DaFonz Mercury for sale in sweden

Hey Jodi - it's nice to see positive comments about my dad. I can't stand reading half of these blogs. I don't know where people get their information from. My dad drove his car everyday, which is more than I can save for most of these guys. They won't even drive in the rain. We couldn't go anywhere without people staring at the car as we drove by or "s****ed bottom" over bumps, but he lived for that car. And for those of you who didn't really know "the Fonz" he was the only "Fonz" that I'm aware of -- he had more than one Merc. They all looked similar. He liked changing things "A LOT", that's why his cars weren't always finished. If he wanted the "perfect paint job" -- he would have had it -- he did that stuff for a living. He knew how to paint. He didn't have a lot of money - and did things his way with what he had available to him. But he did it himself!! He did always use bondo and gorilla hair - but he always welded. The other stuff was just for effect (customizing). Well - I just had to post something after reading all those blogs.

Thanks for keeping me posted.

Debbie
The "Fonz's" daughter

 

Hey Debbie ,Do you remember that weird kid with all the merc pictures that was about your age??That was me.I also drew a poster of the merc thet said Lead Sled on it and either you or your sister drew another on e just like it!remember???

 

hey everyone the fonz was my father and its really sad to see so many of you bad mouthing his car his car had more attention than any other car in mint cond. at any show in any state there was always a crowd around his car a crowd so big you couldnt even see the car so i think all you people have the wrong info about the fonz well im done talking for now you can write to me if you have questions talk to you soon donna the fonz's daughter

 

Wow, that's so cool to see Joe's daughters on here. I'd like to extend a welcome to Donna and Debbie.

Ladies, I think you may be misinterpreting some of the comments people are leaving. The mere fact that this thread was even started shows how revered your dad is in the custom car world. There is genuine interest in where his cars are going and to make sure that they are preserved. Your dad is like a custom car cult hero, and whether the some of the stories are true or not, these stories are what makes Joe a legend. Sort of like Paul Bunyon, except instead of an axe he had a torch and instead of blue ox, he had the baddest Merc on the east coast

 

the fonz is one of the reasons what got me into the hot rod scene. OSR did a great article on your dad. My friend and I still talk about that car. He will be missed.

 

hey guys its great to know that he is still remembered after all these years i know he was well known everywhere but like i thought the 50's will never die and that was the fonz he was and always lived the 50's and thats what made him the person everyone remembers and what people fail to remember is that yes the car was not perfect but he fit the car and car fit him no one else that has one of his cars can make it work like he did the cars are still around but its not like when he had it i live around the corner from the last car he built and you dont see it the guy really dont drive it but when its out im sure it catches peoples eye but i know it dont get the attention it had when the fonz was alive the fonz brought the car to life and there is no one that can do that besides him without him its just car his car and thats what people will remember thats what will keep it a legend yes its still different than others and people will still stop and look because its so different but it was also the fonz himself that drew the crowd i have been to a few leadeast shows since he p***ed away were the guy brought the car and what a difference it was yah people would stop and look but then went on not much of a crowd and thats because no one could keep that car alive the way he did and no one could fit the car the way he did either and out of all the ways he has had his cars i think the best was in black primer it looked good painted but the dull black was him and thats what it looked like most of the time because he was always working on it so thats what i remember the most and it just looked cool and sneaky looked like a bad *** car coming down the street made it look mysterious people would wonder what it was coming down the street their faces would just drop it was great what a feeling it was driving with him it wouldnt feel like you were driving in car i dont really know how to explain what it felt like but it was unbelievable well thanks again to everyone who is still thinking and remembering him bye for now talk to you soon Donna "fonz's" Daughter

 

Donna, Hey its Jodi....I agree with you 100%, Joe made the car. I remember so many people thinking he would "dress" for the car show, but that was just him and how he was everyday. I love your dad so much, I spent alot of time with him as a little girl, I still have a old nickle that he put a hole in so I could wear it as a neckless. My husband reminds me of your dad, and I tell him that all the time. My husband spends hours in the garage welding and making custom parts & cars....he loved Joes cars becouse he know what its like to do ALL THE WORK himself and not just pay someone to do everthing for you. I have been looking for a Merc. so me and my husband could fix it up in honer of your dad. I have such great memorie that I want to do the same with my kids.

