History MILESTONE CUSTOM CARS: Bob Hirohata '51 Mercury

Opps, My bad, I'd just dealt with Bob Walker from Hot Heads and must have had him on my mind.

Thanks for the comparison shots. You're right, Doug did a fantastic job duplicating the original. I remember a post a while back asking where Jack was and what he was doing. Don't think anyone ever posted an anwer to those questions.

 

When I was 11 I was at the Springfield Spectacular where Jack Walker debuted the clone. I walked up just after everyone crowded around the car thinking it was the real one and announced that the back bumper was not cut to accept the extended 1/4 panel and that the car was a clone! Walker almost collapsed. After that we became friends. He than took me to meet Winfield starbird Pratt and Rod Powell who asked me every obscure queaion they could think of.

 

I still freak out when I think that Doug (and Nita) Thompson used to babysit my sister and I as little kids! They were good friends of my parents in KC.
He's built some cool stuff over the years.

 

I have to say thank you for posting all of the pics and info on this timelessly beautifull car... Gotta be one of my favorite cars of all time!! Looking at those pics sure makes me want to jump into my '50 merc project with both feet! Thanx again!

 

Jack is alive and well, I ran into him and Johnny Povenmeir at a truck stop in MO. on my way to the Drags. He was delivering the Ray Farner "Eclipse" to a new owner in the Twin Cities.

He has been hauling cars around the country for ISCA and for various other shows including BTT50'S. Mostly in the company of Sonny Rodgers from KC. That is a real pair to draw BTW.

BB

 

I just saw Jack yesterday. I didn't have a chance to talk to him because I had a meeting to go to. He was dropping off his Hirohata, the Starbird, and Posies' Extremeliner at our college for the Wheelz show starting Oct. 1 (shameless plug here: http://www.ccad.edu/events-exhibitions.html#wheelz).
I wish I could introduced myself to him, he seemed like a real good guy. The Mercury is amazing, I have to say.

Tucker

 

Actually that post was about Doug Thompson, and what he was doing. But you where right about the fact there was not a positive answer to the question where he is and how he is doing.

Jack Walker is still going strong and I think the Harry Westergard '40 Mercury convertible with full fadeaway fenders is his latest amazing custom he has finished.

 

i went today to see the clone again and started looking through my archieves of the original and noticed something.in the Kross Kountry in a Kustom article that Bob Hirohata wrote,i noticed that he kept referring to the car as The Mercillac....guess he was trying to name the car and it never caught on!
creepy

 

Anybody on here knows how to get in contact with Jim McNiel ? PM me to keep his privacy.

And while at it,how about a nice pic of the Jack Walker clone ?

 

Drool....

 

Hey Rikster,

I cannot believe I hadn't sent in my 2cents on this before today. Since day one I've been checking it out and I get to reading and looking at the pics and drift off... to... Dreamland........Wouldn't that be kool to drive the Hirohata across country!!!!! Sorry, its happening again.

This is one of the best post of all time and should be permantely thumb'd to the top. The pictures and the information within the thread is a great way to generate new interest and at the same time we can appreciate the past with our hobby. I'm a little partial to the post since I own a Merc and I believe that the Hirohata is the koolest Merc ever, but is there a better post?

Thanks again Rikster and others for the contributions to onr kool post.

Happy Trails,

Mick

 

Thanks to RIKster and all the others who have contributed to this thread. I'm pleased to say that the original Hirohata Merc will be an important part of the upcoming exhibit, “Barris Kustoms, brought to you by Intercity Lines, Inc.,” at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Auto Club of Southern California, July 11, 2007-January 26, 2008. We hope you'll be able to make time in your schedule to see this very important part of kustom kar history. For information, please visit http://museum.nhra.com

 

To call that car a car is like calling the Taj Mahal a building or the Hoover Dam a dam.

 

I know I'll get flamed for this but, it needed a 50 rear window in the worst way ! the way a 51 merc rear window looks layed down is just wrong, it cuts into the beltline, my eye follows every line on this custom front to back in a nice un-broken even flow UNTILL I get to the rear window then bam the lower corner of the stock window digs into the beltline.
I dig this car and its better then anything I own but a 50 backlight would have been a better choice.



here it comes....

