Kustom Kemps of America

Jerry Titus

Description

(from the book)
The year was 1978 and I was sitting in the back booth of the Pizza Hut in Mulvane, Kansas, splitting a deep pan with my good friend, Darryl Starbird. Our friendship was close, and I had always respected his opinion on just about anything to do with the automobile, and especially the “kustom” vehicle. Not only is Darryl a champ at building kustom creations, he is also one of the top auto show producers in the U.S. For some 21 years I had been in the shadow of this high-energy, often unbelievable, man helping him build cars and produce car shows–a schooling that isn’t available in any six-month course or college anywhere. I had cruised with him on the high roads, and crashed with him on the low shoulders. Believe me, auto show producing is not for the weak or conservative.
But my interest was up, boosted by a recent writeup on ‘49-’51 Mercs, and front cover spread of a chopped ‘51 Mercury, by Street Rodder magazine, which at the time was predominantly a “pre-’48” street rod magazine. Someone shared an interest I felt I might be the[…]”

Sujets

• Automotive
• Transportation
• KKOA
• Edelbrock
• Antique
• Automotive industry
• History
• Classic

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 1993
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781681622859
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 11 Mo

Extrait

The History of Kustom Kemps of America 1980-1993
by Jerry Titus
The car stories on pages 30-184 were written by and for KKOA members.
copyright Kustom Kemps Of America, 1993
Published in the United States of America
By Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas
Publishing Consultants: George Southern and Helen Lance
Design by: Riedel Communications, Hays, Kansas
Table of Contents
the KKOA story
why the Chopped Merc issue?
the legend of the Merc/Deuce ReUnion
what it s like to be Number One?
no big deal...Honest!
in the beginning
KKOA officials
charter clubs
the organizational meeting
M.K. John
hall of fame
the premier edition of Leadsled er
what s a Kemp ?
awards of excellence
an early Leadsled er cover
just cruisin
stories of the kemps
the KKOA story
by Jerry Titus
The year was 1978 and I was sitting in the back booth of the Pizza Hut in Mulvane, Kansas, splitting a deep pan with my good friend, Darryl Starbird. Our friendship was close, and I had always respected his opinion on just about anything to do with the automobile, and especially the kustom vehicle. Not only is Darryl a champ at building kustom creations, he is also one of the top auto show producers in the U.S. For some 21 years I had been in the shadow of this high-energy, often unbelievable, man helping him build cars and produce car shows-a schooling that isn t available in any six-month course or college anywhere. I had cruised with him on the high roads, and crashed with him on the low shoulders. Believe me, auto show producing is not for the weak or conservative.
But my interest was up, boosted by a recent writeup on 49- 51 Mercs, and front cover spread of a chopped 51 Mercury, by Street Rodder magazine, which at the time was predominantly a pre- 48 street rod magazine. Someone shared an interest I felt I might be the only one in the world who really gave a darn about. I will always be indebted to editor Pat Ganahl (then editor of Street Rodder ) for giving me the inspiration to take the chance, just as he did.

The president of KKOA, Jerry Titus drives his own personal cruiser as often as possible; it s a 1958 Chrysler, mildly customized, and on a big California rake.
why the Chopped Merc issue?

by Pat Ganahl
Jerry Titus has often said that the August 1977 Special Merc Issue of Street Rodder magazine was more or less the impetus for his founding of the KKOA. So he asked me to lay down a few words to explain what motivated me to do that issue of Street Rodder .
There were two reasons. The first should be obvious-I, along with a small group of cohorts including Dave Bell, Greg Sharp, Harry Bradley, Rod Powell, Joe Eddy, Jerry Weesner, and others, had always loved the early customs and couldn t figure out why they disappeared in the first place, or why the street rod movement excluded them. And the chopped 1949- 51 Merc was king of the customs, in my book. If I d had any bucks at the time, I would have built one myself.
But I had actually been including early-style customs in Street Rodder since I first got there. In fact, the first Special Chopped Merc Issue was way back in November 1974, featuring Charlie Lopez silver Metalflake Merc on the cover and the American Graffiti Merc and Jerry Weesner s drawings showing how to chop a Merc inside. Other issues included Bill Thompson s Carson Top 47 Ford, Pete Chapouris fine 50 Chevy hardtop, Harry Bradley s La Jolla chopped 51 Chevy full custom (which he still has), and certainly not least, Jerry Titus bitchin 54 Buick and Steve Parks 56, just to name a few. Don t forget the Dave Bell heading to my Street Corner editorial column that featured a louvered roadster chatting with a chopped, full-custom 48 Ford.
I spelled out the second reason in the editorial of the August 77 Merc issue. While chopped Mercs certainly weren t cheap, 1949- 60-vintage cars were, and they were readily available. I saw mild-custom 50s cars as a very affordable entry-level alternative to increasingly expensive traditional rods. Plus, these were the cars we hopped up or customized in high school: 1949- 54 Fords, Chevys, Oldses, 1955- 56 Pontiacs and Buicks, 1955- 57 Plymouths, 1958- 60 Impalas, and so on. On most of these cars you didn t have to change the suspension, steering, driveline, or even the engine in many cases-just shave em, paint em and drop em, and you have a cool car.
Probably the most amazing thing about that 77 Merc issue is that we could only find 15 chopped Mercs, from around the country, to put in it. Today you might find 10 times that many at one event. But I m still preaching the practicality of building mildly customized 50s cars. It s been 15-plus years since that Merc issue and Mild Custom editorial, and a dozen since the first KKOA Leadsled Spectacular; this thing has plenty of room to grow yet.
As we finished off the pizza, I shoved the tray aside, grabbed the sack that lay beside me, and brought out some crude-looking papers scrawled with print and even cruder illustrations. Darryl was always a good listener, and because what I was getting ready to lay on the table was a long way from mainstream, late- 70s street rodding, I believed him to be about the only one in the world who would understand. Again, little did I know that many would ve liked to jaw about the same subject.
Darryl, I said, you ll probably think I m crazy, but I want to produce a show.
The comment surprised him. After all, I was always the helper, not the producer, and I had never put on a show of my own. Right away I made it perfectly clear that it was going to be an outdoor event, and not in any way a competitive indoor show such as he was producing. I m not saying I wouldn t produce a indoor event now, but I ll never produce one in a city or town where he does, and the reason is simple! Darryl and Donna Starbird are my close friends; nuff said.
I want to put on a national event for kustomized Mercurys of 1949- 51 vintage, and call it the Mercury ReUnion, I continued.

