Projects Recreating the jesse lopez coupe

The level of detail you are putting into these is great Jerry!

 

I wanted to do what it took to get the color right of course, like everything else. I got several great tips along the way that it was '49 Chrysler Andante green with some sparkles that you could see under the streetlights at night. I went down to my paint store, and they had some vintage authentic paint sample chips by make and year. They were R-M chips and what i saw for that make and year didn't look right, but oh well let's get a pint and spray it out.

Jesse tells me the way that works best for him, was to spray the color out on M/C tanks so you could see what it looked like when the light hit all the angles. I'm not going to send him M/C tanks to look at, but I do understand what he means. I have some surplus '50 Ford upper grille pieces that i cut into six-inch lengths. After about five tries i get it right by using Omni urethane with the smallest flake that's available, and he says, "that's it".

So, this is where I'm at when the Barris Kustom Royale' arrives on the scene. The Omni goes in the paint cabinet. I send spray out cards to Hibernia Auto Resto in N.J., who make their own colors from various types of paint including acrylic lacquer. I don't know why i accepted a lighter color with heavy mettalic, instead of small flake, but I did. Oh yeah, I was drunk and stupid, a very dangerous condition to be in, but "Someone's" looking out for me, who uses circumstances and decisions as tools in his toolbox to accomplish his purpose and will in my life, as well as the integrity of this build.

To be continued...

 

Something is going to have to be done with the insert, after a long battle, its gold leaf.

 

Jesse has become more interesting as the years have gone by, as I have had contact with him, with this build. He was low tech like Junior which meant that I had to send him each individual page with holes in it so he could assemble them as an album. He was able to see his car come together, with my insistence that each item was accurate, along with the comments from you.

We have all these pics of him with his car, a strikingly handsome young man that knew what he wanted as he reacted to the post war car culture of southern California in the forties. My impression of Jesse was formed by all the information that was becoming available, especially the interviews that Michelly got with him that were pretty extensive that I never had.

I think what we ended up with was this intrusion into his solitude that was an annoyance. I say this because unlike my time with Junior, when there was warmth and laughter, Jesse and I never had that kind of a relationship where we would linger on the phone. He never asked me any questions.

I've never thought about this until now as I try to capture this Chicano kid that always seemed to know what he wanted and how it needed to be. As I write this, I'm coming to the conclusion that he trusted me with this monument to him that I was recreating because he had examined Junior's car at the GNRS. Something that he knew well. What an honor.

To be continued...

 

AHHH, those were the days. Sorry about the quality of the pic.

 

I don't know about Jesse's upbringing, But I suspect that his dad made sure he had a work ethic, because that is one of the things that stands out about his life. Pre-war hardships produced tough people that had to have work and thinking/planning skills to take advantage of opportunities for advancement when they presented themselves.

So, Jesse was put together physically and mentally. He kept his own counsel, didn't suffer fools lightly and kept out of the kind of trouble that his age group gets into. When he did go to the places where his age group could dance and meet girls, he gravitated to the meet girls' part. He didn't smoke, or drink, and to make all this work I suspect he had a pretty strong moral compass. This enabled him to find success in whatever he wanted to do, and as we all know and love, he wanted to express himself using hot rod and custom cars as his platform to work on and wer'e all the better for it.

I was walking down the lighting isle at Walmart one day when he called me! This was during the part of the build where I was explaining the rear crossmember/shock/shackle part of the build, and someone had commented that this configuration was probably why the car had crashed and was totaled. I answered the phone, and he was so amped up that the people that were around me must have wondered what was going on. I had to talk over him to get him to shut up so I could explain that there's all kinds of people in the world and there will always be somebody that has their own opinion about things, and to not take it seriously. I should have also included the word passion in this narrative that this "hobby" that were in comes with.

To be continued...

 

I'm having trouble transferring my pics from my email into the tab that i can get at them for these posts. I have taken the JCC woody and handed it off to Frank Palmer (who else?) and brought the JLC woody home. I would like you to see it but until I get this technical glitch taken care of, I can't . Here is the pic that shows all the "stuff" on the JCC. Except the gold leaf.

 

Here's the JLC woody, the rear bumper is broken off, the fun never stops.

 

Are you going to put words all over the JCC woody too? Not much room there with all that trim.

 

Its purpose is a sign, so yes.

 

It was amazing spraying lacquer again, it was just like being in the 70”s again. The experience is really difficult to explain, the joy of doing this with my hands, realizing how privileged I am to be able to reclaim my youth, and fascination with this thing that captured me in my early teen years.

I was living this experience that was the culmination of every fantasy I’d ever had as a kid. The car looked great, the accolades were comin in. I was able to tamp down the truth about the difference between the color that was on the car and the color that Jesse had from me, that prompted him to say “yup, that’s it”. What was I going to do when the day came when Jesse and this monument to his youth, and claim to fame, was united for his approval, for the first time, came?

