@rbantique might know Paul Boucher. He posted in a thread on here about him being in the New Hampshire Kustom Kings. He had posted a link to that thread on a Facebook group I help admin on. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/photo-album-frank-senna-paul-boucher.766676/ 8
Also, one could always drill and reinstall items if they wanted too, and with careful work, they might not even need to repaint.
@rbantique posted these photos here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/photo-album-frank-senna-paul-boucher.766676/
What a kool choice, Ed. KKOA book says their son painted the car. What appears like a stock 56 Ford paint job has some kool details. The leading edge of the front fender would normally be the dominant 'lower' color of black, but this has the 'upper' yellow creating a visual grille surround. Also, the headlight rings would normally be all 'lower' color black, but here the are split down the middle with paint. The combination of the two little changes gives the eye a visual treat, as the yellow now 'flows' over the front of the hood and the into the illusion of forward motion with the slanted back yellow fender edge. Even the lower front pan, normally silver, is yellow, to complete the look. Kooool.
Thanks for chiming in everybody! Looks like we'll have this mystery solved soon! Great link @John B! I've read about the Kustom Kings of New Hampshire for years, and they are a great club with some super customs! @Sancho posted some great pics, with one that really caught my attention. I know this was taken at Sled Scene East. I recognize the stage from the videos I've watched. I wonder what year this was. Looks like Mr. Boucher was cruising up to the stage for an award. The more I learn about east coast customs, customizers and eastern shows, it makes me wish I had gone to Sled Scene East before it went away. Losing that show was definitely our loss..........E
Great pics @rbantique! First time I've ever seen Paul's car with the top up. Looks cool either way! E
What Ever Happened To..........? number 205. 1959 Cadillac Owner: Jackie Semon Parma, Michigan Jack and Jackie Semon were some real custom folks that had a number of sleds over the years. They were quite active in the KKOA in the 90s. I didn't find any information on their cars prior to 1990, but they very well may have been on the scene before then. Jackie had an awesome '59 Caddy that looked like Watson's way back when these cars were new. If a person painted Jackie's car candy red with scallops, it mirrored Watson's car a lot. Jackie's '59 was featured in the first KKOA book (1993) on page 142. It is a nice picture and write up, but black and white just doesn't do this car justice. Color images to come. The first video footage I found of Jackie's car was from the 1990 Leadsled Spectacular in Holland, Michigan. This makes sense as the Semon's were from Michigan. The car looked like it was two miles long when it cruised by the video camera at the show. This car also had an incredible set of bubble skirts. Being from Michigan, I'm sure there was some Jimmy Jones influence in there somewhere. Sitting and grazing in the park, you can see the car sat very low with lake pipes and the skirts. The '57 Caddy caps look very good on this car. Kind of unusual to run an older cap on a newer model car, but it definitely works. At rest, Video Bob got some great footage of the car's interior. The upholstery looked close to stock, but was well cared for. Saddle shoes on the transmission hump were available for going to the sock hop and then taking them off again (lol)! The Caddy also featured a tonneau cover over the rear seat. Not seen much anymore, but this is a very cool mod that can hide a torn up rear seat if the budget only allowed for tuck 'n' roll on the front seat. After 1990, the car was seen briefly on video in 1991 in Hamilton, Ohio. It returned again in 1992 once again in Holland. After '92, the next time I saw the car was at the 1997 Spectacular once again in Michigan, but this time in Lansing. I don't have a video for '97, but I did find a picture of the Cadillac in Custom Rodder. It was in their January 1998 issue on page 62 of their Leadsled coverage. After '97 the finds stopped. I don't know if the Semon's sold the car and got something else, or maybe they still participated in shows that I don't have video on or any magazine finds. At any rate, Jackie's bad black Caddy is a custom icon that definitely deserves to be remembered, and hopefully it's still cruising down the road to koolsville somewhere! E What Ever Happened To.........? number 206. 