It's stunning in color! Love the green, but I don't dislike any of the colors. I already have the '55 grille and I'll be changing out my wheels to closer emulate this car, it's perfect. Is it possible to freeze-frame the blue color? I'd like to save that one in my inspiration folder. Maybe with a blue top? That'd make it a bit closer to my sedan.
According to Kustomrama: Jerry's car was lowered to two inches from the ground and fit with fender skirts so it looked like it glided over the surface of the road. I assume they mean the back, because the front sits considerably higher? Looking at the picture, do you think it sits 2 inches from the ground at the back? (And where would the 2 inches be measured from - where I have inserted the red arrow?)
I would assume 2" was the lowest point on the car, not that the whole car was 2" above the ground, uniformly. And I would say the area you have your arrow at would be the lowest point on the car, since the rockers seem so much lower than the bumpers on a '52.
Thanks Squablow. My car has been lowered and bagged and the tunnel done (see below - note, in the pic of my car, the front is a couple of inches too low), but the rear can only get to just over 4 inches at that same point where I've inserted the arrow on Jerry's 52... When I raise the front to the same height as Jerry's, it has a nice negative rake, but the rear is still too high. So it's off to get the chassis notched to get that extra 2 inches in the rear!!!
Jerry's Ford was always a subtle beauty. Nice to see it brought back to recognition on this thread. Now its got another more HAMB'ers wheels turning
Here is the link to kustomrama:http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Jerry_Quesnel's_1952_Ford some more 52's here:http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=1952_Ford This '52 went thru several transformations,I like the Watson version.http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Pete_Angress'_1952_Ford
I think Jerry Quesnel's 52 is the nicest 52 ever - way more subtle with the PERFECT stance. It's amazing what lowering it can do to a 50s custom. I'm loving the transformation of mine so far in the picture above - from 14" wheels and radial white walls, to 15x5 rims, 3.25" white walled Coker Classic cross-ply tyres, and the lowering so far. 2 and a bit more inches in the back of mine, and a little raised in the front, and I think I'll have nailed the stance..! Then it's powder coat the rims black, install full-moon wheel covers, re-do the back lights and quarter panels to 53 Ford with 54 Olds lenses, and install fender skirts. (Still not sure whether or not to put on the original gravel guards or leave the scoops with teeth that I currently have?!?!) Then paint away the flames and pin-striping (I'm thinking of making the whole car the dark green of the rear), and I'll be done..! Dave
I agree. And those who might think today that cars weren't extremely low back then, they just weren't there to see it first hand! In many cases, cars were as low as they could get them. Without hydraulics or bags.
That's the problem with not having bags. When I finally get mine as low as Jerry's 52 in the back, without the ability to raise it on the fly, I would never be able to get it in my driveway or drive it over 30 mi/hr anywhere here in Australia.
How many of y'all know that this well-travelled Victoria was also a movie star? Not many, I'll bet...but it was. Apparently one of the cars in the road race sequence of this film blew its motor in the very first scene - you can see the heavy smoke roll from the exhaust when it happens. Although the editing of the race - an improbable combination of drag race between 8 cars and a road race through Big Tujunga Canyon - is very choppy, it would appear that the Quesnel car was a last-minute stand-in and participated in the rest of the race footage in stead of the one with the blown motor. Okay, teen hot rod cult movie fans, what movie was it and when was it released? Edit: Never mind. That was more likely the Pete Angress' '52, probably still owned by Bill Moore at the time, not Jerry's '52. Both would have been in the early stages of construction at that time. They were only a few years old. Still a very interesting piece of custom car history, no? Anybody know the movie?
"Hot Rod Rumble", starring the unforgettable Richard Hartunian and the lovely Leigh Snowden, released in 1957 by Allied Artists. Just one of many hot rod cult films of the mid-'50s that will live in our memories forever! It's now on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcOAucU1RnM
The notching and extra 2 inches have been gotten!!! My car is now sitting as low as it needs to at the back - approx. 1 and a bit inches at the same point as Jerry's in the back (ie, where the arrow is). The rear ride height will come up to 2 inches (at that same point where I've inserted the arrow on Jerry's 52). With the front raised to the same height as Jerry's, it has a nice negative rake. Once the overlay fender skirts go on, I think it's gonna be awesome. I am so happy with its stance.
Here's an updated photo after the wheels have been powder coated gloss black: Next to do is shave the mirrors, remove the door buttons and install electric door poppers, install fender skirts, put full moon wheel covers on the front, and paint it all the dark green of the rear of my car, hence removing all the flames and pin-striping. Is the dark green on my car a traditional colour of 1954/5 period?
The Jalopy Journal
