History Harold Murphy's "El Matador" Story, Pt. 1...

HAROLD MURPHY'S "EL MATADOR" STORY: PART 1...begins with Murphy's life-long love of that landmark custom that was built by the Legendary BILL CUSHENBERRY.

Murph & myself had a great late-nite Interview Session in Salina and he gave me his complete personal "El Matador" Story to share with you here on the H.A.M.B. IN FACT, there was so much material in the Story that I had to put it into 2 PARTS ! I've just now finished editing PART 1, and wanted to get it on right away.​

Through the years, the El Matador went through many owners, including BOB NUGENT (H.A.M.B. Member & Hot Rods Online Webmaster.)​

PART 1: If you've EVER seen this unique, rare, world-reknowned custom, you definitely have to hear this tale told by the man who would eventually, like the "Rise of the Phoenix", bring it back from the ashes of destruction and restore it to its former glory !​

It all starts when you click-on this Link:
http://d10514412.u46.c5.ixwebhosting.com/gpage156.html​

My best to all ! Hope those impacted by "IRENE" are safe & able to get back to normal soon !!​

Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net​

NOTE: Above pic Courtesy of the Rikster ! Thanks again, Rik !​

 

Cool link! I just wish there was a way to pause or stop the narration. (I'll have to hunt it down after work and check it out)


I couldn't read it now but is this the same El Matador that runs around West Palm Beach FL or is that a clone?

 

Thanks for including me in this story.
I owned the car in the seventies.
To answer the post above, that is the same car. There is a clone out west, but the one in Florida is the original that was resurrected from the ashes. They are often confused.

 

When I saw pictures of the real El Matador after Murpfy restored it I could not believe the late model mustang motor and worse yet that god awful modernized interior.
What a disappointment. I do not know if he changed that since then of if the car is still deflowered. I never cared for the car again. El Matador and Cushenberry's memory deserved a whole lot better than that.

 

Wow, it only took 3 replies before someone started sniping. If you took the time to understand, Cushenbery was consulted during the resurrection. The Ford motor was correct to the car when it burned. When I owned the car, it had a 289 hipo that had been installed by Ford Motor Company for the Ford cavalcade of Customs. That was destroyed in the fire. The Ford engine was correct.
Harold Murphy brought it back from the dead. I think Bill Cushenbery would rather see the car restored than crushed.
Please don't turn this thread into a trashing contest, that would truly be an insult to Cushenbery's memory..
Thanks Jonnie King for the interview, it was really enlightening and helps those of us that are loyal hotrodders understand the past.

 

I always take the time before I comment and I am sure that Mr. Cushenberry when consulted politely kept his mouth shut.
It's not about the Ford engine it's about the looks of a late eighties fuel injection manifold in an iconic '60s custom.
Regarding the interior Murpfy updated to a tilt column and used a stock late eighties black rubber plastic mustang wheel, the center gauge on the console has all the charm of the finest Pep Boys had to offer and the metalflake in the dash coves is replaced with silver paint.
The guy is supposed to be a painter for crying out loud.
And I looked up current pictures and the stock black plastic mustang wheel has now been replaced with a cheap black aftermarket threespoke covered in white plastic or leather.
All this may display well in Florida or Brooklyn but when you own a car like that you play on a national level where people respect history. The sad thing is that the interior could be changed back to original in a short time with a relatively small cash outlay.
But in closing it's his car and he can do whatever he feels to do with it.

 

My compliments to Jonnie King for bringing these interviews to the internet so that we can hear from the people that have made the history of this hobby. My compliments to Harold Murphy for saving an icon that would have been lost forever. It is one hell of a story. I wish Bill Cushenbery was here to share his recollections. He was in my opinion, one of the greatest builders in the history of the hobby.

 

The car is currently in my garage. Harold is letting me take the car to the Rumblers show in Daytona this weekend. While it is here I am doing some clean-up on it.
The eighties fuel injection is no longer on the car. It now has a carb on it. The steering wheel is usually covered at shows. I agree the interior could be a little closer to original, but it is easy enough to change(and believe me I am trying). The pieces on the sides of the dash are aluminum, not paint.
When he first rebuilt the car he drove the shit out of it, that is why he updated everything. Now he does not drive it as much. He was here earlier and is talking about striping it and repainting it. I am just happy he is letting me drive and store such a piece of history.

 

Mike i will be over to take it all in tone of my favorite customs ever.
Nice interview.
you lucky bumm..

