What Ever Happened To..........? number 199. 1953 Chevy Convertible "Mary Boo II" Owner: Larry Hubbard Greenfield, Indiana This week's custom is one that seems like it was at the Spectacular many years, but on video, I can only verify that it was there three consecutive years from 1988-1990. From the little information I've found on the car, Larry was a regular at many car events all over the midwest, not just the KKOA. This set of pictures are still shots I took from my recently acquired DVD of the 1990 Leadsled Spectacular filmed in Holland, Michigan. The 1990 show looked like it was really good with a ton of super nice cars! It looked like a show not to miss. Larry's 'vert was a standout from the sea of nice custom cars, and the fact that it was a convertible didn't hurt either! The car looks to be more on the mild custom side than wild, that is, until you see that it was chopped. Not an easy feat for a convertible. Other than the chop, it really was a mild car, but it was pulled off beautifully. The light yellow paint with the addition of the Packard taillights set atop a '56 Chevy bumper takes us right back to the 50s. Larry's car looked like it rolled out of Rod & Custom in about 1959. You'll also notice that Larry followed the old tradition of naming his sled. "Mary Boo II" was lettered on the trunk. I have no idea what the name might have meant. An old girl friend or maybe a famous song way back when? I have no idea. The Chevy had the stock grille surround molded to the front fenders with a '57 Buick grille nicely tucked in. Lots of work to pull this off, but it turned out awesome! Moving to the inside of the car, there is lots of white tuck 'n' roll including a matching steering wheel cover. The dashboard had a nice amount of striping detail added to it as well. I don't know what Larry was running for an engine, but the car had three pedals and a floor shift. Maybe Larry's leadsled was also an ass kicker that would put a hurt on an unsuspecting kid in a new Mustang back in the 80s! If it was a real sleeper, have you ever seen a more beautiful one in your life? The last picture I'm posting from this set is of the car cruising the fairgrounds. I've never seen Mr. Hubbard before, but judging by the style of the car and the fact that this was 1990, I'm assuming he was an older gentleman. In this shot there was a young guy cruising with a young looking gal riding shotgun. Maybe it was Larry's son, or, Larry was a young cat that knew his way around a custom. Either way, the car knocked your socks off as it rolled by! I know I've seen more pictures of this car, but my searching didn't turn up much. I think the pictures I'm thinking of were posted here on the HAMB, but I never could find them again. It think they were posted on the "Kustom Blues" thread, but searching through that thread is like looking through and encyclopedia. It is getting huge! The one clear shot I did find is from the April '92 issue of Rod & Custom on page 68. Unfortunately it's in black and white, but even in black and white, you can see the car was awesome. I scanned the photo some time ago, and like a jughead, I put notes of the car on a sheet of paper and tucked it in the magazine. Well, as my bad luck would have it, I can't find the magazine. I think I might have put it in the wrong box of magazines as it isn't with my Rod & Customs. Anyway, I think the car was in their coverage of the '91 Spectacular. Once I find the magazine again, I'll verify this. In the photo you can see the plate number pretty well, but I couldn't make out the state. They look like Indiana plates, but I'm guessing. That's why there is a question mark after the state in the header. Please, if anyone out there knows or knew Larry and can let us know where he was from it would be appreciated. I'm counting on our custom faithful from the great state of Indiana like @KustomLincolnLady and @Ron just to name a few. After the '91 R&C sighting, I didn't find anymore on Larry's Chevy. The car was an absolute masterpiece, and I'm sure it's still out there. Anyone know where? Let's see what you guys know! I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas and had time to relax and enjoy the holiday! Now it's just a matter of hours and 2019 will be gone. I hope the new year brings good health, happiness and prosperity to all of you out there. Thanks for sticking around all year and taking the time to look in on (most) Tuesday nights. I hope many of our paths will cross in 2020. Happy New Year! We'll see you next Tuesday! E
Neat choice, Ed. Totally brings back memories of another yellow convertible that was in all the magazines that covered midwest events in the early 80's. I believe it was a '54, it was also a pale yellow. Owners name was Doug Kovar, if I remember correctly, from Schuyler Nebraska. It made me realize that not all magazine cars were from "Cali". Perhaps a future WEHT? Thanks for the great thread.
I need to get my scanner to jive with my computer. I won`t tell you I have a few pic`s of this one too. And in primmer.
I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas and had time to relax and enjoy the holiday! Now it's just a matter of hours and 2019 will be gone. I hope the new year brings good health, happiness and prosperity to all of you out there. Thanks for sticking around all year and taking the time to look in on (most) Tuesday nights. I hope many of our paths will cross in 2020. Happy New Year! We'll see you next Tuesday! E[/QUOTE] Thank you for starting this thread. I have been reading with interest for a long time and look forward to it each week. Happy New Year.
Made some notes and I'll be on the lookout. Sounds familiar. Glad you're still checking in Bill. Happy New Year! E Can't wait Jim. Hopefully you'll have better luck in 2020 with your computer equipment (lol)! E Thank you for starting this thread. I have been reading with interest for a long time and look forward to it each week. Happy New Year. Glad to hear you're enjoying the thread and following along Copper Top. Happy New Year to you as well! E
Larry ran a body shop that was located east of Indianapolis for many years. Obviously, he did impressive work as is a very nice fella. However, I haven’t heard from him in a very long time, so I can’t comment on what he is up to these days. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Thanks for the post Randy! It sounds like Larry was indeed from Indiana. I'll remove the question mark from the top of the header. By chance, do you know what town he was from? E
We ran side by side with Ralph and Nancy and Jeff for many yrs. Many trips together. Still friends with Jeff and his wife Jean. I will check with him again to see if he's gotten any more info. Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It is with a sad heart that I have to report the passing of Butch Earhart, a long time custom car guy from the Hamilton/Cincinnati area. He had a stroke about 7 years ago and has finally been released from these earthly bonds. There are no plans at this time for any services or memorials according to his wife, Sherry.
