@PasoJohn To narrow your search, look at the Holland Michigan show. I think I have a pic of it. The Tach in the hood was a tell tale sign. Chopped. Dark Brown(can`t ell cause of all the shade trees) and possibly scallopes, and louvers in the hood. Had big meats for tires. No front bumper. I`ll wait and post later. After John does. Cool story Ed. I didn`t make it to a Leadsled show with my own car until they started having them in Salina.
Thanks Sancho! I knew if anybody would know where this car came from it was you. Especially since you are a Kansas homeboy! I'll update the post right away. E That is exactly what I thought too. Funny, in the KKOA book it just says the car had a custom grille with no mention of what the teeth were from. I was going to guess but thought I'd better not. E And to everybody who mentioned they liked the story, thanks. Storytelling is not one of my strong suits. @40StudeDude is the master at that. For the most part, I'll leave that up to you Roger! It was quite an adventure! When a group of us local kustom guys get together and tell our travel stories, we all have a good laugh about it and remember ol' Charlie. He was a hoot to be around! He is missed..........E
88 or 90. @PasoJohn I looked at my pic again. It had a hot rod stance, maybe was even black or dark cherry. Which meant it would of been covered in dust, cause it was dry and dusty at the grounds. . You might of skipped it. It had mag wheels. That`s why the tach in the hood stood out when Ed mentioned it.
@stanlow69 are you talking about this one? I don't think it's the same car. If it is, a lot of the custom work was undone on it. It's a dark cherry color... http://www.greaterdakotaclassics.com/sold/soldcars/64_prostreet_galaxie.htm
Your right, the pic I have of it is very shaded as it was under a tree. You just don`t see to many chopped Galaxies with louvers in the hood. How many could there be. Plus showing up at a KKOA show. The one that Sancho posted seemed like it would need a Tach in the hood. Just figured it was changed like all the other cars on this thread. How far is Wellington from Wichita. Isn`t that where Halibrand wheels was located.
Wheels dont belong here, they are not traditional. Whats this car have to do with E's thread and his hour's of research? Just asking! Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I know the wheels aren’t traditional just was wondering if this was a kkoa car from the 80’s Sent from my iPad
What Ever Happened To..........? number 105. 1950 Mercury "Dreamin'" Owner: John Juarez Sterling or Rock Falls, Illinois This week's car is one of those that blurs the line between custom and lowrider. This type of car has all but vanished nowadays, but in the late 70s and through a good part of the 80s, a lot of custom guys were leaning towards the lowrider style, and a lot of lowriders were leaning towards the custom side of things. It is rare today to see lowriders with chopped tops, shaved handles and even frenched antennas. The lowrider styles have really changed. John Juarez must have wanted a lowrider, but growing up in the mid-west, the custom style that was so relevant there must have rubbed off on him. He made the unusual choice of starting with a Merc to make a lowrider out of. The car was chopped and shaved, side trim shortened and the headlights were frenched. He decided to keep the hood trim, but the hood was louvered. In the rear, some custom taillights were fabbed into the rear '51 Mercury quarters, but I can't say for sure what they're out of. They look like 70s Ford LTD or similar style lights. Now, if you just read the description of the mods done to the car, you would have to think leadsled all the way. Well, John decided that his car had to have wire wheels, and he decided on some Tru-Spokes. The car was painted a nice two tone burgundy and later pinstriped in scroll style. Early on in the pictures, you'll notice the bottoms of the front fenders were plain, and later on "Dreamin" was lettered there. "Dreamin' was the personalized plate that John decided to put on his sled. There was a brief shot of his plate on the 1984 Leadsled Spectacular video from Des Moines, Iowa. That is the only shot of his car that I found on any KKOA video, and it was just of the plate. I never saw the car in any video. John was also a regular at the Midwest Lowriders Custom and Lowrider Show that was held in the Sterling/Rock Falls area. Lots of fine customs and lowriders made it a point to attend this show every year it was held. Many of the KKOA faithful always showed up to this show, and if you talk to any of the folks that used to attend these shows they remember it fondly. The show started in 1984, but I don't know how long it ran. I have a video of this show from 1988 and it is very