For Blaine. The second picture was taken in 83 in Springfield Ohio. The 3rd pic was taken in 88 and the first pic was taken before 88. A rare time when he used flippers.
Great pictures Jim, thanks for posting! I've never seen Blaine's car with anything but the wire wheels. I really like it with the flippers. I also like the dual stripe thin whitewalls on the car in two of the pictures. Also, in the second picture, "Green Duchess" is lettered on the top of the rear quarter. Later on after it was repainted one of the many times, it was moved to the right rear under the trunk. Blaine definitely was all in when it came to the KKOA as he was at many, many shows over the years. It will be very different at KKOA events from now on with him not being there. His passing leaves a void that will be felt for a long time. E
I couldn`t of said it better, Ed. I think his Merc should be incorporated in the logo for KKOA. It should appear on the letterheads , and on the cover of every Trendsetter. As well as other promotional advertising for KKOA. Can you think of anybody who has attended more KKOA events(both small and large) than Blaine. Besides Jerry and his wife, Devonna of coarse. Did you notice the scallopes on the trunklid. The flippers give the car a completely different look.
Yes, those pearl scallops are soooo sweet. I'd like to try that on a car one day. I agree that Blaine's Merc should be brought to the light with the KKOA. It has quietly become an icon within the organization and it deserves recognition as well as Blaine for all those years of dedication. E
Also notice that in the first 2 photos stanlow posted, it doesn't have the flared-bottom skirts either.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 72. 1950 Mercury "Small Town Flirt" Owner: Bev Graf Kokomo, Indiana This week's W.E.H.T. is another car I've had written down for a long time looking for information. I haven't been able to come up with much, but it is way too nice of a Mercury not to include it here. The thing that really stood out to me is the super chop and the outstanding paint job. In the pictures you can see the great pearl scallop job, but on video you can't see it at all. Also, in the pictures and on video you can see the word "Flirt" lettered towards the bottom of the rear quarter panels. I watched a lot of video, and if you look close you can see that it said "Small Town Flirt" on it. The "Small Town" is in very small letters above "Flirt". I've looked for quite some time, but I wasn't able to find any magazine material on the car. In my video search I was only able to find the car on video at the 1985 Leadsled Spectacular in Springfield, Ohio, and in 1991 in Hamilton, Ohio. The best cruising video of the car was shot in '85, and the best close-ups of the car were shot in '91. It was on the '91 video where I could make out the "Small Town Flirt", as well as being able to see the Illinois license plates. It may have been at the Spectacular in other years, but there are no other clear shots of the car that I could be sure that are indeed this car. You have no idea how many chopped red Mercurys there were at these events back in those days! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to come up with the owner's name or what part of Illinois the car came from. I'm hoping you guys out there know more. You faithful followers of this thread will notice that again this week I'm posting this at a different time than normal. Fact is, I've been helping a friend get a car ready for the Spectacular (not HAMB friendly cut off years I'm afraid), so my spare time has been almost non-existent lately. After the Spectacular is behind us, I'm hoping to get back to a normal schedule, but you never can tell (lol). I'll be hanging out with @PasoJohn and a few other friends around our normal area by the "wading pool", so if you're around that area and we aren't off looking around, stop in, say hello and have a cold drink. I always like to meet people and put names with faces. Until next time, see you in Salina! E
I remember the etched back glass in this car Ed. If I recall from something I read in Custom Rodder the scene in the window was suppose to be Fairmount Indiana maybe.
Haven't found anything on Small Town Flirt but I did just come across an interesting image. Found this in the KustomLincolnLady Collection. Looks like an even earlier version of the Purple Passion. No scallops, tube grill, rear window/top hasn't been changed yet. And parked next to Connie's Merc.....
HOLY CRAP! Doc Rock's 1955 Olds "Breathless" (W.E.H.T. #52) just showed up in the classifieds! Another one located! https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1955-oldsmobile-2-door-hardtop.1071202/
really makes me wonder, why in the hell do people put billet steering wheels on an otherwise era correct looking car???
