Look on page 7 of this link. You can see the car in the background shot that Rikster posted of a Merc convertible. So it was at a custom show in 93 in Tennessee.
Wow, it does have a lot of similarities, @rudestude. If @Sancho hadn't noticed the shaved drip rails, I'd almost say it could be the same car. They both have 5 rows of louvers on each side of the center of the hood. But, the Juarez Merc is a '50, and the Merc rudestude posted is a '51. Man there were ALOT of Mercs around in those days! E
Ya..well it was worth a shot....drip rails ya they can be removed in between rebuilds but to swap rear glass would be a lot of work once the top has been layed down.. I will just keep flipping the pages and see what else I can find......thanks guys...here's a pretty one to hold ya.. I will post the rest over on the other thread... Sent from my QTASUN1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
That's George West`s Merc from Kentucky featured earlier in this thread. It is now maroon and in Canada. It had a diesel motor in it. Thanks again for Ed for featuring it.
True, but John still owns it and I can't imagine taking off the rails and then putting them back on! and YES, keep posting the photos you come across. I love seeing additional photos of these cars as people find them. I also add photos of the WEHT cars when I see them, even if they were back in this thread.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 109. 1950 Ford "Gina's Jewel" Owner: Dick Drushel Columbus, Ohio Before we get started this week, I have to apologize for posting another car without owner information. I research these cars quite extensively and I'm embarrassed when I can't find all the information. That's the way it goes I guess, as there are many kustoms and owners that seem to fall through the cracks. That's why we're all here right? To find the answers. This week's sled is another car that transformed a lot over the years. I first found this car on the 1991 Leadsled Spectacular video from Hamilton, Ohio. Over all it was very mild in a dark color that looked like maroon with white scallops on the hood and down the fenders. It had the typical mods like shaving, molded lake pipes, '54 Pontiac grille in black primer, frenched taillights and so on. It was grainy, but the car looks to have Ohio plates on it. The next time I saw this Ford was on the Leadsled video from 1993 in Springfield, Ohio. This time the car had changed a lot. It had been chopped and had the wild stacked quad front end installed. It had a custom molded front bumper with bullets installed in the lower corners under the stacked headlights as well as a '58 Buick grille. The rear quarters had been extended with a Continental kit and had '54 Mercury taillights installed as well as a molded back bumper. It was hard to tell in the video, but it looks like it either had rod molded to the body to imitate '56 Buick style trim, or it had Buick-like trim painted the body color. It was painted a light blue with white in the area separated by the trim. It had blue flames in the white area and white pinstriping on various areas of the blue. It had blue and white candy stripe tuck'n'roll. The next time I found the car was on a video that @John B sent me of the '98 KOA Double Date show. The car had changed again. This time the front end was re-worked some with the headlight opening extended so the bullet was in the same area as the headlights with a different molded bumper section installed. The '58 Buick grille was gone, replaced by a '49 or '50 Mercury grille. The car was covered in baby blue suede with wild white flames. In a detail close-up shot you can see where "Suede today, paint tomorrow" was lettered towards the bottom corners of the front fenders. A visor was added. Now, I have to back track a little bit. In my researching this car, it seems like Jim Noble and his '51 Ford (W.E.H.T. #106) were always close by tonight's car in all the video I have of it. Also, on the '93 video, the car drives by the camera and you can see Jim riding shotgun as they cruised the fairgrounds. Obviously there is a connection here. I'm sure those of you that knew Jim Noble (@John B, @Ron, @KustomLincolnLady and others) may know the owner of this car. I'm hoping someone will have more pictures and information. Speaking of pictures, I was only able to find one off of the Carnut website. It appears that it was taken at one of the James Dean shows. After months of scouring, this is the only picture I could find. You can see that it had a different paint job and grille than it had when I last saw it on video in 1998. I'm also re-posting one picture from the Jim Noble write-up (W.E.H.T. #106). You can see "Gina's Jewel" parked in front of Jim's shoebox. As far as printed information, I found nothing. This car has been very illusive. Sorry the information has mostly been my trying to describe the different looks of this car over the years from video, but that is all I could come up with. Let's hope we can put more of the puzzle together on this one and find out who the ambitious owner of this car was that always seemed determined to change up his (or her) sled every year. Until next Tuesday, see you 'round! E
That's the car alright! Way to go @Sancho! Even more changes since the last picture from Carnut. It will be interesting to see if it's still owned by the same person. I think we're going to solve this one! E
His name is Dick Druchel (spelling?). Him and Jim Nobel went everywhere together locally. I ran into them a lot back in the 80s n early 90s when we had local cruises here in central ohio. If memory serves me correct he performed or a least helped with the chop on Jim's ford. I've been trying to find pics and article's on both these cars that I had but can' locate them. They were a lot of fun at the cruises. I haven't seen or heard from them in a long time but there should be some pics from the James Dean/Ducktail Runs of both of these cars plus others in their caravan. E you're correct in saying that the car changed a lot, I think he changed it every winter. I liked the early version best, but I'm partial to traditional over wild. Had a lot of good times with these guys, RIP Mr Nobel.
