Spotlights? Why exactly do we run ’em?

Some of you may know that the talented Keith Tardel has been doing some sweet work on my ’39 Merc over the past few months. As the ‘Tardel to-do’ list got shorter, I remembered my nice set of Mobilite spots (the poor man’s Appleton!) that have been waiting for instillation for many years. When I asked Keith his personal opinion on installing them, he humbly offered that they “detract from the Mercury’s beauty”.

Now, I had forever been of the Custom 101 belief that one always install spotlights (preferably functioning) on a traditional late 30s to mid 50s lead sled. Why? Well, because that’s just what they ALL did back in the golden days, right? And spots are just plain cool. It’s pretty hard to find an original picture of a Barris Kustom or a Larry Watson ride without a set of shiny chrome boobies bolted proudly on the A pillar. The old custom magazines say that “spotlights add class and functional beauty” or “prestige and style” to your car, but Mr. Tardel had me pulling to his side of the fence… In certain cases, do the spots really just busy-up the nice lines of a clean custom body, or is the girl naked without them?