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

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by OG lil E, Apr 19, 2016.

  1. I've got a small update. Last night I was looking through the KKOA Trendsetters again and I found an ad for Angelo's '53. This was in the classified ad section of the Trendsetter from early 1996, Volume 10 number 1 on page 40. It looks like Mr. Pupillo had his Ford up for sale, so there is a really good chance he sold it a long time ago.
    By the way, I wrote that I thought the taillights on this car were Lincoln. Here the ad says the taillights were '55 Chevy. Sorry about the wrong information. E

    Angelo Pupillo 53 Ford k TS V10n1 1996 p40.jpg
     
  2. T. Turtle
    Joined: May 20, 2018
    Posts: 424

    T. Turtle

    Did the Dean Jeffries Falcon survive?
     

    Attached Files:

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  3. Rot 'n Kustom
    Joined: Sep 24, 2004
    Posts: 2,086

    Rot 'n Kustom
    Member

    I spoke to Dean Jeffries about a year before he died and asked about "The Python." He said he had always wanted to get it back and spent some time searching. He believed it was in a garage somewhere, but he had not located it.
     
  4. T. Turtle
    Joined: May 20, 2018
    Posts: 424

    T. Turtle

    @Rot 'n Kustom : thanks, I hope it's still out there, to me this is his best custom - it looks factory, if someone told me it was a Ford prototype I would have not questioned them at all!
     
  5. What Ever Happened To..........? number 224.

    1953 Chevy "Teenage Dream"
    Owner: Paul "Clyde" Wishart
    Acworth, Georgia

    This week's custom is one that I've been sitting on for quite a while. I've had video stills of the car and some show information, but it wasn't until a few chance information finds within the last few weeks that finally produced enough information to post. Although there are still some holes in my information, I think there is enough here to push it to the front of the line and share it with you.
    Clyde Wishart's '53 Chevy first appeared on video for the 1990 Leadsled Spectacular in Holland, Michigan. The one custom feature that really stands out on this car and made it easy to identify was the fact that it had rolled pans front and rear. This custom trick is one that is nowhere as common now as in the old days, but every now and then it's cool to see the rolled pans. The car also had bubble skirts, and molded lake pipes.

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy a 90 LSS.JPG

    It also had a louvered hood and lots of pinstriping. Rounded hood corners and molded grille shell were a nice touch.

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy e 90 LSS.JPG

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy b 90 LSS.JPG

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy c 90 LSS.JPG

    Moving to the rear we see the clean look of a rolled pan, bubble skirts and lots more striping on the trunk lid. You can see some name on the trunk, but you can't quite make it out. This will all be cleared up in a minute. Note the Lee lenses and dual pipes.

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy d 90 LSS.JPG

    Here's a neat shot of the '53 literally "sitting in the weeds" catching a little shade. Still can't make out the name on the trunk.

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy f 90 LSS.JPG

    A peek inside shows a sanitary interior with nice blue pleated velour seat upholstery. There are lots of neat 50s style accessories like dice and teardrop knobs.

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy g 90 LSS.JPG

    Lucky for us, Clyde once again made the trip to the Leadsled Spectacular in 1991, this time in Hamilton, Ohio. Not a whole lot on the car was changed. It still had the nice blue top with matching side trim inserts. Shades of the early "Moonglow"? "Moonglow" or not, the white with blue is always a nice color combination.

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy h 91 LSS.JPG

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy i 91 LSS.JPG

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy j 91 LSS.JPG

    The next few shots were important in the information department on this car. The next shot it looked to me like the car had Georgia license plates on it. That is a heck of a drive from Georgia to Holland, Michigan in 1990, then back again in 1991 to Hamilton, Ohio. Clyde was a cruiser!

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy k 91 LSS.JPG

    Finally a nice clear shot of the lettering on the trunk. Clyde christened his ride the "Teenage Dream".

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy L 91LSS.JPG

    As we check out the interior a year later, not much has changed. The addition of the magnetic sweetheart picture frame is a classic touch. I'm sure many teenagers back in the 50s and 60s used to have a picture of their girl on their dashboard somewhere. Was this an actual picture of Mrs. Wishart?

