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

I count myself lucky to have been to Des Moines in 1984, but then life happened, college, work, sold my '55 Ford and had stuff too new to take to KKOA. Only show I made it to until 20 years plus later when it got moved to Salina.

Here's the Chrysler under the dome at Des Moines. I gotta say, I love me some wide whites, but I actually like this car with blackwalls.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. You are on the case on this one!
I see from the photos of the car from the early days, the car didn't have the aerials on it. Other than that, it hasn't changed much.

Thanks for the reply Bill (@Sancho). I'm sure you miss those kind of conversations with Jeff. He was a great dude! I think of him often. He is missed..........E

Hey Mark (@Moriarity), what's the pearl white Pontiac Jerry had look like that you mentioned? It sure doesn't ring a bell. E

I bet even in primer the Chrysler looked cool. If Jim (@stanlow69) doesn't have a picture of that I'm pretty sure that none exist some 40 years later. Too bad..........E

I kind of agree with you Bill (@54delray). I love white walls too, but every now and then a custom can have black walls and it looks ok. It gives the car a tough guy or a bad guy look. Perhaps sinister is the term I'm looking for. E

 

Doesn't ring a bell here either.
There was the '61 Pontiac:


Or the '59 Oldsmobile. These photos are horrible quality I know, and I'm not 100% sure this one was white.

 

Thanks for the pictures Bill (@Sancho). If one of these isn't the Pontiac that Mark (@Moriarity) was talking about, you can sure tell they were from the Titus Brothers. These GMs definitely had the "Wichita look". E

I'll go through my KKOA newsletter "Midnight Auto" sections and try to find the Chrysler and the Pontiac. I've looked them over pretty good and I don't recall seeing them for sale in there, but there's a good chance I might have missed them. E

 

Well, since @Moriarity said they both went to the same guy I was able to do some digging.
Still haven't found any photos of the Pontiac when Jerry owned it but...

I was able to find that "BIGFINS" is owned by Chuck Cushner.
Chuck Cushner also happens to own this cool '59 Pontiac!




Note that it runs the lake plugs in the wheelwells, just like the Chrysler.

 

Man, that Chrysler looks good on that Wichita rake!! I'm torn on the wide whites vs the black walls, but I think I lean over on the blackwalls side with @54delray. Glad it's still around!

 

I`m sure I have a pic of the Chrysler in primer taken in Des Moines. Can`t seem to find it. Not digging the rake and black walls guys. The only reason I took a pic of it was because the pres of KKOA owned it. A strange guy in my eyes way back then. A true Kustom guy with a hot rodded Chrysler. The pic I took was one Dad actually took. I don`t have a color pic of the car myself. Like I said, don`t dig the Hot Rod style. I`m more of a Custom guy. Then there was that crappy colored Dodge Van that he hauled shirts around in too.

 

ED, I found this picture while looking for a pic for Micky. It`s from the 83 KKOA show in Springfield Ohio.

 

Great pic Jim! That has to be Ron Myers' '60 Plymouth. I'm guessing the picture was before the 1985 Leadsled Spectacular since the car didn't have the iconic scallop paint job on it yet.
I've never seen the car with the louver service lettering on it before. Very cool! E

 

What Ever Happened To..........? number 293.

1950 Mercury "After Midnight"
Owner: ? ? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ?, New York?

I hate to have to reach back into the "wildcard" bag again so soon, but my trail on this Merc has gone nowhere so I'm going to pass it on to you custom faithful to see what you come up with. So, with that being said, here we go.
The first time I spotted this Mercury was on the 1990 Leadsled Spectacular video shot in Holland, Michigan. The car was only shown once and it was a short glance. The thing that grabs you is the wild green paint. It is an unusual shade that makes this sled unique. The car has a host of custom tricks including a chop, scoops on the hood with rounded hood corners, shaved everything and frenched headlights. It has a single floating bar in the grille, and a common trick from the late 70s and early 80s, Chrysler Cordoba turn signal assemblies. A '49 Plymouth bumper finished off the front end.
It's hard to tell in the grainy still shot, but after watching this series of video frame by frame over and over again, the plate looks like New York to me, but I could be wrong. What do you think?