Nobody does show n shine better than kustom kempers do. And they proved it at the 1984 Street Custom Spectacular in Des Moines, Iowa.
His reply was, That s interesting, and I know you like the ol Mercs, but I don t think you d get 10 of them to show up.

Bubble-top king and KKOA Hall of Famer Darryl Starbird and wife Donna warm the bench at a Cabin Fever sock hop in the late 80s.

This photo of the KKOA Clubhouse gang, taken during the 1981 Christmas season, includes (left to right) Allen Ames, Elden Titus, Jan Coe, and (seated) Jerry Titus.
Man, you talk about pulling the sparkplug wires on my high-revving anxiety. Here was this man I truly idolized, and furthermore, respected his business opinion to the max, telling me it wouldn t work. It really brought me down. But as I look back now, I know my friend was only trying to be my friend, and tell me his truthful opinion.
As we said goodbye in the parking lot, and I headed for home, the comment about 10 Mercs kept coming back to me over and over again. It must have been the early morning when it came to me, but it made me sit up in bed, then get up and head for the old manual typewriter downstairs. As I put the shift key on caps and locked it, I started typing out the new name for the event I knew I was going to put on-The MERC/DEUCE REUNION!
It was a natural! Deuces (1932 Fords) are regarded as the all-American hot rod, and the 1949- 51 Mercs the all-time classic kustom. The muscle and cosmetic sides of hot rodding together again...perfect!

Flames are hot and lady kempers are kool, and both are more than welcome at all KKOA events.

The Koolest Cruiser Contest has become one of the most popular attractions at KKOA events. This action shot is from the 86 Leadsled Street Custom Spectacular, in Springfield, Missouri.
the legend of the Merc/Deuce ReUnion

This event was created to salute the two styles of vehicles that symbolize the world of hot rodding. Although it helped me move toward founding the Kustom Kemps of America, it never has been a KKOA event, nor has it ever been produced with any of that organization s money. Hosted by the Kontinental Kustoms and the Hollywood Deuces, this once-every-five-year event will only be presented five times, and each event is five days long. All profit from this event has been, and will be, donated to the Harry S. Truman School for the retarded in Kansas City, Missouri.
The first event in the series was held in 1979 at the Kansas City Raceway where 311 Mercs and Deuces participated, vying for the coveted seven-foot-high trophies. The 1984 ReUnion was held at the Kansas Coliseum in Wichita, Kansas, with 587 entries. This time the champs received a one-of-a-kind hand-built jacket stitched with King of Mercs, or King of Deuces, on the back, plus a $1,000 cash certificate stuffed in the pocket. The third ReUnion, held in 1989 on the Clark County Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ohio, attracted 1,712 Mercs, Deuces and Friends, with the same rewards given.
Two more ReUnions are scheduled-in 1994, and 99. Locations and dates will start appearing in national print approximately 18 months prior to the event. As one hot rodder once said, There are three things you gotta do! You ve got to go to the Street Rod Nationals once, the Leadsled Street Custom Spectacular once, and the Merc/Deuce once...and then you can go to hot rod heaven.
And if you re lucky enough to own anything (T-shirts, dash plaques, or other memorabilia) related to any of the ReUnions, hold on to them; they are very quickly becoming big-time collectors items.-JT
So it was nose-dive into promoting for the next eight months. I threw the cap lock on again and again, and in my two-fingered Mickey Spillane style, set my old typewriter to smokin . Finally the big day-August 8, 1979-was almost here, and as I was at the drag strip I had rented, picking up trash and grooming the area, I saw my first chopped Merc cruise by, a sight I hadn t seen in years. I ju