What's your opinion of this custom?

I wonder how many of you that have picked the car apart on here are willing to start a thread with your car and let everyone on here pick it apart? And this poor lady didnt even ask for this, I think this has gone on for long enough, let this go, the man is gone, let him and his widow be at peace, let her enjoy the car and for gods sake quit picking on HER car! Jim

 

I like it too

 

i dont have any problems looking at this merc. i didn't see a side profile pic. But from these pictures, this merc looks better than most mercs on here...And it's nice to see something a little different such as the tail lights. And i like the 51 back window. Good to see the stock steering column. Being from NJ, i learned to look passed things such as the ugly shifter and under dash A/c, double end lake pipes. the car was built in the 70s/80s so you can expect it to have some goofy stuff. I pretty much came to acceptance that 99% of cars i look at will have crap on/in them that I wont like. I can pick apart some things I don't like about this merc, but im pretty sure I can criticize ANY car(including my own).

 

There's a difference between;
"What's your opinion on this Custom?"
AND
"Look what this guy did to this car!"

Nobody is attacking this builder or his widow! You act like this was an intentional "grilling" of the owner. It isn't! Opinions of the car were asked for,and given. NOT one thing was said about the guy who built it or the lady who owns it now.

BTW-I DID ask for opinions when I flamed my Merc,changed the grill,added pinstripes to my trunk,etc. Nothing anybody said bothered me at all. And it wasn't all positive either,haha!

 

its a baddddd muthatrucker!!!!!

 

i'd drive it

 

Here are thescans from the early 90`s. In the row of Merc`s, it`s the second one over.

 

I recognize this Merc as Herman & Diane Caudle's from Ardmore, OK. It was originally a California car and pinstriped by some big name California striper (not Von Dutch) but I can't think of his name. I know the Caudles were both at Salina, KS. with the Merc this year as I talked to them. If Herman passed away since then, it's news to me. Their club is scheduled to host a show this weekend in Ardmore. You might google Blue River Car Club for info. It's too late to call tonight but I have their number and will call tomorrow to confirm about Herman. I know this thread is supposed to be about what's wrong with their custom but I'm more concerned about Herman. Herman didn't build it but bought it this way.

 

Cfnutcase...really...seriously? I just re-read the posts on this thread and there are way more positive comments about that car than bad. And the bad has been almost always very restrained. What's the point in dragging out the drama llama over this? do you honestly think we've been disrespecting the owners?

 

Wow! On one hand I'm hoping I didn't lie about the owner having passed away, if so it was an honest mistake. I swear I remember her saying he had! On the other hand I hope I'm wrong about it and if so apologize for that.

This thread was never about whats wrong with the car! I thought I made it clear that I just wanted opinions about how it fit the HAMB consensus of customizing for my own education. Some have critiqued the car a bit but most have complimented it. I in fact like the car. If you do talk to the owner you can tell her I was the guy who said "I bet you pat your self on the back very time you look at this car!". I think she knows I was very impressed by it.

 

That’s exactly the kind of custom I cant stand and why I rarely go to shows that have lots of customs ….. The majority have a ton of gowdy crap piled and painted on them
But id love to fix it….the basics are hiding there.

 

i love it...if it didnt have all hte extra bs, yes it does look like some one got bored and just added crap. sometimes less is more.

 

i personally talked with her and her husband at Salina Kansas Leadsled show for several years in a row.Just talked with both of them a month ago.Very nice people ,they loved there pride and joy Kustom. You call her a OLD LADY , hay how about a little respect dude! I am sure she is heart broken without him. That is so cool she is showing the car alone. I like it the way it is besides who cares weather these guys on here like it or not. I know she likes it!

 

Your right no disrespect to her intended by the "old lady" remark. As many people have said how recently they saw this couple I'm beginning to think I misunderstood her about the husband being gone. And if so I'm kinda ashamed to have even mentioned it. The only intent I had posting here was to find out what the builder had done to the car and how that fit under the category "traditional hot rods and customs". You say you spoke with them both a month ago and I'm thinking she wouldn't have been at the show with him gone so recently. Makes me an ass if true.

 

If that's true,it's an honest mistake. There's a gal who drives her husbands old '50 Merc to the Donut Derelics every sat. I knew her husband and was really pleased to see that she didn't just sell the car when he passed. She usually wears cuffed Levis,a scarf,really enjoying the car.

 

looks good to me. as alot said i could do without the striping and the dice knobs but a good looking car.

 

Does anyone know who built this car. As I posted earlier the car hung out in the Phoenix AZ area and was seen all around town. The owner obviously liked "gingerbread" but in my opinion that made this car fun to look at. Who cares what someone thinks of your ride,it's your blood sweat and tears and is built solely for your enjoyment. Whoever did the build on this was not into the "me to" build but broke some new ground with the tail light treatment, that I think works. This is a fun car and once again clearly speaks "KUSTOM"!

 

There was a thread about this Merc earlier which was called Who Built This Merc. Do a search. Maybe sombody can put the link up.

 

I've seen this car up close- anybody that changes it is a freakin idiot! It's like a piece of candy when you look it over, and get to know the history on it.

I tee-totally love this car just like it is! Living by Ardmore all my life, rarely did anyone own a car in this town that hit the mark for me. Customs in Ardmore? Don't make me laugh. But lately there are a few that are nice.

It may have some issues, maybe a bit too much here and there, but once she gets under your skin--you wouldn't change this car much if you had a brain.

It's like the best rock-candy you can get, with all the sparkles. Go fuck up some other car, leave this one alone.

 

yes i meant every single word i said...............leave it alone

 

yes it has a small block. He can get a flathead pretty easy, but to each their own. I don't judge him for that.

 

beautiful merc

 

we drove a 1950 mercury from NYC to Daytona Beach in 13 hours
try that with a flat motor

 

Nail on the head.

 

Easy there big fella! This is a theoretical conversation, nobody is planning on hurting the car! LOL

I'm glad you voiced your strong opinion of it though.

 

Nothing against you, we might be neighbors. I live down here in Woodford, outside of Springer.


You just asked for an opinion, but then when everybody that jumped in to offer the changes they would make...............well at what point do the mustang taillights get put on?

I like Mercs, but many times , most times actually I just don't get into the way the chops are done, etc.

This car has a lot of cracking paint, and even had a few wiring issues I think at one time.

There was a trend in Los Angeles in the late 70's early 80's where a few cars had a certain twist , overdone in some ways perhaps, but the chops and the flames made the cars. I have seen many Mercs, many Mercs. But that period in So-Cal put out a flavor I haven't seen since. There aren't many out there. To have one in Ardmore is neat!

Mel Blanc jr (his dad was the voice of Bugs Bunny) had a car from this trend also. I don't know who built it, but they did it right enough. It's one of those cars that IF it were perfected, it would be ruined. In my opinion of course.

 

Good News! I just talked to Diane, and she was somewhat shocked to hear that her husband had passed away. Especially since he was sitting on the couch right next to her! It was a big relief to me the know that Herman was not dead. The Caudles are a great couple and a big asset to our car community. I'd trade my three heaps for his '32 Coupe & his Merc in a heartbeat!

 

No offense taken We are pretty close to being neighbors. I just live a bit north in Sulphur. I did use this car to get ideas on what was considered by this specific crowd to be acceptable mods. No offense was ever intended by myself to the owner's or builder of the car.

Wow, I bet! Please let them know I'm terribly sorry for the missunderstanding. I will actually try and get down there to the show this coming weekend to tell her myself. Thanks for the info and I hope they and the folks here understand I just missunderstood something she said to me and wouldn't have made something like that up!

 

I'm the "ole lady" and when "toptinman" called to find out about Herman, I was amazed. Herman is truly alive and well - Thank God! I immediately came to the H.A.M.B to find out what had happened. I have been extremely entertained with all the comments. No offense taken AT ALL. I won't comment on all but I personally think the car is over the top too but no changes have been made (except for 5 different sets of skirts) in 32 years. That is why it is my husbands joy. There are issues and then there are issues! We can't change anything or it isn't "as it was built" so there we are. It is a time capsule. They finally finished it in '81 and we have a box full of dash plaques and even timing tags from Baylands Raceway. It has a full history and we now know when and where it was built.

We have decided to leave the Merc as is and when we really are gone, the next person will likely change everything - or not. We are having a car show in Ardmore Sat. 17th so come by and I will tell you the "rest of the story".

Mick, Herman called Ross so he wouldn't be upset. He will be at our show too.

All of you take care and thank you for your honest answers. We are very proud of the car. Diane

 

Sorry, one more thing. The naked ladies were originally on the car when the first owners had it. The son of the builder/owner has had them all these years and sent them to us a couple of months ago because "they belong with the car". We should also soon have the original tear drop previously mentioned. How cool is that????
Diane