I think this was taken back in 83 at a small KKOA show in Kansas City. It was a great show. I asked Kim if his car had a bar grille. He said it didn`t. Not sure when he bought the Buick. But the guy went to prison who had it before him. We won`t go into details why. I always thought this was the same car. After Ed posted the pic`s with the louvered visor, it confirmed my thinking.
Cool pic, Jim! Never seen the Buick in purple before. I agree with you, the visor and the frenched antennas are too close to the Johnson's car for the purple version not to be their car. Too coincidental for these two things to be exactly the same on another '41 Buick. It looks like it took some work to undo the bar grille and go back to a Buick grille, then the headlights were frenched, fender spear/turn signal assemblies were shaved and a front bumper went back on. I like the Johnson's styling on the front of the car a lot more. E
Found this in an older Custom Rodder. Jerry Kritz and Mort Colby, business partners had this in their collection. Didn`t say where they were from, but had a car redone in Florida.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 246. 1941 Chevy Convertible Owner: J. Richard "Skitch" Kenney Hawthorne, California Our custom tonight is somewhat of a rarity for a few reasons. The most obvious is that the car is a quite rare '41 Chevy convertible. Not many of these cars are left as a custom, bomb, stock or otherwise. The other reason for the rarity is the fact that Mr. Kenney was from California and we just haven't covered many cars in this thread from the west coast. In 1984 "Skitch" as he is known, drove this beauty all the way to the Leadsled Spectacular in Des Moines, Iowa. That is a long drive, but the Chevy didn't miss a beat. This is due to the fact that the car was only on the road a short time before going to Iowa as it had undergone a six year restoration. He purchased the car running and driving from Maine in 1977. Shortly after getting the car he decided to do a full restoration on it that was completed in September of '83. He said he would never do another full restoration like that as it was a lot of work. Skitch said the car was painted Porsche India Red, but we never get a good look at the color other than the glimpses of the hood from the video recording. At any rate, all the work paid off as the car turned out super! At the '84 Spectacular, Rowdie used the car to cruise around the fairgrounds to film all the happenings. It was during this interview where we learned about the story of Skitch's Chevy. '84 was the first year the Chevy was at the Spectacular, but Skitch had been to the show before. He attended the show in '81 in Wichita, '82 in Des Moines and again in Des Moines in '84. He missed '83 in Springfield, Ohio as he was pushing to get his car done for the KKOA show in Reno in '83. Our first photo tonight is a still of Skitch and one of Rowdie's gals doing the interview as they cruised the fairgrounds. Strangely enough, I never saw the Chevy anywhere else on the '84 video. The only footage of the car was the view of it from the video camera on the back seat. This made finding information on the car tricky, but I did manage to find a little. Another strange thing is that to my knowledge, Skitch never made it back to the Spectacular again in the Chevy. I've never seen the car in any of the other videos I have. I'm sure if I saw it there another year I would remember. I wonder what the story is behind that. The next sighting of the car was in the Kemp Gazette, Volume 2 Number 4 from 1985 on page 11. There is a snapshot of the car, and a mention of riding in the car on the video from the '84 Leadsled. I don't know if Skitch was short on cash, or just liked black wall tires, but the car had no whitewalls at that show. The next piece of information I found on the car was from the first KKOA book that was printed in 1993 on page 38. Here we can see the car now had whitewalls, but the black and white picture of the car still leaves us wondering what the car really looked like. As a Californian and a custom enthusiast, you know Skitch hit many shows out there, including one of the biggest west coast custom shows over the last number of decades, Paso Robles. It was pretty much by chance, but a while back someone here on the HAMB posted a picture of Skitch's car at Paso Robles. I instantly knew this was Skitch's car as there just aren't many custom Chevy convertibles around, especially in bright red. I apologize as I couldn't find who posted the picture, or when it was taken, but I know this was in Paso in the early years. I'm guessing around 1990 or so. Thanks to who ever posted this picture. At last, we finally get to see this great ragtop in color! My last photo tonight is one I found in my magazine search. I remembered years ago seeing a red mild custom Chevy convertible in some publication, I just couldn't remember which one. After a long search, I finally found the picture I remembered, and it was Mr. Kenney's '41. It was in the August '93 issue of Rod & Custom on page 24. They were doing a best of "Reader's Rides" edition. You have to admit Skitch's car is definitely magazine quality. I