Found this again a few months ago. It was in a book called Street Roddin USA 1989. From the editors of Rodders Digest.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 151. 1946 Ford Owner: Norm Hill Chehalis, Washington This week's custom is probably the most illusive one featured so far. The only reason I even know of this car is that it was on the 1991 Leadsled Spectacular video filmed in Hamilton, Ohio. It's an outstanding car that had many cool tricks done to it including canted Lincoln quads, custom grille and '49 Plymouth bumpers front and rear. Speaking of the rear, it also had four '59 Caddy bullets for taillights--one pair frenched in on each side. The car also had a nice chop and a slick profile. Now, I'm no expert on Lincolns, but I'm guessing this was a '46-'48 model. The car might have had some major work done in the rear as on the video it didn't have such a pronounced bump in the rear where the trunk is. Those of you familiar with these cars will know what I'm talking about. The car was painted a bright yellow like so many cars of the 70s and 80s like we've discussed many times before, with flames that started a little lighter yellow than the rest of the car and ended in orange. One of the only things on the car I would change are the mirrors. I'm sure they served their purpose well, but chrome ones would have looked much better. The 1991 video was the only appearance the car made on tape. I think that maybe Mr. Hill decided to make the long drive from Washington state to Ohio to check out the show. Maybe once was enough as that is a loooong drive. As far as printed material, the only place I was able to find a picture of it was in the May/June 1994 issue of the KOA Styleline on page 19. It was on a page of random shots of customs sent in to the KOA for a "reader's ride" article. It was there where I was finally able to put an owner's name and location on the car. Once again, I'm disappointed to report that the picture is in black and white. This is a rare west coast W.E.H.T., and I'm hoping that our custom faithful (especially you west coasters) can help us out with more information and pictures of this rare beauty. Seems like that would be easy as there just aren't many of these wild Lincoln customs cruising around turning heads. So let's start searching the ol' memory banks and photo albums and see what turns up! Until next time, stay kool! E
He parked right next to me on Sunday in Paso Robles,the rear of the Ford,you can see my 56 Dodge parked next to him. This was in 1994,my first of many drives out west for Paso Robles and Santa Maria
Somebody may have mentioned this somewhere on the HAMB, but I haven't seen it. The Gary Wisner chopped '57 Chevy more door is for sale on Ebay. Condition looks pretty good just needing a little work. Disappointing the seller didn't pull the car out of the garage and get an important profile shot for us custom crazies. Seems like a good price too. I hope it finds a good new home! E https://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-Chevr...b3d27979:g:5MAAAOSw259cK61q:rk:3:pf:0&vxp=mtr
Norm Hills yellow coupe is still alive and now owned by Norm's grandson. Car is driven frequently, attending many shows in the NW. it resides in Napavine Washington.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 152. 1951 Mercury "Still Plum Crazy" Owner: Ken Powell Holt, Michigan This week's custom is another one that didn't seem to be around for long, or wasn't at KKOA shows much. According to my research, it was only at the Leadsled Spectacular once--the 1993 show in Springfield, Ohio. There were a number of great shots of it showing the many custom mods it had. The headlights were tunneled in about 4 inches and it had a '55 Desoto grille with 5 teeth. The car also had a heavy chop. It had rolled pans front and rear, and a unique choice of '39 Ford taillights. It was painted purple. It looked very close to Mopar's Plum Crazy from the muscle car days. It had "Still Plum Crazy" lettered on the trunk lid. We've covered a lot of Mercs here, and I've researched tons of them. After a while you really have to look close to tell certain ones apart, especially if color pictures are unavailable. For quite some time I was coming up empty on this one. The first characteristics that eventually helped me figure out this Mercury is the fact that it had no bumpers or skirts, but the chop is what really did it. The quarter windows look to have been more rounded than most Mercs, and the mystery back window is a true one of a kind. Another thing that threw me is the fact that at the '93 Spectacular it had late 50s yellow and black California license plates on it. The only video footage I had of this car was from the '93 Spectacular up until about a week ago. @KustomLincolnLady was kind enough to send me some great DVDs that have lots of great customs on them. (Thanks again Deb!) It was on a DVD from Action Video called Customs Galore Volume 2 where there was some more great footage of the car. I don't know what show it was at or when it was shot, but it was the car. Luckily, in the video, the car no longer had the early California plates, but plates from Michigan. So, on the '93 video it may have been from California and maybe changed hands to Mr. Powell in Michigan. Or, Mr. Powell was just running California plates in 1993 to keep the show goers guessing. All of this got the wheels turning and I was reminded of a black and white picture I saw of a Mercury recently in a KOA Styleline. It just so happened to be on the same page where last week's W.E.H.T. (#151) was. Norm Hill's radical 1946 Ford. Incidentally, for the record, it was the May/June 1994 Styleline on page 19. Funny how these things come together sometimes, huh? This is all the information I found on this '51. I'm hoping that some of you custom guys from Michigan and the surrounding areas or regular attendees of the early KKOA shows might have more on this cool Mercury. A color photo would be nice, as black and white doesn't do much for it. Anybody have more on this one? It sure has been cold all over the country this last week. I hope everyone is safe and warm and dreamin' about summer days and nights of cruising. C'mon summertime! We'll see you next week! E
Wow, the DVD's helped already the result I was hoping for!! Sure seems like We've seen this Merc back in the day. I will have to look through some photos Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
@KustomLincolnLady , the DVD's are awesome. You'll have some coming to you from KY soon. Kinda slacked on getting them done because I've been watching this I got from you. Love the history.
Most people knew the car as "Mr. Neon". Under the hood was spectacular. These photos are from 2009 when Jerry Laboranti owned the car.