What Ever Happened To..........? number 73. 1955 Chevy "Suzy Q" Owner: Bob Keute Crystal, Minnesota Well, it's the first Tuesday after the Leadsled Spectacular. From what I've seen here on the HAMB, it looks like it was a great show. Nothing like the old days, but considering the times we live in, quite a few nice customs showed up so in my opinion that made it a success. I hope everyone that made the trek to Salina this year had safe travels to and from the show and had a great time! Unfortunately for me, an unforeseen circumstance came up last minute and I had to cancel my trip. Months of planning and preparation and all of a sudden.....poof, gotta stay home. Damn. I was really looking forward to it this year. So much is life. After the disappointment of missing the trip, it's been hard to get re-focused and start up the Tuesday night ritual, but we have to march forward. I'm still going through cars that I've collected little blurbs of information on here and there that I might be missing the owner's name or pictures or where the car came from. I've decided to post these cars for a while to catch up and let you guys help me fill in the gaps. This sweet '55 Chevy was originally customized in the late 50s. The most noticeable modification is the addition of '55 Chrysler taillights. It really changed up the look of the car, but it looks great! From the rear you can definitely tell it's a custom. Oddly enough, the only pictures I've been able to find of this car are from the rear. I have no idea if any mods were done to the front as I've never seen it from the front. I decided to feature this car just because it is so different. There weren't that many '55 Chevy customs in the KKOA back in the early days, let alone hard tops. This one is pretty mild, except for the taillight treatment. It really set it apart from the handful of other great 55's back then. It truly is a real shame that '55s are considered to be too valuable to customize these days. They make awesome sleds! Bob Keute was the caretaker of this car in the 80s. It was featured in the first KKOA book on page 67. It was also featured in the book "Wild Leadsleds" by Mike Key that was published back in 1992. I scanned both articles to show everyone how nice this car was. These are the only places I found of the car in print. Also, I didn't see it on any of my videos, but since Bob submitted the car for the first KKOA book, I'd imagine he was at a show or two of theirs over the years. My extensive internet search has also turned up empty as I wasn't able to find any additional photos. So, I'm hoping that some of you regulars out there have more pictures and information to add to this week's car. It sure was cool. Until next time, keep on cruisin'..........E
I have often wondered about this car too. Bob belonged to kustom kemps of Minnesota at the same time I did in the mid eighties. Back then I found a pic of it in one of the little books. I believe it was in the letters to the editor section. If I remember correctly the car was from Duluth Mn back then (late '50's) The front on the car was pretty stock, just nosed I think. Bob didn't have the car long and I have not seen it since he sold it... cool car, hope it survived .
Here are a couple scans of the car I took at the Des Moines Last Pass KKOA show in the late 80`s to early 90`s. Here`s a frontal shot too.
Nice information, Mark! It would be really cool to have some sort of a KKOM reunion as it sounded like they were a big and influential club back then. Might be hard though as I'm sure many members have disappeared from the car scene or are no longer with us. Due to the lack of pictures and information on the car I figured that it wasn't around very long. This one is really a mystery..........E Great photos as always, Jim! First time I've seen the front of the car. It's a great example of less is more. Perhaps that is why the only pictures I found of it were from the rear. Just a little more customizing on the grille and I think that is about all it needed, or not. It looked pretty sweet as is. E
Ed, Really missed seeing you in Salina. I did finally get to meet Sancho and his wife, spent some time just hangin out with them. I also got to meet John B in Indy this summer as well. His girlfriend ate cold sandwiches that night by the time he got back to the hotel that night.
Of course, Jim has pictures from his wall of kustoms!! Cool car, never seen it, but agree that 55 Chevys make great kustoms. Modern chrome wheels or even old Cragar SS just don't do a 55 justice. Gimme WWW on steelies any day. Stanlow told me you weren't there, Ed, but now I'm mad that I missed meeting Sancho. Even Mickey was tough to find. Only saw him once in the swap meet area, and he was visiting, so didn't want to butt in.
Mickey was elusive last weekend. I think I only talked to him for a few minutes and only saw him one other time at the park.
I haven't found anything on the car yet, but unfortunately we just lost Bob this past April. RIP Robert Keute Keute, Robert Age 75 of Albertville, MN. Passed away April 20, 2017. Survived by loving wife of 50 years, Carole
We were at the park all day Saturday too. Made several laps, taking pictures and occasionally stopping to visit. Did get some time to talk to Stanlow at the hotel as well, weren't many people hanging out there..... Saturday morning was when I talked to Mickey in the park.
Sorry you missed the trip Ed. When I saw your comment on Sancho's KKOA post, I thought maybe that meant you didn't get to go. Seems we both missed a great year with near perfect (for July) Salina temps. Funny you guys kept missing each other all weekend. Maybe we just need a WEHT and Kustom Blues thread get together. LOL ....oh, and I've never seen this '55. I agree though, tri 5's make way kool kustoms!
Wow guys, what happened? Seems like everyone kept missing each other. I guess the Kustom Konference gathering never happened, huh? That really is too bad. Seeing old friends is one of the great perks of going to a big show like this. Judging from the pictures I've seen, the park didn't seem quite as full as in the past few years. Did it seem like attendance was down? Thanks for the information on Bob, @Sancho. We are losing a lot of the older custom guys way too fast these days. It is so sad to see so much of the custom legacy fading away into history. That is why us "younger" guys have to make sure the custom tradition is carried on. You're right, Doc. I guess in the future we are going to have to put together a more organized gathering for those that follow the Kustom Blues and W.E.H.T. thread. Since we are so spread out all over the country and we are only all together just one or two times a year, we have to make it a point to meet up when we are all at a show together. E
Hello everyone, I'm not sure if it was mentioned or not Jim Stockton's 1950 Chevy Convertible is still currently owned by him and living in Springfield, Ohio.
Yes, @Tin Lizzie, the guys that follow this thread are real information hunters and kustom historians. It was revealed a while back that Jim and his Chevy are still together doing their thing. We were all glad to hear it. Thanks for chiming in though, any input is appreciated! E
I beleive The Small Town Flirt is now "The Anderson Mercury" Sent from my SM-G955U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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