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Jimmy Jones Skirts

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Von Rigg Fink, Jan 3, 2008.

  1. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

    thanks Nads Im getting alot of help from the local Kings and Queens here.. in the Murder City. Denise has been a big help and may be able to sink this one before the weeks out. gee i hope i spelled everything right here..dont need to be strung up like that again
     
  2. DIRTYT
    Joined: Oct 22, 2003
    Posts: 3,264

    DIRTYT
    Member
    from Warren,MI

    I found a card i got from cary.. ill pm you his number. he had a real wild looking skirt at billetproof but im not sure what there off of. i think he said he had a few pairs that jimmy built back in the day.
     
  3. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

    awsome DIRTYT guess its up to me to go from here..Thanks to you and Denise I have gotten one big step closer to meeting this guy and looking at his work..guess we will see how it goes from here, and if my dad takes the bait..hook and all!
     
  4. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

    Oh and Denise im working on the 'Ol man to do a conservative custom out of this car he has..maybe this summer I'll be dropping it, skirting it and scalloping it..And all with his money too..ha ha that would be a big +
     
  5. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

    I want to put some more history out there for some other guys who may know of these dudes..from the late 50's
    My dad got his Jimmy Jones Skirts for doing some engine work on a Midget racers engine (An offenhouser 4 banger) the Midget racers name was "Boobie" Logan..and the other guys involved in this were Gary and Claud Cattin. Claud also raced the Midgets..every weekend these guys would get togeather and rebuild these 4 bangers and go out and Boobie and Claud would race the shit out of them.
     
  6. That looks like Dave Jenkins 57.He bought that new as I recall.I remember seeing it in one of the small mags around 59.Still owns it.Talked with him awhile back at Riverside Park.Nice guy.
     
  7. hotrodladycrusr
    Joined: Sep 20, 2002
    Posts: 20,765

    hotrodladycrusr
    Member

    I just talked to Dad (folks are enroute to Florida) and he said he bought his pair in 1956 and paid $50 or 55 dollars. After be bought them he had to borrow money from his Dad to get back to TX where he was going to school for the Navy. Grandpa was pissed about it.

    It's not a great photo of the skirts but they are on his 1949 Olds in this photo.
    [​IMG]
     
  8. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

    kinda like father like daughter ..eh Denise? as far as the Olds go
     
  9. hotrodladycrusr
    Joined: Sep 20, 2002
    Posts: 20,765

    hotrodladycrusr
    Member

    Yeah, but I got better taste.......mines powered by Oldsmobile.:D
     
  10. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

    Ha! got em there didnt ya lady? tuche..oh i probably spelled that wrong...mmmhhnmmm wonder if the word police is on tonight?
     
  11. pimpin paint
    Joined: May 31, 2005
    Posts: 4,937

    pimpin paint
    Member
    from so cal

    Hey,

    I think I ran into a set of these at the Long Beach Swap Meet, out
    here in California, two-three years back. I was shoppin' for a set of
    skirts for a shoe I was workin' when I come upon a middle aged
    couple, they wern't Californians, when I spotted these hugh skirts.
    Hand made with round stock frame, what looked like a roof panel for
    a skin, but by the shape of the frame, they musta fit like a glove! All
    gas welded together, but for a '52-'54 shoe, nota '49-'51. Purdy to
    look at and hold, and lite,too.

    good luck with the search,

    Swankey devils c.C.
     
  12. Ron
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 1,225

    Ron
    Member

    Dave that owns the 57 Chevy said Jimmy Jones lived in Inkster(like someone else said), Dave said they called them Inkster skirts. He said he paid $120.00 for his back then. He said he would drive the car over there, then Jones would come and make some cardboard patterns to fit the car, then make the skirts from those. Like already said Dave bought that car new and has had ever since, and he is super nice guy.

    BTW If you like the 57 it should have a spread in Kustoms Illustrated in an upcoming issue with more info and pix.
     

    Attached Files:

  13. I grew up in Inkster and Jimmy skirts were indeed done here. I think that is the only thing I am proud of from my Old Hood. The 57 is from Ypsi I believe.
     
  14. I love that 57. My 1956 chevy was a 210 hardtop and looked exactly like this 57 without the scallops. I remember that I could put a pack of cigarettes, turned on it's side, under the skirts. That's how low it was. It rode like a truck, but I didn't care, I was cool. The skirts instantly made you cool. Great times.
     
  15. flathead4d
    Joined: Oct 24, 2005
    Posts: 898

    flathead4d
    Member

    Jimmy Jones lived in the city of Inkster back in the 50's. I saw a pair of his skirts at the swap meet in Belleville last year. They were in pretty sad shape and I didn't ask how much the guy wanted. I assume they didn't sell so will probably be there again this year when they have the ford swap meet. The guy usually sets up in the north west corner of the swap meet outside one of the buildings.
     
  16. Jimmy Jones had a friend at the local junkyard and he had several tops from long sedans on hand to provide the shapes he needed for the skirts. He had patterns for the most popular cars of the day. he basically knew the shapes that were the closest to what he needed for a particular design. He then added the lips and bracketery needed to make the skirts. He would "tweak" the shape to fit the car on his bed of coals. Then he shot them with primer and that's how they were delivered. The prices were very high for the day, but he was the only one who could do it like he did. Others tried, but no one did it like Jimmy Jones. He had a string of rich, white kids driving into his driveway every day to hand him several weeks pay for a set of skirts. Be hard to emulate what he did today because the materials that he used are long gone. Not many unrusted top metal around today.
     
