He does look like Jerry Garcia! But that is Keith putting some gas in the Bloody Mary. Keith and John (Chevbucket) are the ones who resurrected this old coupe.
I am just astounded, it's a real shame, that absolutely false information about Bloody Mary was printed in the Vancouver Sun as above. Firstly, I installed the Cadillac 331 and hydro in an Esquimalt, B.C. wrecking yard, as described earlier in this thread, by myself, no help from anyone, and certainly not from some clown named Baby Huey...How dare you? Secondly, as to probably the most striking candy red lacquer most anyone has ever seen, I very much resent this fairy tale about Keith King, or Frank Wratten, or I, "blurting out" the car's name because of the paint...just absolute hogwash and totally false...any interested reader of this thread will recall my own 60 year old memory about how Bloody Mary got her name....I've never, ever heard any other explanation, I believed it a lifetime ago, I believe it today...if for no other reason than I've never heard anything to the contrary, and it's a rather simple, understandable (and mundane) vignette that's gotta be just as old as the car itself. Bloody Mary (and every one of her former owners) deserves far better treatment than these falsehoods, these absolutely untruthful, shameful and very careless statements. I can tell you, professionally, and I know exactly who you are, that much of what you've authored/provided here is not only defamatory, but actionable as well...You should let the Sun know who you were really talking about, perhaps a retraction is in order and you three should at the very least apologize to every reader of this website for your miserable, rather hateful, remarks.
Hi, everyone - Here are the Polaroids from late spring of 1976, that is to say Bruce and Sylvia Chater 's thoughtfulness way back then is the only reason we're able to now see what became of Bloody Mary so long ago, so very long after her time in the sun. Those metal guys out there may find Bill F's cutlines to be a bit odd, and not what most of us might expect....yeah, but.....look at the product, kids.....those welds, while maybe looking a little unconventional, resulted in what most everyone must admit...one of the most perfect chops ever attempted on a 39-40 coupe....just perfection on the hoof....and many thanks to Xu at Prism Imaging here in Victoria, without whose expertise these old pix would never have been published. Lastly, a word or two about the extraordinary candy red created (read custom-mixed) by Frank Wratten, using Rinshed Mason (now BASF) maroon toner in true nitrocellulose clear lacquer....even fifteen years later you can see, eg, doorjambs etc, how the paint just popped, just absolutely exploded in the sunshine, best caught by my dear Auntie Gladys' kodachrome as Ross Beasley and I cruised past on the annual May Day Parade in Victoria, as posted...nor have I been able to even think that depth and color (AND DEPTH)..0h, and the depth...can ever be reproduced or captured nowadays, nitro lacquers and toners were outlawed (for good reason) three generations ago and the synthetics I've seen may be very pretty and very shiny, but there's just no character to the paint...it's just paint, at best some well done old-fashioned metallic to my eye.....I'll say it again, you could look down into Frank's masterpiece for a mile, (Best Paint in most every car show she was in, save when those yokels up-island thought my brake fluid application (ACCIDENT, ACCIDENT) ruined everything....yeah, bunch of yokels.....
Would love to see this car at Deuce Days in Victoria in July 2019, Hope it will be there! Very cool car for sure !!
I don't see many '39 Fords compared to the 1940 cars. As time goes on, I see more of the beauty of the 30's, 40's and 50's cars...their lines, trim and general sculpture. Especially the art deco touches. Things I didn't see when looking at the same cars years ago. I've never noticed the beauty of a '39 Ford grill as much as I have just looking at the photos of this car. Just to add, I'm glad to see the wire wheels are off this car.
