Sacramento AMBC Winner is MERCULES

Many of you guys are missing the point that these awards aren't for traditional Rods and Customs and never have been. They have always been about pushing the envelope and both this car and the AMBR winner do exactly that. I don't like either but then again I thought most of the show cars in the 60's ****ed as well.
Time Bomb.........I don't want to stir **** but I agree with Sam. After both shows you have started threads rubbishing the winners. That isn't the way a real man behaves. No matter how much you disagree with the decisions the manly thing to do would be to congratulate the winners and look at what they did with the respect they deserve. No matter what you say your posts come across that winning was important to you. Having said that if the HAMB was doing the judging I am sure Oroscos 32 would have been AMBR winner and Mercury Charlies car would have won this weekend. I admire your car but is it the best traditional 36 custom in recent years....... In my .02 worth I don't think so. Both the Donn Lowe and Cole Foster built cars have more flow and style to them.
Now I'll put on my helmet and wait for incoming.

 

street machine. im well aware that you shoot for them.
i dont read it so much anymore, but one thing i notice often when i do is that articles mention how a certain detail was done purely to please judges. maybe their purpose is to outline the effort taken in building the cars featured, to me it comes across that they are telling you if you wanna do well at a show, you better be paying attention to these pissy things that earn a lotta points.

 

The speakers setup in the boot was done by the stereo guy`s ( wood & gl*** )
but the interior is all metal ( except the speaker mounts


I hand formed it all with a cheap hammer & dolly set and my anvil was the round bar on top of a engine stand
here`s a pic of the plastercine model i made to show the owner

 

Not to make fun of anybody's car,but that Thing is just down right UGLY!!!!!!!!.The sad part is all the work and cash that went into it.Why would someone try to make a 50's car look like a 21st century something?

 

Hopefully not one of my articles, as I don't really give a rat's **** about that stuff either.

Having said that, I'm about to do a story on Peter Elliot's '37 Ford (definitely a non-HAMB car) that has some amazing workmanship and detail gone into it. Sad thing is, there probably won't be enough space in the magazine to cover all of the modifications and clever things done to the car.

Maybe you should pick up a recent issue of SM. You might be pleasantly surprised. There's some pretty neat stuff going into it, especially the Hot Rod Annual. Did you check any of them out? Lots of trad stuff in the last issue.

 

Hmmm... pretty sure Bruno told me he made that when he showed it to me.

 

LOL I never got that back so maybe i can take it of my bill i owe him

 

this car is so far from traditional as you can get,mercedes benz head lights again,WTF is with that,looks like a ****ty rice rocket,pit this against the styling of the barris merc,or alexander bros car,and you see what traditional is.this belongs to the cl*** of so called customs that extraxt from the past but style the car from the future,hope this isnt a trend,well we all know it will be trailered dont we.

 

Was this the inspiration?


Craftsmanship? Thumbs up.
Styling? Thumbs down.

 

Well.. for what it IS.. I like it.... a lot. I like the side trim, the color, and the interior.

I don't hate it for what it is *not.* Nice work, nice power plant, and for a modern interpretation of an old theme, I think it is very successful. I've definitely seen a lot worse Mercs that tried to be "modernized." Sure I'd change a few things, like losing the inside running lamps to clean the front up but....

This one is a watermark for the current state of the hobby as it is... a nice blend of the trends of today.... like it or not, it's not going to be 1959 forever... just here on this board.

 

That's pretty ****ty.

 

Kinda reminds me of the time a few years ago when that builder in Ohio started ranting and raving during the Ridler presentation when his car didn't win. He certainly dropped a few pegs on my ladder of respect.

It's funny, (sad actually) I can't remember the car that won that year only the name of the guy that thru a fit cuz he didn't win.

 

You clearly do not know nor have ever met John.

 

The Mejia Merc should of won AMBC !

I told John Diagostino that he should of picked the Mejia Merc for an award too !

 

i see both sides of the fence here. first of all, john's time bomb is bad ***. the problem with these shows right now is the point system they use. the over all look of the car should play a much larger part than it does. these shows have catered to the smoothie rods for a long time, but now we have a new generation of builders and spectators that are burned out on seeing these cars that are completely smoothed over with the biggest wheels they can find. i have only recently started attending these types of shows and the only way i will continue attending and participating is if the traditional stuff starts getting the recognition they deserve. as far as the comment about these shows always catering to the cutting edge cars, the industry is totaly different than it used to be. there are so many different styles now. back in the 60's you didnt have this many different types of styles showing up and competeing for the same trophy. i dont think that johns time bomb, oz's bird, johnny d's olds, or zochi's, or the r&k buick, etc, etc, should even be in the same cl*** as the merc/mercedes thing. that is a custom rod, not a traditional custom. as far as the trophy ***** comment, this is our first year competeing in the show circuit, and i have met a lot of different types of people at these shows already. you have the big spenders that have never, and dont care to ever turn a wrench, but there are also people like dan collins, and oz welch who compete with the big boys, but love building, and driving their cars as much as showing them. we now have a trailer queen, but also have a 54 dodge g***er with a hemi and a 4-speed, a 65 bsa chopper, a chevy coupe thats in the works to be my daily driver, as well as several other projects. so there are all different kinds of people competeing at these shows. there is unfortunately a lot of behind the scenes pollitics at some of these events. along with all of the cool new people i have met recently at these shows, i have also met a hand full of ****heads.