In this shot we get a look at the side of the car. You can see the name "After Midnight" lettered on the lower front fenders, with a little moon picture as well. You can also see the old time custom trick of white painted wheel wells. The shot just cuts off the front of the lake pipe that is coming out of a hole in the lower front fender.



Our last picture from the 1990 Spectacular is of the back of the car. You can see the frenched stock style taillights with Lee lenses and the '49 Plymouth bumper. If you look close you can see the car has a drag plaque, but at the picture angle it was impossible to read.



After the '90 Spectacular, this Mercury went missing for a while. It made it's final appearance in my research at the 1993 KKOA Sled Scene East. Here we get a nice shot where we can see the whole car. The only difference I see is that the cone style hubcaps have been removed in favor of Cadillac sombreros. We also get to see the nice set of dual frenched antennas under the rear quarter windows on the driver's side.
If you look closely you can see Angelo Pupillo's sweet '51 Mercury in the background. We covered this Merc back in October of 2018. It was W.E.H.T. #135. Here's a link to that article so you can get a better look at it just in case you missed it.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-96#post-12762214



In this shot the Mercury was coming into the show grounds and had stopped to talk to a KKOA official. This is a nice look at the rear of the car. Notice there is no drag plaque.



Here's a close up of the "After Midnight" knick name on the front fender as well as the moon. There was a "Leadsled" badge on the lower fender as well. It was only on the driver's side.



Here we can see the hole in the fender that the lake pipe comes out of that I mentioned above. Notice the hole isn't round, but more like a teardrop shape.



These last two shots were taken at the end of the show when all the participants were heading for the gates to head on home. Here we get a great view of what this beauty looks like rolling down the road coming toward you.



In this last shot the Merc prowls by the camera with the paint and chrome shining in the sun. Almost makes you feel like a kid again watching a leadsled cruise by as you are walking down to the corner store for a bottle of pop. We get one last look at the cool frenched antennas with the rolled lip.



After this shot the car disappeared into the distance, and as we like to say around here, "rolled away into custom history".
So does anyone recognize this car? I would think a few of you east coast custom faithful might remember it, or how about some of you lucky folks that were at the '90 Spectacular? If you have anything to add please do. We need to put a name and a place on this great mystery kemp.
Cinco de Mayo is gone, and so is Mother's Day. I hope all our Mom's out there had a nice day of rest and got to enjoy some quality time with the family. We are approaching mid-May which means that the car show season is about to kick into gear. Car shows around Memorial Day really get moving, and with the possibility of things finally about back to normal, attendance should be great all over. If you are still trying to finish up your sled for the Memorial Day festivities you'd better get a move on. There is just under three weeks before the holiday. No panic though, because in "car time" three weeks can feel much longer. Have fun!
I'll see you next time! E

 

I have a small photo collection from the late Dave Barnes. Here is a pic of the car. He was on the prowl to buy a custom 20 years ago. The owner must have sent him the picture. With a phone number on the back. I`ll try tomorrow.

 

Great picture as usual Jim (@stanlow69)! Looking forward to hearing if your phone call turns up any information. E

 

Another great post. I'm amazed about all of the historical background that you are able to dig up. Go Ed Go!!!

 

Thanks Mick, appreciate that! E

 

Hey everyone, been a while since I came across something to post as far as updates go, but I stumbled on something today that I'm very excited to share.
You all may remember Dave Williams' 1958 International a.k.a. "Sooner Spy". It was W.E.H.T. feature #107 way back in March of 2018. It was a very unique truck, and I'm sure if you saw it once you would remember it. But just in case you missed it, here's a link back to the article so you can check it out:

