History Sam Barris's 49 Mercury and Bob Hirohata's 51 Mercury

A few weeks ago John Mumford's Sam Barris 1949 Mercury was completely finished. The new interior was installed and all the fine tune details where done and the car was ready for the Rodders Journal photo shoot. Next stop would be the Barris Exhibition at the Wally Parks NHRA museum in Pomona.

I think this must have been the very first time these two ICONS of Customizing where brought together and showed sitting next to each other.

The Sam Barris Mercury was sold in 1951 and left Sunny California before Bob Hirohata had his 1951 Mercury built at Barris.

Thanks Greg Sharp and other custom car enthusiast we can now see these two Mercury's sitting side by side... and a what a sight it is.

If you are a custom car enthusiast and are in the position to make the trip to Pomona... the NHRA Museum Barris Exhibit is a MUST!

Dave Lindsay photos http://www.socalcarculture.com







I'm extremely proud that a large protion of my Kolorized images has been used at the Barris exhibition, and when I saw the photo below I felt extremely proud. The Sam Barris Mercury with "Sam" standing next to it and my kolorized photos used on the ground display and on the wall behind it.








Photos by Rob Radcliffe... concentrating on the Sam barris 1949 Mercury

 

Bitchin, thanks Rikster for posting those pics, sweet!!!
Sams '49 still is king.

 

Rik...you really did a fantastic job on the Kolorized images. Having them on display with the most influential kustoms EVER is well deserved, although I'd imagine it's almost surreal.

I'm making the trek to Pomona this weekend,,,,,,I'll be lucky if I can even fall asleep before I leave!

Bryan

 

It's like a trip to kustom car Mecca.

Outstanding as usual, thanks!

 

Awesome cars and photos Rik, thanks for posting them. I'd love to get over to the states one day to see all this.

 

it can't get any more cool than that.....

if I had to choose I'd take the Sam Barris Merc. though if the Hirohata was dark green, it would be a tough choice

 

Two of the most important 49-51 Mercurys ever built. Sam's Merc is absolutly STUNNING !!! I love them both.

 

thank you for posting this. Just like automotive porn.

 

Two great cars side by side
Thanks for posting

 

Thanks for posting this, Rik. And congratulations on display. Good work. Here we have two most beautiful Mercs ever! --mika

 

At a time when most custom enthusiasts were swapping grille, headlight and taillight combos that all too often came off looking like just that, change for the sake of change, Sam, with his artistic eye was a metal sculptor. All his designs flow naturally with an organic look. He was 50 years ahead of his time.

Is that the Blue Danube I see in the background or is it the Jack Walker clone of the same car?

 

Not just almost, that is automotive "porn"!

 

Thanks Rik, for all you do.

 

Thanks Rik as usual a stunning post of two beautiful Mercs.

 

THANK YOU Rik, for making all of us aware of just how perfect these two cars were. And, also for keeping Sam's work alive in the eyes of all the new fans of "Kustoms" that are certainly going to be brought on board after seeing the cars in person or through your fantastic work with colorization. Thanks again.

 

Titans Of Custom!

 

Automotive mastery at it's finest.

Did something happen to the back of sams car? It looks like there is a pretty big scratch or dent on the trunk and near the tail light.

 

Luckely not... thats a Neon sign reflection hanging on the wall behind the cars... You can see the same thing on teh Hirohata Merc in a different photo I posted.




And Moonglow 2 to awnser your question. That is the Jack Walker clone.

 

OK, cool. I was about to freak out!

 

Great pics. Thanks alot for sharing theise photos of probably the two finest Mercs of that era!

 

Simply beautiful! Man, I love a smooth custom, and those are two of the greatest.

 

WOW. Wish I could take a trip to California. Thanks for the pics Rik!

 

Wow.

Even more impressive than that, that car belongs to John Mumford? The shelby thread where the company in Texas (Unique?) was ripping people off, he was an owner of a Shelby at a price tag one could buy a house with.

Google his name and you see a 36 Ford rod being built, 2 stage painted frame...to the 9s. Thats his too.

His letter to the Shelby company said that he had a collection of 50 or so hot rods/street rods and custom cars. Damn.

So...I guess kids.....stay in school!

 

Funny how the first group of the Custom Mercs have turned out to be the Best of the Custom Mercs and Milestones which have never been equaled or exceeded. Nothing like setting the bar high enough to continue for over 50 years challenged but never beaten.

 

are there photos of the rest of this exhibit available anywhere? I didnt realize that the aztec resto was done, and would like to see more shots of it and the other greats in that room.
Oh yeah, the mercs are awesome too, best mercs ever built, imho..

Rik, do you have pics of ALL the 49-51 mercs that Sam restyled? it would be neat to see them ALL together.

 

Here is an older post...

Aztec goes California trip

And here is a link to all of the photos I have collected from the Barris Exhibit.

Barris Exhibit at NHRA Museum

 

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A fantastic grouping of cars for sure but when I look at your shots I wonder why they put them so close together. They need some breathing room. At least enough to open the passenger side door of Sams car. That way when you look at them you can see the individual cars themselves. I realize they are limited in space and try to cram as much as they can but at a cost. Side by side is great but crammed in is not. It reminds me of some of the old car show shots where cars are packed in. Give them some honor without looking like a parking garage.

BR

 

Yes, he is a great guy. His collection is AWESOME- and it includes the Ala Kart that he bought before Sam's Merc.