never have seen a full feature on the car, but I'm positive it is definitely print worthy. After this picture from 1993, I don't know what became of the car. I'm happy to say that Richard attended the Custom Car Revival I believe in 2018. @PasoJohn told me he spent some time having a great conversation with Richard at the show, and he was still in good health and into customs. I can't recall what his current sled is, and I think Richard drove a daily driver to the CCR. If memory serves, Skitch now lives in Texas. I asked John if the '41 ever came up in conversation and unfortunately it never did. I think the car was sold sometime back, maybe to fund another build, but I can't say for sure. So I guess this is where I hand this one off to our custom faithful. All of you that frequent Facebook out there might try to reach out and see if Richard is on there. That might be one of the only ways to clear up the little bit of mystery behind tonight's awesome mild custom Chevy 'vert. If anyone does manage to contact Mr. Kenney, tell him about us over here. Maybe he could stop in and visit. I'm sure we're all ready for some more custom stories! The countdown to Christmas continues. We've been busy trying to get everything done to be ready for the big day. There are a few things that are a bummer about this time of year that seem to slow Christmas preparations down. Usually it's the weather. It hasn't been that bad here for the most part, but it sure is funny how a 63 degree day in May feels so much different than a 63 degree day in December. The other thing is how short the days are. It seems like you are just getting into the "meat" of your day and then the sun starts going down! You folks further north have it even worse than we do. Short days and long nights. Regardless of where you are, I hope that even though the year has been very strange, that you find the Christmas Spirit and you are enjoying this great time of year. Take care y'all! We'll see you next week! E
I've known Skitch for what seems forever. All his cars were drivers, I would meet him at the Yellowstone run many times. I love the color shot of his 41 with Jerry Gaskill's 36 posted above and the shot in front of the mural that really does resemble him. Here's a rendering I did for him of his 41 back in 83 Mick
From what I've heard, Skitch is the real deal when it comes to customs. So cool that he is still active in the scene! E That's an awesome picture Mick! It looks like something Steve Stanford would do. He is one of my favorite artists as his work always hits the nail on the head. I for one would love to see more of your work if you ever feel like sharing. Great job! E
I hope I don`t confuse you. This is the bar grille Buick of Kim and Nancy`s. With a different flame job. The late Dave Barns took this picture. He owned A 50 merc that he bought from Phil Van Tassel who`s 50 Ford was featured earlier in this thread. Dave also owned a stalled project, 40 Merc convertible which he sold to Kim and Nancy. Before the 40 was finished, Dave`s 50 Merc burnt up in a garage fire. So Kim and Nancy had musical notes put on the rear quarter interior panel, just like Dave`s 50 Merc had.
Mr. Van Tassel's cooool Ford, W.E.H.T. #67. Here's a link to the write up just in case you missed it. E https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-43#post-12104222
What Ever Happened To..........? number 228 If anyone is interested in the history of the "fine 49" from it being delivered to my Company at Gurney Automotive in Pleasant Grove, Utah as a car that had been used as a desert rabbit hunter to have nothing more than the door handles shaved and the hood bull nosed to become what you see in these pictures. It's not only a long story but also a story of deceit and back stabbing by a life long friend. Theirs only one builder of the "Fine 49" and it wasn't Kent Nielson. 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline "Fine '49" Owners: Kent and Shauna Nielson American Fork, Utah Those of you that have faithfully read every article I've posted over the last four plus years may recount me talking about how my cousin showed me my first issue of Classic and Custom Magazine, and how we were intrigued by the KKOA. I remember us talking about what the initials stood for, and thinking how cool it was once we found out. I have to admit it was quite sometime after I heard the term "kemp" to find out what it meant. My cousin and I always talked about building a sled and attending the Leadsled Spectacular someday. That dream eventually came true, but it was many years after dreaming about building customs and looking at (the then new) issues of Classic and Custom. This week's custom is one of those customs that was in one of the first few issues of Classic and Custom I purchased with my own hard earned lawn mowing money. Hey man, in 1982 $1.75 was a lot of money. I don't mean to sound like an old geezer, but a Slurpee at 7-11 was only .39 cents back then! Boy have times changed. I have no video proof that Kent and Shauna Nielson's beautiful green '49 Fleetline was at any Spectacular, but I found some proof in print. The Neilson's were in the game very early on, and attended