good. John's Mercury can be seen throughout the video cruising around lifting and lowering with the use of his hydraulics. You don't see that everyday! John was a big supporter of the custom scene, as his car was a regular at the Lincoln Land Kustoms' shows, as well as the Wanderers' shows that were held in and around Coralville, Iowa. I found a picture of John next to his Merc at the 1984 Lincoln Land Kustoms, Customs & Friends Show and Shine in Peoria, Illinois. John walked away with the "Best Interior" award that day. There was a nice write-up on that show in the KKOA's Leadsled'er Volume 4 Number 3 from 1984 on page 18. I scanned that page for you all to see as there were a lot of W.E.H.T. cars mentioned in it. I also cropped the picture of John next to his Merc so you could see it a little better. As far as other pictures go, I found a few great shots on Rikster's site that were taken by @Peter Pan of Chicago. I'm guessing these were taken around 1984 or '85. @PasoJohn also sent me a few pictures that he took himself. One of the shots was taken in 1984, the other I'm not sure about. Now, I'm not on Facebook at all, but @PasoJohn is always searching there high and low for cool cars. Recently he came across John Juarez' Mercury, and the Facebook page said that John still owns his Merc and it's still in fine condition. Juarez takes his car to shows and cruises all the time in and around his mid-western home in Illinois. So I guess this week's car isn't really a W.E.H.T. scavenger hunt, but more of a reminder of a great custom that many may have forgotten about. I always enjoy finding out a nice car has stood the test of time, and the owner was smart enough to hang on to it at all costs. Wouldn't you agree? Thanks for reading! See you next week! E
And Ed picks another winner. I first saw this car in Springfield Ohio`s KKOA show in 83. It was at the hotel. He had an extension cord running from his ground floor room out the window, threw the bushes, across the grass and sidewalk and into his trunk to charge his batteries. Don`t remember seeing it at the show. Here is a scan from Super Hot Rods and Customs February 86 issue. The Merc issue. I`ll post more pic`s later.
Man, I was certain I had pics of this car, but nuthin'. There was another chopped Merc down here in the south back in the mid/late 80's that had lowrider influence and was on hydraulics, but it was candy red. Cars like this make it so easy to see the connection between customs and lowriders. Good pick Ed! Glad to hear its still around and out and about.
Now I'm curious to see the award winning interior.. Anyone have a pic? Continued thanks to you "lil E" and everyone contributing - great stuff! Dave
Thanks Dave! I've been looking for an interior shot of the Juarez Mercury for a long time. No luck yet..........E
I remember that exact scene...trunk was full of batteries Sent from my SM-G955U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
If you look at the 3rd pic down that Ed posted. You can see my dads 51 Vicky before the make over. Here is a pic that he took at the same event at the same spot in 84 in Des Moines. Two more pic`s to go. Sorry, none of the interior. Are those Chrysler Cordoba `s headlight rings.
Man Jim, you have sharp eyes like @Sancho. I had to look at that pic a few times to see your Dad's sled. I was wondering if those were Cordoba rings also. I remember reading about them in Leroi Tex Smith's customizing Mopars book. He suggested using them instead of Ford or Mercury rings to save a little money back when Cordobas were plentiful. I must have read that article fifty times and I never could understand how he did it. E
I remembered that @54delray said that Kelly Puckett also used them in the past. As for the interior, did it have 2 swivel seats up front with a console. Done in velour with button tufted diamonds. Does this ring a bell with anybody. And while I`m at it, here is a pic my oldest brother took. He didn`t take many pictures at all. But he did like going to the shows. My dad, brother and I all liked Johns car and talk about it every once in a while. Another reason in posting the pic is because it shows he was at the Springfield Illinois KKOA show. You can see the entrance to the grounds on the far right. . Anybody care to post a link to the song Dreamin` .I always have music playin in the shop per my radio.
Bobby Simpson built, from Blountville TN. He passed away several years ago Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Interesting as always OG lil E. I like the combination of low rider/ kustom influence. But what I enjoy the most is the history that I get from this thread. Good job E. Later-Lou Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
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