 

Thank You for this post, it kind of brings us back to what H.A.M.B. is all about.
By the way I've been to your site and I have gone thru every picture on it, took 3 or 4 days to do it.... old home week for an old guy like me!!! THANX

 

I took these pictures at a Kustom Kemps of America show near Harrisburgh, PA in about 1989. The Merc is arguably the best thing Barris ever did.

I took a bunch of others that I'll have to scan and post for all to enjoy.

If you like sleds and art check out my photoshop chops in the Friday art shows. I'll be posting a couple this Friday.

 

Thats the clone.I was there and have almost the exact same pics.

 

Thanks to everyone who has posted here.
This is an awesome thread.
Thanks to a good H.A.M.B search engine.
I have been searching for info on this custom for a while now.
Having owned several Merc customs in the past, I can really
appreciate the effort put into the Hirihata Merc and also the Restoration and the clone too.
Cheers from New Zealand and again, thanks.

 

Hey Rik!

Too many red x's in the pics on this post....



This bomb hit Sweden yesterday!
I always admired the car, but after seeing it and experience it in real life with Jim starting up the engine and cruise... OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Connecting the battery after the overseas trip


Jim McNeil, George Barris and Wolf



Hey, wanna hop in, sweetie...




Pics: Wolf and yours truly

 

Cool pictures J.B.. I hope you got to chat with Jim a little bit because that is one of the nicest most down to earth guys you will ever meet.He has been beyond nice to me,he let me go to his house in 1999 when I just got my car and it was bone stock,he pulled his merc out and parked it next to mine and we took some pictures.Dont forget this is the first time I had ever met the man.I was pretty young and he liked that I was fired up about mercs.He helped and guided me the whole time when I was making my car a custom,during the interior and everything else but mostly when i was doing the engine swap.Jim answered all of my questions,he would let me come over to check something on his engine or anything I wanted.The guy has treated me like family and I owe him huge.Im glad to see him enjoying himself because he deserves it and so does his wife,she is a great lady and has put up with me calling or coming over more times then I can begin count. Thanks for posting these great pics.

 

Jeff, I agree with all my heart! I met Jim for the very first time yesterday and spent a good 1,5 hour with him, talking about his car. It was fantastic to see it for real, and here in Sweden! Yesterday gave me so much inspiration. Many thanks to Jim!

 

Thanks, Jeff!

I talked several hours with Jim on both Wednesday and Friday. Both Jim and his lovely Susan are two fantastic persons. I told him hi from you on Friday after seeing your post here on HAMB!

I hope he enjoys his visit to Sweden. First trip outside the States. I think they fly home on Tuesday.

 

This was a GREAT thread!

 

Bringing this back up for some history lessons. Maybe someone new might see the big difference in what was done back in the day. They did things the right way. not over chopping and having everything laying on the ground looking like its broken.

 

Someone asked where Bob Hirohata got his money from; a friend of mine's late father, an old Nisei hot rodder named Susumu Fujinami, once told me Bob's father owned a bank in Little Tokyo. He didn't have much to say about Bob himself other than "stuck-up rich kid". (Who cares? He made this car happen!)

 

I have a question,Rik. In the early pic's of the car,it has some plates with 7 digits that have a '52 tag at the bottom. Any thoughts on this? I didn't think 7 digit plates were around back then.
Look back at the b&w pic's.

 

Grate Post !! one if not the bads " kustoms " ever . one of my Favorite !!
thanks Rik !!!

 

This is a great thread - probably my all time favorite custom. I saw it at the Oakland Museum before the interior was finished and the windows were all soaped over. It's even more impressive in person than any photos can show.

 

My plates from 1951 have 7 digits. I remember that they said the 7 digits was for trucks or some kind of commercial carrier. i do know if they were commercial that it would say COM on them.

 

I was thinking they might be comercial plates. Look at the first couple pic's. Pic #3 in post #5.