the second Leadsled in Des Moines, Iowa in 1982. I remember seeing the car in the December 1982 (Volume 3 number 6) issue of Classic and Custom and being blown away! The chopped top, wild paint and the super low stance was all it took to make me a lifelong custom fan. It wasn't too hard to fall in love with customs with this issue as Sonny Daout's '49 Dodge, Jim Wilkins' "Lil' Miss Vicky" '51 Ford (W.E.H.T. #13) and the wild pair of DeRosa customs "Sharkmobile" '60 Caddy and the '66 Riviera "Golden Piranha" were in that issue. Lots of custom history in there! I'm no hoader, but I still have that magazine. I guess many of us have hung on to old favorite magazines over the years. The dying (or is that dead?) magazine market is a real drag. I remember anxiously awaiting the next issue of (fill in the blank) many, many times. That anxious feeling is something that I still really miss. View attachment 4769266 The Nielson's Fleetline was in that issue as well. A very nice full color two page spread on pages 4 and 5. The chopped top was a masterpiece that looked like Sam Barris' skilled hands had performed. Everything about the body and paint was remarkable with superb quality. View attachment 4769278 View attachment 4769279 The reason it has taken so much time to feature this car is that I was trying to find out if the car was at any other Spectacular than '82. In the above article, it mentions it was at the '82 Spectacular, but I wanted proof. Incidentally, this magazine had coverage of the '82 show, but the Neilson's car wasn't in the pictures. The proof I needed finally came a few weeks back as I was digging through the KKOA newsletters that @LOST ANGEL kindly sent my way (thanks again, Pal). In the Leadsled'er (Volume 2 number 5) from 1982 on page 17 was a picture of the Fleetline in the coverage of the show. It was a tiny picture in black and white, but this proves it was there! View attachment 4769287 One strange thing I picked up on about this car though. In the Classic and Custom article it said the car was from American Fork, Utah, and the Leadsled'er said it was from Pleasant Grove, Utah. I looked at my trusty map, and American Fork and Pleasant Grove are two different places, although they look to be fairly close to each other. I'd guess less than 10 miles apart just north of Provo. I wonder which it was. Maybe the Nielson's relocated one town over between features, who knows. The only other shot I found of the Chevy was featured on Rikster's site on the Scott Pavey picture page. It's a nice shot, but Scott's camera didn't seem to catch the vivid paint of the car like it was in the Classic and Custom feature. I'm assuming this was at the '82 Spectacular, but that's just a guess. It looks like there weren't very many cars on the grass in the show grounds that day. Possibly a Sunday morning shot? View attachment 4769294 As amazing as this car was, after the '82 Leadsled the car went off the radar. Extensive magazine searching and video watching turned up nothing else. Matter of fact, I posted every picture I found of the car here tonight. What happened to this incredible sled? Is it still hiding out in the mountains of Utah? Was it one of the super 80s customs that ended up over seas? How about it gang, know anything about this one? I guess I'm pretty much over the Spectacular being cancelled. Today would have been my first day back to work after the show. Instead, I woke up and went to work just like any other Tuesday with no fresh and happy memories of the show. I know I've said it a lot lately, but this really is "The Lost Summer of 2020". How many more events will be cancelled? I'm not a betting man, but right about now I'd bet everything will be cancelled. As much as I hate the snow and cold weather, I'm beginning to think I want this year over. Nothing going on anyway. Let's get on to 2021. I don't mean to close on a sour note tonight, but I hope all of you out there are making the most of this weird summer and are having some fun. Until next week, take care! E[/QUOTE]
For those that may be interested, the "Fine 49" was brought to my Company "Gurney Automotive", located in Pleasant Grove, Utah. The car's previous life was that of a desert rabbit hunter. Kent Nielson was a life time friend of mine and was persuaded by him to shave the door handles an bull nose the hood. Kent was not the actual builder nor did any of the customizing. The car was designed by myself and created what you see in the pictures here. The project took 1 year to complete working day and night. I have a number of pictures of the build including the removal of the roof which Kent had no idea that was coming off. For the great complements on the car, I thank all. As a quote here states, it's not always about the money, but the love of the challenge.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 247. 