History FOUND! Kaspers "Ghost" from Milwaukee....1937 Ford Sedan

We all know there are LOTS of guys who hate sixties show cars

The street rodders pop out of the woodwork whenever a car from the late fifties/early sixties shows up on here. Think of it as a kind of litmus test. Maybe cars from that era should be banned from the HAMB as not "traditional". I wont even post photos of cars from that era on here anymore.

 

INTERESTING!!!!! The car AND this thread. We get a look back at a time when cars of this type were coming on the scene almost weekly along with a refresher course (as if we really needed one) on how the HAMB responds to anything outside the realm of todays "accepted" build style. Good or bad both will continue to fuel this message board as long as it exists. To me it's our equivalent of "tie him to the truck and drag him".

Frank

 

Very well said. The HAMB has written its own narrow definition of what a "traditional" hot rod is, and its a late forties highboy seen through a foggy distorted eighties street rodder mirror...The mods will be all over me again, but the posts on this thread, the bobbed frame horns thread, and the canted quads threads all speak far louder and more eloquently than anything I have to say.

 

Surely you mean "The HAMB 'members' have written...", regardless of the owner's definition of what "traditional" is...???

R-

 

I dont think I can really answer this is any kind of meaningful way without drawing more heat from the mods, so take it however you want. Hell, the "gospel" has already been re-written to such a degree that its really not relevant anymore, I'm just here to buy parts, get input on cad/lasalle trans and bs with a few friends every so often. Maybe I should change my screen name to Don Quixote??

Hey, we all love early sixties hot rods, as long as they are hard chopped, have TTO's with WWW pie-crusts, moon tanks, and blown hemis, right? Right???

 

CHECK PLEASE--------whataIowe?

 

I absolutely love this car. I would gladly walk past a mile of black '32 roadsters and red '57 hardtops to check it out.

 

I think the slightly cross-eyed look of the headlights is a bit strange looking, and the front bobbed fenders are odd compared to stock fenders but I would not change that car if it were mine. It is a survivor rod from that era and I personally would leave it alone. Just my opinion.

 

Anything new on this?........................

 

I think if the name of this car's builder was ROTH,you guys would have a different view of things.

 

No, the HAMB members have written defined traditional regardless as to whether it is traditional or not.

 

Ya' know, I remember this car from when it was newly built and getting quite a bit of attention in the magazines. That was well before the "resto-rod" and "street rod" trends of the years which followed - and by which many who comment are judging it.

At that time "total excess" was the norm on the ISCA show circuit and was the critera for those cars which won trophies...which was the reason they were built in the first place. This car was built to compete in the national show car arena and, by winning trophies in that arena, promote the owner/builder's upholstery business.

One of the many benefits of the HAMB is to allow accurate historical context as well as to highlight the cars themselves. It is sad that so many HAMBers skip the history lessons and go right on to the "opinions" part of the discussion.

When this car was fresh it was breathtaking in its proper environment. It was also hugely successful in bringing attention to the builder's business. It was not just flashy, it was also controversial - as intended. It did what it was built to do. That it survives so perfectly preserved is a miracle. Let's hope it is treated respectfully by the new owner as so many other resurrected milestone rods and customs have been.

And, let's hope the new owner is a HAMBer who will provide not only a well-documented restoration (if indeed a restoration is done) but will also document the true context of the times in which it was originally built while first-person information is still available. The family seems very anxious to assist in this process. Good luck to all concerned.

 

BRAVO!..................

 

Just say no to upholstered running boards!

 

Just thought about this post a few days ago.
Anyone hear from the owner?

 

I'm a fan of show cars from this era. They're shiny, strange, and definitely not boring. Elegant? Maybe not. The arguing about taste is tiring. The as found, vintage, and clean up pictures are great. Where does it stand at this point? Why is there a swastika on one spring pocket and a star of david on the other? More Pictures!

 

Having known Carl for over 30 years, it's pretty damn cool seeing his old piece. As for the haters , you'll be happy to know that he had a much more traditional deuce roadster a bit after this. At least I'm old enough to actually have seen first hand what traditional really was, rather then reading it out of a book or hearing it from many a passed down story. This place continues to amaze me how many traditional experts there are on here that weren't even alive at the time. Maybe there should be a new term called " HAMB Traditional "

 

I've often wondered what happened to this car too. I think it was a great piece of history that I hope gets preserved.

 

Well, I like it.

 

Get some pics of the engine in present time if you could, purple man-a-fre topped SBC is neat!

I dig the car, id clean it up and get it running!

 

I've been reading all the post s here and everyone should take a step back and breath. Let this individual do what he wants to do with this "lost soul" of a by gone era. When I lived in Wisconsin, I met Karl and Don at several shows and they are great people. Down to earth and Honest. I purchased several inline motors, parts from Don and really got me into the Inline power mode. These Casper's are real honest hot rodders. No flash, just hard work, great customs and implementation.
It needs to saved, we all agree on that. Someone will take on the job and just be happy it was found.

 

Well any updates on the car has it sold yet have you cleaned up any more of it. Its an awesome car and definitely deserves a comeback

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

I still own the car. The only thing I've done so far is clean the interior. I am Getting ready to reassemble the interior as well. Will post pictures soon. The car is still available for purchase. I still haven't decided on a price. Will be open to offers. I was hoping to have it reassembled and running before I sold it but I will sell as is.


GA-BOY

 

Crickets........Has anyone heard anything about this post or the car? Lots of heat....Little light..... Centurion9

 

AMEN!!

 

GA-BOY

 

Here is a few more photos of the cleanup.


GA-BOY

 

Great to see some progress on this car! Thanks for the update.....Looks like the Interior is cleaning up very well. Please keep us posted....Have you uncovered any history of the car after it left Milwaukee? .Centurion9

 

Hell yeah.....get that thing driving. Be fun to cruise it for sure. Old show rod in all it's livery. Keep 'em smiling and pissed all at once.

Glad you have thick skin....I'd have fun if it were mine too. It is what it is....but it does indeed exist. So be it. People wanna' critique mullets and afros too.....but don't wanna' post their year book photos. Go figure. Please yourself. That's an order.

 

Can anyone ID the IFS? Looks like it was done on the original build.