When I was first exposed to all this creativity and power that was encapsulated in this “hobby” (I reject that word in this context), I was defenseless. After reading all the magazines that were available , I realized (over time) that there was one place in the country where most of this power was coming from. That was California, mainly the Los Angeles area. It was this area that was creating the powerful combination of mechanical mods and re-styled bodies that captured me ( I’ve never recovered ). The cars that I was drawn to were coming out of a shop in Lynwood, an L.A. suburb.

I couldn’t know then how connected I would be to this magical place called Barris Kustom by recreating some of these icons of the creative genius of this place. The fact that Junior Conway was seventeen years old rocked me. So, the elixir of Barris Kustom Royale’ is now overpowering, and I really don’t know how close I am to disaster after all this effort.

Thankfully "Someone" who has the power to make all these circumstances work together for the good did know, and was about to reveal to me just how close to disaster I was, and the circumstances that will provide the solution for the rescue.

To be continued…

 

As I was looking at a recent private message, I spotted an old (from Sep. 2022) PM from you giving me a head-s up on the "disaster/aftermath"on the JLC, pointing me to page 89. Thank you for that, Jerry!

I realized how quickly time passes and how I have had little time to REALLY read and follow along like I used to. To say that it has felt like catching up with old friends on this thread for the past few hours is an understatement.

Your tenacity is hard for me to get a handle on, but it is at the very least something that we should all take away from these builds. You simply refuse to be defeated - by anything. And sharing the battles, whether personal, physical, or related to the builds, is something to be admired. Profiles, builds, pictures, etc are so much like a greatest hits compilation these days...I greatly prefer a documentary.

Now, to get a hold of your book...

 

It's amazing how the smell of Lacquer will take you back. Also the smell of oak paddles when you run lead will linger in the shop for days.

 

Thanks Todd, for the kind words. I'm glad to have you back.

 

Here's the chrome bumpers, sombrero hubcap. Next comes what Frank Palmer (who else?) calls the "cheatin" part.

 

The definition of disaster, in "our" particular situation is, an event or fact that has unfortunate consequences. I'm about to get a look at just how much trouble I'm really in.

We all remember when I finally came to my senses and decided that I needed Jesse 'in the loop" on the grille placement issue. I took some pics that excentuated the grille and revealed where it was in relationship to the other front-end components and sent them to to him. His reply was " what the hell is this, etc." Ok, now I know without a doubt where I'm at on this, what had happened, and what the remedy is. This produced a series of phone calls to his sisters (Margi's) house in Burbank, where he was staying at the time.

I learned that a family member whose nickname is "beaner" is now also building a JLC. It wasn't going to have the grille placement issue and Jesse added " you didn't get the frenched headlights right either."
The thing that got my attention was the way he said this. It was in a "you're not as smart as you think you are" tone.

After thinking about these developments for a while, I think that Jesse was annoyed at all the attention I was getting that was separated from him. The "story" had gotten bigger than the car and his perception was that it was focusing on me at his expense, and this had been grating on him. I'm willing to consider that I'm mistaken about this, but I don't think that I am.

I did talk to "beaner" and I did mention to him that I was willing to fly out and get all the measurements and pics, etc. that I needed. It was revealed that he needed a grille that was in better shape than the one he had, and I offered to send him an extra grille that I had free of charge, that I think was better than his.

This offer quieted all the "furor", and I guess I was ok after all. His car was going to be red with a SBC, so there wasn't the usual concern about another car to deal with. They never took me up on the offer, and I never heard from "beaner" again. The idea about me being aware of the potential for someone ready to point out to the world that I'm not as smart as I think I am, was becoming this big mountain that I was in the shadow of.

The idea of continuing to "tamp this down" has run its course. The vision of putting Jesse together with the car, with the whole world watching, is turning into the stuff that keeps you up at night.

But not to worry (!), my protector and the protector of the integrity of this build, has already seen this developing, and inserted the remedy awhile back.

To be continued...

 

Keep at it !

 

Reading along through the interactions you shared with Jesse during the JLC build provides such interesting counterpoint to those with Junior during the JCC build.

On some level I take comfort in knowing that the existence of, shall we say, "difficult personalities" is not specific to any generation.

 

OK, if we want Faux tail Lites that look right, we better start with real tail lite red plastic, instead of the sheet red plastic. It just so happens that we have a broken tail lite from gramp's truck handy.

 

Well... this has been quite the story for sure. It's included my early years and the events that prepared me for the things that have happened to me that I interpreted as negative, but actually helped me and protected me from the plans of the devil, the enemy of God's creation. I was completely distracted by all this automotive creativity that had captured me to know that there was someone that was trying to destroy me, and I was shielded from that knowledge, which looking back might have "nudged" me over the edge. Thats why to say that I'm thankful for that shielding is a huge understatement.

The chop saga, the grille saga, and now we arrive at the paint saga...or, I should say, the other side looking back at it. The instrument God used as the remedy to yet another threat to what this is supposed to be was a very talented and creative upholsterer that "popped up" in my orbit. The guy that did Junior's car for me struggled mightily trying to get the reverse flow headliner right, He installed and reinstalled it 7 times trying to get it right using the stock bows. I was amazed at his determination to not give up and eventually succeed.

