While digging through the high school yearbooks of Pendleton, OR for photos to post in the Vintage Shots thread, I found this little gem in the 1958 issue: Sweeeeeet. Now I'm sure there aren't that many chopped '40 Mercury customs around, so does anyone have more info on this car? Is it a survivor, I hope? (Paging Mr. Hoving...)
Looks like they might be at a gas station so maybe it was passing through. Car has some distinct features though.
I took this pic from my Fifties Flashback book by Albert Drake,...Thanks Al .. Sent from my QTASUN1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Don Telen's Merc was featured in the March 1958 issue of Hot Rod. I acquired the car after it was found abandoned in a underground parking terrace in S.L.C. in 1975. It had been there for a long time and was in pretty rough condition. Nobody knew how it got there, but Neal East said he remembered it from when he attended BYU in the early 60's. I had no idea it had been in a magazine or who built it until after we completely rebuilt it. Early/mid 50's style customs had fallen out of style so no one was restoring them. I finished the car in late 76 and drove it to the 77 NSRA Nats in St. Paul ewhere it was very well received as there were only a very few early style customs there. I also drove it to the first KKOA Leadsled Nationals in Wichita in 1980. It was featured in several magazines in the late 70's/early 80's. I ownedthe car for a few years, then sold it to Lynn Williams and last I heard it was in New York. Mick
Thanks for the ID - knew the H.A.M.B. would come through! The Fifties Flashback photo shows it sitting about three inches lower than it does in the yearbook shot.
The Jalopy Journal