 

Sure I haven't met Time Bomb so I can only go by what he posts on here.
Fact........He put up his car for judging against the other entrants.
Fact........After both shows he has started threads slagging the winners.
Fact........He has spent a lot of time on here telling us about all the awards and trophies he has won and articles written on his cars in the past. Just read his profile.
I haven't rubbished his car..........I have just commented on his at***ude towards cars he was competeing against. Whether we agree with the judges decision or not they decided in not one but two shows that other cars should win. That is life. There can only ever be one winner in any event no matter what it is. I have always believed that it is the proper and decent thing to do when you have been beaten in a compi***ion to congratulate the winner and accept the decision gracefully. Going on to a public forum and slagging the winners ****s. I realise that apparently John comes across as a nice guy in person but actions speak far louder than words. He certainly builds great cars but i just don't agree with his at***ude.
Zombie.....If you don't agree with the way shows are judged don't enter. By entering you accept being judged by the shows rules. As I have already stated these awards aren't for traditional cars and never have been.

 

This is the real point and if as PhatCaddy said that the judges handbook states that it has to be a "Traditional Custom" then there is absolutely no way this car should have even been in the running whether you like the looks of the car or not. If a compe***or was given the criteria that this award was to be given to a traditional custom then he has every right to be dissapointed even pissed off at this choice and not be called a trophy ***** regardless of wanting or not wanting the ***le.

Also not to start a fight but if you actually look at Johns post on the AMBR he does not slag the other car he simply asked what others would have choosen and this was after days and numerous threads about how much everyone hated the car that won.

 

fact: the style of cars that won the ambr and ambc have been done to death.

i think the only way to get the promoters to start seeing the big picture is to speak out. as a builder, a compe***or, and as a spectator. i think he stated it tastefully.

 

a few more trophy *****s:

bailon
barris
roth
starbird
tex smith (won oakland in 63)
himsl
cushenbery

and the list goes on and on.........

 

Who cares what 5 guys with clip boards think is Americas Most Beautiful Custom is!!! I had my 51 at this show and I said that MERC would win when I saw it on Thursday at setup...and I got laughed at!!! Well this is how these shows are going and we have no control over it..by the way I am the timebomb with the 51 Chevy not the 36 Roadster.

 

This thread settles it for me. I'm saving up for a carbon fiber Carson top!

 

Just to make it clear, the ONLY thing I wanted was the plaque that said "Achievement Award" for competing for AMBC. I clearly thought Merc Charlie should have won. I didn't pop my hood or trunk because I wanted everyone to enjoy the lines of the car, so I was not judged to win. I was called a month ago from John Buck and he asked me if I would step up to a 20x20 display and compete with Oz, John'D, Zocchi,etc. If I was a trophy ***** I would have said no to John Buck and taken 1st place in my cl***. I built this car to drive. I didn't build this as an indoor show car. The last time the Caddy was on a trailer was 3.5 years ago and since then I have driven it to Paso 2 times, Fresno, and countless local shows. This summer I will drive to Del Mar, Santa Maria, etc..........

 

http://www.hotrodshows.com/forms/CA-Cl***ificationRules.pdf

Bottom of page 15, AMBC - "Open to all customs built from 1936-1964, must be an early traditional custom with a silhouette change"

That is why Mercules should not have won!
End of thread, Ryan feel free to close this one.
Brian

 

I don't think it's all that bad for a "modern" sled. It is in no way traditional, so it sure isn't my cup of tea, but it is pretty well proportioned.

Why do we keep bashing cars that were never intended to please guys like us as if they were? Like the AMBR discussions, the answer is that it won in the "points" judging system. It was right on the money for what it was intended.

Gawd, did I just say that?

It is WAY better than the AMBR winner.

 

I know it's hush hush, but an Indoor Traditional Show sounds soo good.

Brian

 

No ****!

 

I totaly agree with that one too...

 

I agree also, but then is everyone going to complain when the heavy hitters from Pebble Beach show up and win the big prizes??? People have to complain about something...

 

Are you talking about Don Pilkenton....Don's Hot Rod's??
I worked for that guy for almost five years. I think I remember hearing something about that after I left....
I'd like to hear both sides of that story......