1964 Chevy El Camino Owner: Danny Jacobs Baltimore, Maryland Any of you that have been around this thread for any length of time or those that know me personally know I'm crazy about El Caminos. Rancheros are a close second, and if I had to choose one or the other it would be a tough decision. Of course, the holy grail of ElCos would be a '59 or a '60, but I wouldn't bat an eye at any of them, even a newer un-HAMB friendly late model. Here on this thread we have covered a few of them. There was Howard Henry's chopped and scalloped '67 (W.E.H.T. #36). Thanks to the moderators for not yanking it when I posted it. It is the only time I crossed the HAMB year rule, but I really thought it was a '64 or '65. Thankfully I've sharpened up my search skills since then as I don't want to break the rules and get into trouble. Here's a picture of Mr. Henry's El and a link to the write up. The El Camino was the second of a two part write up, so when you click on the link you'll see Ron Channel's incredible '56 Chevy pop up. Just scroll down and you'll see the truck. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-19#post-11786698 Another El Camino that we covered was Charles Gilbert's jet black '60. This was just about a month ago. It was W.E.H.T. #243. We learned a lot of the history of this one, including hearing, unfortunately, that it had been changed up quite a bit. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-147#post-13821695 Not to leave out you Ranchero fans, we have covered one Ranch. It belonged to Sandy Key out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This was way back at W.E.H.T. #66. We found out elsewhere on the HAMB that the car is still alive and well, and the new owner stops in here every now and then. He has big plans for it. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-43#post-12095073 Last, but certainly not least of the featured car/truck models, is the wild creation of the late Ralph Schindel known as the "Bel Camino". This was W.E.H.T. #180. Ralph took an unloved '61 Bel Air four door sedan and turned it into a one of a kind, never factory built '61 El Camino. So much work and imagination to get this ride done, but Ralph pulled it off. It will always be one of my favorites. It inspires me every time I check out the pictures again to build something crazy like it someday. Who knows, with the prices of El Caminos being what they are, it may be the only way I can ever have one--build my own! https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-124#post-13212047 This week's feature is another of the handful of El Caminos I'm researching that was around the KKOA way back when. These El Caminos have proven to be very difficult to research as for some reason they were never video taped all that much. Also, most of the hot rod and custom magazines didn't feature them very often. They left that to Truckin' magazine for the most part. My collection of those was greatly reduced in my basement flood a number of years back. This El Camino wasn't too hard to research as it was by pretty much to the point. I have very little on it, but when I saw it on the 1994 Sled Scene East video for the first time it blew me away. Right then I knew we had to cover it here. I didn't think at the time that it would be so elusive. Turns out that the only video of it I found was on that 1994 copy of Sled Scene East. It definitely is a mild custom, but to be honest, the El Caminos don't need to have a whole lot done to them to make them cool(er). About all that was done to this one was a little lowering and a wild flame job. Add a tube grille, some dummy spots and lake pipes and you have a very cool cruiser! It's hard to tell in the DVD photo stills, but the flame job is excellent! First off, the style of the flames look like Von Dutch or Larry Watson laid them out. The cool part is how the flames were painted orange and the tips and edges are a little darker. Definitely a flame job that might might have been inspired from looking back through one of the old little books from 1961 or so! For quite some time this was about all I had on this truck until I stumbled upon a picture of it in a KKOA Trendsetter. In the Volume 9 number 5 issue from 1994 on page 13 was this shot. It gave the rundown of how it was originally built in California, but was sold in 1986. That's when Danny Jacobs bought it and took it back home to Baltimore. So what ever became of this truck? Did it ever make it to Lead East or any other big east coast shows? Was it at Sled Scene East other years that I have no video from? Does anybody remember seeing it at a Leadsled Spectacular? All right guys, especially you east coast custom faithful, somebody must have something on this. Let's hear it! After a cold weekend and early week, we've had some snow. I have to admit that it's finally starting to feel like Christmas time. Since it was a cold day I got a rare day off of work. I managed to get out and take care of some Christmas shopping as well as running some errands. Are you guys all getting your holiday "chores" done? I hope so, Christmas Eve is just a little over a week away. Better get busy--time is running out! Stay warm everybody! See you next week! E
Ed, Another great feature. Can't help as to w.e.h.t it, but I knew there was a reason I liked you. You LOVE El Caminos! I'll send you a PM with my non HAMB flamed Elco. Great for hauling swap meet stuff and parts runs. If you don't have an actual pickup, every car guy should have one, Ford, Chevy or GMC.
