Hey Mick & Rik My first hand info came from the guys who brought it to my show back in the 80's when I took that first picture. What they told me then and finding the writing on the top padding when it was at my shop led me to make my own conclusions about Barris. Mick certainly knew the car before I ever did. If it was built in the Lynwood area there weren't too many shops that would try to make that combination of parts work. After the accident it went to another shop for the repairs including a second purple paint job. Jesse's paint didn't last too long.
Me and a friend had the honor of driving the car the year this picture was taken, we had just finished a repaint of the whole car since its then current owner had rammed it to the back of a honda to slow it down since the brakes had failed. Can you believe it was my second Kandy paint job. By the way we drove it between 70 - 85 mph all the way down 101 with the straight axle suspension and bias ply tires and to me it drove pretty damn good.
Damn I really feel better to know this car has the history to back it up. reading the ad for sale lead me to believe it was only a year or two old. and I'm no expert so it's OK for me to be wrong. thanks to all who posted.....Jim
This is one of my all time favorite Kustoms. I saw the Merc years ago at a KKOA show. May have been the Merc Deuce Reunion. I'll go through my Pics tonight and post some pictures tomorrow. I almost p***ed out when I saw it for the first time. Love the history behind the build. Thanks Rod for saving the post. This Merc is too Kool to bash. Happy Trails, Mick
This is why I joined the H.A.M.B. When someone post a pic of a car and the history & memories from yrs gone by come back from the people that were there & share them with all of us. Thanks to all of those who turned this tread around from a car bashing session into a history lesson.
I remember seeing this car at the ColoRODans rod run in Longmont in probably 1981. I was about 14. I remembered it as a bluer purple than the pics show, but it was definitely not the red color, or not the later purple. I though it had some scallops, but maybe they were just pinstriped on. I can vividly remember the door was propped open at the show by a can of spray undercoating. Had a maroon mohair-ish upholstery job. I think I remember hearing later on that somehow the can got crushed in the door jamb and sprayed the upholstery with undercoating. That is about the only car from that show that I can truly remember.
Great looking body, except maybe the head light treatment. But gotta lose the bumpers, both. Could have been done a little better and would have been much more pleasing to the eye. Fix the little things and it might be worth one and a quarter. No room in my garage so who ever gets it is a lucky soul.
Thanks Rod, that means alot coming from you. I can't take the credit for the metal work it was actually done by Don Fretwell we just did the finish work. Rod you might also remember a gold metalflake 54 Chevy I did that was at Paso when Mike Young first had his chopped 60 there.
absolutly gorgeous! love the front end, although i dont think the rear of the car is characteristic to the rest of the car, but still a very nice car
Ok I think I have to take back my words as for this Merc never been in any of the magazines/books back in the days. Barry Mazza pointed me to a publication where the car can be seen in the background of a photo where Sam Barris is chopping a Lake style 33-34 Ford coupe. It took me a few days to find the publication Barry mentioned since I first thought it was in the How to Customize Cars and Rods book by Barris in which Sam is actually chopping the car. But I finally located the photos Barry mentioned in a Spotlite book from 1962. Custom Scoops and Sculpturing is the ***le and Sam is seen there creating some scoops in the roof of this Lake style coupe. And sure there is the Merc sitting in the back. It only can be seen with the rear fenders but the taillight use on this car is so unique this has to be the same Merc and there we have it... The 1940 Merc has been worked at by the Barris shop. I have no idear when these photos where taken. There is a VW bus in the background which has been taped of and covered with newspaper for overspray protections and the other car in the background it Frank Monteleone's 1941 Ford with Olds fenders in primer. This car was finished in Pink white and dark gray in 1956. If anybody has any info on the chopped lake style 34 Sam is working on.. then we might date this photo. The photo below is the rought scan... I will fine tune it tomorrow, just could not wait to post it.
Yep, Lanny owned it for a few years before he moved to Cali...now that the car has been "found" again...anyone know what ever happened to Lanny Pearson...??? R-
Yes, that's the car, as we can also see a gravel pan done for the Pontiac bumper ! That bumper really don't work , as those tailites , but the front is wild but kool ! That car was featured years ago in a french magazine ( Nitro ), had i'm mostly sure it wore a blue paint or at least not that purple . The owner told that he was tired of hearing he was just an "owner" of that Barris build kustom, so he modify it to make it his creation ! I was sure he gave it that 80's look, but now i see that ugly rear end in black and white parked in atlantic Blvrd !
This thread is awesome!It's kinda cool to see a car you remember as a kid getting a little attention.
Ok here is the worked over scan and an enlargment. Accordign to Rod P the 34 Ford coupe Sam is working on could be the Christan coupe. So perhaps somebody could date this photo with that information. And two slightly different photso from the how to article. In this photo somebody is also working on the Lyle Lake Buick in the background...
Accordign to Rod P the 34 Ford coupe Sam is working on could be the Christan coupe. So perhaps somebody could date this photo with that information. Rik I think I was wrong about the Chrisman / Dobie Gillis Coupe. I found this picture of the Pink & Yates car that looks like a better match. You can see the scoop in the roof The car is only on the cover and is not featured in the magazine. The publication date is 1957. RodP
Ok so that narrow it to a few years that photo of Sam working on the 34 can be taken. The Frank Monteleon's 41 Ford was started in the early 50's. There is an article in the Januari 1953 issue of Hop Up magazine on how to make fade away fenders and Franks car was used for it. Franks Car was featured and on the cover in Rod & Custom Januari 1957, and as far as I know it was finished in 1956. The 34 was on the cover of a 1957 booklet... so the photo can be taken anywhere from say end of '53 to '56. Franks 41 Ford looks to be in primer and ready for paint in the Sam Barris photos. cool!!!
Hey rod,i love the car....if you like kustom's how can anybody pick this apart...i think tom cutino did the windshield and trim on this build??i have tom's 50 ford kustom in md.keep cuttin em.....poppa
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