1951 Mercury Owner: Jack Semon Parma, Michigan What? A second feature car this week?!? What the? Well, I figured this would be a good way to feature a pair of the Semon's customs together. Besides, it's been a while since we did a "Two fer Tuesday". There is a reason I'm doing this, and I'll fill you all in about that later.......... I really couldn't find a whole lot on Jack's Merc which surprised me. It has a ton of cool stuff done to it, and it was a top notch build. It was featured with Jackie's Cadillac in the first KKOA book, also on page 142. The strange thing about Jack's Merc is that I only found it on a few Leadsled videos and very little in magazines. A real head scratcher as the car was a total knockout. Great chop, custom taillights and grille and on and on the list goes. There was some good footage of it at the 1993 Spectacular in Springfield, Ohio. In this side shot you can see yet another pair of Michigan style bubble skirts as well as a heavy chop. From the front you can see the unique custom grille that Jack describes in the paragraph in the 1st KKOA book. Very unique and easy to identify as it looks like no other custom Merc grille that I can remember. Going away, you can see the '59 Caddy taillights mounted in the tops of the rear fenders. They look right at home. Can't miss the way the skirts just hug the ground. Funny thing about the above pictures from the '93 Spectacular is that Jackie's Cadillac was nowhere to be found. I don't know if she didn't attend the show in '93 at all, or maybe she left the Cad home and rolled with Jack in the Mercury. The only other year I found the Merc at the Spectacular was in 1992 in Holland. It wasn't on the video, but there was a great shot of it in the December '92 issue of Rod & Custom on page 39. It was sitting next to Jackie's Cadillac and it looks like they were stealing the show! I don't know why after '93 Jack's Merc seemed to disappear. Maybe the car was rebuilt with a new look or maybe it was sold. These are the things we think about and discuss week after week here on the W.E.H.T. thread. Again, hopefully the Semon's little leadsled family is still together, eating up the miles and turning heads! Well gang, I'm going to have to take a few weeks off. My poor computer is really struggling to keep running these days, so I made an appointment to have it looked at. I bought a service contract to cover everything on the computer when I bought it, so I think it's time it went in for a tune up. I'm hoping they don't tell me it's obsolete and it's time for an upgrade. Yikes, I can't buy a new computer right now! I'm hoping for the best. At any rate, they say it will take a week to a week and a half, so I'll be without my computer for a bit. My better half has an old laptop that I can use and hopefully it still has enough left in the tank to at least hang around the HAMB while my big computer is in the shop. So for now, I'm on the sideline as far as posting pictures and whatnot. If it works, I'll post when and if I can, but I'll be around. You guys really shouldn't be too bummed since there is a great group of Leadsled Spectacular threads going on right now that our custom faithful are filling with great pictures and information. Plus, we still have @straykatkustoms' Kustom Blues thread, and his 1949, '50 and '51 Mercury thread and some other great threads. The custom part of the HAMB is in good hands! If all goes as planned, I plan to have a new custom to feature here on the W.E.H.T. thread on March 3rd. So 'til then, take care if I can't get the old laptop to work, and we'll hang out again real soon. Take care y'all! See you in a few weeks! E
I remember the light blue Merc from the Merc/Deuce ReUnion in Holland MI in '94. Pics somewhere in my pile that need to be scanned, but no other info on either of these kool kustoms.
Just spoke with him a few minutes ago on another matter. He's fine. Mark Sturtevant, Pharoahs Tennessee
Hope the computer comes back from the hospital working good as new without needing a major rework Ed! ....aaaaand of course, I'm in love with the bubble skirts on both cars. Really look nice on that Caddy....never seen bubbles on one before that I can think of.
