The original Merc from the movie was parked at Dean Jefferies shop for a long time. Then it was stolen. The car in the museum is not it. If anyone is near Jefferies shop, ask him.
Wow -- am I seeing that correctly?! The rear leaf spring is just BENT so that it rubs against the framerail? That looks so scary.
Sam...I got the movie holmes and can copy it for you...Also, i video taped it years ago at one of the shows plus bought a tape that has one of the guys who maintains the car wich he does a walk through/around on the car giving all the details and history of it.....really kool car and tapes. I think maybe the connection about Brian Setzer is the fact he owned the one from American Graffitti wich i cant figure out how you could get them mixed up?....but Brian was quoted of the his website about the AG Merc and said it was a huge ****box!....lol...If i remember Germs post that was the one he smoked the joint in and slammed the car cause the chop was 'crooked'....hahaha
I can't speak to the urban legend about the car at the Jefferies shop but it is common knowledge that the museum car a) has a significant paper trail that was vetted for authenticity and b) is ***led in NV. Hardly a way to hide a stolen car.
That heated rear spring will break under normal driving, sooner or later. Don't ever do that! Ask me how I know. Love that car. Took me 50 years to get one. I think they look best lower in the rear...........OLDBEET
It is quite possible to have the paper trail from the movie studio. And it would fit any Merc. The car could be ***led in any state, that doesn't prove anything. Why wasn't it ***led in California, where it supposedly came from?
I believe the Merc that disappeared from Jeff's place was the Johnny Zupan / Louie Bettancourt car. There is whole other "urban legand" about it's whereabouts. None of them have been confirmed.
Why can you still see the fresh rust where the heat torched the spring, and the gas tank (?) next to it? Is that a recent job, or is California and Nevada weather really that nice? Looks like it was done a year ago. I think it's kinda funny you guys mixing up the Bettancourt, Dean, and Pharoahs Mercs.
I have a DVD with The Dean Merc in it and it shows many angles of the car. I'll make some stills and post them when I get a chance.
Additional background on the Zupan Merc, which was up on blocks at Jeffries shop for modifications by Bill Carr - Quoted from "Barris Custom Techniques of the 50's" Vol 3; pg. 50 '49 Mercury - Johnny Zupan: "As Dean (Jeffries) tells it, shortly after the photographs for Car Craft were taken, he came to his shop on Cahuenga Boulevard one morning to find s****es in the driveway where the Merc had literally been dragged away sans wheels. How the thieves managed to move the car, he has no idea." "Despite some extensive inquiries by various interested parties, the car's whereabouts have never been resolved. If you know anything, call Dean Jeffries, he's still looking."
i wouldnt exactlly say i mixed up the two cars,,they are clearly totally different styled cars,.,.i mixed up the part about which car that Germ told us he smoked a joint in... besides,,,i could have left out the Germ part entirely when i started the thread as it had nothing to do woth the topic anyways,,but thought it was funny to old HAmbers .....
Sam F, I have a cruising Paso video that has the Dean Merc in it at museum, I'll take a look at the tape and post the info latter. Cruiser
that would be rad,,and gotta say(cuz i havent said it before,,)THANKS TO everybody who has replied to this thread!!! all the information has been great!
Thanks Bonesy. I knew what I wanted and i'm trying to stick to my ideas. The flames really changed the whole look,but I couldn't resist!!!
Sam,,,dont do it man....Its funny with me,,,I love chopped Mercs to the bones but everytime i'm at a show i look at them all then i come across one that isnt chopped and its sooo refreshing to see i get wood.....The last pic should be convincing enough not to do it.......Although the one Bad Bob posted is bad***....I'll have to dig the pics of the local one here named 'DESIRE'....You'll see why its called that!
When I saw the Dean Merc in the Harrah's museum over 25 years ago it had a br*** tag on the dash saying it was the car. Is that still there? Don't see it.
Sam F, Here's the information on the Dean Merc, its location and very good video of it in and out of the warehouse. ***le: The West Coast Kustoms Car Show Distributed by Westlake Entertainment Group Telephone 818 716-5822 Fax 818 716-5579 www.westlakeent.com VHS 60 minutes 2001 Gregory Summitt Productions Make in the USA This is a good video about the WCK show, I didn't like some of the cars they featured. The James Dean Merc part at the end of the tape is very good and shows the Merc very well plus it moving. Personally, I think James Dean is a lot about nothing and his image is way over blown. Dean was a sports car freak who loved driving fast and racing at the track. This love for speed got him killed near Shandon, Ca after leaving the Black Rock Store at Hwy 33 and 46. I believe Dean was to blame for the accident. I live just 60 miles from Shandon, Ca were Dean was killed. Hope you like the tape. Cruiser
Just thought I'd show these off. I found these Die Cast James Dean Mercurys tucked away in a box I hadn't opened since I moved from Texas, it's been 3 years since I've seen them. I bought these at Toys'R'Us a while back, one is fully ***embled and the other requires ***embly. Glad I found them, anyways thought I'd post them up here instead of starting a new thread, sorry to bring this back up after so many years..
When i was with Movieworld,we had the car in the museum on display. Ive sat in the car but never drove it. I drove other cars in there from time to time and now wish i had driven that one.
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