Ok anyone out there ever hear of these skirts? was a guy named Jimmy Jones , a black guy in Detroit who made them out of old hoods or Roofs of cars.. they were huge long skirts and were made especially for the cars they went on. he did alot of Merc's and a 53 Cranbrook that I know of..Any one?
if he did needlenose bubble skirts, i think i had a pair... sold them with a chopped 50 shoebox i had about 4-5 years ago,,sold the car to a guy in finland via the hamb.. ULTRA RARE,,,,,,,,,,,i shoulda removed them from the car before i put it up for sale,,, i get mad at myself every time i think about it,,,,ill probably never see another pair in my life,,, here's a crappy pic,,,sorry,,its all i have
I know a guy named cary that grew up across the street from jimmy jones. the family gave him tons of this old stuff. he had a bunch of it at Billetproof this year. He is making skirts now that are modeld after jimmy's.
id say you would have to be VERY lucky to find a set,,,,why not find a really good pic of one and try to make your own?
my dad had a set made back in the mid to late 50's for his Cranbrook. I have since found a stock set to finish his new car, but it would be totally awsome if i could find a set of these one of a kind skirts.
My dad had a set. If I remember correctly I think he paid like $25.00 for them. I'll double check that figure. They were the shit back in teh day in the Detroit area. Dad's best bud as copies on his Merc. I'll look and see if I can find a photo. I do believe DirtyT is talking about the guy that lives about 3-4 miles from me on Merriman Rd. that is making copies. I don't have his number but I know his house if you'd like me to stop.
sure Denise..when ever you have time..im kinda getting ahead of my Pops on this one, but he might warm up to it. especially if it brings back memories.. Funny you mention the cost of 25 bucks I think thats what he said he paid for his set back than too. Yeah I guess the guy was somewhat of a legend here in the Motor City back than.
Have you tried Big Jims in Whitney, Tx.? He has alot of new and used stuff. Here's his web address http://www.bigjims.net Good luck!
here's some, legendary. he used to cut the metal from different shapes on junk cars. he used a hot bed of coals to shape them.
My dad Is now 70 he lived in the area north of detroit, worked at schwarts (sp) foundry down in the heart of detroit (just under the bridge to canada) He drove a dark Blue 53 Cranbrook with Jimmy Jones skirts, had alot of the trim removed and leaded. had the nice dodge spinners on it..and a few other neat things of the 50's done to his ride. it was the car he married my mom in ( at their wedding over 50 years ago) His name really might not mean anything but it is Carl Rigg I helped hi purchase another 53 cranbrook up out of North Carolina 1.5 years ago from Dale Jarrets Neighbor (no shit)..and it is a bone stock beautiful complete car ..so as he sees it hes still got the girl and the car he had when he got married 50 + years ago.
I guess its in my blood,,there was no hope for me..i constanly remind him of this..because i always got in trouble for taking shit apart when i was a kid. just to see how it worked..
My Dad is 69 so they grew up in the same era. My dad grew up in Highland Park then Lincoln Park. He ran around in the downriver area. His name is Jim Sheldon and drove a '49 Olds then a '56 Olds. I'll ask my Dad if he remembers your Dad/car.
Yep 50Mercfan that was the guy..or at least thats the same story i got from the 'ol man..a Detroit Black Man that could really work that metal
Funny you should say that Denise I think I have heard of your Dad..I Have been a Down River Rat my whole life up until 10 years ago I moved as far south as i could with out leaving the state
I wish i had a scanner i could shoot you a picture of the original car sitting in front of some church that im sure you and your dad would recognise..im trying to talk him into comming to the autorama this year with me and My wife and Cheyenne..maybe I will get a chance to intoduce you to him.
I bought a set of Jimmy Jones skirts in 1956 for my 1956 Chevy hardtop. They cost me $115.00 in 1956. Went from the door to the back bumper, the full length of the quarter panel.. As stated before, he formed them over a bed of hot coals. His house was in Inkster, Mi. He had a large shop in the rear and would draw those skirts back and forth over the coals and pop them with a small mallet. Bill Hines painted them black lacquer for $15.00 bucks and heated my front springs for $2.00 bucks a side. It is quite possible that they are the skirts on the 57 in the pictures above, as they were exactly like those. I sold them when I lived on Ecorse rd. in Taylor and then I moved to Florida. Bill Hines had a shop on Dix in Lincoln Park before he moved to Ca.
Dam noce little slice of history there hotrod1940. Alot of things going on in the Motor City back than, I really dont know what the price my dad paid..he may not even really remember. But they were a slick item for sure, and his wend from almost the door jamb back to the rear of the car too. all hand made, dont believe the man used or even had an english wheel. My dad has met Bill Hines. when he was here in Michigan, we moved into the down river area in 1962. so we were a stones throw from Ecorse, Taylor, Lincoln Park..etc..
oh and sorry to all those "perfect" spellers and typers out there..I fuckin work on cars im not a school teacher and im not a secretary..so GFY.. maybe you people who can type perfectly need to get back out in the shop and build something rather than ba a critic..You Know who you are.
hi jim the skirts that you got at sled scene east weren,t jimmy jones but real steel from that era and worth alot of $$$$ wayne does have a pair of real jimmy jones but he won,t sell them i hope some of the motor city guys know more about him i always hear people speak very good about him but no one knows what happen to him
I spoke with Bill Hines at the Autorama a couple of years ago and he said that Jimmy Jones passed quite a while ago. I remember that he was a big, gentle black man that had incredible talent with metal. He was making great money for the time and skirts were at their height of popularity. I was making $25.00 a week and it took me a long while to pay my dad back for those skirts. What a disappointment i must have been to my dad, I took a brand new Chevy and lowered it into the weeds and hung skirts on it and then got a ticket for speeding 115 MPH on a trip to northern Michigan. The car was parked for a month in the garage. But I loved those skirts and it is neat to be able to remember Jimmy Jones and Bill Hines from my youth.
That '57 Chevy that 50mercfan posted the pic of, was built by the Alexander Bros., maybe Mike Alexander could provide some more info....
That 57 Chevy's legendary, I modeled mine after it when I built it in 1984. I didn't have any Jimmy Jones skirts, just chrome plated Foxcrafts but I had heard of him, he was quite the man. I woulda loved to have met him, but I was a just a young dude living in Florida. Good luck on your quest VRF, you never know.
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