Ed, easy to miss, but the car did appear in the '84 video from Rowdie. Very briefly as they cruised the fairgrounds shooting from the back a 40 Ford convertible, if I remember correctly. Also noticed that the continental tire cover has at least 3 different versions. Pinstriped only in your feature post, two words in my post above, and a 'mural' or scene from the Autabuy site below. Edit ... I zoomed in on my picture from '84, The connie kit cover reads "Perennial Teenager". The licence plate reminds me of others I've seen from Minnesota, but I'm not sure on that. The pic below looks like a 'sock hop scene', leather jacket guy dancing with a poodle skirt girl, musical notes around the edges ...
Thanks Mark. Rare car, for sure. I should unpack the VCR stored somewhere in the basement and watch that tape.
Makes me mad that I can’t remember the guys name with the 41 Chevy. He comes to ccr and is from Texas and has a 46 ish Chevy 2 dr mild custom....
The first pic was taken in Michigan`s KKOA show. The first was from 84 In Des Moines. The same year as 54delray (Bill`s). Not an Iowa plate. Minnesota ?
His car was featured in WEHT thread. Watch the 84 Video. Had to look thru the Leadsledder for the coverage of the Reno KKOA show in 84. But his pic was in the Custom Cars volume 2 coverage of the Reno Nevada show. Skitch Kinney from Torrance California back then. . The car was red.
Mark, do you remember when it was for sale in Des Moines Last Pass show(86 ?). There was a Whizzer Bike in the back seat. No lakepipes and had an old interior in it. The asking price was really cheap. Saw it a year or 2 later and had lakepipes and a new interior. Looked like a major transformation was made to the car. Dad mentioned it was a good deal back in Des Moines. The Buick ahead of the car is from Minnesota.
Thanks for coming up with Skitch's name.. that was bugging me. Yeah the Buick was (still is) from Minnesota, it must not have sold back then because it is still in the same family (of course I can't remember his name either grrrrrr)
Man, you guys really dug in on this one! Way to go! I guess it's safe to say that everyone really likes the Willis/Tingley '55 Ford (lol). Great information Bill (@54delray). Glad to see the '55 is still around, and to see many new shots of the car. It had quite a few mini makeovers over the years that I wasn't aware of. E Thanks for remembering Skitch Kenny's name Jim (@stanlow69 ). I was slow on the switch. Here's the link to Skitch's '41 Chevy ragtop, that was W.E.H.T. #246 featured back in December 2020. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-148#post-13850762 Such a beautiful car! E Mark (@Moriarity), the Buick owner was Ron Nelson. We featured his pair of Buicks here at W.E.H.T. central. Ron's '56 Buick, "The Onyx" was #101 and featured in February 2018. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-75#post-12428315 And Mr. Nelson's ultra cool '55 Buick four door hardtop was #202 featured in June 2020. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-139#post-13620097 Hope the links help everyone to see what all is being talked about. Keep at it guys, lots of great insight to this cool Ford is being posted. So much fun! E
Late to the party again and the mystery is already solved.....not that I had any information at all. LOL Pretty car for sure...love the grille, of course and that interior!
This was my grandfather Paul frustereo’s car. He has sadly passed back in 2011 which I saw you found the obit. He was working on one of his cars and it rolled back and fell on him. I’m planning on getting this car shown above as a tattoo. Seeing as it was his favorite one. This man even after being gone 10 years is still being talked about. He’s a legend❤️ And I’m proud to say I am his granddaughter, he’s definitely riding around in his cars up in heaven
Thanks for checking in Juliann! Always nice to hear from the family and friends of all these great custom enthusiasts and builders. So sorry to hear the tragic details of how you lost your Grandfather. All too often in this thread we learn about the passing of so many of the fine folks that built and cruised these cars, and I've mentioned many times that this is the part of doing this thread that can be depressing. But, we have great memories of the cars and the legends that cruised them, your Grandpa being one of them. You have every reason to be proud of him. He built some fine cars. I'm sure you miss him greatly, as well as many others. Rest in peace Mr. Frustereo..........E
I just saw this on Craigslist. Check out the taillights and the frenched antenna! Is this "Statutory Grape"? Here's the listing: https://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/ctd/d/kenilworth-1951-mercury-custom/7380559752.html
Man @Sancho, that sure looks like it. Of course there are a few obvious changes like the Buick side trim is gone. The taillights look slightly different and the rear bumper and overrider bar is different. Also, Neil's car (Statutory Grape) had '53 Buick headlights and a DeSoto grille. I don't know man, it could be, but I can't say for sure. Just curious, what's the asking price? E
Never mind, just saw the link and checked it out. They want more cabbage than I could ever gather (lol), but the price doesn't seem too far out of hand. E
After looking more I think they're different cars. Check out the drip rail. Lot of similarities though!
