Thanks Ed for the kind words. I agree that this is one of the koolest threads on the HAMB. A lot of kool post with some good information. I'm amazed how guys can tract down where they are today. Makes me glad I don't owe these guys any money.
Danny says hello! Just had a nice phone conversation with him and caught up on some old times. He still has the 59 and gets it out once in awhile.
Explain so everybody knows what you are talking about please. Here is a pic I took at the same location. Something got splattered on the pic while it was hanging on my wall in the garage.
Great response guys! It is so much fun when a lot of the history comes out and we find that a custom and the happy owner are still together. Glad to hear that Mr. Maxwell is doing great! Best regards to him @John B! I agree with Mick (@straykatkustoms), there are a few guys that I wouldn't want to cross or owe money to---they seem very "connected" (lol)! You guys are a real hoot! Thanks again for participating and sticking around! E
Good news on the #131 Wyatt Lockman 1951 Mercury. I seen a fellow on Instagram has just purchased this car and is working to bring it back to its former glory. It was apparently found in a warehouse in Florida, it looks as though the building it was stored in collapsed around it and it sat in the Florida sun for some 12 years. I believe the car was perfect until the building went down. If you are on Instagram his name is kustom_sled. I also love the mild built Mercs!! Love this thread as well!
The car is alive and well along with it's owner since 1961. Wes was an ISCA judge and the car was shown from the late 60's until the mid 80's as a mild custom. The car is a time capsule. I'm gonna give him a call and tell him about this. He will love it
I made that call to Wes. He was happy to hear he got mentioned. He pointed out one thing that I am not sure anyone noticed. The photographer who shot the picture and wrote the article is Steve Coonan of Rodder's Journal fame. That photo shoot also got sold to Hot Rod Magazine, Rod and Custom and several Calendar printers. This picture is the first coverage of the car, 1963
Wow @Sum54ford, that is great! Cool to see that Mr. Lockman's Merc is still around. Sad to see its slightly deteriorated condition, but I'm glad to hear its on the road back. Thanks so much for sharing! E Glad to hear that you let Mr. Downing know about his car being featured here @hrm2k! We would love it if he checked in and shared a story or two. Always room for veteran custom folks here! Thanks for posting the earlier information on the car. It is a true survivor. The power of the HAMB never ceases to amaze me! E
I was at the Holland Michigan show when the Fordillac was first shown after it was restored by Donn Lowe. I remember seeing pictures of it in a little pages book on a feature of the Hartford Auto Show back in the 50s. That's my 40 Mercury next to it. On of my favorite pictures.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 133. 1950 Mercury "The Duchess" Owners: Michael and Darlene Benesch Graham, North Carolina Most of the customs that I write about are cars that I've seen for a long time in magazines, pictures and videos. Many I've researched for quite sometime, and most of the time I've needed that time to try and figure out who owned the car, who built it and where they were from. The other part is figuring out which shows these cars were at and when. Sometimes this takes days, sometimes months and occasionally even close to a year! Every now and then a car comes along that I've never seen before, and a whole new bunch of challenges comes along. This week's sled is one of the latter. Up until I found and purchased the 1st KKOA book (1993) about a year and a half ago, I had never seen this Merc before. I've always liked the east coast style, and this car is a great example of that. I really like the way the car has extended quarters that dip down a bit with '60 Chrysler taillights, bubble skirts as well as a Connie kit. East coast deluxe! This look may not be everyone's cup o' tea, but I dig it! After I saw the car in the book, the real searching began. I watched hours and hours of video as well as searching through countless books and magazines. Couldn't find a thing. I also searched the internet for pictures and again came up empty. I knew there had to be more information out there about this great '50, but where? What I'll do when I hit a snag is go through my notes and find