I sent this blog to my Dad also...he did not agree with some of the things said also, my Dad first met him in 1988....I was only 10, but I think we spent everyday with him. I have alot of video tape with him at the resturant and at home, I even have Debbie & Tara's graduation with your mom & dad there.

Joe "Fonz" was somone I will never forget in my life, He was alway happy and doing what he loved everyday. I think everyone I know has heard a story or two from me about Joe. I thank Joe for all the good times and great memories.

R.I.P Joe "Fonz"-----One of the most hard working & loving people anyone could ever meet.

Joe's biggest fan!

 

hey jodi thanks for everything you wrote its a little hard reading these things i guess im just a little emotional but its nice to hear people saying nice things thats why i get mad hearing some of the things i have heard but everyone has their own opinion but most of them have no idea because they dont know what its like to build a car the way he did well im glad to see that you still think of him well i better stop because i can just go on forever about him well talk to you later thanks again bye Donna

 

Hey Donna,

Don't get upset about the bad post most of the guys just don't get
kustoms and what it is considered kool. The HAMB is a Hot rod &
Kustom forum so we have a mixed bag of nuts on here.

You should not bad mouth a guy that lived the fifties and Kustoms life style
24/7. He didn't do it because it was considered kool or a trend. He did it
because he loved it!! I own and drove chopped 50 Merc everyday for six
years and loved every minute of it. People (some HAMBers) just don't get it.
I didn't get the opportunity to meet your father but everything that I have
read I've liked him even more. Ralph & Nancy Schindel is a good friend of
mine and he has told me many stories about his life and his cars. One of the
things that I picked up from your dad. The most important thing about our
p***ion for kustoms and Merc are the people and to have fun. Build it the
way you want it and who cares what any one else thinks.

Thank you for your post and I wish I would have had the chance to meet him in person. He was a great man..


Happy Trails,

Mick

 

In response to the guy from Sweden who said the Fonz stopped using his car for shows because he started driving it everyday. Joe Carloni NEVER had a car only for show - he always drove it as his everyday car and always brought it to car shows. His cars weren't always ready for car shows because, as we all know, cars always break down at the worst possible time, so he would do whatever it took to get it on the road -- even if it was just long enough to get him to the show -- he would worry about fixing it while he was there. And if he decided to change something before a show - he would be out in the yard the night before or the morning of getting it done - or rigging it so it looked done and worry about fixing it later.

 

to stray thanks for writing you are right most people dont get it i try to not let it bother me because i know how it was and how hard my father worked on his car he did put alot of time and thought into his car people may not think so but he did it the way he wanted to and thats what mattered to him and he knew that people were waiting to see his car so he did what ever it took to get to a show but it was always driven there even if it died when it got there he would just work on it at the show he didnt care i have spent many days and nights watching him work on his car i feel as if i could do it myself well thanks for writing and i will talk to you again soon Donna

 

hey debbie I really like having this page to write all this stuff but I can go on forever half the time i have to stop myself from writing I can write all day about daddy and the things he did and the way he did them their is so much to say about him sometimes I dont know were to begin well talk to you later bye your sister Donna

 

I don't really remember that. You do look familiar though.

 

stray by the way love your antenna holes they remind me of my dads bye donna

 

AL LONG AS WE KNOW.......THATS ALL THAT MATTERS!

 

Me too! I was looking thru all the pictures last night, we were having a blast going thru all that stuff. I'll have to post some of our pictures of Daddy's cars here. Even I can't tell them all apart. He made them all look the same.

