ever Happened To..........? number 122. 1952 Ford Convertible Owner: Dave Lenhart Sr. Wapakoneta, Ohio This week's car is a wonderful Ford convertible that seems to have been around forever. As I researched it, I thought I had seen it in numerous magazines for many years, but the further I searched, it seemed like it wasn't in as many magazines as I thought. Classic and Custom Magazine seemed to have a knack for printing some very cool customs over the years that seemed to remain pretty much obscure. Their magazines have been a valuable tool in my research for this thread. David Lenhart found this convertible in need of much repair in early 1982 after someone had started the restoration and gave up. He really busted his tail and had the car completed sometime in 1982. The car is one with history that I never realized until I read the write up on it from its feature in the July 83 issue of Classic and Custom on pages 7 and 8. Turns out the customization of this car started back in 1954 by numerous craftsmen, including Clark Kaiser! It also had a real Gaylord interior installed in California way back when. It was still in the car in good condition when it was featured in the magazine back in 1983! I scanned the whole article from Classic and Custom for all to read. It is a great write up! Mr. Lenhart cruised the wheels off the car as I found it at numerous shows in my search. I found a picture of the car again in Classic and Custom (May 83 page 34) at the James Dean Memorial Run in Fairmont, Indiana in September of '82. These were the only two magazines I was able to find information about the car in my magazine collection. As far as video, I spotted the car on the Leadsled Spectacular video from 1983 in Springfield, Ohio. There were some great shots of it, all with the top up! There was no footage of the interior which I would have loved to see since it was an original Gaylord job. The car was also on the 1985 Leadsled video again from Springfield, Ohio. I had to look long and hard at that video as it was just a quick shot of it sitting in the fairgrounds during the cruise where Rowdie filmed out of a convertible. By the way, the top was up in that shot too! According to what I saw on video, the car was only at the Spectacular those two years. I did find some more great pictures of the car on Rikster's site that were taken by Scott Pavey. Funny that both videos the car was on the top was up, yet every picture from the internet and magazines the pictures show the top down. Too bad, I'd like to show everyone a picture of the car with the top up, as it had a great profile even with the convertible top up. Those of you with sharp eyes may notice that I spelled the owner's name Lenhart, but the magazine articles spelled it two different ways. I just guessed at the correct spelling, and if it is wrong I apologize. Anybody out there that can confirm the correct pronunciation and spelling of Mr. Lenhart's name is appreciated! After the 1985 Leadsled Spectacular the car disappeared. I found no more information on it at all. Makes you wonder where it might be. Very cool car that I would like to see make a triumphant return to a car show that I happen to be at someday soon! I hope you all have a very nice Independence Day celebration tomorrow. Be sure to take a moment to reflect and remember all those who fought and died for freedom so we may enjoy living in the greatest country in the world! Also, if you know a veteran, take a minute to thank them for their service. Oh, and one last thing, if you're going to play with fire, please be careful. We want to see you here next Tuesday! 'Til then, have fun! See you next week! E
My favorite Clarkaiser custom. Clean and understated with a beautiful front. This car was featured originally in Custom Cars, January 1959. The article says the car was owned by Grant Macklin. In reality, it was shown by Macklin, but owned by the Rev Larry Ernst!
Thanks for posting the little books pictures @Rot 'n Kustom. Great shots in that article! Now everyone gets to see it with the top up as well as down. Man, I love the looks of this car with the top up. Such a great looking sled! E
The car was originally built in 1954 for Larry Ernst. (Yes, That Larry Ernst). This photo (from Kustomrama), is dated 2004, when it was owned by Spike McMurtrie. I don't know about that, but I do know that Fatty owned this Ford, also built by ClarKaiser.
http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_...clarkaiser_custom_cars/pharaohs_acer_52_ford/ https://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Larry_Ernst's_1952_Ford
The Jalopy Journal