My deepest condolences to the Earhart family and their dear friends. Butch will be missed. Rest in peace..........E
The Shindels 58 chev is currently on Ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/1958-Chevrolet-Impala/303432239867?hash=item46a5f88afb:g:cmwAAOSw1hZeEPuY
Ralph's '58 is looking pretty rough. Looks like not much has changed since Ralph had it...other than the deterioration and engine being out. Still has his plates on it. Don't guess it got driven too much after he sold it.....?
First off, thanks for posting the link Mark! I wonder what the hell happened to it? That isn't Ralph's car, the '58 belongs (belonged?) to his son Jeff. Not too long ago @John B reported that Jeff still had it along with a few of Ralph's other cars, but I had no idea the condition of the '58 had gotten to this. It sounded like it was in storage waiting for the time to hit the streets again. Big job to bring it back. I would love to have a car like this as it would cause an absolute stir here in Denver! You just don't see radical sleds here very often. I hope the right person gets it and it doesn't end up with some 20 inch wheels on it or some modern crap like that! E
Whatever Happened To..........? number 200. 1955 Oldsmobile Owner: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?, ? ? ? ? ? For this week's custom we are getting back on the mystery train. I'm thinking that someone will be able to identify it as it was a fixture at the Leadsled Spectacular from the mid 80s to the mid 90s. Matter of fact, this car is one of the first cars I started doing research on way back when, but the information tail has not been very helpful. The first time I saw this car was on the 1986 Leadsled Spectacular video that Rowdie shot in Springfield, Missouri. The car was seen cruising around quite a bit, with just a little bit of the video with the car at rest. Scott Pavey happened to be at the Spectacular that year and he did get one good shot of it that I found on Rikster's site. Unfortunately the only shot of the car was with the hood up. At the '86 Spectacular, the car had a "Knuckle Busters" car club plaque mounted on the front bumper. Every other year after that when the car was sighted on a video, the plaque was gone. The car definitely had some east coast influence. It had custom made taillights that were shrouded or angled, done in a style very similar to Ted Coffeen's '56 Pontiac (W.E.H.T. #21). The '55 made the trek to the Leadsled in '87 (Springfield, Illinois), '88 (Holland, Michigan) and '89 (Davenport, Iowa), but was pretty much unchanged so I didn't shoot any pictures from video stills for those years. In 1990, the car went to the show again in Holland, Michigan. This time the car had a visor on it that was not on it the years before. Incidentally, this picture was the only time I saw the car on the '90 video. It was following another car so I zoomed in to show it was the came Olds were are talking about. In 1991 the car went to the Spectacular again, this time in Hamilton, Ohio. It looked the same as in '90, the only difference being that it had a "For Sale" sign on the dash. I tried to get a clean shot of it, but the sun glare in the video makes it impossible to see in the photo. Here is a shot of the rear, again from Hamilton: After '91, the car went M.I.A. and wasn't at the Spectacular. I'm assuming the car was possibly sold and the new owner didn't attend the show. The car once again returned to the show in 1994 in Huntsville, Alabama. That was a strange year to decide to go back as from what I've heard and read the '94 Spectacular was a real let down. It was a long way from most everywhere and the participant entries went way, way down. 1994's Leadsled was a tough one for the KKOA. Maybe the car's owner lived closer to Alabama than the other places the show was held in '92 and '93. Anyway, as you can see, the car was cleaned up a little bit with the removal of the sunvisor, dummy spots and the lake pipes. After the Alabama Leadsled, the car went back into hiding and I found no more on it. I hope that some of you custom faithful that went to the Spectacular many times throughout the years have some information on this one, because all of my research didn't turn up much but a few blurry pictures. Welcome to 2020. When you were a kid, did you ever imagine that you would be living in the year 2020? Hard to believe, huh? I hope the New Year brings everyone health, happiness and prosperity! Now it's time for what I like to call the winter doldrums. No holidays with time off work to look forward to for a good while, it's still getting dark way too fast and the weather still pretty much..........sucks. Oh well, that much closer to summer right? You guys have a great week. See you next Tuesday! E
I remember the car as well, no pictures thou. Like I could post them anyway. The new printer/scanner is sitting on the table. I have 5 pictures of Larry Chevy. All but one is in the unchopped version. Which appears to be the only change other than the interior.
I can understand that Mark. Lately it seems like I'm having trouble remembering names. I've never had that problem before. Getting older is the pits! E Whoops, I knew that (lol)! I had Olds on the brain while I was typing it out. I'll correct the post. E You know Bill, now that you say that I think you're right. In the video the lenses look flat, but they very well could be the pointed style '61 Buick lenses. This would be something a guy would have to see "in real life" to see what it really looked like. E Uh-oh Jim! I see that 2020 isn't starting well for you and your "electronics blues" (lol)! I hope you can get your equipment figured out soon, pal. I miss seeing the pictures you post! E
The 1994 version is my favorite. I've seen few customs that have been improved with a sun visor. I would have left the lake pipes though.
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