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-79#post-12491569

Our discussion brought up some great pictures and information, but it's whereabouts were never nailed down.
Lately I haven't had much spare time to search around the HAMB, but today I had a little time so I started checking out some of the threads. In the thread "Hot Rod Truck Thread!" I almost fell out of my chair when I saw these pictures. Immediately I knew this was Dave Williams' long, lost "Sooner Spy". @Maverick Daddy posted the pictures, along with a mention that the truck is for sale in Wichita Falls, Texas. Special thanks goes out to him for posting these. Maybe I missed it since I haven't been spending as much time on the HAMB as I'd like, but I'm surprised no one else caught this!
Quite sometime back Mr. Williams popped in to give us a great rundown on the truck telling us the full story of it, plus he posted his phone number so if anyone knew of it's whereabouts they could get in touch with him to let him know. I'm going to get on the horn as soon as I post this and see if the number is still good, and hopefully I can talk to him and let him know that the truck is still around and for sale in Texas. It would be so cool if Dave could be reunited with his old pickup. It looks to have suffered out in the elements, but it still looks savable. Let's keep our finger's crossed on this one! I'll talk at y'all later..........E

View attachment 5408740

 

I'm back. Just tried to call the phone number listed in Mr. Williams' post and it has been disconnected. When I dialed the call it said it was placed to Kingston, Oklahoma. I did a Google search and I found an obituary for a David Williams that passed away in September of 2021 in Kingston. Oklahoma. I hope this wasn't our Mr. Williams.

https://www.wilsonlittle.com/obituary/david-williams

That's about all I have right now. Man, talk about a gut punch. I would have really liked to talk to him, but it sounds like we found his beloved Cornbinder a little too late. I hope I'm wrong, but you know how it is sometimes. If it is "the Crazy Okie", Mr. Williams, may he rest in peace..........
If I find out more I'll fill everyone in. E

 

There was a thread here on the HAMB that the truck was forsale and it was being sold to a relative of Dave Williams. Might have been at the Pate swapmeet. The thread was closed due to the square headlights. @Moriarity will know more.

 

Motorcar Classics - Exotic & Classic Car Storage
Used 1950 Mercury Convertible For Sale ($129,900) | Motorcar Classics Stock #2096
1950 Merc convertible for sale owner has since past in 2019
search mercury on the site its the only Merc on the site
well known car from the James dean shows and duck tail as well
Would love to see a Hamb member get this car needs to still be driven

 

What Ever Happened To..........? number 294.

1949 Mercury
Owner: Charles McPhail
Enid, Oklahoma

This week's custom is a car that showed quite a bit of promise, but seemed to fade away about as fast as it appeared. If we find out more on this custom I will be surprised as it was a great trail that went cold after a very short time.
Charles McPhail seemed like the type of guy that had interest in some very unique vehicles and was willing to get his hands dirty doing the work himself. He seemed to be interested in Packard hearses as well as his Merc, which had Packard bumpers on it that made it very unique.
The first sighting I had of Charles' '49 was on the 1986 Leadsled Spectacular video that was shot in Springfield, Missouri. There were only a few shots of the car, and it always seemed to be on the move, so still shots didn't turn out very well. The shot that turned out to be the best was one that was taken during the fairgrounds cruise. In '86, Rowdie was cruising around filming in a 1958 Plymouth convertible then owned by Ernie Baker, which eventually was purchased by @PasoJohn Tretten who still owns it today. We covered the Plymouth 'vert back in November of 2020. It was W.E.H.T. #244. Here is a link back to that write up just in case you missed it.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-147#post-13830613

During the cruise, you could see the Merc coming towards the '58 Plymouth in the distance. Charles' Merc had hydraulics and Charles was on the switch lifting the front of the car up and down as it rounded a corner. As the filming crew approached, Charles stopped lifting the car just as the two cars passed, and that is where our still shot comes from tonight.
In the picture you can see the '49 had a '54 Chevy grille with a bunch of extra teeth. You can also see the unique Packard bumper. I can't recall ever seeing another Merc using this bumper. You can also see a large group of louvers in the hood. Upon closer inspection you can see that the Merc sits plenty low. It just isn't because the car has a hydraulically adjustable suspension, but mainly because the car has both been chopped and sectioned! This sled was low!