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy m 91 LSS.JPG

    A quick look in the car shows some more nice detail upholstery work in the car. The pleated panel under the rear side windows look very nice!

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy n 91 LSS.JPG

    After the '91 Spectacular, the information trail went ice cold. I've been searching through the newly acquired KKOA newsletter collection and thankfully it has really been a big help. In the KKOA Trendsetter from April 1994 on page 9 there was a great shot of the car, complete with the owner's name. That helped things come into focus a lot more clearly. Another thing that was a big help is that these photos were taken at the Georgia World of Wheels car show in February 1994. I think it would be safe to say that Clyde and his '53 were definitely from "The Peach State". What city? We are yet to find out.
    Those of you with sharp eyes will notice that the blue top is gone and was repainted white. I wonder what the story was behind that.

    Clyde Wishart 53 Chevy o TS April 94 p9.jpg

    The last clue for this week's Chevy came from Facebook of all places. I know many of you know that I'm not a Facebook or social media guy. For me, the HAMB is it. But, a few weeks ago a friend of mine was showing me some sleds that had been posted on the KKOA Facebook page. He let me scroll back through many pages and posts. The posts can really fly over there. After looking back through page after page I found an interesting post. On April 3rd, 2020 a fellow by the name of Paul I. Wishart posted four great pictures of this Chevy. I don't know how Paul is related to Clyde, but I know the pictures he posted were of this car. They are the best shots of this car I've seen yet. In looking at those pictures, I noticed the bubble skirts were gone and the stock style skirts were in their place. That was the only change I noticed. There might have been more changes, but the pictures were very small.
    I apologize, but I couldn't get the pictures as my friend didn't know how to share them with me since I'm not on Facebook. I'm hoping that one of you Facebook savvy kustom faithful out there will know how to get those pictures and post them here. Also, maybe someone could reach out to Paul and find out how he knows Clyde and how Mr. Wishart is doing. I hate to end this week's post on kind of a cliff hanger like this, but at least there is still one more clue out there to investigate that may give us good information as to where Mr. Wishart and his "Teenage Dream" are.
    We have just a few days before America celebrates another birthday. I can't believe that 2020 is half gone, although I won't be sad to see it go. 2020 has been a real strange and bummer year. The events going on everywhere just make me want to turn the page onward to next year. Well, we can't do that so we'll just have to make the best of it. I hope you and your loved ones have a great time and can get out and burn up some gas, have some ice cream or whatever treat you choose while watching fireworks lighting up the night sky. Just remember to be safe out there.
    God Bless America! Have a great Independence Day everyone! See you next week! E
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2020
  6. John B
    Joined: Mar 9, 2001
    Posts: 1,433

    John B
    Member

    Funny. I was watching the 1990 Holland video while I worked today. As I walked by the TV this car came on the screen and I stopped to just check it out.

    I did a search on Facebook and it looks like Clyde and Paul might be the same person. I also found the picture I believe you saw (attached) and that I have five mutual friends with him.

    Paul Wishart 1.jpg Paul Wishart.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2020
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  7. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,348

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    Might have posted this car on an earlier feature car. Guess it wasn`t it. From the Holland show. 2019-10-03_000940.jpg
     
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  8. Great picture Jim! It's nice to see a clear shot of it. E

    Thanks for the Facebook searching John! Those are the pictures I saw. Maybe those pictures are earlier than the video stills I posted. That would explain the stock style skirts verses the bubble skirts. Maybe the bubble skirts came later.
    I never thought that Clyde might be a nickname for Paul. The way Paul mentions that he built the Chevy in '86-'87 definitely hints at the fact that Clyde is Paul. E
     
  9. I couldn't find any other photos but I did see on his facebook page where he said the four photos @John B posted are from 1986.
     
  10. John B
    Joined: Mar 9, 2001
    Posts: 1,433

    John B
    Member

    I shared a link to this feature to the KKOS page where Paul/Clyde had posted his car. I have a feeling that Paul is like me and gets in trouble on Facebook sometimes because he seems to have a second account under the name Jose Jose. Anyway he has shared the link to this thread a few times so i think he's happy to see people digging on his old car. Here's a post he made.