 

yah Deb even that they were not all mercs you couldnt even tell thats how talented he was and yah you need to get some of those pics on here we can have alittle s**** book for everyone ok bye again see i can sit on here all day so of course i have not gotten anything done here so i will talk to you in alittle while bye Donna

 

Deb, I have some pics of your dad....do you know if there was ever any with me? I do have one with your dad, my dad, and some of the other guys all with there thunbs up and that "bad *** " look on there face. I love that picture, it stays up on my wallunit. Oh, I do remember a s**** book that he would have out in front of his car at all the shows, I know I had some pictures I drew and letters I made in there.....I would love to know if it was still around.
Jodi

 

hi donna i spent many days and nights with your dad at cars shows he was always the frist to help anyone and a lot of fun alot of the young guys on the hamb that met him say he was one of the factors that got them in the car scene but us older guys realy miss him lead east and too many other car meet an,t the same with out him he is a icon that jersey is pride that he was here said hello to yer mom for me teddy p

 

Wow, it's very surreal to see Joe Carloni's daughters on here...I am about the same age as both of you i would guess.. I have many great memories of your father..For instance, when i was about 13, I saw him at Englishtown and told him I loved kustom cars and that I built models, he asked me if I could build a replica of his car, and i told him i would...I remember giving it to him one of the next times I saw him and he was blown away, he put it on the rear package tray of his car, and the next few times i saw it, it was gradually more melted from the sun beating on it through the back window, i didn't care, i was just glad he liked it..

My father got to know him and in 1987 asked him about chopping my car,a 1951 ford, which he agreed to do..We dropped the car off and like 2 weeks later, he let us take it, still, not done, so we could go to Lead East..We had it parked right next to his Merc there for a while, and people were swarming around them..at the time it was in red primer..We drove it back to your house right after, and he finished the chop..

I sold that car a few months later and had regretted it ever since...I was lucky enough to find it a few years ago, and bought it back.. needless to say, i'll never sell it again...I'm very happy to have a car that was worked on by The Fonz...I'll include a pic of the car, I'm not sure you'll remember it or not..I actually saw your mother last summer at a show in Asbury Park, and she remembered me and the car, she is a lovely lady..I thought that was very cool...

The bottom line is, there are people here and in life who will have negative things to say about Joe's cars, but some of them are just miserable people who would rather say ****ty things than just keeping their mouths shut, and others think they are better than some people...Joe Carloni and his influence is one of the major factors that started my love of kustom cars, and I am forever greatful..the thing is, your father IS a kustom car legend and an icon, especially here in Jersey and on the East Coast, and he is missed by more people than you know, including me

Sincerely,
Bob Politz

 

I still have that model. It's a little beat up and the skirts might be missing but I still have it in a drawer down in my ba*****t with some of his other things. I remember when you made that model. I actually just found a picture last night of that model and another one sitting in the snow. I think they used it in a Lead East video.

 

Wow!! it's really cool to know it's still around, I'd love to have a copy of the picture you have...great memories...

 

If I come across any I'll let you know.

 

wow i remember that model i thought it was cool and you did a great job on it and thank you for everything you had to say about my father its people like you that keep his name alive thanks donna

 

I have a few regrets in life, never meeting The Fonz, even though I had the chance, and never getting Ed Roth to pinstripe something for me.

RIP, Fonz Carloni, you didn't give a **** about what others thought, you just did it.

 

Debbie & Donna, The picture of that red Merc on page 2 said it was Joe's first Chop Merc. it was posted by TheFrenZ vbmenu_register("postmenu_822327", true); . He said that the pic was taken June 86 at Hanovr Pa. Me and my dad dont remember that car.....do you have any idea if that was one of his. My dad was freinds with him in 86, but dont think that was one of his cars. Let me know what you think.

 

Jodi, I certainly don't want to speak for Debbie or Donna, but that was definately one of his cars, in fact it was the car he had when I first met him..I first saw him with that car at a show at Liberty State Park in 1986...bob

 

Huge "WOW" factor on the car.

 

I belive you...I was just not sure.

 

I took that pic at Gettysburg and the Frenz posted it for me!!My computer was ****ed and I had to e mail it to him,IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT JOES SHARP EYE HELPED FRANK PISANO DO SOME OF THE MODS ON ONE OF THE MOST TROPHY WINNING MERCS IN JERSEY HISTORY!!! PLEASE SOMEONE POST PICS OF THE 56 FORD JOE HAD IN THE EARLY EARLY 80S!!!!!!........By the way Debbie,I smoked one of my first cigarettes at Lead East with you in 86 when they first moved it to Parsippany.