Jim Walker alread had the car restored and owned it before Kurt McCormick .If Im not mistaken Walker also owned the Chevy pictured in the beginning of this post in the early 80s as well as a fleet of dead on early 50s california styled customs.If not it was a close friend of his who owned the Chevy.Its been a long time and I was only 10 years old then.
Not Jim walker=You mean "Jack" Walker[Belton mo.]-He is a friend of mine.I chopped the BlueDanube Clone for him.
Jim Walker from Dayton Ohio has a killer collection as does as Jack Walker from Missouri. Nice job on the danube clone!
[ QUOTE ] This is a merc I saved from the crusher a few years a go, a friend of mine said it was a barris car but i dont believe him. [/ QUOTE ] I'm sure that IF that were a true Barris car, that we would have seen or heard more about it by now. Not bad looking, but that color looks like something a Japanese dude would have picked.
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] This is a merc I saved from the crusher a few years a go, a friend of mine said it was a barris car but i dont believe him. [/ QUOTE ] I'm sure that IF that were a true Barris car, that we would have seen or heard more about it by now. Not bad looking, but that color looks like something a Japanese dude would have picked. [/ QUOTE ]
Does anybody have a contact for Jack (or Jim) Walker, so I may talk to him about the Sam Barris Buick. Or, possibly Kurt McCormick's adress. My dad always wanted to write to McCormick, but never did. I wonder if they knew it was at the used car lot in upstate New York? Thanks again guys.
This Merc is (was?) in Finland and there have been some rumours of Barris-built because of the Barris-logo in the front fender. Note the register plate REK-1 which means Sled in Finnish. Special plates cost about one thousand euros in Finland and you cannot have one without a figure... Nice, isn´t it! The Linc at the background has recently been chopped by Hamb-member Kartsa.
The red Merc is an old custom that was imported to the UK from east USA. It did look awful at its arrival to UK, with the quarter windows replaced with oval van windows (I have a photos of it in a Swedish "Colorod" magazine from the late 70´s early 80´s). It was restored or may I say refined in the UK and later exported to Sweden and a few years later to Finland. Im not 100% sure but I´ve been told its back in Sweden now again. And it is not a Barris car.
[ QUOTE ] The red Merc is an old custom that was imported to the UK from east USA. It did look awful at its arrival to UK, with the quarater windows replaced with oval van windows (I have a photos of it in a Swedish "Colorod" magazine from the late 70´s early 80´s). It was restored or may I say refined in UK and later exported to Sweden and a few years later to Finland. Im not 100% sure but I´ve been told its back in Sweden now again. And it is not a Barris car. [/ QUOTE ] It definitely does not have a Barris chop, either. Not that it doesn't have a good chop, but the front is a little low, and it doesn't carry that Barris look to the roofline.
I found this pic of a Merc I had the chance to work on. It was reported to be a Barris Merc, complete with the crests.....but was later discovered that it wasn't.....the workmanship was about par to most customs of that era...... The owner found out it was built by one of Barris' former employees.......
[ QUOTE ] I wonder if McCormick would know. Gawd I would love to shoot the **** with him. [/ QUOTE ]Kurt is a super nice guy, he lives in Webster Grove Missouri, a St. Louis suburb. He may even be in the phone book. A friend of mine has worked on a couple of his Barris cars. He and his wife sat under our tent in the rain at Branson KKOA a few years ago-just a regular guy.
[ QUOTE ] I found this pic of a Merc I had the chance to work on. It was reported to be a Barris Merc, complete with the crests.....but was later discovered that it wasn't.....the workmanship was about par to most customs of that era...... The owner found out it was built by one of Barris' former employees....... [/ QUOTE ] theres no way thats a sam b car. them 'matranga' windows look cobbled compared to the hirohata or the matranga.
That 40 with the screwed up rear window looks familar. I'm pretty sure I saw it in a old magazine, it was a light color, and had narrow tires on reverse chrome wheels.
I was reading some old mags and notice this. Motor Trend May 1955 Sell'n'Swap '51 Barris Kustom Merc with '53 Cadillac engine(see March '53 MT).Can be seen at Indianapolis Custom Show May 21-31.Photos 50c. Bob Hirohata, 9587 La Rosa Dr.,Temple City,Calif.Phones; MA 9-8451,AT 7-8605 How about that.
[ QUOTE ] I was reading some old mags and notice this. Motor Trend May 1955 Sell'n'Swap '51 Barris Kustom Merc with '53 Cadillac engine(see March '53 MT).Can be seen at Indianapolis Custom Show May 21-31.Photos 50c. Bob Hirohata, 9587 La Rosa Dr.,Temple City,Calif.Phones; MA 9-8451,AT 7-8605 How about that. [/ QUOTE ] I thought the Hirohata Merc had a '52 caddy engine. I could be wrong, but wasn't the car built in '52 as well. Please correct me if I am wrong...
The Jalopy Journal