This car was sitting outside on US1 in Elkridge MD for a few years in recent times., I have photos somewhere and sent them to 00 MAck sometime back.
It was right here. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.217...4!1sgUtf9D2gH4timUPD0b0pcQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
What Ever Happened To..........? number 248. 1951 Mercury "Bobsled" Owners: Bob and Janet Barkoff Rahway, New Jersey This week's custom is another on the growing list of cars that never seemed to venture west much, staying in the east and attending shows there. I wish I had more east coast custom show videos, as there always seem to be a lot of cars that I've never seen anywhere else. It's always neat to see a new sled you've never laid eyes on before. The story on this sled is one that I couldn't find much information on, and I find it hard to believe that this car isn't around somewhere. It had a number of unique mods that would make it easy to identify today, even if it is a color that is way different than it was in the mid 90s. Bob and Janet Barkoff bought their Mercury around 1990, but it wasn't until Sled Scene East 1994 that I found this car. Video Bob spent quite a bit of time filming the car as it was a real show stopper. It had many of the traditional east coast styling queues including bubble skirts, molded lake pipes and Packard taillights. Surprisingly there was no Connie kit on this one, but that's ok, not every east coast sled has to have one. Another great addition is the '54 Chevy marker lights and grille with extra teeth. Also, don't forget the rounded hood corners and frenched headlights. Here are a few other views of the front of the car. One thing I noticed is the front bumper. I could be wrong, but it looks like a nicely shaved '52 or '53 DeSoto unit. Using these in the 80s and 90s was a common mod, but it seems to have faded away a bit. This is the first time I've seen a DeSoto bumper on a Merc without using a DeSoto grille with it. Notice the peaked hood and how the peak curves to the leading edge of the hood and then fades away along the bottom edge. This seems like a hard modification to pull off and make look right. Whoever the bodyman was, he did a great job on the hood! Here's a shot of the tops of the fenders. They have molded peaks to match the hood. Very cool and subtle mod. Couldn't have this many front shots without including a shot of the cool novelty plate on the front bumper. Chopped Merc owners are definitely a small group that could be referred to as "THE FEW"! The last front shot I have is of Bob doing the dirty work shining up the car for the show and shine at Sled Scene East '94. One of my personal favorite custom mods to do to any '49-'51 Merc is the addition of Buick side trim. Bob's Merc had the Buick side trim, molded lake pipes and bubble skirts. How could you lose with that combination. Custom tricks at their best! Moving around to the rear is the classic custom touch of Packard taillights. Although it is done a lot on '51s, I never get tired of it! Every custom needs a sunken antenna, and Bob's is very unique. Hard to describe what exactly was done, but it is one of a kind. Under the hood Bob took no shortcuts and he went crazy on chrome plating. Love the wild air cleaner assemblies! For the interior, it was nothing too crazy, but a very comfortable and functional cockpit. I spent many hours searching for this one, and I didn't find a whole lot for quite some time. A short while back, I finally had a breakthrough on this Merc when I found this great shot of the Barkoff's sled. In the KKOA Trendsetter Volume 9 number 5 on page 12 from 1994, I found a great shot of the Barkoff's Mercury from the show coverage of Sled Scene '94. Before I found this picture I had no owner information on the car at all. Nice to finally come up with missing information! The only other picture I managed to find of the '51 was once again in a KKOA Trendsetter. This time it was in Volume 9 number 10 on page 24 from 1995. This issue had some great coverage of Sled Scene East '95. The caption under the picture mentioned this was the second time the Barkoffs took their righteous custom to Sled Scene East. After I found the second shot of the car at Sled Scene '95, I thought I should go through my Trendsetters and check out every Sled Scene show and maybe I could find out a little more about the car and it's owners. This didn't work as I checked coverage of every Sled Scene from 1996 through 2003 and the car never made another appearance at the show. I also have a DVD of Sled Scene East 2004 and the