History MILESTONE CUSTOM CARS: Louie Bettancourt 49 Merc

Im glad to hear your honest opinion on the 3rd version and the good news is, you will probably have that opinion all to yourself.Quad headlights on a merc.... I think you summed it up....."interesting".

 

First version is just too plain for me. Reminds me of too many "customs" of today with no side trim, no driprails and too simple of a grill. I love the thought taken to adding the "right" parts rather than just taking all the details away.

 

Thanks Jeff, Yeah the quad headlights would be a must!

 

I'm pretty sure that the Zupan family would still own that car, I thought they had the title since Dean Jeffries tried to put a mechanics lean on it because because he was owed money for the work he did on it but Johnny Zupan was killed in a horrible accident while Jeffries was working on it so how could he have paid him?!?!?

 

from what i here is. if the person who owns the title has been paying the registration it would go back to them. if it hasnt been being for 7 years it going to who finds it. this is something that is happening to someone i know.

 

That's pretty interesting right there. Kustom scavenger hunt anyone?

2nd version for me, minus the hubcaps.

 

I find this difficult to believe. There have been several stories lately of cars that were stolen years ago being returned to their original title holders. I'm pretty sure the original owners did not keep the registration current for all those years.

The Merc wasn't misplaced, it was stolen! Does the guy that stole it get to find it after 7 years and then keep it? I wouldn't think so.

However if there was an insurance payout on a stolen car then i would think the insurance co. may be the owner.

Mick

 

It's just my guess that this car will surface after Dean Jeffries passes away. if the mechanics lean is still good, he could still try to claim it if the car surfaced now.

Although, that car was registered and titled in Colorado, I'm not sure how interstate mechanics leans work??

 

Colorado ?? Tell us more .

 

Johnny Zupan lived in Pueblo CO. His family owned a gas station there and by the way, I was told that they owned Junior Conway's '50 Ford.

I know a few guys who grew up in Pueblo who knew Johnny and Joe Zupan so that's how I know this stuff.

Johnny shipped the car to Hollywood to Jeffries to have quad headlights and rolled pans put on. Johnny was killed in a heavy equipment accident.

Jeffries put a lean on it because he never got paid for the work and claims it's his and the Zupan family said they owned it still since it belonged to Johnny. Then, mysteriously the car was stolen. It was dragged out of Jeffries lot with no wheels on it too leaving scrape marks on the pavement.

I know there is more to this story but that's what I've heard and I've also heard the car is here in Colorado somewhere...now that is just a rumor. Don't quote me on that.

If I find it, you guys will be the first to know.

 

Thanks for that,I knew the history and the story but I was interested in you knowing or hearing any recent sightings in Colorado.

 

I doubt that car is in running condition at all. I have asked a few people about it but nobody has seen it since around 1970 when it was stolen.

The only sighting was supposedly in the bay area and I have seen a couple pics of it in a magazine with blue & yellow CA plates which were issued from 1971 to 1983.

 

Why would someone drag a half finished car off on the brake drums, when there are so many others that run? Unless they were taking back what is theirs? This would be a great old kustom to hunt down.

 

This is getting interesting! Do you happen to know what magazine you saw it in with the blue and yellow plates?

 

I think it might have been the Rodder's Journal that had the pics of it with CA plates?
I'm gonna guess here that those were DLR plates Jeffries put on to drive it around??

R&C did a small article on the car in 1990 I think and it had a pic from 1970 of Johnny Zupan with the car. I have that issue somewhere, I'll try to find it.

 

I found those pics of it with the CA plates on FOTKI. Top right corner.

http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_car_photos/beautiful_custom_cars/barris-1/johnny-zupan-1949-m/

 

I'm pretty sure that those plates are CA temps and it had temporary taillights.

 

The sad part of this is if the family has the car and is waiting for Jefferies to pass to avoid the mechanics lean and they do "restore" it after his death they will probably finish it with the roll pans and quads as that is the way Johnny wanted it before he died.

 

The photos you are alking about come from the Barry Mazza collection. I used them in my article on the Bettancourt Mercury in Kustoms Illustrated magazine.

 

Who took those photos with the blue/yellow CA plates?

The Zupan family still operates a landfill company, that's where Johnny was killed.

I thought about calling and asking about the car but I probably would get hung up on!

 

It's been a lot of years, ya never know they might be willing to talk. Worth a try!

 

Has anyone actually asked Jeffries about it?

Brad Masterson told me that years ago, someone called Dean and said they had the car and were willing to sell it back to him, he said, "I already own the car!" and hung up.

 

If thats true then it wasn't too smart. Im sure it was probably just his gut reaction to say that but what he should have said was "yeah sure" "I'll buy it back", then have the cops waiting when they arrived with the car. And by doing that he probably pushed the car back into hiding until after he dies.

 

Who knows if they were telling the truth or not. It might have just been a scam to get $$$ from Jeffries. If it is true, then the car might be in one piece still!

 

I'm pretty sure that mysterious phone call was back in the early 80's. That response from Jeffries could have made the guy scrap or ditch the car.
Remember, back in the 80's, that car's history was not important anymore and I'm sure nobody was waiting for Jeffries to die so they could bring the car out as Dean wasn't that old then.

 

Restore the original to the 2nd version, then clone the first and third, or vice-versa....hahaha...kind of like the Larry Ernst Bel Air...shit, seeing the Bettancourt come up to the surface for air in ANY condition or version in our lifetime would be alright with me.

 

HAHAHA...Jeff, that's funny...great pic, btw...that trim is weird though

 

Welcome to Jersey.

 

I'd take the first version which might look average to some but Im visualizing it in some slime yellow color going down the road in 1951.

 

I asked my friend from Pueblo this morning about the car again, the last time he saw it was 1963 outside the Zupan's gas station and it still had the CA plates on it, which is odd.

I noticed a pic in this thread of Roth working on the Rotar and the Merc was sitting next to it so that has to be '63 or later.

I noticed another thread that said Zupan sold the car to Dean Jeffries, that's the first time I've heard that, as far as I know, Zupan shipped it out to LA to have the (gulp!) quad headlights & rolled pans installed.

Had he just kept the car the way it was, none of this would have happened!

Damn you Johnny!!