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

Super clean little car. Like you said, going to be a hard one to recognize unless someone knows it's lineage.

Finally cooling off a bit here in Arkansas, Ed. Forecast called for a nice day yesterday, so decided to drive the T-bird to work. Well, wouldn't ya know, forecast changed and by 5 when it was time to head home, 60% chance of rain.....and me with no top, of course....time for a little The Art of Racing Home to Beat the Rain. LOL

Thanks for another fun read, Ed! As fun as it is to have some info or old pics on the cars you post, I almost enjoy them even more when it's a car I've never seen and get to experience it for the first time.

 

Man, Doc, that sounds like Colorado weather. 75 in the morning, snow showers by quittin' time (lol)! Hope you got home without catching cold!
Glad to see you're still following along and enjoying the content. I agree that it's always neat to see a custom for the first time, especially one from a long time ago! E

 

Hey guys, I know it's an off Tuesday, but in my research this week I came across a few updates. I've been looking for some of my KKOA Trendsetters and Leadsled'ers that for some reason weren't with the rest of my collection. I found them in another box that for the life of me I can't remember how they got there. I'm glad I found them because it seemed like I had a big hole in my collection that is now remedied. I KNEW I had them, but where did I put them? Anyway, mystery solved.
Back to the updates. I'll start with the most recent. This has to do with the '54 Buick of David Lee Woods that was W.E.H.T. #277. I was looking through the KKOA Trendsetter Volume 7 Number 7 from 1992. In their coverage of the '92 Sled Scene East show on page 13 there was a picture of David Lee Woods' Buick, and it listed it as being from Edgemere, Maryland. After seeing this we know the car was at Sled Scene East in 1992, as well as '93 and '94. Also, the town mystery of the car is solved, but, the owner was listed as D. Walker, so another mystery was opened up. I'll keep my eye on that one. Here's the scan from the Trendsetter.



Also, here's a link to the write up for comparison purposes.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-159#post-14214641

Our next update is going back a while. Back in November of 2019, we covered an awesome '56 Chevy that attended Sled Scene East in 1992. It was W.E.H.T. #191. This is the only show coverage I ever found of the car which was surprising. You'd think a car like this would have been all over the place, but that just wasn't the case.
In the original article I never was able to find out who the owners were and what town they were from, but we knew they were from Pennsylvania. Thankfully in the same KKOA Trendsetter (Volume 7 Number 7 1992) that I discovered the Woods Buick in their coverage of Sled Scene East, there was a small picture of the '56 on page 12. I had seen the picture before, but it was so small I never made the connection. This time I got out my magnifying glass and sure enough, it is the Chevy that was known as "Walkin' With the Duke". It was owned by Greg and Sharon Isles of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Another wildcard article that we can post the owner's name and what town they were from. Here's the picture from the Trendsetter:



And the link to the write up to refresh your memory.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-ever-happened-to.1016572/page-128#post-13313458

Well gang, that's about all for now. I'll go ahead and update the headers of each post. After that I'm going to dig back in to my research tonight, so I'm outta here. I'll see you next Tuesday. Take it easy..........E

 

Thanks Lil E! Love reading about the kustoms you feature! The links you provide are very helpful!

 

Found a feature on Phil`s car before the flames. Custom Rodder 81.

 

Thanks Bill! Just trying to keep the kustom family informed. E

Always great input Jim! Thanks for sharing! E

 

I came across the Larry Booth 1951 Ford on eBay today. The car looks exactly the same as it did nearly 40 years ago! There are lots of good pictures of it on there too. Check out the cool Wanderers Car Club pin-striping under the hood.

 

Awesome find Sum54! The car has held up very well. I had never seen the little "mini" mural under the hood, very cool! Just goes to show how much of an influence the Wanderers had on the "custom renaissance" back in the early 80s. About the only thing that seems to be different is the way the car sits. Way back when it was much lower. It would be nice to see it lower to the ground again. At any rate, it's great to see it's still around! E

 

Wow! Good eyes Mark, what the hell indeed.

 

Probably been that way since the '80s

 

It sat lower in the 80`s as stated above.

 

Plus even if it’s been that way since the ‘80’s it’s still not right

 

What Ever Happened To..........? number 279.

1949 Mercury "Old Blue"
Owner: Woody Benson
Davison, Michigan

Around here we cover a lot of Mercurys. Between the "1949, 1950 and 1951 Mercury Pictures" thread and @straycatkustoms' "Kustom Blues" thread, it seems like we have seen every custom Mercury ever built. Even with all the Mercs posted, there are still a few that get posted and the information about the car seems to fall through the cracks. This week's custom falls into that category. I have researched this car for quite sometime without much success. I have a few pictures to share, but no owner or car location information. It's been a little while since we've had a "wildcard" custom posted, so I'm going to post this and see what information you custom faithful can come up with.
The first time I saw this car was on the 1983 Leadsled Spectacular video filmed in Springfield, Ohio. The car was filmed coming through the gates and it cruised right by where Rowdie and one of his gals were interviewing cars that were lined up there. Unfortunately the '49 cruised right by and didn't stop for an interview. The real standout was the custom front license plate that read "Old Blue", as well as the '53 Buick headlights and the olds "frown" grille. This was an unusual combination all used on a '49-'51 Mercury.