I don't remember exactly how I arrived at Chris's Trim Shop in Haltom City. I had all the pics that are available of Jesse's interior as I explained to him what my goal was. The more time I spent with him the more I was convinced that this is "my guy". His solution to the headliner problem was to glue it to the underside of the roof, instead of trying to make it hang on those stock bows. It sounded like a great idea to me, and I was impressed with the creative way he set about to solve problems. It turned out that it was also a good idea to the "Someone" making sure that the original goal of an authentic recreation was going to be carried out as well as accomplishing his purpose and will in my life, and this build.

I need to add as the anniversary of the founding of the greatest country the world has ever seen approaches', where else could what we love to be created, advanced, and flourish, then here. The fact that I've been given hands that can create gives me a unique insight of the creator. I have a little note below Junior's car at the GNRS photo that says, "everything that's beautiful and gives pleasure finds its origin in God".


To be continued...

 

I think we've arrived at the "cheatin'" part. View attachment 5776016 View attachment 5776016

 

Nice

 

I brought the car down to Chris's Trim Shop to his old location in Fort Worth. If I remember correctly, he could get 5 cars in that shop. there was a big, low table that he sat at and did all the sewing. It was invigorating having the car there and it did get Chris amped up a bit. The car was there a month. I never saw anything there in the shop or on the walls, or in the albums that was at the level of this job.

I would visit every once in a while, and I think it was on my first, or second visit, I noticed that he had installed his version of what he thought a white headliner should look like in this car. I had to admit that it was a "beaut", with the reverse flow all profiled subtly in white leatherette and white stitching. I was impressed with his effort and talent, but I had to find the pics that I had left there and point out that this wasn't going to be the JLC with that headliner in there.

He never batted an eye, and on my next visit the correct headliner was installed and looked great, and we were rollin'. I noticed on one of the visits that the door panels were done without the carpet on the lower part, a very subtle item that was difficult to see in the pics. There were a few adjustments to things that I thought didn't quite look right, but the time came for it to come home.

Having it back in the shop, I realized that if I'm going to be able to drive this thing, I can't be all "scrunched" up in the seat, I've got to sit lower in the car. We all remember the mods to the seat frame, and the cut down lower side panels at the floor. I took those panels and the lower front seat cushion and had Chris give me a little more sitting room, so's that I can see out of the windshield. This ultimately produced a "drive through the neighborhood" video with sound that was pretty cool.

So here I am doing all this "assumin" that things couldn't be better, right? The Barris Kustom Royale' is tastin' pretty good about now, right? The "paint problem?", What paint problem?

To be continued...

 

More cheatin'. Here's the nose from another angle showing the Cadillac emblem on the sombrero cap. These simulations are made by taking the actual picture and printing it on photo paper and cutting them out, and using double back tape to attach.

 

With the car looking finished and just needing minor adjustments here and there, I didn't think it was necessary to continue to send Jesse the pages of the story. I felt he had all the important info he needed to know and appreciate how this"monumemt" to his youth has now been recreated. I stopped sending him the pages and was not surprised that he didn't try to contact me.

I did know that he was spending more time at his sisters/brother in laws place in Burbank than at his "ranch". This is near enough to Juniors shop that he could walk over there to check on the progress to his recreation of his 57' T-Bird that was being done over there. I would spend time on the phone with Margie and Bill Wieser, and did get the pleasant /warm conversation that was not there with Jesse.

What I didn't know was that Jesse developed some form of cancer and eventually moved to New Mexico to be under the care of one of his daughters that was a nurse in the medical profession. It was in early March '22 that Margie called me to say that Jesse had passed away in the latter part of '21. Godspeed old friend.

So, one could surmise that this "pressing need" to respray the car with the "yup, that's it" stuff could/should have been avoided. This news was way late to have worked out, and as I'm telling you this story it's becoming clearer that "Someone" is manipulating all these "circumstances' to accomplish some goal.

To be continued...

 

Hey guys, I should have included this pic in that last post. It's Jr, introducing me to Jesse at the 2011 GNRS. Left to right, Jesse, unknown, Jr, me, son Tom, Jr's wife, and Jr's daughter in-law. I want to say that if that had not happened, we wouldn't have the story, but it might have happened anyway. I need to add that the Hirohata Merc is in the background.

 

What a great show that was! So many of the "heroes" in the room that weekend. I was lucky enough to be standing there when Junior got to sit in "his" car. What a moment.



Answering the phone.....

 

Thanks, Doc, for that pic, what a moment in time, definitely surreal. My wife told Sharon (Jr's wife) that she should slide in next to her husband, just like the old days, and she did. We might have been on the other side of the car while you were taking your pics. One of these days our paths will cross, thanks again.

 

LOL! I remember that! And, yes, I was on the other side. I had started to introduce myself right when Jr came up, so, rightfully so, you had to excuse yourself for this once in a lifetime event. We did end up talking for a bit later in the show. I do indeed look forward to the time we meet up again.....here or there.

 

This isn't the end, but you can see it from here.