Hello to all who posted about the where abouts of Ralph & Jeff Shindel's 58 Impala. I am very thankful that I ( Ken Vogel ) was able to purchase the car. It is in Palm Harbor, FL - in very good hands of a 71 year old custom car guy. I am a member of the " Down Shifters of Brooklyn " since 1989. I was drawn to the car on ebay and found it quite by accident. I am always looking for 58 Impala roof scallops because every custom I have built since 1992 haa a 58 Impala roof scallop turned into a brake light, ( have 3 scallops and roof sections in the rafters waiting on future projects). Anyway - the ebay search sent me to the 58. Instant connections: 1. Extended rear quarter panels: My style: In 1993 I extended my 56 Ford Crown Victoria glass top car quarter panels to the back of the continental kit ( +15" ) and did the same to my 56 Lincoln Premier ( + 17" ) in 2003. 2. Kustom Kemps plaque: After the re organization - I was a director of Kustom Kemps - Florida. Actually was a bust. 3. No motor: Two months ago I finished a rebuild of a 59 - 348 motor with 6 x 2's for my 48 Chevy pick up project - so I had the motor that this 58 needed. I flew to Wisconsin and bought the car in 20 minutes - I was in 7th heaven!!!! After getting the car, the seller provided info on what he knew about the car and gave me the names of Railp and Jeff. I went to HAMB and typed in Ralph Schindel - WOW - I was blown away - I owned a car that a LEGEND in our hobby built/ I am truly honored. Addressing comments some have made: This custom will NEVER see 20" wheels or any other obnoxious stuff on it as long as it is in my possession! PERIOD! I talked with Jeff today - very thankful. Jeff offered to assist me with info on the original build - and I shared with him the changes that I was imagining BEFORE I knew the history of Jeff and his DAD. I intend to discuss all of my intended modifications with Jeff and get his blessing before proceeding. I can't start till the 57 T-Bird frame off for my wife is done ( 2 months ) - and I think it is a 12 - 16 month $ 20,000 project. Plan to bring it back to it's old stomping grounds in 2021. Ken 727 - 434 - 7447 PS: I am starting a file on the car - any pics or stories ya'll have - please forward. THANKs
Seen in Israel. Not sure whether it was featured here in the past - it's 100% not locally built but imported as is, maybe someone here will remember it. There's lots of work there even if - for me - they got the hood wrong (that slope) and it needs wide whites/chrome hubcaps, all of which can be rectified. Pic by Danny Schwarz.
I know the quoted post is old but anyway: Here it is from LSS in Davenport Iowa in 89...in white primer:
We used to see Jack and Jackie every year at Fiesta of the 50's in Marshall,Mi. The last time we saw them, she wasn't in real good health. A few years later someone told us they had both passed away. I am not sure if that is true. But Fiesta of the 50's went away several years ago and the were both up in years. Nice couple Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I found an obit for Jack, noting for Jackie. She seemed to be in worse shape than he was, so I'm sure she wouldn't be able to drive or take care of the car. So sad. Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks for the update, Debb. Always sad to hear about losing more members of our custom family. Rest in peace..........E
Congrats on the purchase Ken! Sounds like it's in good hands and I look forward to it being back out in circulation!
Thanks guys. Haven't heard anything yet. Maybe no news is good news. I'm still using this ancient laptop. It's kinda like driving a stock model T around town. It will get you where you need to go, but it takes a while to get there. I'm still watching a lot of topics, but haven't posted much because of the lack of pictures and stuff on my computer. I have tons of pictures on memory cards, but with this slow laptop going through them is like pulling teeth. (Sorry for the corny pun Doc lol!) We'll get back after our kustom history search soon, but I'm pretty much just watching from the sideline for now. E
I came across these pictures of the Alley Oop Mercury on Instagram today. It looks like it’s still around!
Have you tried bumping up the memory on your laptop, yet ? Memory is cheap. Also easy to install. Two, you can streamline some of the startup boot procedures to make it run quicker too. Google your "laptop model number & upgrade memory". The boot procedure can come after .. we see what the memory does. Memory pricing on NewEgg is usually the cheapest.
Those are some great pics of Larry Hubbard's Chevy, Jim. The molded and frenched grille surround is a real work of art! You must have finally got your scanner up and working. Looks like it's doing ok. My sick computer is finally home and it is somewhat better. I lucked out and the "tune-up" was covered on the service contract I bought so there was no charge. I did find out from my step son that my modem is a relic and I'll need to exchange it for an updated one. Things are better but I'm not quite out of the woods yet. E
The Jalopy Journal