On the video, the car was never seen again, and what was done to the rear of the car as far as custom modifications is a mystery.
The car once again returned to the Spectacular in 1985 which just happened to be in Springfield again. The car was only shown once on the video during the fairgrounds cruise and once again it was only a front shot. I tried to capture an image, but in a frozen still it was very blurry and no matter how many times I tried to get a shot it was unrecognizable. So no picture there.
The last Leadsled the car was at was in Holland Michigan in 1988. This time I got a few more pictures of the car, but the car had been changed since the '85 video appearance. The car now had flames on the front clip, making me wonder if it had had been in a fender bender or perhaps it needed to be touched up due to rock chips. Another idea I had was possibly the car changed hands and a new owner just wanted to change it up a bit and threw flames on it. Incidentally, I've been doing some research on another Mercury that is very similar to this one, and it seemed to be at the same Leadsleds this car was at and it has been very confusing. The cars are almost the same color and have a similar chopped roofline. The main difference is the front of the cars are very different. Incidentally, I believe this week's feature car looks to have Michigan plates on it as does the other Merc I just mentioned. More search confusion to deal with (lol).
The '88 pictures aren't super great, but at least we get to see a few different angles of it.



Here is a shot of the rear, but the video is so grainy and shadowy I can't make out what the taillight modifications may have been. The mystery continues..........



One more front shot showing the pinstriping was gone and the new flames. The grill and headlights look the same.



My last shot tonight is probably the clearest shot I have, and, of course it's of the front (lol). I found this picture right here on the HAMB, but I can't remember how long ago or who posted it. If you recognize the shot please let us know, maybe with some other information. As memory serves, this picture was taken at a KKOA Merc/Deuce Reunion, but I have no idea what year. It is definitely before the flame job though so it has to be before the '88 Spectacular. Here you can also see the front license plate which looks a lot like the old blue plates Michigan had back in the 70s and 80s.



And that is all I have on this one. I sure hope somebody has some information to share as I'd love to know who was the caretaker/builder of this fine sled. So, whatcha got?
Just a few days to go before all the little ghosts, goblins and witches invade the night. Last year Halloween night was way off due to the pandemic and all the stuff going on with that. From the few Trunk or Treat events that we've gone to this year, attendance seems to be back up and things are starting to lean a little more towards normal. The most Trick or Treaters we've ever had come to our front door was 383 in 2016 between 5 and 8 pm. I'm thinking this year might break that record as I'm sure people are anxious to get out and enjoy what couldn't be done last year. It will be interesting to see what develops.
I hope you guys are all stocked up on goodies and you're ready to go. Have a great time however you celebrate and please be careful. We don't want to hear any stories of some middle aged teenagers getting thrown in the klink for teepeeing someone's house or throwing stink bombs at cars (LOL)! Happy Halloween everyone!
I'll see you in a few weeks! E

 

Not much to add but this is my picture from the 1979 Merc Deuce Reunion in Kansas City. I was lucky enough to get a stack of photos from the show from a friend but this is the only shot I have of this Merc. Definitely a unique grill and headlight combo for a Mercury so it would definitely be recognized if it’s still around.

 

I have a pic of a Merc from about 20 years ago that`s almost identical to this one. But has stock style frenched headlights. It even has bubble skits. Maybe the same one Ed mentioned about above.

 

Thanks Ed for highlighting this Mercury. I've always loved the front end treatment, I remember seeing it in videos and was thinking about borrowing the idea for my Merc. I didn't know much about it and looking forward to reading the background info.

Guys, I'm sorry to hijack the thread but I have to go off topic. Inquiry minds want to know. Where are you going to post the stack of photos from the first Merc Deuce Reunion? We will be waiting patiently............ Lol!

 

I forgot about this link, thanks Mark. Here ya go @Sum54ford post away…

 

Unfortunately I already posted all of them that I have on that thread. Sorry I got nothing new.

 

No problem, I looked on the link and noticed you had already shared a lot of pictures. Kool thing about when you are my age, I wake up in a new world everyday. It was kool to still look back at your pics. Thanks for sharing them....

Now back to our regular scheduled Thread....

 

Regarding #178
1952 Buick Special named Blue Suede
My grandfather (Daryl Briley) is the builder. He sold it around 2008/2009 and since retired from the car show scene. I have been trying to locate the car off and on for the last few years but have never made any real headway.

I found an ad where it is listed for sale in North Carolina for $5,900.00 but after some research the website is a scam.

I was able to visit with him this last week and my interest in the search has been renewed. Rumors in the family state the car is in North Carolina, New York, or even over seas somewhere in Europe. Nothing has been confirmed but I'm asking if anyone knows where it is or has seen it since 2009 please let me know. I would love to buy it and bring it back to the family, or at very least know it is being cared for.

Thanks,
Dee-O-Gee Garage

 

Thanks for checking in Dee-O-Gee. We're always on the lookout for old customs, and if your Grandpa's old Buick pops up we'll definitely get the word out! E

Thanks for the heads up @I Like Tacos. I'll go ahead and update the header on the original post. E

 

@OG lil E , California, KY if I remember right

 

Hey John, maybe I'm misunderstanding your post, but there is a city in Kentucky called California? E

 

Yes, California, KY is in northern Kentucky. Not 5oo far from Cincinnati, OH

 

Thanks John, I'll update the header on the Briley Buick. E

 

@Dee-O Gee Garage found this today in a KKOA issue. Thought you may like it.