For all of you who insist Joe must have been drunk or stoned (he was neither), contemplate this. He also designed and built this car which is iconic in the custom world, and especially so right here on this site. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27110&highlight=joe+wilhelm+chrysler
Would it be completely realistic to think that EVERY radical and innovative creation would smoothly and fully be just as beloved EQUALLY after so many changes in the automotive world? There are so many beloved cars that though a different pair of glasses just don't make sense or have any true visual beauty- but still we love them. Put a bubble top on it, some scallops and say that Ed Roth built it and it would be one of his early masterworks (and I LOVE Roth cars!), but because this car stayed slightly below the radar because it was actually trying to be a little classier (i.e. Italian sports car influence) than the custom of the day it gets a bum rap. I always thought it was an interesting contrast to the El Matador, which if you love the lines of a stock '40 it would be difficult to fall in love with that car too- yet we do because of the great moldy magazines it was in and it's total uniqueness from all the rest.
Yeah Jim but opening that pic is like grabbing your ice cold beer and taking a long pull only to realize it was your buddies spit can...........some things you cant undo! nor forget.
Well, the usual bunch who get off on posting their rude comments on anything that doesn't fit their criteria for an old custom have spouted off once again. One has to respect the workmanship and the fact that it survived as it was built instead of being changed around for the next show season as happened to many of the customs of that era. I remember it being in several magazines that I bought back then and probably still have and it was well received at the time. A time when custom show car owners were more interested in modifications for points at shows than how they flowed together. Even if you don't like the modifications, take a close look at the work and detail that went into each modification and appreciate that.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27230&highlight=oakland+roadster+show+50th I've run into the owner a few times in the last few years. The car is in San Jose and is being worked on.
A well shat turd can be admired for its flawless symmetry, robust bouquet and silky smooth texture, but it's still a turd.
Yes, and there are magazines DEVOTED to bringing out the best most ROBUST ones every month and I don't see as many people getting shaken up about that. Styles change- there are clothes, music and designs from ALL eras that are totally beloved- and others that are totally forgotten. Not EVERYTHING from the past fits in todays description of "beautiful". How many critics are building and creating todays standard of "beautiful"- I wouldn't think it's too many.
I love it. I think it's fantastic, and at the top of the most radical time in custom cars. I would so very proud to own a truely outstanding car like that, with that kind of pedigree. A full-on custom built by one of the absolute best in the business. For everyone saying it's ugly, it's taking styling cues directly from that time period. The edsel grill, the lincoln headlights, the super low hood... it's all from production cars from that immediate era. All those cars were cutting new ground, and trying out new things. We have another 50 years of design history past this car to judge it with. Don't you think in 50 years, they're going to laugh they're asses off at these super low model A's with tractor grills tacked on and skulls and spider webs painted all over them? No one has the balls to build like that anymore. They're too worried what a bunch of armchair critics on the internet would say about it.
Well said, Mr. Mojo. The builders of today have 60 or 70 years of customizing to choose their styles from and few today are breaking new ground. These builders were setting the trends that many follow to this day.
I do remember you Tom. Did you have a booth at the Detroit Autorama one year when I was there?? It would great to see you and Lee team up on another Nomad. I agree on your comments about the "Wild Dream". Here is a picture I have of it. It was as good as any of the space age creations that are so popular today. It too started as Car Craft magazine concept drawing. I only saw it a few times when it was being built. As I remember, the body was hand built by Joe out of aluminum and all he worked with was a very well used vintage gas welder and some hand tools. RodP
Mojo ... I guess I'm way ahead of my time ... 'cuz I'm laughing my ass off at the super low model A's with tractor grills tacked on and skulls and spider webs painted all over them TODAY!
I did have a booth at Detroit a couple of times; I knew we had met, but wasn't sure where...long enough ago to blur the old memory function. Were you at the Springfield Leadsled in about '84? You should post photos of some of your flame jobs. Didn't you do the Prufer car(s)? Those were definitive flames on the definitive rods in my opinion. I'll start a flame thread here, you can chip in. I did see Lee a couple of years ago and he did talk about doing another Nomad. I had forgotten that Joe had scratch built the Dream body out of aluminum. Wild.
The Wild Dream Rod is a fantastic example of the craftmanship of Joe Wilhelm. Think of the hours of work in these two cars, The Mist and the Dream Rod. Not bondo and Paper Mache, but formed aluminum and metal.
I found an angle I like there is a photo of the rear end body work from underneath , from that angle it looks like the front of a Speed Racer sports car But this car is styling gone bad.....I could see by 1965 that it was already way out of style.... but still a neat piece of history Beaulieu
Now that's cool right there (that grille isn't made from a tractor is is?) The car at hand would look pretty good without the roof and loose the quad headlights (everybody had to have them back then but to be honest, they really screw up this one). The side veiw that someone posted looks better than the head on shot.
Another intelligent perspective from the "quiet" Mr Powell. Always a pleasure to read one of his "limited-edition" posts. I remember seeing the Mark Mist for the first time on the Car Craft cover. As kids, my friends and I were avid car modelers and usually our only exposure to the "big name" west coast builders was through the pages of the little books. We couldn't wait to see the latest projects and we would (wrongly, in retrospect) give them and immediate thumbs up (or down). But we would always learn something and we spent many hours discussing design and how the latest customs could be improved (pretty arrogant). It is with considerable hindsight that I have studied the relatively short custom car era and attempted to place it into some semblance of chronological order in my own mind. To track its phases, fads and rebirth. It has been considerably easier in the "information age" with this forum at the very top of my resource list. I hope the Mark Mist is restored to its former glory. Larry
Funny, I just watched a video, and I think this car popped up in it at the "car show" segment, It went by fast and I couldn't figure out how to pause it. If anyone is still interested it's in this. http://objflicks.com/CarsWeDrove.htm
that car is pretty fuckin ugly but the design concept overall was cool and the interior work kicked ass!!!
I can't imagine the work and skill it took to make those headlight bezels. I could see the tops being Lincoln, but how he made them come down and around blows my mind.
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