Wonder if anyoune as ever came across and old car that was famous

I did once. This old faded kustom showed up on the block a number of years ago, I didnt know the guy who had, it but is was parked on the street. It was full of show trophys, and I noticed the Barris Badge on the fender. Sit there six months or so than it was gone. I could never catch the guy home, than I heard The guy up and moved to calif....Will after he moved I found out what I was looking at all that time It was the Grecian...A 47 studabaker I think.........

 

Sadly, yes...
Lyman T. Johnson [google it] was a neighbor of ours. Back in the mid 80's when his health was beginning to fail, he offered to sell me a mid 60's Pontiac full sized sedan that had spent a few years parked beside his garage. It was rough so I turned it down, he later sent it to the junk yard.

A few years later before he passed away, he told me, and showed me pictures, of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. riding in that car when he was released from Jail in Birmingham.

A small piece of history lost...... Had I only known then what I know now

 

As a 8 year old i used to sit in a old 2 engine rail that was in a fieldIn IL.
The former owner Tommy Ivo.

 

Don't know how famous it was except for locals, but when I was in college (NTSU) I worked night shift at a shell station on Coit road in north dallas. Came to work one night and a customer had his custom 60 Edsel in the bay. It was silver with silver flake. Interior was silver flake vinyl. Power was a 392 Hemi. Wasn't too good looking in my opinion, but it was a 70's show car. Called it the Silver Cloud.

 

Yup,

I found out about this Bad Ass Lakes Roadster about 15 or so years ago...

Got to talk to the owner (now Passed on) and check it out, Watch them break in the Dodge Hemi on the engine stand.

Now it has been Exploited as a BARN FIND like someone Special tripped on a Long Lost Pot of Gold ... When the reality of it is the Owner just wanted to race it once more before he passed.

Was sitting in My Machine Shops back Garage.

You all now know it as " THE WILLIAMS BROTHERS ROADSTER "

Sure wish i knew it was gonna be sold so cheap.

 

bttp

 

Great post...

My dad just finished a job on an old So Cal custom with lots of interesting history.....

 

In my story the car would be famous because of the previous owner.

During a home remodel for George Khurts III in Borrego Springs, CA, I see a low production, mid 1960's Mercedes Benz 600 SWB limousine in the garage. It's buried under years of dust and has boxes stacked on it but nice condition. Low mileage too.

I ask George III's son, George IV (he's in charge of the remodel) "what's the story" His reply "it was parked because of a problem which controls the suspension and power windows"

(they had adjustable hydraulic ride height, hydro windows and trunk lid)

Recognizing the potential value, I ask "could it be purchased or traded towards the remodel job, for a $10,000 ballpark value" He tells me that he'll ask his dad who's staying the summer in Del Mar and let me know. After a few days he says "I asked Dad and the answer was no"

I became friends with George III's daughter (Kyra) and later discovered the car originally belonged to a Mr. Marion Michael Morrison. She told me her dad aquired it in the late 1960's or early 70's while living next door to Mr. Morrison in Newport Beach, CA.

A few years later George III passed away. I call Kyra and ask about the car. She tells me George IV has a sale pending to his good friend.

The purchase price ..... $3000, because of the hydraulic problem.
The buyer... a San Diego / La Jolla area classic car dealer.

Mr. Morrison was a Hollywood film actor better known as John Wayne.


This photo isn't John Wayne's car but visually compareable.
Gold color 600's aren't common but was a color "The Duke" liked.

 

i used to have Mae West's 1938 caddy limo v-16. elvis's 1956 lincoln and a few more that was owned by not so famous folks.i am now in possesion of a body buck that was used to build a one off 1972 rolls royce frua drophead coupe.it was the only one ever built.one day i'll sell it.
now is not a good time for some of these cars.a year ago i sold 297 cars worldwide.ii only sold one car this year...regardless of who owned them.

 

I passed on the 55 (the best of the three cars used)from "Sometimes they comeback".
I already had a better 55 so I decided to buy his 34/3 window body instead.

 

I found an old Lemans race car that was the first closed car to race at Lemans, the first woman co-driver, and the first streamliner to race there. It's a 1936 Adler Rennlimousine made in Germany. It was black flagged in 1937 when Driven by Madamme Annie Itier and Baron Fritz Hueske Von Hanstein who later was a team driver for Hitler's SS race drivers and then BMW. In 1938 it won it's class and came in 7th overall. It was stitting under a pine tree in Southfield Michigan for years. I bought it and realised I could not restore the tube frame aluminum body the way the car deserved so I sold it to Richie Cline at Blackhawk who restored it. It was shown at Pebble Beach where it came in third in the race car class and was then sold to a European collector.

 

that's just too cool.

 

any story how the Adler ended up in that backyard ?