  17. hotrodladycrusr
    Joined: Sep 20, 2002
    Posts: 20,765

    hotrodladycrusr
    Member

    Randy, did you ever call the guy on Merriman Rd? I found a shot that I took at Billetproof of the skirts from that guy. Was probably the same guy at the Belleville Swap too. That's him sitting with the hat on and his Edsel in the background.
    [​IMG]
     
  18. Von Rigg Fink
    Joined: Jun 11, 2007
    Posts: 13,418

    Von Rigg Fink
    Member
    from Garage

    No ..HRLC I never called him.. My dad lost interest and decided to see if he could find another stock one to match his other side. He just got them both back after paint and is waiting for spring to install them..

    Strange too because i had talked to this guy at the Belleville swap meet, but about something totally unrelated. Freaking small world.

    I still have his number, and who knows one day..maybe.
     
  19. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

    I'm not sure how I missed this thread, You folks are right they were called Inkster skirts, cause Jimmy Jones lived in Inkster Mi., I was just a kid at the time but I still know guys that were pal's with Jimmy Jones, they said at the time you would go into junkyards and see several cars with big holes in the roofs where Jimmy had cut out the metal,... from what I am told by his old buddys, in the late 50's the IRS came down on him with both feet,.. it took Jimmy a long time to dig himself out of a big tax hole,.... after that he flat refused to ever build any more skirts, or show anybody how he did it.

    If anyone is interested in a follow up and more details, next time I down to the Detroit area I'll go talk to the guys and get the entire skinny.
     
  20. thesupersized
    Joined: Aug 22, 2004
    Posts: 1,367

    thesupersized
    Member

    i have a pair of steel needle nose skirts on my shoebox...not sure who made them, but would appreciate it if someone knew!! here's a crappy picture of my crappy car...cant wait till my car is done!

    [​IMG]
     
  21. Psychobilly351w
    Joined: Feb 6, 2008
    Posts: 226

    Psychobilly351w
    Member
    from 732- NJ

    Isnt that in some song... "Whos Jimmy Jones" sorry I went to school in the hood with thugs..
     
  22. The Ford & Merc Restorers Club has members that have had lots of these. Contact either Harry McAuliff (sp) or Jim Chapp. Jim had some on a couple of 55-Fords a few years ago. He's an old friend & car buddy I haven't seen in years. Try FMRCOA.org for details. The Dearborn Swap even though it's titled a "Restorers Meet" has more rod parts than restorers parts. Sold a few items there myself years ago when I was a member.

    Movin/on from Oregon
     
  23. lonewolf
    Joined: Sep 2, 2006
    Posts: 392

    lonewolf
    Member

  24. kustombuilder
    Joined: Sep 18, 2002
    Posts: 7,750

    kustombuilder
    Member
    from Novi, MI

    i worked with the man's son-in-law about 3 years ago (GM Lansing Craft Centre building the Chevy SSR). we had a couple pretty good talks about the man. i realy enjoyed hearing the stories. the family still (as of then at least) had a stack of patterns for skirts to fit different cars that were left in his garage after he passed away.
     
  25. terry54999
    Joined: Nov 2, 2009
    Posts: 112

    terry54999
    Member
    from livonia mi

    these are the skirts on my dads 61 ford, He got them from Paul Hatton sometime in the 80s. by then they had been around a long time. I'm not sure what car they were originally made for, but they fit the slab side '61 pretty good. hand formed and real frail at the leading tip. 3456789.jpg 56789.jpg image.jpeg.jpg
     
    Sancho, harpo1313, OG lil E and 4 others like this.
  26. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,348

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    There were a lot of imitations. Scan0288.jpg
     
    Sancho and OG lil E like this.
  27. s55mercury66
    Joined: Jul 6, 2009
    Posts: 4,335

    s55mercury66
    Member
    from SW Wyoming

    Someone posted a pic here on the HAMB some years back of an old car in a Michigan junkyard that had some needle nose skirts sliced out of the roof, and thought that Mr. Jones had been there.
     
    Sancho, OG lil E and stanlow69 like this.
  28. 4D85E8E7-9E6F-4B4D-968C-61D6D2B75079.jpeg Bishops wrecking yard is where he would get most of his raw material..here’s a set I stumbled across a few years ago...in Inkster!!!
     
  29. stanlow69
    Joined: Feb 21, 2010
    Posts: 7,348

    stanlow69
    Member Emeritus

    This is the most informative thread on Jimmy Jones I`ve have read yet. Can someone post what Jimmy would ask when a customer wanted a pair. He asked about 3 things. One was what he called the rainbow. The arch or something in the skirt. The customer would return the next week with his car and they would be ready. Dave Jenkins first set was stolen at a dragstrip. Had to have another set made. He told the story one year at the Custom Car Revival in Indy. The pic`s I have of his car are still on my camera. Also talked to him for a bit there too. Also, can someone show where he (Jimmy) lived on a map and also where Bishop`s was located.
     
    OG lil E likes this.
  30. Bishops is still in business today off of Michigan Ave..Dave Jenkins told me Jimmy liked messing with “the white boys” his skirts were in demand, so im sure those young boys were a little nervous being in that area...but they had to have em..as a white boy that growing up in Inkster I definitely was in the minority... but it was a fun place to live.. wouldn’t change it for the world

    http://www.bishopautowrecking.com/
    Freddy Bishop was a cool dude..always good stuff in the yard...all late model stuff now
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
    OG lil E, Sancho and stanlow69 like this.

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