Later on in the year, or perhaps even in early '87, the Kemp Gazette came out with their coverage of the show. This particular issue was called the "Plymouth Colony Edition", which was Volume 3 Number 4. This is something the KKOA used to do for every issue way back then. Each issue had a nick name for each edition. The club had a great charm about it back in the early days.
Every issue back then also had a reader's letter section that they called "Members Rackin' Off". People would write in and give their opinions, comments or share pictures of their car. Well, in that issue Charles had written in to share a photo of his car, and express how he'd had such a good time at the Springfield show. This was on page 4.
In the picture you can see how low the Mercury was with Charles standing next to it. I assume this picture was taken some time before the '86 show as the car still had the stock Mercury bumper on it in the photo. Even in primer and in a black and white photo the car was just dripping with cool!



Later on in the same issue in the show coverage, there was another picture of the '49, but this time it was a 3/4 rear shot. This picture was on page 13. Once again we see the ground hugging stance, and we catch a peek of the Packard bumper on the rear as well. Notice the lake pipes, and all those louvers in the hood. This Mercury was well on it's way to Koolsville!



In 1992 the KKOA produced it's first of two "yearbooks" full of member's cars. Charles decided to send in a picture of his car, along side of his Packard hearse. The car was accepted for the book and it was printed on page 182. The hearse looks giant compared to the '49 since it was so low! In the article, Charles gives a run down on some of the details of the Merc's construction. Charles had an immense amount of work in the car up to that point. In the picture we can see that scallops were added to the car sometime after the '86 Leadsled and before the time the car was printed in the book.



It sure is strange how Charles and his Merc took to the KKOA like a fish to water around 1986. He went to the Spectacular and had his car mentioned in the same Gazette a few times. But after the '86 show I never saw the car on video again. Even if the car was changed up a bit and even possibly painted there was nothing.
Then in 1992 the car reappears in the KKOA yearbook looking very much like back in '86. After the book was released, the car disappeared once again into obscurity, apparently never to be seen again. "What Ever Happened To..........?" Mr. McPhail and his slammed '49? I haven't come across any Mercury that I believe could be this car. Anybody recognize it? How about our southern bunch of custom faithful like Mick (@straykatkustoms) and @drdave, just to name a few. Does this car ring a bell? We'll have to wait and see if anything turns up on this great kemp.
Memorial Day is upon us again. I really enjoy this time of year as this seems to be when the car show season really gets going. After the last few strange seasons, I'm rarin' to go. There is a cruise or show every day/night this weekend and I can't wait to get out and waste some gas, warm up a chair and shoot the breeze with other car people. I hope you all have plenty of fun things lined up to do as well.
But please, let's not forget about those that made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy life in this great nation of ours. I know that things are strange right now, but it's still the best place on earth to live. Make sure to not only remember our fallen vets, but also the servicemen and women that are still with us. Make it a point to thank them all for their service. God bless our veterans, and God Bless America!
You guys have a great holiday. Have a fun time and be safe out there. Happy Memorial Day!
I'll see you in a few weeks! E

 

I hope it lands in good hands. Thanks for sharing engine138! E

 

Here`s another pic. Taken at the 86 show .

 

I don’t have any info on the car but I did come across this photo of it from the Anthony White collection.

 

Great pics guys! Thanks so much for sharing! E

 

I can play! I can play! Here is the merc at the Hangin' Dice in '89. These are the only pics of it I have, but I'm pretty sure I saw it a couple years there. I remember thinking, "how on earth are they driving that thing early put together like that?" The section was largely just tacked together and the hood was pop riveted together. I never saw it finished any further. I don't recall what the interior looked like....I presume just some seats bolted down and the rest empty. Showed a lot of promise....sure would be kool if it was finished and is around somewhere.





In '90 I took this picture of a '48 Packard Hearse....must surely be Mr. McPhail's

 

It is curious to me why the grille is missing a tooth on each end....you'd think he would have put those two in eventually.