Customs New member. Searching for grandfathers old ride

Good Points @carcruse...

 

Since it has seemingly vanished it could have went worldwide and truth be told it may be a very Hamb friendly Hotrod now...they build Nice Hotrod Over Yonder...and for that matter Know the History @SuperFleye any thoughts?...

Think of how the Kookie Ts Watson paint deteriorated. Thinking 1980 that Coupe could have already lost its identity through several sales when Hotrods were everywhere, with potentially multiple owners...I don't think I'd have known it was a Watson and I'm Stogy......I mean I would have Guessed early 60s genuine Kool/Cool but not necessarily Watson I know of Custom Painters but its the Styles and while there are signature Artists there were so many...who followed the same paths of the greats

 

@SuperFleye , just thought I would bring this thread to your attention. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am sure the original poster and Phil Kaelin would not be against an article to try and find this car.

 

This was a 79 ish how old is the pic and info?

Polished Firewall...2 Engines for 1...That Illusion Rocks...
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I wonder if @Deuce Bruce has seen this. Mr Meyer knows his way around the hotrod scene quite well . He was here last Tuesday when this thread started.

 

Hold on here, too much is being made of a one shot magazine put out by Consumer Reports in 1979. Let’s be honest CR is not exactly at the forefront of rod and custom reporting. All they did was gather a bunch of photos, acknowledge and pay for the rights to them when necessary, and then compile them into a magazine that would catch the eye of the casual enthusiast at the newsstand.
It’s not like they sent photogs out to put together a bunch of features, but instead they may have used images from Petersen Publishing, or Ziv, which was a ‘50’s-‘60’s East coast publishing house (among others) and even some in the public domain.
Grease Machines was nothing more than a cheap money grab. Yeah, the Watson painted car is prominent on the cover but that really means nothing.
It was a great car and like everyone else I think it would be wonderful if it still existed in the same form but honestly I think it is highly unlikely. I hate to be a wet blanket but that’s JMO.

 

I good with whatever and Phil wouldn’t mind either


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The clutch off has all the right stuff just built 1957 New York the ad says


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@Searchingforaclassic ,
All this has come to light not just as a benefit to you, but for the HAMB as well, and the hot rodding community in general. You appreciate it, and we do too... for the pure pleasure of it, and also for the history and for the fact that this car is now chronicled to a greater degree.
So thanks for sharing.

 

Someone knows something of this cars life once it landed in California, that is for sure. This wasn't just another basic (potentially forgettable/belly button for the time) coupe, not with that paint scheme ... it may take some time but someone out there knows something. You may need to expand your audience though ... Craigslist, Facebook, an ad in Good Guys Magazine (if that is still a thing) or even NHRA monthly (if they still have a magazine). Beyond that, once the car shows start back up (after Covid), get some shirts made (with a pic and "have you seen this car?" on it) and hand them out to SoCal Hamb members and ask them to wear them to their local cruises, swap meets, large shows etc.

I doubt that whoever bought it in the early sixties, immediately stripped and primed it ... his buds have seen this car and they (or some of them or their kids) are still out there somewhere.

 

Hey I feel like this art and community need to be kept alive people now days I don’t feel appreciate the craftsmanship or the actual hard work it took to build something like all the hot rods back then. The knowledge most of you have on here needs to be passed down and appreciated to keep the hot rod spirit alive I hope to pass what little knowledge I have down to my sons and so on and so forth.


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I will absolutely get the shirts made and whoever wants one can get one but they have to be cool [emoji41]

I totally agree someone somewhere has knowledge of this car after the 60’s I don’t do Facebook but maybe I can talk my wife into posting something lol


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The Kustomrama newsletter, out of Norway, had a story on Watson and referenced that Grease Machine mag. Maybe someone over there can help. https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Grease_Machines

 

This thread is moving so fast, has someone checked out getting info from Gene Winfield?

 

What an incredible string of coincidences getting the search to where it is today. I'm hoping it gets found...it wouldn't surprise me a bit. Life is essentially a string of coincidences. My guess is that resolution on this one is waiting on the one chance phone call. Good luck.

 

IN. Just 'cause I'm a sucker for a challenging hunt, and a good story! The Hamb never sises to amaze. And this one ain't near over... Good luck OP!