    Paul Wishart FB.JPG
     
  11. Great post @John B! Neat information there. I'll update the Georgia town in the header. Thanks for digging..........E
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2020
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  12. What Ever Happened To..........? number 225.

    1955 Ford Convertible "The Cruizer II"
    Owner: ? ? ? ? ? ?
    ? ? ? ? ?, New York

    Well, it's been a while since we've had what I like to call a "wild card". That is a custom that I've exhausted all my research information and there are still many holes of information that need to be filled. After tons of research, the owner of this cool Ford convertible has eluded me. I guess it's time to put it out there and see what comes up.
    Through my research, this Ford never seemed to make it to a Leadsled Spectacular, but it did have a number of appearances at Sled Scene East. I saw the car there in the 1991, 1993 and 1994 videos.
    In the '91 video there was just a brief shot of the car and it was sitting in a shady area. All the still shots I took of it were so grainy that the car was hard to see. It looks like the car was "done" at that time, although later sightings of the car showed many custom upgrades. I found these pictures on Rikster's site taken by @KustomLincolnLady. I don't know when these were taken, but I'd say it they were early sightings.

    55 Ford The Cruiser II b KLL.jpg

    You can see the car still had the stock style taillight sheet metal, but '60 Dodge taillights were in the original taillights place. The car had the true east coast look with a Connie kit and bubble skirts.

    55 Ford The Cruiser II a KLL.jpg

    In 1993 the car looked unchanged on the video, but it was only shown from the front. I couldn't see the rear of the car on video, and the car was constantly in motion so still shots were too blurry to make out.
    Moving on to Sled Scene East '94 I was finally able to get some good shots of the car on video. It was sitting in the big park among all the other sleds taking it all in. Still up to this point, I only had seen the car with the top up.
    The tube grille is a time less custom touch.

    55 Ford The Cruiser II c 94 SSE.JPG

    In the back, you can see the Continental kit shrouded by a pair of classic Packard taillights. This is a big change from the early version of the car and the '60 Dodge taillights.

    55 Ford The Cruiser II e 94 SSE.JPG

    You can also see that the lettering on the Connie kit cover is a different style than in Debb's pictures. Was it changed just because it was time for a change when the Packards were installed, or did this car have an accident that called for all the changes? Hmmm..........

    55 Ford The Cruiser II d 94 SSE.JPG

    Here's somewhat of a 3/4 shot where you can see the cool twin accessory antennas, bubble skirts and the bitchin' diamond shaped rear window:

    55 Ford The Cruiser II g 94 SSE.JPG

    My last shots tonight are of the owner prowling around the fairgrounds at Sled Scene East '94. He looks to be all smiles as he cruises by Video Bob catching the action. I guess anybody would be cruising around in this fine sled!

    55 Ford The Cruiser II h 94 SSE.JPG

    55 Ford The Cruiser II i 94 SSE.JPG

    For my last shot tonight I thought this picture would be a nice way to close. Nothing better than a shot of a great custom cruising into the past. Who was the owner of this car? Where in New York did he hail from? Is Mr. X and "The Cruizer II" still cruising around enjoying sunny days and warm summer nights with the top down? We can only hope, huh?

    55 Ford The Crusier II j 94 SSE.JPG

    I'd guess it would be fair to say the "dog days of summer" are finally with us. The Fourth of July is in the rear view mirror and the Leadsled Spectacular is just a few short weeks away. All the Covid-19 unrest is making me think the 40th will not happen this year. If it does happen, what will the attendance be like? Man, 2020 has been a bear. This virus is just eating up everything in its path. I guess all we can do is keep our hopes up and think better days are coming. I truly hope you and yours had a very Happy Independence Day!
    That's all for this week gang! See you next time! E
     
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  13. Great pictures, @Sancho, thanks for sharing! Man this car would be a blast to cruise around in on the hot summer nights.
    Sorry we won't get to hang out at the Spectacular this year. Next year seems a like a long time away..........E
     
  14. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,348

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    From Holland Michigan`s KKOA IMG_20200707_0001.jpg Spectacular.
     
  15. John B
    Joined: Mar 9, 2001
    Posts: 1,433

    John B
    Member

    Is that a Lost Customs drag plate I see hanging off the bumper?
     
