History What Ever Happened to..........?

From what I hear, Donn Lowe is now retired. He had built an amazing body of custom cars, hot rods, too. His eye for proportion, good flow, and using the 'right' parts that really blended with the car's styling is practically unmatched. His metal shaping abilities are also top notch. He helped up immensely, with the Kopper Kart, in welding and finishing the grill, and tail light surrounds. Very difficult work!

 

Here`s the Chevy from Missouri. Feature No 171.

 

I was doing some research this evening for tomorrow night's post and I came across "Mild but Wild" again. This time it was cruising into the fairgrounds at the '85 Leadsled Spectacular in Springfield, Ohio. I froze the video and took a picture.
It's a fuzzy shot but it gives you a good idea how cool this Ford was in its hey day. E

 

What Ever Happened To..........? number 173.

1955 Chevy "El Meano"
Owner: Broc Irwin
Trimble, Ohio

This week's custom is another that didn't seem to be around for very long and was hard to find much information on. I first saw Broc's '55 Chevy pickup conversion on the '84 Leadsled Spectacular video shot in Des Moines. The car (truck?) looked to be complete as it had a lot of body modifications done to it as well as a nice paint job.
It already had the painted front bumper and rolled rear pan, Packard tail lights as well as '53 Buick headlights and a good dose of louvers in the hood. Of course it had already been converted to a pickup and the top was chopped. On the '84 video you can see it had a scallop job.





Broc once again hopped in "El Meano" in 1985 and made the trip to Springfield, Ohio for the Spectacular. He had made a few changes to the car, but you could definitely tell it was the same '55.
The scallops were gone and a fade flame job was the new look of choice.





One of Rowdie's gals did a great interview with Mr. Irwin where he gave a thorough run down of the car and build specs.



He never did mention why the car was re-painted after the '84 Spectacular, but he did say the car was a wagon that had been converted to a truck. It was chopped and a section of early 60s Chevy truck roof was added on. The stock wagon tailgate was changed to a Nomad 'gate, and the plate was shrouded and frenched into it. The taillights were changed from stock to Packards.



Broc had someone paint "El Meano" on the tailgate as this was a popular trend back in the 80s.



In the front the headlights were taken from a '53 Buick, Buick grille trim was added to the stock Chevy grille, and the painted front bumper had gone to the chrome shop for a good dose of the shiny stuff. Broc also mentioned there were 225 louvers in the hood.





Mr. Irwin seemed like a humble guy as he said he wasn't very talented so he paid a shop to build his cool hauler. The interviewer asked him if there was anything else he would like to do to the car, and he responded that he would like to put hydraulics on it, but he couldn't afford it. I would have added a set of white wall tires to the list, but maybe Broc wasn't a white wall guy.
Did Broc ever get to put hydraulics on his '55? We may never know. After the '85 Spectacular, this '55 dropped out of sight. It was such a unique custom that I'm sure I'd recognize it with a new paint job and more modifications. All my searching in magazines and online came up empty. I wonder if Mr. Irwin decided to sell "El Meano" or he just put it up for "someday". Funny how so many of these cars seem to be put aside or sold and are forgotten about. Where is it today? Maybe someone out there can fill us in.
Until Tuesday rolls around again, take it easy! E

 

That has to be the same car!

 

Oh man, they really screwed this one up. I've never been a fan of pro street cars.
Also, someone got rid of the cool shrouding around the rear license plate french. Some people just shouldn't be allowed to play with cars!
By the way, good detective work, @Moriarity! You found Mr. Irwin's '55 pretty fast. Too bad it ended up like it did! E

 

I got a message from @John B with some information about Mr. Irwin. Thanks again John!
If this is the same Broc Irwin that owned "El Meano", it appears that he passed away in 2005 at the fairly young age of 57. Here is what John sent me. Another custom guy from the "good ol' days" gone. Rest in peace..........E

John B wrote:

Not sure if this is the guy we're looking for. By my calculations he'd have been 37 or so when they shot the KKOA video. Does that sound right?

Glouster, OH is less then a mile north of Trimble, OH


Broc Irwin
Glouster, Ohio

Robert Brocton Irwin, 57, of Glouster passed away Tuesday August 30, 2005 at his residence. He was born October 1, 1947 in Hollister.

He was the owner and operator of Irwin's Auto Sales in Trimble and Nelsonville, a former Athens County Commissioner, a former Trimble Township Trustee, and he formerly worked for Columbus Southern Ohio Electric in Conesville and also at the Poston Plant. He was an Army Vietnam Veteran. He was a member of the Bishopville Church of Christ, the Jacksonville V.F.W. #9866, the Glouster American Legion #414, and he belonged to several car clubs.