 

The Clutch off Coupe is not it. That car was built in 57 by Mike Sforza.
See here:
http://charliedodgehagenmayer.com/id14.html

 

Yea, just look at what happened to Norms Kookie T between when he sold it and when it was restored.

 

Although the car may have been changed some, I really think the best chance of finding the car by pictures, is to look at 1970s-80s car show/autorama/rod run pictures. By the 1990s, after market chassis became available and a lot of those (considered outdated) channeled cars became un-channeled hiboys.

 

I've got a hunch this car will show up in the Louisville, Millersburg, Lexington, KY or Cincinnati area...in pieces. After it was sold by the OP's grandfather, the new owner may not have been a hot rodder and may have abused the car into inoperability...and then decided to "upgrade" it while making the repairs. As happens so many times to old hot rods in the hands of unskilled new owners, the upgrade project may have run out of steam while the car was in pieces...never to be reassembled again. Time passes and the disassembled car gets forgotten or sold again as a "project". I'll betcha the car is in pieces, buried in somebody's garage, the body covered up to protect the paint...unknown by everybody except the new owner who may by now have passed. Betcha!

 

This is very possible. When you look at the pic of the interior and see how much interior space was lost when it was channeled, then look at the very thin seats (not comfy/cushy) sitting right on the floor, one can imagine the ride was less than enjoyable ... a new owner could easily tire of that and take out the channel.

Regardless of what 'may' have happened to it, I am positive someone from California is going to recognize/remember it in its 'original', as-shipped configuration. Just a matter of time.

 

I totally agree with this. Although the story states it went to California after Gramps owned it, I am not convinced that is the case. I would not be the least bit surprised if it was still local.

I should probably clarify my post above this one ... I stated that someone in California knows what happened to it, what I should have said was someone local to the new owner knows what happened to it ... whether that be in California or a state close to Kentucky (depending on where it went after Gramps). I am just finding the "it went from Kentucky to California to be painted then back to Kentucky" and then "it was sold to California after returning to Kentucky after being painted in California" as being a bit too coincidental ... I still can't shake the feeling this is where the story gets mixed up (if there even is a mix-up).

 

As I read it the story goes that Gramps sold the car to "a guy (who lived) in California." Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but there's no evidence that the new owner actually returned the car to California. The mystery continues...

 

I wish this were the case. If it were close to hard that would add another layer of craziness to the story that would be unexpected. Especially for years hearing it went to the west coast after my grandpa sold it. Anything is possible


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That's an interesting point.
So a guy FROM California buys it locally (Kentucky), intending to drive it home. Tires of the ride quality and decides there is no way he's driving this thing all the way back so ... he sells it before returning to California.

Could very well be ...

 

I do know the original owner Phil stated it wasn’t a very comfortable ride lol he said basically the seat were two pieces of ply wood and sit right on the floor. I know my grandpa also had several ties to car dealers all over Ky and Ohio. This is the part of the story that’s fuzzy for me because I wasn’t exactly interested in where it went lol I was just fascinated with the car and hearing about it lol


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For all we know, the new owner started out for California, tired of the ride quality/fuel mileage/lack of fenders and traded it in anywhere along his route or maybe it broke down and was traded or abandoned. Until we have confirmation of a sighting in California, it could literally be anywhere.

I wouldn't focus on California.

 

Very true. Phil said it had a small 6 gallon tank in the trunk and I remember my grandpa talking about it had a small fuel tank too.


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Wow, six gallons with a four-carb hemi ... local trips cool, long distance? Yikes.

 

This search makes me think about my pal Phil who bought a full fender 5w '32 hot rod in late '71 or 'early'72. SBC, '39 box. '32 rear, in primer, and ran. We painted it in my house garage...brown fenders, Corvette yellow. He drove it, put a '40 rear in it and planned on the full street rod updates. Life got in the way and none of that ever got done.

He started driving it again in the '90's and left it alone except for needed maintenance and small upgrades in keeping with its roots. He has bought and/or built 4 or 5 more early Fords since. His '32 could have went where the Grandpa car may have went.

The guy my pal Phil bought it from would recognize it right away....I'm glad.