Jimmy Summers,'40 Mercury convertible. In this rare color photograph, with
the Carson top removed, Summers' metallic green Merc represents the best
of an era of customizing largely lost to us because there were no car magazines
then and few remaining photos now. With its channeled body, chopped windshield,
raised fenders, sectioned hood, shaved chrome, teardrop skirts, removed
running boards, chrome gravel shields, and a handmade grille similar to
a '39 Buick, it epitomizes the smooth, slick '40s custom. Initially Ruby
Maroon, it was built about 1946, but Summers had been crafting customs like
this since the '30s in his L.A. shop. The car was sold to someone in Texas
around 1950, and reportedly ended up in South America.