Thanks for the information @DANSLED. It's always neat to run into "custom crazies" at car shows and runs. They help create memories that last a lifetime! E
Great pic John! Like 'em or not, you have to admit they are a head turning pair! I would have loved to go for a cruise in either one! E
I gotta say them coming into the Butler County fairgrounds was a good shot in that video from 1998. I sent Richard II a friend request and also sent him a message. The Drushel's are from the Columbus area
You're right John. That shot of the cars cruising in the video is one of my favorite parts of it! Timeless type stuff. I'll update the city in the post. Thanks for the info. E
I also sent a message to who I believe is Dick's grandson on Instagram I haven't received a response although we are "following" each other now.
We found the owners name, the location and determined that it's still around in the same family. In less than 48 hours. We should start a detective agency.
I’m game as long as we get jackets with our names on em. just kidding! Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
Yes I remember both cars at a lot of shows I was at. Both cars and both guys cool. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
What Ever Happened To..........? number 110. 1951 Mercury "Baby Blue" Owner: Manny Bastio Clark, New Jersey This week's car is one that caused quite a stir when it first appeared on the scene. I guess it was the unusual hardtop treatment to a four door and the crazy look of a subtle chop and possible section job. I'm still on the fence about that one. Is it sectioned or not? The kandy blue with white interior didn't hurt the shock value either! I first saw the car in the December 1991 issue of Rod and Custom in their coverage of the Leadsled Spectacular in Hamilton, Ohio. I think the main thing I've always liked about this car is the grille. Very unique and in a style that goes back to the 50s. Another unique mod that I've always liked but unfortunately couldn't find a picture of was the frenched antennas. The car was known as "Baby Blue". The words Baby Blue were molded into the top of the quarter panel on the passenger side and the upper holes of the "B's" is where the antennas came out of the body. I went ahead and scanned the picture out of the December '91 issue of R & C to share. I seem to remember Manny's Merc being in quite a few magazines, but my extensive search in magazines and books only turned up this photo. I can't say for certain when the construction of this sled began, but I found a picture of it that looks to be in the early stages of its construction. This picture was taken by @00 MACK found on Rikster's site. I also found another picture of it in the same 00 MACK file where the car is much further along. I would guess that since Mr. Bastio was from New Jersey that he frequented a lot of the big shows on the east coast. I'd say that he was a regular at Lead East, but I really don't have a lot of pictures or any video of those shows, so I'm hoping you east coasters can provide much more information and pictures. In my video search, I found the car at the Spectacular for three consecutive years. It was at the '91 show that I mentioned above, as well as the Spectacular in 1992 in Holland, Michigan, and again in '93 in Springfield, Ohio. After '93, the trail faded away and I found nothing else. It seems like this great custom was around for just a few short years, but even now when I look back it gets those old Merc goose bumps going again. Let's hope that we can find more information about it and its owner Mr. Bastio. See you next week! E
I remember this car being advertised in hemmings probably 10 or so years ago. it is sectioned, at least that is what the ad said
Those doors look like a lot of potential problems. Jeez, keeping those adjusted musta been a full time job!
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