Thanks for the great pictures and recent sighting information Al! Foxie's Merc did have a super lighting display. Mr. Himmelberger's '53 Ford was back on Ebay for sale last week. No takers yet I guess. E
What Ever Happened To..........? number 153. 1950 Chevy "Sweet Sinsation" Owners: Tony and Sandy VanDuine Grand Rapids, Michigan This week's custom is one that was around for years, but attendance at KKOA shows was hit or miss. I can't say for sure, but it seems like the VanDuines went to the show about every four years or so, give or take. According to my video research, they were at the Spectacular in '84 in Des Moines, then again in '88 and '92 in Holland, Michigan, and the last video appearance being in Springfield, Ohio in 1993. The first picture I found of the car was in Custom Cars by Hot Rod Volume 2 number 2 from 1984 on page 21. It was in their coverage of the '84 Spectacular. In the picture the car looks very dark, but the caption says it was candy brandywine. The next picture I found of the Chevy was on Rikster's site and was taken by our very own @KustomLincolnLady. Judging by the background and camera angle, I'd guess it was taken at the same show--maybe even on the same day. In this picture you can see the beautiful candy paint and that it looked a lot lighter than in the black and white photo. I've tried blowing up both pictures to try and read the name under the quarter windows, but I can't quite make it out. I think it says "Crusin", that is spelled differently than normal, or the first "i" in "Cruisin" is so close to the other letters it can't be made out. On my later videos it looks like the car underwent some changes. Buick side trim was added, and the car's name was changed to "Sweet Sinsation", lettered on the bottoms of the front fenders. It looked to be about the same color as before. It still had a few of the things that stand out on this Chevy from the many out there, including the unique tube grille, sunvisor and the outstanding paint. The VanDuines sent in a picture and description of their car to the KKOA and it was printed in the first KKOA book on page 157. You can see the Buick side chrome and new name. Lately I've been watching videos on the James Dean shows in Indiana from the 90s that I found on YouTube, and I think I caught a glimpse of the Chevy in the background a few times, but the camera angles just weren't right, and I couldn't make out any details that confirmed this was their car. There have been lots of beautiful red toned Chevy sedans over the years, that's for sure! My guess is that it was, as the VanDuines seemed like seasoned custom car show and cruise night veterans that weren't afraid to travel. After the 1993 video, the car seemed to drop out of sight. No more magazine or book appearances and no more video. I hope the VanDuines are still at it, either with "Sweet Sinsation" or some other cool sled. Let's see if any of the custom faithful from the Michigan and midwest areas have any more on this one. Been a long cold stretch 'round these parts. Seems like winter is never going to end, doesn't it? Until next week, hang in there! E
I sent a photo to a car friend who lives in Holland and does a lot of car stuff around Grand Rapids. That's is Sancho and stanlow don't track it down tonight lol Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Sort of a lead, this is what he told me ...Was sold at country classic cars in Illinois. Went to Missouri. Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
"Ken Powell Haslett Ken passed away July 28, 2017 at age 75. He was predeceased by his father Manord, mother Lela and sister Janet. His is survived by his brothers Manord Jr. and Gerald, daughters Julie and Jackie, grandchildren David, Danielle, Krystal, Jacob, Erika, Kyle and Connor and great-grandchildren Ethan, Mark, Olivia and Wesley. Dad was a book binder most of his life and worked at Speaker, Hines & Thomas, then BRD Printing until his retirement. An avid car enthusiast, he won many awards for his classic hot rods, including his favorite, "Plum Crazy". His love for cars was second only to his love of his family, especially babies! He faced many challenges after his stroke but would always light up whenever he saw his grand kids. Such an artist! He could do anything. In high school he designed car t-shirts for his friends. Later he dabbled in sculpting, woodworking, painting and created beautiful stained glass windows and lamps. He even designed and sold these crazy birdhouses using vintage jewelry. My sister and I never inherited his artistic talent. What we did receive from him was his humor, generosity, caring spirit and love of family. We will forever miss our "cool" dad. In abiding with Ken's wishes, there will be no services."
Regarding the Gary Wisner chopped '57 Chevy: I just bought the car. Should on his way to Europe soon. Does anybody have more information about this car? Is Gary still alive? When was the car customized? Where it was done? Are there any photos existing aside from the photo that was posted above?
Thanks for posting Sancho. We've missed you around here! Ironic that Mr. Powell/Haslett died two years ago in July while the Leadsled Spectacular was going on. Sad news. Rest in peace Ken..........E Sorry Opel, I haven't really dug in searching for information on the '57. I'm pretty sure it was a regular at the Leadsleds in the 80s. If I find anything out I'll post it here. Maybe someone will chime in with more information. Congrats on the purchase! E
You got a steal on that car! Thank goodness you bought it, cuz I was almost going to have to bid just cuz it was such a great deal. LOL
You guys have a lot of self control (lol)! If I had the green light and the means to bid, that '57 would be on the way to Colorado! E
It seems like the longer we do this thread, the more we dig up on these cars. I always enjoy finding out more on a custom that we covered to see what other history is out there. With that being said, I have a small update on the Norm Hill '46 Ford (W.E.H.T. #151). I was searching around the internet doing research last week when I came across these photos on Rikster's site. They were taken by Mike Shelley at Paso Robles in 1988. The car underwent some big changes between 1988 when these photos were taken and the photos @PasoJohn took there in 1994. Here's the front of the car in '88: John's picture from the front in '94: Mike Shelley rear photo ('88): John's rear shot ('94): The early version was unique, but the next version was way cooler. Lots of work to get from one version to the other. E
The Firebird grille is one step away from @straykatkustoms 280z headlights. I dig the '94 "backdate" much better.
The Jalopy Journal