another car to work on. This is the only way to keep things movin' along so this thread keeps flowing. A few weeks ago I found an Ebay ad for some KKOA DVDs that I didn't have. I thought buying them would help out with research, plus I just love watching old car show videos. I went ahead and bought them and boy am I glad I did! They were DVDs of the KKOA's Sled Scene East from 1992, 1993 and 1994. I have copies of Sled Scene East from 1986 and 1987 and they are very good. Well, this show must have really grown as the '92-'94 shows looked like the attendance was much higher and the shows looked great! Blaine Kauffman really knew how to put it all together. I'm so sorry that Sled Scene East went away before I could ever get out to Gettysburg, and now that Blaine has gone to kustom heaven, I'm pretty sure it will never return. Definitely our loss! "The Duchess", as this Merc was called, was all over all three videos. The car had a great stance and the white and gray (silver?) paint job gave the car a real understated elegance. So nice! I guess that Michael and Darlene preferred Sled Scene East to the Spectacular as I never spotted their Mercury at any Spectacular that I have video from after 1987. (In the write up from the 1st KKOA book on page 150, it mentioned that the Benesches got the car in '87, so any sightings would be after that.) They may have very well been there, but the camera never caught them. Another reason that they may have gone to Sled Scene East over the Spectacular is that they lived in the south. North Carolina is a long way from the midwest! Well, my search for information has ended without too much to tell. I hope that some of you folks out there that were wise enough to attend Sled Scene East while it was still going strong have some nice color pictures to share. One black and white shot isn't enough and just doesn't do this Mercury justice. I also hope that someone knew Mr. and Mrs. Benesch and can give us an update on them as well. I'd also like to wish all of our friends in the Carolinas and the surrounding areas the best during hurricane Florence. I hope everyone is safe and doing well--all things considered. We're thinking about you! Until next Tuesday, take care! E
man... that is a wild merc! I am no help though as I don't remember ever seeing it. Like everyone else here I look forward to this thread each week! Thanks @OG lil E
Never seen the Merc either. They're still in NC (hopefully above water line!), listed as owners of Aim Muffler & Hitch in Burlington since 1985. Maybe a local HAMBer knows them and can chime in as whether they still have the Merc? 307 N. Church St. , Burlington, NC 27217-2615 BBB File Opened: 7/24/2003 Years in Business: 32 Business Started: 10/12/1985 Business Started Locally: 10/12/1985 Type of Entity: Sole Proprietorship Business Management Mrs. Darlene Benesch Mr. Michael Benesch, Owner Contact Information Principal Mr. Michael Benesch, Owner Customer Contact Mrs. Darlene Benesch
Thanks for the input guys. Interesting that the Benesches own a muffler shop. Gotta agree @Chaz, I LOVE those skirts. Maybe @'Mo is on to something. They do have the great shape of Jimmy Jones skirts! E Thank you, Mark. Appreciate that! E
Found this logo. Looks like Mike was a Director of the Royal Order of Jesters (Masonic group) in 2017-18. This leads me to believe he still has the Merc!
I also went through the muffler business' site as well as their FB page, no pictures of the Merc though....
Sorry, I`m a Midwest guy. Only have been to two car shows in Ohio in my whole life. Never been south of Illinois, Indiana or Ohio to a show either. When I go to the show in Indy(Custom Car Revival), I`m half way there when I get to the Iowa-Illinois border.
I was away from the thread for a few days and came back in time to read about Larry Simonutti's cars; then, this pic of Wyatt Lockman's merc appeared. Did anyone notice/mention the Pontiac following? Kismet...? Anyway, please add my thanks to OG lil E for the thread and to all the others who contribute to these stories and pictures - great, great stuff! -Dave
Thanks @rodncustomdreams! I did see Larry Simonutti's Pontiac behind Wyatt Lockman's Merc in the picture. I was going to mention it but things moved along quickly and I spaced it out. When this thread gets going it's like trying to catch a runaway train. Once you catch it and hop on board you'd better hang on 'cause it really starts cruisin' (lol)! E
The Jalopy Journal