He is survived by his wife Rita Kloh Irvin of Glouster; his mother Jo Lavon Sarina Irwin of Hollister; 1 son Adam Irwin; 1 daughter Wendy Warren of Nelsonville; 3 grandchildren; 2 brothers, Gregg Irwin and Brett Irwin.

He was preceded in death by a daughter Amy C. Irwin and his father Robert Irwin.

Funeral Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday September 3, 2005 at the Bishopville Church of Christ with Adam Irwin and Cpt. David Irwin officiating. Interment will be in the Maplewood Cemetery, Glouster where there will be a military graveside service conducted by the combined color guard unit.

 

Sad story, Mr Irwin died at an early age and his wonderful custom was destroyed nearly beyond recognition and resurrection.
That Pro Street version is unbelievably ugly.

It was a very cool car back in the day.

 

I did find a youtube video of the purple flamed version. It was dated Nov. 2015, that at least gives some idea of time frame....

 

Nice find @Sancho, but I bet it was still hard to watch (lol)! E

 

This entertaining read is from one of the 2015 online for sale ads:

"Bad Prostreet 55 Chevy Custom
Named El Meano
Chopped and tubbed
454
9"
All steel!
100% street
Notice stress cracks in paint, word is this use to be a 6 sec car with a different motor. Now it has a very nice and strong 454.
55 2 door wagon is built with;
65 chevy truck cap
56 buick head lights
studabaker taillights"

 

Some of you will flinch at the "Studebaker taillights" notation, but the final Packards (derisively named "Packardbakers" by their detractors) were basically Studebaker body shells that were reworked to serve as makeshift Packards in '57 and '58. That said, the Packard "cathedral" taillights were never factory-installed on Studebakers.

And while I'm at it, I don't know why some of you think this car has been "destroyed". While I agree that it should have been left as a kustom, it looks like pretty much all of the signature bodywork is still in place. If a future owner chose to do so, it is easily concievable that "El Meano" could be returned to its former glory.

 

@Peanut 1959 the headlights aren't '56 either.

The main reason I shared it for entertainment was the "6 second car" bit.

 

Haha! Yeah, back in the day it took six seconds to navigate the steep approach to his driveway!

I totally missed the headlight error.

 

What Ever Happened To..........? number 174.

1952 Ford Convertible "Tuff Enough"
Owner: Ronnie Winkler/Conrad "Connie" Winkler
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Those of you that frequent this thread will notice that for the last four weeks or so I've been posting very obscure customs. Many I have no owner information or home town, and the pictures have been frozen shots taken off of my TV or computer. I've mentioned many times before that I hope this is ok, but on these rare or unknown customs this is all the information I've found after lots of research. Even with very few facts or information, I feel that it's important to include these cars that were just a small side note in custom history, yet many of us that have seen them at one time or another will remember them and the cool cats (and kittens) that built and drove them.
I still do research nearly everyday, and I'm hoping that more pictures and information will come about for future features that will keep the quality of the thread where it needs to be. But, as they say, something is better than nothing, right? On to tonight's sled..........
I first saw this awesome '52 Ford ragtop on Rowdie's '86 Leadsled Spectacular video that was shot in Springfield, Missouri. The car was seen cruising through the fairgrounds many times, and Rowdie must have really liked it as it appeared on the video quite a bit.
Rowdie also sat on the top of the back seat of this car to do his cruise through the show. He sat up on the seat and filmed all the action going on throughout the fairgrounds. One of the coolest parts of the fairgrounds cruise is when the owner of the Ford stopped for a minute for no apparent reason. Rowdie then turned the video camera to the right and it all became very clear. None other than Mr. Lee Pratt had stopped them to take a snapshot of the "Tough Enough" lettering on the quarter panel just under the rear passenger window! I tried to get a shot of Lee taking his picture, but the frozen video was just too grainy and you couldn't tell it was Lee. At any rate, here is the lettering on the side of the Ford:



After the cruise was completed, one of Rowdie's gals interviewed the owner. He gave a great rundown on the car, telling that the car was an abandoned project that was being restored to original. The (then) owner was tired of it and just wanted to get rid of it. It was too good of a deal to pass up, so the guy being interviewed bought it. He said that his Dad was big into the custom scene and told him he needed to get with the program and build a custom. So, this 'vert went the custom route. It always pays to listen to your Dad, huh?
The car was very mild with the most radical modification being the use of Packard taillights that were turned upside down. A very cool look! The owner of the car said he was a striper and painter in his hometown of Milwaukee and he traded his skills to other people for their skills to get the car done. He traded auto body and paint work for the super looking blue and white candy stripe tuck 'n' roll. He did all the paint work, striping and lettering himself. The pink scallops on the blue car are really striking. Looks like something out of the little books in the late 50s! Unfortunately the gal doing the interview never asked the guy his name and it was never mentioned, so he remains a mystery.
It's hard to see in the frozen stills, but the car had a Nostalgic Car Club plaque hanging from the rear bumper. Nostalgic was a large club that was very active in the custom scene in and around Wisconsin. They were up there with other active clubs at the time like Lincoln Land Kustoms.





The next time I saw the car was on @PasoJohns' video shot at the '88 Spectacular in Holland, Michigan. The car looked the same, with the exception of being filmed with the top up. You'll also notice that the car had a "For Sale" sign on it.
John also got some great shots of the car cruising the fairgrounds taking it all in.









After the '88 video sighting I found no more on this car. My search of the internet and magazines turned up nothing which really surprised me. The style, color choice and the fact that this Ford was a convertible you'd think it would have been in a magazine sometime. Maybe it has been, but I didn't find anything in my library.
Maybe after the '88 Leadsled Spectacular the car was sold. It could have been repainted and changed up some. Maybe it went overseas to continue its custom life over there. There's also always the chance that the guy that built it put it away for some reason or another and is planning on getting it back out and about in the future. I would think that the mystery owner may still be around since he looked very young when he was interviewed at the '86 Spectacular. Let's see if any of our custom faithful can solve this mystery. Hey all you Wisconsin and surrounding area sledders, who was this guy? Tell us if you can!
I hope y'all are doing lots of cruising and car stuff since summer has finally arrived--even if the weather still doesn't seem to know it. Can you believe the 4th of July is just over a week away? Hard to believe 2019 is almost half over! Where does the time go?
Until next week, cruise on! E

 

Here are a couple pic`s. A close family friend came by and spent 3 hours figuring out how to make the computer jive with the scanner again. I might have this figured out. Always liked this car.

 

Ahhhh, finally some snapshots of the Ford. Thanks for posting Jim! E

 

Hi E.In the last photo,the tag number is readable.Could a search of old tags possibly turn up a name?
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Is that the KKOA character painted in the lettering?

 

@a990hemi

 

Maybe in the pre scam era a person could do this, but nowadays there are so many scammers out there that I don't think this type of search is possible. Here in Colorado (and maybe many other states) the DMV doesn't require you to sign the back of your registration anymore. They had to do away with that as people were breaking into cars and stealing registrations and using the information on them for some kind of scams.
Nice suggestion though! E

I never thought about the "Tuff Enough" character looking like the KKOA's Skip or Weasel (I always get the names of which one belongs to which character mixed up), but there is a resemblance.
If I'm not mistaken they were created by M.K. John and I know the guy in the video wasn't him.
I'm surprised that no Wisconsin people have chimed in yet with some information. Where is @Bob K when we need him? Miss ya Bob! E

 

Sorry Ed for Hi Jacking your thread. I'm amazed with all of the knowledge that is posted on the HAMB. Sorry if this has already been posted on here... I like to know what happen to this Merc. Saw it in Wichita at the Merc Deuce reunion but hadn't seen it in a long time. What a kool profile. Where did it go?

 

You posted it yourself on page 91 of this thread. LOL!

Here's the story:
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-91#post-12656484

 

Lol! I wake up in a new world every day.....

 

LOL. You are not alone. A while back I had a question I needed the answer to on my Fleetline so I came over here to the HAMB to the ask the question. Fortunately, I did a search first only to discover I had already asked the question and gotten answer. If I worked on stuff faster I guess I woulda used the answer before I forgot it. LOL

 

I can see the resemblance, but the painting on the side of the car also bears a striking similarity to the owner/driver in the 86 video as well. Might have been a self portrait..

 

Man you guys are a bunch of cartoons--had a good laugh about that one. And here I thought I was the only one going crazy (lol)! E

After a closer look John, the little character on "Tuff Enough" does look like the owner. He did nice work. It seems like someone would remember him not only for his convertible, but for his pinstripe and paint work. E

 

I went to the Holland car club show today and look who I found

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