car wasn't on that either. Talk about falling off the scene! Do any of you custom faithful that used to frequent Sled Scene every year remember this car or the Barkoffs? Strange how for two years this sled was killing it at the shows and then it seemed to suddenly disappear. Anyone remember it? I hope we find more on this one as it was one cool "Bobsled"! Just a few days until Christmas folks! I'm happy to say that my shopping is done! I managed to dodge the crowds by shopping early in the morning, and doing a portion of my shopping online. Shipping has seemed slower this year than in the past, but with this mystery virus going around and many more people shopping online I guess that's to be expected. I hope you guys have been steadily getting your shopping done as waiting 'til the last minute can be the pits! Nothing like fighting the clock on Christmas Eve looking for that last gift! Been there, done that, and I won't ever do that again. So nice to be done three days before Christmas and now all I have to do is wait for the day. I hope that you get a little time off and have some nice family time and you enjoy the rest and this special time of year. I know that we get all wound up about gift giving, great eats, and maybe watching a bowl game or two, but let's not forget the real reason why we celebrate. Let me be among the first to wish all of you in my custom family a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! Have a great holiday everyone! See you next week! E
I believe Bob still owns it, this pic is from his fb page Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Looks like him and Janet are still members of the Galloping Hill Cruisers www.gallopinghillcruisers.com
I've known Bobby Barkoff for over 40 years. He owned a glass shop next door to John Pazsik's body shop, when I began working and learning, from John. Bob was the one who did the sanded edges and fine tuning on my 55 Olds, when I cut the windshield. Bob was into custom cars eve since he was a teen. He, and good friend, and fellow custom guy (even until today), Bill "Bunky" Paulmenn, chopped a 50 Merc when they were teens, one of the few chopped cars in the area back in the late 50's. The car still exists today, John and I had done some "correcting" on the roof for it's owner, Sam DeJohn, at the time. Sam has passed away, but as far as I know, his son still owns it, and has asked me to help restore it, at some time. Back to Bob. He owned a glass shop, but was also talented in doing bodywork and paint. He's owned and showed many cars over the years, but loved his Mercuries. He built this Merc as a tribute to his first one, using many of the same components, Packard lights, 54 grill. He's also built, and owned, a gorgeous purple and lavender Ford Victoria, chopped Buick Riviera, a chopped 60's Pontiac, a stock Pontiac ragtop, and a Candy painted 60's Vette show car. Among others. I'm not sure of the history of the Merc here, but I believe he purchased it from another NJ customizer, Frank Bedacht. He redid the car in his own style, and painted it purple. I believe he later had the car repainted in Candy Purple, at a shop in PA, which is what's on the car now. He later changed out the 54 Chevy grill teeth, for 53's. I saw a pic of the car at a show in CA, in that version. Bob has been active in car shows and clubs for many years. He has been involved with, including being president, of the Galloping Hill Cruisers, for as long as it's been in existence. He still has the Pontiac convert, but has sod his other cars. He was still running the Cruiser's car shows, as of last year. He and his wife, Janet, are some of the nicest, hardest working people in the custom car scene in NJ.
I'm pretty sure Charlie's El Camino showed up at one of @straykatkustoms Starliner shows in Wichita. I don't recall the year, went through the photos on carnut and unless I just missed it l didn't see it. I remember thinking it had to be the same car with that grill treatment. I even remember where it was parked, right inside the gate...
Thanks for all the great information guys! Glad to hear that Bob and Janet are still at it and doing well! E Good to "see" you around again Bill. We've missed you! E
Been looking for pictures of some of Bob Barkoff's cars, but I have (literally) thousands, in albums, organized by car shows, and just random scattered ones that didn't make the albums. Not easy if you don't have lots of time to do it. Here's a shot of Bob's first Merc, with John Pazsik, the 'then current' owner, Sammy DeJohn's wife, and John's wife. I guess Sam's taking the pic.