Hi, Dan - You've really put your finger on some genuine issues re Bloody Mary that nobody has resolved yet, to my knowledge. Firstly, Dan Enyeart, who wrote and published the Popular Hot Rodding article so long ago simply made up most all of what's printed there...(rather like the Vancouver Sun a short time ago, to my frustration.) Dan found Beverly and me playing tennis not far from where Bloody Mary was parked that day, with her fresh candy red just on fire, of course, in the sun. Dan introduced himself, praised the car and kindly asked if he could take some pix. He didn't really interview us/me, I don't recall us discussing the build or its details very much at all....and he was gone, never saw or talked to him again, 'tho Beverly and I were pretty thrilled by the coverage....And, I don't know if I really want to confess the truth re that article, since I've been riding that not-entirely-true glory train for a lifetime... however, I DID NOT install the '40 dash, I DID NOT put a different front end/clip on it and so on...plus, the chop was perfectly done in the first place as I've said earlier...and so on and so on. My own notion was that Bloody Mary may have been put together (maybe even IN Canada) by Ford to be shipped and/or sold as a Canadian export/import, using whatever parts were at hand, (who cares? those crazy Canucks?) and rather like they'd done re Australia and South America etc., I dunno. It's not really newsworthy about how it worked back then, (even now, to some extent), carrying models over, and glitzing them up a bit or vice versa...but if that were so, where'd the unique and singular (and marvelous) '40 Ford dash come from? and the pair of '39 taillights? ('39 Standards only came with one taillight)..and don't forget, it's confusing to see an original '38 Deluxe beside a '38 Standard, same for 1939, Deluxe and Standard...really, really CONFUSING! I've always thought Bloody Mary had a '38 deluxe grille, (which it did, more confusion, but it's a '39) and that's just a vague memory from what little looking around I did years ago. I can absolutely promise you 'tho, that the car was manufactured that way, just the way you see it. There is absolutely NO evidence that the dash and other stuff was installed later, it's all as "factory"as it could be...it's just weird all the way around...nor could I ever really pin down the headlights, can't find them anywhere...I've talked to purist Ford guys over the years, and none of them had any sensible answers either...Now that Bloody Mary is getting more well-known, perhaps some true-heart Ford guys could provide some knowledgeable info about what's going on. Sorry to create more issues than I can solve, but it's still pretty interesting...and puzzling, I think....and makes Bloody Mary more unique than ever. best regards, Barrie Neff ps. Did a bit of homework, particularly in Dammann's "90 Years of Ford" and on p. 214 all was revealed (well, not all, but....) Bloody Mary is/was a 1939 Standard Coupe (primarily 'cause BM has fixed quarter windows, which opened on the Deluxe). Unfortunately, the newly installed 1938 Deluxe grille, side panels and hood are not correct or original, (that is to say, they weren't on the car in 1939, nor when I built/finished her in 1963). The chrome headlight rims themselves, however, seem to be quite unique and are not even remotely like the American '38 or '39 coupes, Standard or Deluxe, 'tho the fender openings for them appear to be identical.....and I leave it to others to perhaps explain what is clearly a (very beautiful and iconic) '40 Ford dash.
pps. Looking through an American "auta-buy" I came across an ad for a 1938 Ford sedan, and there were the very same headlights as Bloody Mary's, and were on BM when I first got her. Since my conclusion that BM was/is a '39 Standard was based on a pretty narrow clue (quarter windows opening or not) I think now it's fair to say that BM is in fact a 1938 Ford Deluxe Coupe....but still very odd with that '40 dash...more over, the recent installation of a '38 hood & grille is completely appropriate. BN
love that car, but damn it the those dual bolts pattern chrome wheels drive me crazy.. it's a better look for sure on that old hot rod...
Having ridden in Bloody Mary with Keith the owner, it is amazing how much attention the car gets from people as we drive by. Thumbs up, smiles abound, cars slow down in the next lane to look at it. Riding in this chopped coupe is an experience. And kudos to Keith and John, it handles and drives very well.
Found these old pics of the Bloody Mary and the Orange Crate at a car show at the Victoria Curling Club. May 1960. The Mary was owned by Brian Kirk at that time and had a hopped-up flathead for power. I remember seeing the Bloody Mary at this show and it was a thing of beauty. You could see for miles into that paint job! The Orange Crate is another old time Victoria hot rod.
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