I hated that I was not able to go to the Merc gathering and the more pictures that I've seen the worse that I've felt. When I heard that Rikster was going I was thrilled that you got the opportunity to go. I hope that the trip was worth your time and money and I've enjoyed your Merc coverage. Checking out your pic's I've been able to enoy what I missed out on. Your love affair for Kustoms is kool and encouraging to see. Happy Trails, Mick
Great Pics Great stories ! I am still trying to take in all I saw and experienced ! Good time- Great to hang with old friends- awesome time meeting and making new like minded folks! A very big thanks to every one involved with putting this event together. To see so many childhood influences - Cars and Builders - all in one place at the same time will be a cherished memory for sure! LONG LIVE TRADITIONAL CUSTOMS ! MC
A32 on the right... I forgot your friends name... Glad everybody ejoys the photos and stories. I have quite a few more things to say about some of the cars... but lack the time to do so right now. So in time I will be adding more photos and info to this post. However here is some more info on the Buddy Ohanesian 1940 Mercury... I was walking around the Ohanesian car for the zillionth time and spotted an older man in an electrical cart surround by some family members or friends. The man got out of his cart and walked over to the Ohanesian Merc. Stepped over the fence- so I knew the guy must be familiar with the car. So I walked over and asked if he was mr Bertolucci. He sure was and shacked my hand. Wow you have nice warm hands, please hold then since I have these ice cold hand... which he really had, so we bonded right away. I told him who I was and that I had just done the Kolorized Cover of the Rodders Journal, which he really liked. So we started talking about the car. He explained to me that Harry Westergard worked on the car before he did. Larry had created the new grille opening, extended the hood and installed the 46 Chevy grille. Chopped the top and worked on the rear where he had cut of the top portion of the Phaeton back end, and shortened the trunk. Then the car ran with a Carson top... which I still have not seen in a photo. Buddy took the car to Bertolucci and asked for a removable steel top. Dick used a four door Chrysler top from 1940 to create it. But the top needed to be shortened in the front, where dick made many vertical cuts and hammered in into shape to make it fit the Merc windshield. Dick used to work a lot with lead, but since Harry already had worked on the car and had hammer welded everything he decided he should do it that way as well. So everything on the top was hammer welded to perfection, except for one section... The whole top needed to be re-contoured to fit the shape of the Merc body. And since we where able to look at the car from the top I can only say WOW... it follows the shape of the Merc body perfectly. At the back Dick needed to modify the trunk and sectioned above it to make sure the top flows into the body really nice. Lots of pie-cutting and slices where needed to get it all perfect. The only section that he used lead was where the top meets the body. Here Dick made an steel frame on the inside to make to top ridged and to assure a perfect fit with the body, but there, he could not hammer weld, he used lead. But I think we can all forgive him for that Dick also set in the license plate and in 1952 the car needed to be repainted so he removed the motor cycle taillights from the bumper and installed the 47 Ford taillights in home made pods to the fenders. he also molded in the previously painted stock headlights.He did not remember who did the bumper exhaust tips.. and mentioned that he could not have done it since he would have re-contoured the tips to follow the bumper shape... And the rest of the weekend every time when I ran into Dick Bertolucci we talked, and I had to warm up his ice cold hands...
Rik it was nice meeting you and thanks for helping me load and unload my Merc.Great picture's and commentary.Makes me feel like I'm there again.When do the DVD's and Book's come out?LOL!
Rik, it was a pleasure meeting you....sorry for mistaking you for Luke the first time I saw you. Thanks for the excellent coverage and fantastic pictures. Your dedication to this thing we do is wonderful and GREATLY appreciated!!!
RIK!!!! Im so glad to see your photo's, they are incredible!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for your kind word's about my car,it really mean's something coming from you.
excellant pictures rik, wish i could have been there. these cars may never be together again. thanks, mike
Is it me or do those overhead photos make those cars look like diecasts? What a great group of photos Rikster, thanks! Definitely one of the best photo post in a loooooong time.
Thanks for the outstanding photos and, (I thought the videos were spot on as well), the information on so many of the cars and builders was over the top. Well done! I look forward to more as you have the time.
Rikster, I can safely say that those were some on the BEST pictures of Mercs,I've ever seen!Sledges '40 is one of the standouts for me. Thanks for taking the time to post these pictures. Nick.
WOW, great pictures and story's Rik! Thank you so much for posting them and for the nice comments about my merc! It was great getting to know you and my respect for you is even higher now that I know what a nice guy you are! I'm glad you got to spend some quality time with Dick Bertolucci, he was a super nice guy and gave me some great pointers on my merc! I was amazed at how down to earth and cool most of the merc owners were, What a great show! Thanks again for my Matranga poster!!!
You are the "Master" Rik!!!! Great photos and terriffic narration!!! Wish my pic's would have come out as good as yours...
That was a fantastic thing to read Rik. Many, many thanks to you for your efforts. As my kids would say: You rule!
Four historical Custom Mercury's had a corner position in the building. Meaning they had basically two spots so that the cars could be set on an angle and they could be viewed the best of all. Three of them where Barris customs, The Hirohata Merc, The Sam Barris Merc and the Ralph Testa Merc. The non Barris car was the Westergard/Bertolucci Ohanesian 1940 Merc. I have always liked the Ralph Testa Merc because it is so clean and uncluttered. It has been chopped only mild and the Carson top has just the perfect proportions to give the car the right balance. A few featured on the cars I like in particular. The Henry J grille with the extended down hood. And the other are the 1949 Buick Taillights turned side ways. I talked to Bill Worden about his car and mentioned how I really liked the way the taillights flow into the fenders and are picked up by the lower rear quarters. Well let me tell you a "secret" said Bill. They did not come this long from Barris. When I did the restoration I made the extension of the taillights pods a bit smoother and made them to flow into the body better than how they ever where. And more importantly most likely Sam would have done it the same way if he had it seen it finished before he started on the car in the early 50's. The slightly over exposed photo below shows the nice flow of the taillight pods into the quarter panels... Bill brought some trophy's with him to the show and made the car look really nice at the end of Set Up Day. Bill also brought a nice photo book showing some old photos of the car, and how he had found it and about the restoration project... all very interesting. The book also had a few old color photos showing the car in a new paint job done in 1954... maroon. This is how the car was found... look at the taillight pods... a few inches shorter than they are now. The dash still looked pretty good.
It's hard to believe that cars that were SOOO beautiful were allowed to get in such bad condition! The Hirohata Merc,Testa Merc,and many other Customs come to mind. It's great to see those cars back to their previous condition. Rolling works of art!!!