History What Ever Happened to..........?

What Ever Happened To..........? number 14.

1955 Buick
Owners: Jerry and Mavis Newman
Madrid, Iowa

In 1983, Jerry and Mavis Newman attended the third annual Leadsled Spectacular in Springfield, Ohio with plans of purchasing a Merc convertible. While there, they fell in love with Bill Noel's '55 Buick, and bought it instead.
This car has always been one of my personal favorites, what with the wild colors, crazy paint scheme and of course, hydraulics, for me it's a no brainer.
The car was a regular at many KKOA events during the 80's. It was at the '83 Spectacular (when the Newman's purchased it), '84 I'm not sure of since I don't have a video for that year. They did attend the Spectacular from '85-'87, as well as Hangin' Dice '87 in Fort Smith.
All the Leadsled videos had some great footage of the car cruising around the fairgrounds with the Newmans playing with the hydros alot.
On the '85 video, one of my favorite parts is where Harold Olsen is conducting an interview with a group of "crazy Buick owners". I've mentioned this part of the video before, as Harold Olsen's Buick and Connie Winkler's '59 (W.E.H.T #8) were among the group. The Newmans seemed like a very likeable couple with a great sense of humor and a real love of customs.
Funny though, after the '87 show season, the Newmans and their '55 Buick seemed to drop off the scene. The car was featured in Custom Cars by Hot Rod Volume 2 number 2 on page 93. Unfortunately, the article is only one page and it's in black and white. Ironically, the car is pictured in color in the 1983 Leadsled Spectacular coverage in the same magazine on page 29. The caption mentions that the car is owned by Bill Noel. This is the only magazine I could find coverage of the car. I know I've seen a color spread of the it in a magazine somewhere, but I couldn't find it in my collection.
Fortunately though, I was able to find some great pictures of it on Rikster's incredible photo archive that were taken by our own Dr. Dave, Peter Pan of Chicago and Kustom Lincoln Lady. Thanks guys!
I'm sure that more history of this car will surface as many of the custom fans following this thread are in the Midwest--Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, Minnesota and so on, so somebody may know the Newmans. I also know that this Buick was a favorite of many people, not just me, so something is bound to be posted.
Sure would be nice to find out this car is still around, and one day, maybe, see it at another show!
Until next week, go for a spin in your sled and get a Slurpee or a chocolate shake. Stay kool! E

 

I did some work for a guy from Madrid. And as far as he knew, as of 3 years ago. Jerry still has the car. Not sure of the condition of the car. It sounded like it hasn`t been out for a long time. I know a guy who lives up in that area who has put over 100 thousand miles on their T bucket. He has never seen the car before. Back in the 80`s, KKOA had a show in Nevada, either Reno or Las Vegas. Jerry drove his car there. At one of the Leadsled shows in Des Moines, Jerry offered the service of fixing broken down cars. He hauled them to his shop. North of Ames where he had a repair shop-salvage yard. I remember he replaced a water pump and a radiator for very little pay on a Merc. I also remember that he was telling a story about how his car was in a children`s book about a dinasour that was the same color as his Buick. He was more proud of that than getting an award at a car show.

 

I remember them showing up at one of our first car shows at the Monona County Fairgrounds in maybe 1983??? I'd have to double check the year with the club secratary for The Classics Car Club in Onawa IA. Car was an over-the-top hit, for sure.

 

I remember being in Wichita in '84 for the Merc-Deuce Reunion. Made an impression on me driving around after dark with the lights in the port-holes on!
That and the video where it's parked nose-to-nose with another car and they are "battling" with their front hydraulics....

I had a major feeling of Deja-Vu on this one. I even went clear back through this thread thinking we had already done this one. Finally found it on the "Kustom blues?" thread, page 65. Posts 1932-1935.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...see-some-kustoms.946075/page-65#post-11497377

 

That's a new one on me, Mark. If you think of the details, you'll have to fill us in. E

 

E. I do have the 84 available. PM me.

 

This Buick had a great impact on me as it was featured in the German magazine "Chrom & Flammen" #10/1984. Mind you I was a stupid Austrian teenager building model cars and trucks back then. I sometimes bought this magazine for inspiration as it was the only magazine in German dealing with US-cars.
In the desert of Big-foot monster trucks, 6-wheeled vans, pink street rods and corvettes they sometimes featured gems like this and I realized that there must be more in this world than Camaros with fat wheels.




In the same issue also this mild custom 1953 Chevy was featured which belonged to a guy named Art Fullington. I remember that this one I loved even more:

 

Will do, Doug! E

 

Nice pictures Surfcityrocker. The Art F. Chevy is a super car!
Wonder when the pictures of the Buick were taken. Strange that it has painted bumpers and exhaust tips..........E

 

Good catch E. I missed that.
Looking closer it has a different grill in the magazine article and no longer has it's "55 WHAT" plates.