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  16. Yep, sure is. E
     
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  17. John B
    Joined: Mar 9, 2001
    Posts: 1,433

    John B
    Member

    Didn't we have one of the Lost Customs members posting on this thread awhile back? I can't remember a name though.
     
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  18. Sounds familiar but I don't recall. Lately I can hardly remember what day it is though..........E
     
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  19. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,348

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    Somebody posted a pic of a few cars at a show recently with his car in the pic on the Kustom Blues thread.
     
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  20. What Ever Happened To..........? number 226.

    1951 Mercury "Turtle Teaser"
    Owners: Herb Ryerson c/o Rob and Debb Butler
    Fort Wayne, Indiana

    Those of you that have been around the HAMB for a while, or around customs in general, you may notice that the name of the owners of this week's custom sounds familiar. Rob and Debb Butler have been into customs and on the scene for quite sometime. They have owned a number of customs over the years that are all knockouts.
    The first custom they had that I can remember was an awesome little Pontiac with all the great custom tricks and one of the coolest scallop jobs ever. The car was a consistent winner at many shows and standout where ever it went.

    Rob n Debb Butler d Pontiac KLL.jpg

    I won't go into what I know about this car at this time, because I plan on featuring this car in the future. I just wanted to give those of you that may not know the Butlers a sneak preview at one of the neat customs they owned.
    Their current ride is a well laid out Lincoln that has a beautiful mile deep paint job and a Connie kit with "Harvey the Rabbit" pinstriped on it. I've been lucky enough to see this car in person a few times at the Spectacular, although it has been a number of years back now. It is another breath taking sled!

    Rob and Debb Butler f Lincoln KLL.jpg

    Rob and Debb Butler e Lincoln CCR 2018 JTC.JPG

    Again, I won't go into the Lincoln. I just wanted to show you that the Butlers are still hard at it cruising around and enjoying the custom scene.
    The car I chose to write about this week is a mystery sled that the Butlers had, but according to my research it wasn't around very long. I have a video of the '88 Leadsled Spectacular in Holland, Michigan that @PasoJohn sent me, and that is where I saw the Butlers in their Pontiac for the first time. The Pontiac looked like it was nearly completed with the exception of paint. It was there in a cool coat of ruddy brown primer. The car was at the Spectacular a number of other years, as well as at Sled Scene East.
    As everyone knows, I do tons of research every week, searching for cars, their owners and any facts I can find. I stumbled upon the Butler's Merc a while back in an issue of Custom Rodder. It was in the January '98 issue on page 62.

    Rod n Debb Butler 51 Merc a CR Jan 98 p 62 97LSS.jpg

    The Merc looked very nice in the picture but I had no idea who it belonged to until I read the caption where it talked about the Butlers. I thought that was strange as I associated them with the Pontiac. The picture isn't very good, but you can see more tasty scallops, body mods and other necessities needed to roll a cool custom. There were no other pictures in the issue, which left me a little disappointed as I really wanted to see the front of the car as well. The picture in Custom Rodder was in their coverage of the 17th Annual Leadsled Spectacular (1997) in Lansing, Michigan.
    That one small picture put me on a mission to try and find out more about this unique Mercury four door. It turned out to be one of those sleds that I never could find much on.
    I did find one good picture of the car on Rikster's site in Debb's (KustomLincolnLady) picture collection. It's another shot of the rear, but at least we get to see the car in color, and it didn't disappoint! What a beautiful paint job!

    Rob n Debb Butler 51 Merc b KLL.jpg

    As you can see there are a few unique custom features that make this car easy to identify if I could have found more pictures. The taillights being frenched into the trunklid is something I can't remember seeing on another Mercury, as well as the asymmetrical frenched license plate and the name of the car off to the right side of that. I've blown up the pictures a few times to try and see what it reads, but I can't make it out. It looks to say "Turtle" with another word behind it, but that is just a guess.
    The only other picture I found may not even be Rob and Debb's car. I can't remember where I found this picture, but when I saw it I thought that maybe this was an elusive view of the front of the '51. The paint color seems close--minus the scallops, and the side trim looks very similar to the Butler's car. The one thing that makes me think it is their car is the bottom rear corner of the rear door up at the window. Both cars have the same style curve in them from the re-work after the chop, but again this is just guess work on my part. I would also guess that if this is in fact their car that this was an earlier version. I really can't say for sure.