Here's from a while up this page about Skitch Kenney,He came to the CCR in 2017 with his 41 Sedan and came back in 2018 as a spectator. We ate lunch and dinner a few times that weekend over at the Steak and Shake restaurant.
Hey guys. Those of you that have been around this thread since the beginning may remember me mentioning my cousin Roger. He is the one that introduced me to Classic and Custom Magazine. In the very first "Whatever Happened To..........?" post, I wrote this about him: My cousin was the first person to show me a copy of Classic and Custom, and I was the one who first showed him the Custom Cars by HR mags. I remember how we were introduced to the KKOA in them and we wondered what it was all about. As each new issue came out we managed to figure it out, and we always talked about building a chopped car and going to the Leadsled Spectacular. Roger was always mainly a lowrider guy, but he had a deep love for customs as well, especially '49-'51 Mercurys. When we were kids, he even took a Cruisin' USA series Mercury model and chopped it. He used the write up in Classic and Custom that showed how to chop a real Mercury and applied the technique to his 1/24 scale model. It turned out awesome! I wonder whatever became of that model. Roger also introduced me to the auto detail business and showed me the ropes. I'm thankful for that as I'm still in that profession. All through high school and into our mid 20s we were inseparable. We worked together, cruised together, partied together, laughed together and lots more I won't talk about. I guess you could say we were more like brothers. In the mid 90s with his big brother Martin's help, as well as Hard Times Car Club and a few other guys, me included, he put together a show winning S-10 pickup that was eventually featured in Lowrider Magazine. After he reached that pinnacle, he seemed to be more interested in hard work and making a living. He was a real work-a-holic as he always had two FULL TIME jobs! Eventually responsibilities came along and we both married, had kids and life "got in the way". We grew apart, but still saw each other on special occasions, car shows and so on, but as time went on, those special occasions and car show meetings became further and further apart. In late July 2016, I was hanging out in Berkeley Park on a Sunday with the lowrider crowd. My cousin Martin cruised in and filled me in on my uncle's health. My Uncle Del had moved back to New Mexico years ago, but after falling into ill health, my girl cousins (his daughters) insisted he leave the ranch in New Mexico and come back to Denver. My cousin Martin asked if I wanted to go see him and I jumped at the chance. My tio was a great guy and I loved him dearly. So, we climbed into Marty's incredible Chevy Impala glasshouse and we rode over to Roger's house. Roger's place is just a hop and a skip from the park. It was good to see my Uncle, and good to see Roger as well as we hadn't seen each other in way longer than I'd like to admit. We had a nice visit, took some pictures and then we rolled back to the park. Sadly, my uncle passed away a short time later in October. I still miss him. Like I mentioned before, Roger was a tireless worker, and getting a hold of him was nearly impossible. I tried to call him a multitude of times since July 2016, but I was never able to get in touch with him. On Wednesday the 16th, Marty called me and I thought it was to wish the family a Merry Christmas. We chit chatted for a few minutes and then he told me he had some bad news. My first thought was that my Auntie Helen (his Mom) had passed away as her health isn't too good and she is almost 90. Nope, Aunt Helen was fine, but he told me that Roger had passed away suddenly. Needless to say I was floored. We are exactly 14 months apart, so his passing at 54 was a shock. I was saddened with the thought of his life cut short with so much living left to do. I also found out his wife had died from a brain aneurism back in October. My heart went out to their kids as they had lost both parents within a few months of each other, then with the holidays right around the corner it really hit me hard. Yesterday was Roger's funeral, and it was nice to see the family. With Covid, I have to say that it was the strangest funeral service I've ever attended. Believe me, in the last handful of years there has just been way too many. With all that being said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. The day after I found out about Roger, I heard the news about Jeff Myers. I've had a lot of adversity in my life, some by wrong choices, some by fate or maybe God trying to teach me some hard life lessons, so I consider myself fairly tough and it takes a lot to get to me. When I signed on the HAMB Thursday morning and read the news about Jeff, it broke me. I knew he was ill, but it sounded like he was doing pretty well. I guess God had other plans for him as He took him home. Jeff