A side view. From the Kim and Nancy Photo Collection. A few years ago Kim and Nancy had a 54 Chevy grille with as many teeth as this one for sale at the Greenfield Iowa swap meet for sale. It would be interesting where it came from.
When I looked up his name and found this car, and saw about how it was posted in this thread in 2018, I was like “oh my gosh they are still talking about him how cool !!!” Made me cry reading all the comments
What Ever Happened To..........? number 277. 1954 Buick Owner: David Lee Woods Edgemere, Maryland This week's custom is one that I really had a hard time finding information on. At first I thought I was on a hot trail with another '54 Buick that was at the Leadsled Spectacular in 1991. After hours of exhausting research I came to the conclusion that the car from '91 was a whole other car. The body mods were way different, and to re-do all those mods to get to where the car was in 1993 would have been impossible. So I scrapped that theory and now really I don't have much on the car that is tonight's feature. I'll be very surprised if much information gets posted by our custom faithful on this car, as it seemed to only be around for a short time. Add that to the fact that I only saw it on two videos of Sled Scene East and in a few Trendsetters and it made for tough detective work. I could be wrong, so let's see what comes along. The first time I saw Mr. Woods' '54 Buick was on the 1993 Sled Scene East video. It was just a quick glimpse, but I'm sure it was the same car. I tried to get pictures of it, but it was one of those video shots that blurred out no matter what I tried, so no pics from 1993. I did luck out as the car appeared once again on the 1994 Sled Scene East video, and this time I was able to get some good shots to share. My first shot tonight shows the Buick from the front. Right away you notice a fairly heavy chop, and the great bright work of the grille, headlight rings and bumpers. All that bright chrome really stands out against the baby blue suede. In '94, the suede thing was still in it's early beginnings and hadn't really caught on yet. It was a "new way" brought back from the past to present a custom that might not be quite finished and ready for paint, but was still a colorful way to have the car until all the work was done. From the rear we see the nice chrome bumper and lack of any emblems. The frenched taillights look super, and you can really see the heavily hammered top. The car looked incredible from the rear! Here is a little closer look at the taillights as "Video" Bob Huff made his way around the car. Love the baby blue suede. My last shot tonight from the '94 Sled Scene East video is a nice detail shot of the dual frenched antennas. Aside from the chop, the car is very mild. Just goes to show that '54 Buicks, along with many other makes and models of the era didn't have to be radically cut up to make an impact. The Buick must have made an impression on the powers-that-be at the KKOA back then. The car graced the cover of the August '93 issue of the Trendsetter. Unfortunately the picture was in black and white. I don't know if they were trying to make the car look like it was from a long time ago when color magazine coverage was rare, or maybe it was a printing cost factor. At any rate, I wish it was in color. Inside that issue, there was one more shot of the Buick. On page 37 they had a good 3/4 shot of the front of the car. Once again I apologize. The shot is black and white. After the two consecutive years at Sled Scene East in 1993 and 1994 the car seemed to vanish. I watched video after video and dug through piles of magazines trying to find more on this baby blue prize but came up empty. Maybe the car was eventually painted along a different color line and was unrecognizable. Maybe it was sold altogether and ended up overseas. The owner's name, David Lee Woods doesn't ring a bell with me either, making me think he wasn't a guy that built a lot of cars. So, "What Ever Happened To..........?" Mr. Woods and his '54 Buick? Anyone know? Last weekend was about the end of the show season here in Denver. There are a few shows left, as well as the many upcoming Halloween "Trunk or Treat" gatherings but that's about it. The summer flew by making me wish I could have done more, but there was no way I could have. I've been so darn busy these days I can't get over it. Maybe once the weather gets cooler and the car gets put away I can catch my breath. Not that I mind, they say keeping busy is good for the body and the mind, at least that's what "they" say (lol)! I hope everyone is still getting in those last few cruises and car shows before Old Man Winter comes and taps us on the shoulder. Take care and cruise on y'all! We'll see you in two! E