 

This is the original interior.

 

hotrod1940, THEKID49, beyondhelp, squigy...

Thanks so much for the kind comments ! Murph is a super talented builder in his own right but bringing the El Matador back to life was truly a Herculean task...as you are fully aware of.

His love for that car, and his passion to acquire it for restoration came through in every word in the Interview. I watched him throughout and his excitement and expressions were like watching a kid talking about his first love !
http://www.legends.thewwbc.net/gpage156.html


Murph put his heart and soul into that car...and when I finish editing and Post "PART 2", those of you who are not fully aware of some of the problems he encountered during the Resto will understand how difficult it truly was.

Mike...Enjoy your weekend with the El Matador ! (Watchout for possible door dings & paint scratches )

Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net

 

It's one of my favorite kustoms, late model drivetrain or not - it looks fantastic, and I love that it has roots here in Kustom City.... good old Wichita. Two thumbs up!

 

Love this Kustom.

 

For Pete's sake, it's "THE" El Matador. Just be glad that it's still here in some form for us to enjoy and someone had the forethought to bring it back to life, especially after the fire. Also, thanks to Jonnie King for continuing to pass on these interesting interviews. I enjoy them although I don't always comment.

As a side note, several years back, I was walking through random rows of cars at the Daytona Turkey Run....and there it was...The El Matador... just parked in a row with the other cars. My jaw dropped to the ground and I couldn't believe it. I felt privileged that I got to see it in person, despite the updates.

 

The clone looked great when it was done, I don't remember details about it, but I heard that it was all brazed together and the body filler wouldn't stick to the brass, did that issue ever get resolved? I never saw it after it was in mags back then-

 

Thanx for the insight Johnnie. Love to get historic info on super cars like this baby. You da man. Dan Greenbergs photos from Salina of this car are so exciting with his magic touch. You are a generous bro to share all this. ~sololobo~

 

that was the only custom I ever liked I first saw in the magazine then at a car show in Montreal the proportions looked right.

 

sololobo...Thanx man ! You're right about Dan's photos, way kool !

M.Edell, Skirv, weez, jeff/21...

Thanks to ALL of you also ! Seeing this car in-person, knowing all of the work Murph put into it, will truly "make you a believer" !

Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net

 

You are SO right ! Bill was from Wichita, then left to head for California...but as with most, his true Mid-West roots were ALWAYS there !

Thanks again !


Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net

 

Jonnie, Thanks for posting this. Like lot of others, I have always loved "El Matador". To me it was always one the best looking radically customized show cars of it's type. Some time ago, I read the story of the resurrection in one of the magazines and am looking forward to part 2 for more details. I am just glad the car is still around, even with the changes. It is also good to hear it is being driven and used instead of being kept as a display piece only.

 

Here is the car as of about 20 minutes ago. I have spent all week buffing, waxing, and fixing a few minor problems in order to take it to the Rumblers show this weekend. Murphy was over last night and we were talking about finding the correct steering wheel and the speedo for the dash pod. That will help bring the interior back where it belongs.

 

man it still looks great , an awesome car , glad its still around ,

 

Still one of my favorite cars ever! Cant believe the effort he went to save it,way too far gone for most.Shows how much he cared about it.Any idea what the wheel and speedo are from?Is or was the car for sale anymore?

 

Yes! It's the REAL deal!!

 

The wheel and speedo in it now are just aftermarket items. I have looked in the old books, and I'm not sure about the speedo. The wheel is called a few different things. I think it might be DeSoto like the dash. Still checking. He has it for sale, but is not really trying too hard.

 

Please make sure you change the column with the wheel ! It still amazes me to look back at the pics of the resto to bring this car back from the dead!

 

I plan on it. Going through some books tonight, the original wheel and speedo seem to be '55 DeSoto. Just like the dash. So now it's time to find them.

 

I had the honor of Mr Murphy allowing me to come out to his home a year ago and drooling over the car for a couple hours. Thats the car that got me into kustoms to start with. I was like a kid at Christmas. I am going to clone her one of these days! There may be a few things people dont like about it now, but the fact that its here at all is just amazing.

 

The speedo in the turned up headlight bucket was from a 49 Ford.

 

Mike...

Got a call from Murph this afternoon. He said he trusts you all the way with the El Matador .

And, yes, if anyone is in that area of Daytona over the weekend, be sure to see this legendary car in-person at the Rumblers show ! You will not be disappointed...it's superb !!

JK www.legends.thewwbc.net