Actually Larry Watson. Here is a post @Rikster did back in 2011: Here is another photo of Nick De Mattie 1957 Ford Ranchero. My good friend Jay Komoto who was close to Don Loster, who in turn was good friends with Larry Watson and a lot of the guy's at the shop in the early 1960's told me some more info on this car. This is what he wrote... "Nick De Mattie 57 Candy Root Beer Silver Metalflake Flamed Ranchero. Nick was the original builder and owner. Nicks pickup was probably done in the summer of 1964. Art Chrome did the bodywork, small details such as a scoop where the fin starts behind the door. Also small tube scoops on top of the fenders. Joe Perez did the tuck & roll interior and tonneau cover over the bed. Joe did it in a silver metalflake material (quite popular in 1964) This may have been one of the last flame jobs that Larry Watson did. Notice it is totally different than his other flame patterns. Nick and Don Loster went to Downey High School together and were close friends. Don Loster may have done the Hydraulic Lifts on Nicks Ranchero, I'm pretty sure he did."
In case anybody is looking for starter material for a '57 Ranchero project: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/391657221502024/ Not mine, but at $1500, I thought I'd share it here. The post indicates the cars are located near Newville, PA.
I posted this the other night in the custom blues photo thread. It’s a quick sketch I did of a possible route I may take on an upcoming project. For the sake of this thread I’ll call it a Merc-chero. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app