    Rob and Debb Butler 51 Merc c.jpeg

    I do know Debb and we've corresponded back and forth on the HAMB a number of times. You might say "Well, why didn't you just write and ask her about the Mercury?" Now what fun would that be? I'm hoping that writing this is a surprise to the Butlers and Debb can jump in here and fill us in with all the facts. I'm sure she will have plenty of details about the car and lots of great pictures to share with us. So what do you say @KustomLincolnLady, how about a story?
    Disappointment but not surprised is how I would describe how I'm feeling this week. Last week as I was finishing up writing the featured custom here, my phone was going crazy. After I finished, I checked my phone and I was getting messages from all over that the 40th Leadsled Spectacular had been cancelled for this year. With the sudden rise in Covid cases over the last few weeks I wasn't surprised. It is still a disappointment as I really look forward to seeing my custom family and friends there every year. Man, now we have to wait for over a year to gather in Salina again. Just another let down due to the virus that created the "Lost Summer of 2020".
    I hope you guys are still getting out and cruising around and checking out small events in your area. We've got to do something, otherwise we might all go bonkers!
    Take care out there and try to have fun. We'll see you next week! E
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2020
  21. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,348

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    I have seen the pic that mentions the Butler`s 4-dr Merc. I asked her about it and then she told me the story. I`ll let her reply on here what she told me. I was gonna find the pic and show her but could ever locate it.
     
  22. 54delray
    Joined: Dec 18, 2004
    Posts: 1,699

    54delray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Fremont NE

    Another neat feature, Lil E. Great eye on the rear door similarity. First B/W photo appears to be the shadow of the top part of the indented hood scoop that is prominent on the color front 3/4 shot you posted.
     
  23. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 30,778

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

  24. Cool! Can't wait to hear about all the details! E

    Thanks Bill! I hope more pictures get posted. I want more details on this great Merc. E

    Wow, I know this week's custom is obscure if you didn't know about it Mark! We definitely need to know more. Where is Debb at? @KustomLincolnLady to the white courtesy phone please..........E
     
  25. John B
    Joined: Mar 9, 2001
    Posts: 1,433

    John B
    Member

    She said she'd be here to post as soon as she could. She's at work right now, probably hiding from her boss and napping.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2020
  26. KustomLincolnLady
    Joined: Oct 17, 2003
    Posts: 1,030

    KustomLincolnLady
    Member

    Ok, wow the " Turtle teaser" 1st mystery solved, lol

    I'd love to say the car was ours but it belonged to a very dear friend. Herb Ryerson, who passed away a few years ago.

    I cant exactly remember the circumstances, but I believe the Pontiac was displayed at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum in Auburn In for a special custom car display. It included about 10 or so customs and was to last 6 months, but the display was so popular they asked to have the Pontiac for 9 months. This left us with no car for the summer.
    Herb was kind enough to loan us his Merc for a few shows and our sons wedding. (The Lincoln was still in the works)
    I am not really sure how our name was put in a magazine as owners. Most likely from the registration tag for the show. That photo was taken at our favorite, sort of local show at the time. Fiesta of the 50's in Marshall, Michigan.

    We are not sure what happened to the Merc after Herb's passing. His wife had no interest in his cars

    So there you have it. I really don't have many photos of it. I will dig around I know I have a few from our sons wedding, one may show a bit of the interior, if you can see around the wedding gown lol.

    I'm at work now and thanks to @JohnB for telling me you guys were talking about me

    Thanks OG Lil E for all the kind comments !!!

    Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  27. KustomLincolnLady
    Joined: Oct 17, 2003
    Posts: 1,030

    KustomLincolnLady
    Member

    Funny John


    Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  28. John B
    Joined: Mar 9, 2001
    Posts: 1,433

    John B
    Member

    Cool back story. By the way that was your 1000th post on the HAMB
     
  29. KustomLincolnLady
    Joined: Oct 17, 2003
    Posts: 1,030

    KustomLincolnLady
    Member



    Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     

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