What Ever Happened To..........? number 278. 1951 Chevy Business Coupe Owners: James "Speedy" and Rose Baldwin Richmond, Virginia This week's custom is one that is definitely from the obscure file, and it seems the only ones that may have something on it are the custom faithful that attended Sled Scene East during it's long run. This car is so mild that it will probably be impossible to trace it's whereabouts, but I thought it was necessary to include it here as it is the type of car that a kid in the 50s would have owned, or even a "kid" reliving the 50s in the 80s, 90s and beyond. James Baldwin, affectionately known as "Speedy" to his friends and his bride Rose put together this cool little custom Chevy coupe. The car is very mild with a nosed and filled hood, frenched headlights, shaved trunk and frenched taillights. As far as I know the door handles were never shaved, but on a car as cool as this one it was easy to overlook. My first sighting of the Chevy was on my Sled Scene East video from 1992. "Speedy" and Rose were among the first to cruise through the gates that year to join in on the fun. After they settled in, "Video Bob" Huff caught up with the Baldwins to take some footage of the car. Here we see the simple custom goodness on the coupe's front end. Here we see the cleanly shaved rear of the car. It's hard to see with the sun flash on the bumper, but if you squint, you can see the frenched taillights. "Video Bob" interviewed "Speedy" and he mentioned the fact that his "LORIDER" personalized plates were the first seven digit personalized plates to be issued in the state of Virginia as of 1992. Moving inside the car, we see that the interior was pretty much business as usual 50s style, with some fun accessories like fuzzy dice. You can see the nice Appleton style dummy spots in the shot as well. The car must have really got around as the dash was loaded with dash plaques. My last shot from the '92 Sled Scene was the Baldwins heading for home after the show. This Chevy would be a kick to drive anywhere! As we fast forward to 1993, the Baldwins made their way to Gettysburg once again for the show. 1993 was a banner year for the show as it was the 10th Annual Sled Scene East. Here we see an almost identical shot to the first one of 1992 of the front of the car. Not much changed. This rear shot gives us a better view of the taillights. I could be wrong, but I think they are '51 Buick units. The interior looks to be about the same as well, I just thought I'd post a second picture. Hopefully this one is a little clearer. My last picture from 1993 is of the Baldwin's "Winky the Cat" third brake light. I remember as a kid many of our neighbors had similar style little animals living on the rear deck of their cars. On the 1993 video, "Video Bob" did a more detailed interview with the Baldwins. Turns out they had been to every Sled Scene East up to that point. James never did mention if he attended all the events in the Chevy, or if he had another car over that time span. Another incident was mentioned on the video. Apparently, while the show participants were on a sight seeing run, an undercover police man stopped part of the caravan raising cane about certain violations that the cruisers were guilty of. Bob did a little interview with Rose and you could tell she was a no-nonsense kind of gal. She told her side of the story using some colorful language that Bob had to sensor for the kids that may be watching the video. Basically she said the police man was so intent on stopping the caravan that he almost hit them in their little coupe. She was definitely a spark plug. Sadly, in my research, I was able to find that Rose passed away in 2005. In 1994, the Baldwins were one of the first few to again cruise into the park for the show. No changes as far as I could tell, just another shot of a very cool little custom. Bob stood and turned continuing filming as the Chevy cruised by and got a nice shot of "Speedy" as they drove by. The last shot of the sequence shows the Chevy as it heads into the park for all the fun of the weekend. Here is another shot of the front end. The flat black and the traditional body mods make this car a timeless sled! Here we finally get a clear shot of the taillights. Very nice work and taillight choice! The Chevy wasn't on the 1994 video all that much, but it was in the final shots of the video showing the Baldwins headed home to Richmond. Here we see them headed towards the exit shortly after the closing ceremonies. And here is the back of the Chevy as it drives out of sight off into the sunset. Since my Sled Scene East video library is fairly limited, I can't confirm any sightings of the Baldwins and their '51 Chevy before 1992 or after 1994, but I can tell you that during the 1992-1994 stretch they were regulars at one of the most underrated custom shows in the East. It truly is a shame the show no longer exists. So, did "Speedy" and Rose ever get the Chevy painted? Was the flat black all the paint they ever needed? Where did this awesome little Chevy get to? Let's see what our East coast custom faithful, as well as the other members of our custom family can come up with. Mid October already. We've been lucky to have nice mild weather here in Denver so far, but you know that the bottom will fall out soon. About all that's left for the car show season are the upcoming Halloween "Trunk or Treat" gatherings. We usually try to go to a few of these every year as it's fun to watch all the kids having a good time. They all grow up so fast. I hope the weather is favorable where you are so you can get out and do some fun Halloween activities before the actual day hits. It will be Halloween soon, then Thanksgiving and then..........dare I say it, Christmas. It won't be long. Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Just a friendly little reminder just in case you forgot (lol)! Take care out there! See you in a coupla Tuesdays! E
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