anyone here go to the first merc deuce reunion. i was 12 or so and i remember titus showing old movies on a garage wall for family entertainment. i also remember my dad getting thrown in jail and me going into the inpound yard in a merc. great times!
some motorcycle cops accused him of being left of the center line or something and it went down hill from there. he was locked up with drunks and hookers in the bad part of town around 11 at night. the merc was in brown primer then and he just got it painted last year. to many projects over the years i guess. he is a firm believer that you need 7 kustoms.
the winning 32 in 79 was a 5 window painted cherry black. my dad made the trophies that year both were 7 feet tall that could break down for transport.
Olcurmdgeon is correct. The car was owned and built by Larry Phillips when we both lived in Des Moines, IA. I did the body and paint work. It was HOK candy root beer over black pearl. Jim McFall did the interior. There is a feature on it in Street Rodder I believe in 1980. Larry is still building cars and living in Escondido, CA.
Thanks El Pratt, I thought so. Guy in Epping, NH had the car in the lates 80s or early 90s, bought it in MN and drove it home. As I remember we found the article in Street Rodder, he had no idea what he bought other than it was a nice deuce coupe. He and I drove to Columbus in it, great riding car. Always regrets selling it later, all he has left is the MN Pioneer plate that was on it when he brought it home. Paint was terrific, people would roll down their windows at traffic lights to ask "what color is that?".
i remember the 32 roughly. the old pictures of the car made it look purple in the sun. film does that sometimes. was it a 3 window or 5? i keep thinking 5 for some reason.
Sideswipes Dad is the guy who made the trophies and plaques. I have one of the big plaques he gave me also. The way he drives I would say the cops probably were in the right haha
I remember those cars well. That merc got me liking the chevy/Pontiac grille-turn signal combo. That was a fun weekend for sure. Especially for a young guy with a 50 Merc.
This merc was at the first reunion, built and owned by Bob Davis of Dayton Oh. Chopped, channeled , sectioned, frenched, molded, louvered, rolled pans, tilt front end, suicide doors, kustom dash, 455 buick engine. built in 4 weeks! He put a cot in the garage to nap on. He hit I-70 with a wet flame job. He was devoted to say the least. He GAVE the car to a child hood friend in Ohio. His brother has it in a garage with it covered up with, stuff. It still wears the primer and flames.
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