was a super guy and I looked forward to seeing him at the Spectacular every year. Back in 2018 at the Spectacular, Jeff, Mitch and @Sancho all came up to me and we had a nice talk. For the last handful of years I've been working on non-HAMB friendly project cars for more reasons than I care to get into. Even though the cars me and my fellow Metalflake Misfits member Mitch (not the Mitch mentioned above) have been working on are not within the cutoff years of the HAMB, they lean towards traditional (style wise). Even though they are very different, Jeff always had a kind word to say about the cars. He even went as far as saying that what we were doing could catch on. The cars are newer, but we didn't go the big wheel, last of the Custom Rodder Magazine style of custom. We've been doing traditional old time custom mods on newer cars. To be honest, there aren't many people out there doing anything like this. Maybe there is a good reason for this, but hey, we're having fun! Jeff also thanked me for my hard work on this thread, and he told me he checked it out every week. I couldn't have been more flattered! He said it was cool that someone was trying to preserve the history of the KKOA and the memory of many of the customs and owners/builders. It was great to know that a famous custom guy and a KKOA Hall of Famer cared enough to stop and talk to a guy like me who is basically unknown. The next year at the Leadsled (2019), he was hard at work chopping a Chevy with Alex Gambino. I snapped a picture of them at work that I've posted here before. After I took the picture I just stood and watched them work in awe as I always am when I see masters at work. Jeff turned around to grab a tool and he saw me standing there and he smiled and called out "Hey Ed!" I couldn't believe he remembered me. He stopped work and came over and gave me a big handshake and a pat on the shoulder. He asked how the Mercury was coming as well as Mitch's Roadmaster. I gave him a quick rundown and he said he'd stop by later to see the cars. Then he quickly got back to work. Saturday afternoon he did stop by and check out the cars. We gave him a water and he gave us a ton of great suggestions to do to the cars in the future. Even though our cars are newer, Jeff had a great eye for custom style, and his suggestions were spot on. There are a few of his ideas that we plan to pull off in the not too distant future. I was so saddened to hear of his passing, and the thought of not seeing him again at the Spectacular (if it ever happens again) really got to me. Then that same feeling I got when I heard about Roger hit me again. The thought of Jeff's family not having him for Christmas and all the other times broke my heart. That was a rough evening. With the rising sun of the next day I was feeling better. It was a cold day, but a hard day at work would help clear my mind. That evening I came home and signed on to check out the HAMB. I saw Mick (@straykatkustoms) had posted Jeff's Celebration of Life service. I was afraid watching it would bring me back down, but I felt the need to watch it out of respect for a super guy. The service was great. Thanks Mick for sharing it with us, and for the work it took to put it all together. Also, I tip my hat to Mick and Dennis McPhail for having the ability to do Jeff's eulogy. The comments were very moving, and you guys nailed it when it came to talking about Jeff. He was a heck of a guy, and his passing is definitely our loss. So after this long post (sorry about that), I wanted to let everyone know that I'll be doing our usual "What Ever Happened To..........?" post on Tuesday, but after that I'm going to take January off. I need to decompress as work has been a bear, the holidays have been hectic, and my research has been suffering. Couple that with the heavy Covid protocol here in Denver (especially at work) and then the passing of two good friends, I just need a break. I hope everyone understands, but I just need a little time off. If you read this whole thing, thanks, I just needed to vent a little as this has been a rough couple of weeks. You guys are the best and I feel very lucky to have a custom family like you. 'Til Tuesday, take care! E
God bless you, Ed. You, and all you love. All those good people, that made you .. YOU, that will never be again .. .. They will always be here, as long as you still breathe. Thank you, for that. Thank them, too. We live our lives here .. .. for those that cannot. Never forget. Always love. ALWAYS. LOVE. Take care, brother. Peace to all, & more than anything, peace be with you. You are more than just one person. You are built, of many, and we will miss them all. Jamie C
Thanks guys, you are the best! Let's all just hope and pray the new year is better than 2020 was..........E
Sorry to hear about Roger, Ed. Will be praying for you and his family. Two shocks in a week is tough. Hoping the new year brings a breath of fresh air!
The Jalopy Journal