 

Did some snooping around checking out videos and pictures. I found a picture Dr. Dave took at the '87 KKOA Hangin' Dice Nats. When Don Kober had Olsen's car in the late 80's, the car had Iowa plates that read CA DRMN. So, the HOP KAT is still a mystery..........E

 

Love the vertical quads on the silver/maroon Buick.

 

The pic above had Ohio plates where the car was purchased from. Found a pic of it in a magazine that says Bill Noel was the owner. I remember seeing it in Ohio and was glad to hear somebody in Iowa bought the car. Jerry said he would tell people he bought a 55 Buick, people would say a 55 What. The name stuck. 55 Buicks weren`t cool back then. My dad loved seeing that licence plate and has a picture of that plate. He would laugh as he read the plate everytime he saw the car. HOP CAT ---It is a 57 Buick 2-dr post car from Iowa. I remember seeing it at the Last Pass KKOA show in Des Moines. It was black with yellow and white flames extending to the rear of the doors. (Watson style). Had lake pipes and McClean style wire wheels, the ones with large center caps. Was looking on my Buick board of pics on my shop wall and found an earlier version of HOP CAT. It was taken in Des Moines leadsled septacular. It was painted a maroon in color with scallopes behind the front and rear wheelwells. Looks to be silver in color. It also had the same wheels and lakepipes. My dad might have a picture of that plate as well, He liked that name too. Seeing a car with hydraulics in Iowa back then was really rare. So these cars made a big impact on people. Lee Pratt from Des Moines also had them on his 41 Buick and his Chopped Buick LaSabre. Maybe that's what influenced me to install them on my car in 87 when I was 17. The car in my avatar. Refer to page 20 for updated photos of hopcat.

 

Nice information, Jim. Must have been awesome being around the scene back then!

And there you have it guys-the HOPKAT mystery seems to be solved. Now, how about some pics? E

 

It`s awesome being around the scene today. Sorry, I`m computer stupid.

 

Did a little digging (more like a LOT!) and found this ONE. It was on Rik's archive from the KustomLincolnLady Photo Collection.

 

Leave it up to ol' Sancho! What a sweet Buick! Can't recall ever seeing this one in any of the videos or magazines. I'll have to be on the lookout. E

 

What Ever Happened To..........? number 15.

1961 Ford Econoline "Wine-O"
Owner: Larry Watson
Bellflower, California

For this week's "What Ever Happened To..........?" I'm going to step away from the KKOA in the 80's and the little guys to pay tribute to one of my heroes.
Tomorrow marks six years since Larry Watson passed away and left a big void in the custom car world. I had the pleasure of meeting him in Paso Robles back in 2003 and he was a true gentleman and a huge custom fan, not just an icon that created some of the craziest painted cars ever.
In 1964, Larry started building a '61 Econoline that was like nothing ever built at that time. Wild custom paint and interior were a must, as well as a ground hugging stance that brought the whole thing together.
For as cool as this truck was, there was very little publicity on it, and it's whereabouts is a mystery to this day.
But, I'm not going to try to re-invent the wheel here. I'm posting a link to Rik Hoving's Custom Car Chronicle and the excellent article he wrote on this unique pickup that should have been all over the magazines, but, unfortunately, wasn't. I've added a few pictures from Rik's article to give everyone that may have never seen this truck a taste of the sweet Econoline known as "Wine-O".
A special word of appreciation goes out to Rik Hoving for all the hard work he puts into his website and his study of custom history. Without his hard work and references, the "What Ever Happened To..........?" thread wouldn't be possible. Thank you, Rik!
http://www.customcarchronicle.com/custom-cars/watson-econoline-pick-up/

I'm also posting a link to a video that I made and posted on YouTube shortly after Larry passed away. It's a small tribute that I put together to honor one of my heroes and the true father of modern custom paint work.


Larry left us way too soon, and I think of him often. He is missed.........E

 

Man that is soooooo' swingin' tits ! Love it. Excellent work E. Great thread.

 

Thanks kidcampbell71. Appreciate that! E

 

Nothing much to add here. I think Larry's truck was an awesome kustom. Everything on it is so clean, I really like the front end treatment. This would be a good one to clone today!
Other than Winfield's Pacifica and The A-Brothers Deora (Dodge) I can't think of too many of these style trucks that were customized.

I'd also like to second the gratitude and appreciation for Rik Hoving and his site. I know I reference it a LOT!
THANK YOU RIK!

 

I've been expecting someone to reference this other Watson unfinished Econoline project.



You can read the CCC article HERE: http://www.customcarchronicle.com/cc-builders/larry-watson-c-painter/larry-watson-space-age-pick-up/

 

I actually thought about that one too but didn't mention it because it wasn't finished. I would have liked to see the final outcome!