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Tale of the Blue Mirage


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This past weekend, I was at my buddy Chuck's place. Chuck stores my Trans Am. I've known Chuck for well over 25 years now, ever since I transferred to Buick City in the early 90s. He was an hourly supervisor in the vehicle test lab area. He's a GM retiree but a Ford blue oval guy through and through. It amazes me who he knows in the kustom car industry. A shorter list would be who he doesn't know. He known the Alexander Brothers, Sam and George Barris, Dean Jefferies, Bill Hines was called "Uncle Bill", "Big Daddy" Ed Roth (Ed's widow Trixie stays with Chuck when she is in town for the Frankenmuth show), Gene Winfield, and "Candy Apple Red" Joe Bailon. 

So like I said, it's a shorter list of who he doesn't know....

Anyway, while I was helping Chuck pull down a couple of 351 WIndsor motors he was selling, he showed me some pieces he had just acquired off the internet for $250. These were the front bumpers and the front seats off of the Joe Bailon's Blue Mirage '50 Merc.

Here is what the Blue Mirage looked like back in the day - it was built for Sonny Morris at the time.

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...and this is what it looks like today.

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So the new owner cared nothing for the old bumpers or seats, so this is what Chuck purchased. The front and back bumpers, the mounting brackets and the two front seats - which swivel and are really heavy mofos. Chuck hopes to sell them to someone who is doing a custom Merc in the future and who can appreciate Joe Bailon's legacy.

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Just as a footnote. Joe passed away in 2017. I had the good fortune to meet Joe on a couple of occasions with Chuck.

It took Joe 10 years to develop and perfect his "Candy Apple Red' technique. Something we take for granted these days. We are truly indebted to these legends of the kustom car industry. I, for one, will be sad when they are all gone. Gene Winfield, Carl Casper, and Darryl Starbird are about the only "old timers" left. Luckily I've had breakfast with Gene and I've met Darryl. Funny thing is Carl is from Flint but I've yet to meet him (he now lives in Louisville and he's in poor health).

Edited by Frosty
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