He was from Green Bay, Wisconsin before moving to California in the mid-80s. Or, Jeff Johnson's '50 Merc affectionately known as "HAMMERD" (W.E.H.T. It was orange but it had scallops not flames. I'm sure that the folks that were at those shows early on will come up with something-they always do! Eįrom your description, it sounds like you're describing Dick Crouther's '50 Merc (W.E.H.T. The Merc isn't ringing a bell I'll keep my eyes open as I research books and magazines and see what I come up with. Until next time, get in that custom and go for a ride! E I hope he is still with us cruising around in his wild Ford, having fun throwing flames and putting lots of miles on it! I'm sure some of you custom faithful out in that area know Jim and "Sh-Boom" and may have seen him from time to time over the years. Jim seemed to stay pretty close to his own Ohio area as well as Indiana. Sometimes finding pictures of shows like the Double Date, as well as the James Dean shows in Indiana every year can be tough. It looked unchanged from 1996.Īfter that I have no more information. Noble was there showing off his custom with pride. The last time I found the car was on a great video that our own B was kind enough to send me a copy of. So, I think it's safe to venture a guess that this is the same Ford. It's the same number on the videos I saw it on as in the photos I found. As I watched the car on video, I took notice of the license plate on the rear. You may ask how I know this is the same car as it really changed ALOT by then. On the video, there was a great close up shot of the back of the car as Dennis bent down to explain how flame throwers work, as well as some great shots of Jim shooting flames during the flamethrowing "exhibition". It still had the super bubble skirts on it and an outside sunvisor. The connie kit had "Sh-Boom" lettered on it as well as a subtle slotted third brake light. I gave them a pass as they are sunk in a good ways and disguised pretty well. I know they aren't traditional, and many guys wouldn't use them on an old time sled, but they do work well on this sled in the extended rear quarters. It had extended rear quarters with a connie kit and late 80s or early 90s Cadillac taillights. The flames on the front and the skirts were the same style as before. The grille had been changed to a straight bar with bullet ends. It was chopped and no longer looked like a sedan, but more like a coupe. Jim's shoebox had transformed quite a bit by then. Incidentally, on the show coverage, the host Dennis Gage interviewed Roger Jetter ( and his brother Dan along side of their "Hint of Mint" '57 Chevy. They covered the KOA show on that episode and I had to record it. I have an old video tape of an episode of "My Classic Car" that I recorded off of my TV on TNN (The Nashville Network) from 1997. The next time I found the car was at the Kustoms of America 1996 Double Date Show in Richmond, Indiana. The car looked pretty much the same as it did back in 1991. The next sighting of the car was on the 1993 Leadsled Spectacular video from Springfield, Ohio. You'll notice that there are no nerf bars yet, and the car was white with no flames. I believe the picture printed in that book was actually before the version of the car I just described on the '91 video. The car was featured in the first KKOA book from 1993 on page 102. It also had "Sh-Boom" lettered on the trunk lid. They were also painted along the fender skirts. They weren't solidly painted from the nose back. The car was white with light blue flames that were just outlines across the hood of the car and down the sides of the fenders. It featured four frenched '59 Cadillac bullet taillights. It had rolled pans front and rear with homemade style nerf bars and a Merc grille. It had dual frenched antennas just below the driver's side quarter windows with music notes painted by them and "Sh-Boom" close by in tiny letters. The car had dummy spots, was fully shaved with bubble skirts and moon discs. The first time I saw the car was on the 1991 Leadsled Spectacular video shot in Hamilton, Ohio. Jim bought the car in the late 80s, and with the help of some good friends, he put together a nice mild custom. It took a lot of time studying pictures and video to determine if it was the same car as it transformed from mild to wild. This week's custom is one that really changed over the years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |