The thing is, it's a very special car in customs history, but there's a pretty small population of people who like customs and a smaller set of people who like that car and an even smaller set of people with the significant financial wherewithal to consider buying it. It only takes two, I guess. We'll see. It may be that if it sells privately, we'll never even know the price.
The Hirohata Mercury clone was created before the original Hirohata Merc'. .. ... surfaced. By just a couple years.
The Hirohata Merc is one of the iconic early customs that I always remember hearing about. I have no doubt that it will go to a heavy hitter and will be priced accordingly. I recently watched this video on the car, which made it even seem more iconic in my mind. The video is about 30 minutes long, but it sure smacked a smile on my face as I watched it. Especially the parts about finding it for cheap when it was pretty much abandoned on a used car lot, squirreled away for many years in a private garage, turning away big offers of cash and then the story about bringing it back to life with many of the original artisans involved.
The owner clearly didn't want to sell it. If he had wanted to at some point, he should have done it then. I don't think it will bring that much. If you buy it, you're just going to park it in a museum or garage somewhere.
The clone by Jack Walker of Belton(Kansas City) Missouri debuted in 85. Doug Thompson built it for Jack. Here is Kurt McCormick looking for it in 81. You do know who he is don`t you. If not. He has owned more Barris customs than anybody besides George and his family.
shame it is not used but i guess it should stay where it is and they should have enough money to buy it
^^ Danny, the same way old farts like us do now, with some effort and a few grunts and groans!!! lol Larry
Every HAMBer throws $50 into a pot, we store it @Ryan 's place, and we sign up for a day to drive it, kinda like a timeshare, only not a ripoff.
Newton's Second Law=the rate of change of momentum of a body over time is directly proportional to the force applied, and occurs in the same direction as the applied force. I'd rather enjoy Newton's First Law-objects in motion tend to stay in motion.
Emailed Kurt and said he was going to follow with interest. He is not a bidder as he is currently thinning his collection not adding to it. He was surprised to see that picture from 1981 and commented that he couldn't believe he ever had that much hair. I didn't mention the girl but I am sure it is not his wife he has now
I doubt we will know what it sells for if it never goes to auction, but I think you guys are vastly underestimating the value of this car. This is the custom car. We all saw the Golden Sahara and Kookie T sell and those were cars that both needed massive amounts of restoration and had been out of the spotlight for many years. Gold chain guys spend 200K building custom Mercs and flavor-of-the-week protouring whatevers every day and those are as common as traffic, this is something much different.
"More iconic than the Batmobile"? Uh...nope. In our circle of the Hotrod world, yes, it is. The Batmobile was on TV and is familiar to anybody who watched TV at that time. The Hirohata is the most famous Custom Car, TO ANY CAR PERSON, but that's about it. It is the bench mark, for any Custom. It's sad to see it leave the family, but, i'm sure they have their reasons. Some place like the Peterson Museum would be the best place for it to go, with the exception of Bruce Meyer or Jay Leno. Most cars will never have the same passion as it does to the original owner or builder. I hope they are pleased with what they get for it.
Apparently, Jim McNeil paid $500.00 for it back in 1959, so the family will likely get a decent return on their investment. That's about $4500 in today's money so not quite as good as it sounds, but still not a bad price.
Easily into the $1mil range, that was offered years ago right after it was restored. That's chump change to the modern billionaire these days (who I hope don't get anywhere near this, my vote is for the Petersen or Leno). When Bugatti was deciding to build the Veyron at $2mil a pop they did a lot of research on potential buyers. There were a few hundred if not a thousand billionaires at that time and here was their thinking: If you're worth was over a billion then spending $2mil on a car is the equivalent of a guy making $80,000 a year spending $60 on a shirt... let that sink in for a while......
Let’s hope it sells before the capitol gains taxes are jacked up! This one won’t fly under the radar.
Jimmy Buffet cruising the Keys in the Merc! Parrotheads exposed to Custom Car Culture! Awesome idea! (I know he meant the other Buffet, but this is better.)
I would think and hope the car will go for a million+. I realize that custom cars are a small niche but a car of this status will appeal to any car lover that has the means to consider purchasing a car like this. Whether you like the car or not you have to respect it for its quality and care that was taken to build it. The car has icon status and rides like that dont come up for sale very often. I personally have always thought it was cool. Love the colors as well.
I don't know if there is some lottery going on or guessing who the new caretaker will be, but I'd like to see it in Three Dog Garage in Pennsylvania, a most fitting addition. Bob
I am really not a custom car guy. Sure, like everyone else I can appreciate the quality of the build. I watched the video and have to say I teared up a couple of times. There could have been no better steward of this piece of history than Jim. You could see the passion in his eyes and hear it in his voice. Very personal and emotional attachment to this car.
I wasn't going to watch this video. In the grand scheme of things, I'm not much of a custom car fan. I can really appreciate a fine looking automobile but too many customs have been built over the top, with things being changed just for the sake of change without consideration of scale and flow. The Hirohata is elegant in a hot rod sort of way. It's magical. I watched the vid on a lark and was pulled into the mystique. I immediately developed a liking and respect for Jim McNiel and enjoyed listening to the comments by Ganahl and Conway. Thanks for posting it.
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