Beaulieu

 

when i finally found russ meeks sectioned nomad and bought it, i got the story on what happeded to the car after it was sold to a druggie and dissappeared. it ended up in a barn, the guy who found it went to go look at some old tractors a guy had that he worked with. after looking at the tractors the guy told him he had this old cut up wagon in the other side of his barn, he told him it was a rough but to come look in the other side of the barn, the guy who owned it had went to prison and left it.. mark did not know what it was or who's it was. after talking with the guy he sold it to him and drug it home. he figured out it was russ's nomad. and the rest is history.

 

Haven't seen THAT car since 1970. It use to be at a gas station across the street from the Ford Plant in Wayne MI. Nobody knew what IT was.I did some studying and knew it must be valuable BUT never thought of buying. STUPID STUPID !!

 

The guy that owned it bought it in the 50's from a serviceman of some ranking that brought it home with him after the war. He used to drive it around Detroit for a long time until it was STOLEN from him. Later on it was "discovered" sitting at the gas station in Garden City that Butch27 saw it at in the 70's. I even have a few old pictures of it while it was at the gas station! After the police took it back from the gas station owner that was trying to sell it, he put it in the backyard to keep others from stealing it. I first saw it in the yard in the late 70's and went back for it in the late 80's.

 

I think my nomad had a little fame in its day.

 

Unfortunately no!

 

I had a chance to buy a 56 Lincoln Premiere from the widow of a guy named Frawley, who invented one version of the ballpoint pen and eventually started the Papermate Pen company.

 

A guy with a shop next to mine in the 90's showed up with Gil Ayala chopped early 50's shop truck (TRJ #39), had drug it out of a local junk yard where it had been apparently since the 60's.It was complete with a GMC 6 in it, a really crude lowering job (ft axle flipped on the springs with well casing c notches!) but some really nice metalwork on the body. He stripped the old lacquer off and the lead work was perfect.I tried to convince the guy to restore it but no, he had to subframe it, 350/350, took the long bed off and shortend the frame, got rid of everything that made the truck unique. The really bad part was the guy was a hacker, I was so pissed he had gotten the truck, he could of hacked up any old truck. I even offered to find another truck, chop it for him and trade but he said he wanted the "history" of the Ayala truck. Go figure???

 

James , care to tell us how is was eventually sold for , after restoration ?

 

It went to an auction on the east coast and brought about $150,000. This was right after the first big drop in car prices in about 1992-93. I bought it for $50,000 oin 1987 and sold it to Blackhawk for $100,000 after owning it for about 2 years.

 

Went riding around on my lunch hour and go down a dead end road only about 8 blocks from where I work. I can see some sort of chopped strange car sitting under a half falling down shed. So I go back after work and stop and talk to the guy. Turns out the car was a Darrell Starbird car. Originally called "The Spoiler" Very weird looking car. Thought I found a car that was worth a pot load of money the back window had stained glass that had a rainbow and said Pot O Gold across it.
I ended up buying the car from the guy for what I thought was a good price. I got in contact with Darrell Starbird himself confirming that it was one of his cars and he wanted me to donate the car to his museum. Well, I am not a rich man and couldn't afford to loose out on the money I had in it, so I tried to sell it with no luck!!!!
Ended up trading it for a 29 roadster truck. My Uncle Rex drives everyday.............

 

Was this "the spoiler" you found?

 

Yep, that's it!!! Who has it? do you know?

 

My Grandfather Ray Kinney owned a kinda famous truck. He named it ''SUPERTRUCK''
He built a 42 chevy in the late 70's, At the time he was working for Vic Hickey, long story short the trucks powerplant was one of Vic's race truck engines. It was a Hurst/olds 350Not long after the truck was completed my grandfather met
Steve McQueen (one of vic hickeys race truck drivers/movie star).
Steve just fell in love with the truck, and had to have it. Regretedly my Grandfather sold it to him. And in 1984 McQueen used the truck in the "Karate Kid" anybody remember that scene? If i had a scanner i could post pictures i have of the truck as it was being built.






I wish i knew what happened to the truck after McQueen died.,I would love to find the new owner and talk to him. If possible I would buy it back in a heartbeat. And before anyone asks..., Steves son;Chad, doesnt know what happened to the truck either(i have asked him).
If anyone knows please pm me

 

It's for sale for 75,000!!

http://www.hotrodhotline.com/classifieds/classifieds.php?a=2&b=17989

 

WOW!!! Are you the guy I traded it to for the roadster???

 

i got the original steel body that they took themolds for BIG ALS fiberglass body from...got it from HOLLYWOODGRAHAM[HAMBmember]mother while he was in service....was later stole from my back yard thru the empty lot next door....still looking for it BIG $ REWARD OFFERED