An icon of the custom car era, Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury customized by the Barris shop, went under the hammer over the weekend at Mecum's auction in Kissimmee, Florida, and ultimately sold for ...

For a lot of people, George Barris still is, six years after his death, the biggest name in custom American cars. He is the man responsible for a huge number of unique rides, most of them made famous ...

After gracing the covers and pages of countless hot rod magazines over the decades, the Hirohata Merc could be destined for a permanent spot in your garage. That’s because the pastel green coupé—which ...

I have been a custom guy since I first customized my '53 Chevy in 1958, followed by a '63 Ford Galaxie in 1964, but my dream had always been to customize a '49-51 Mercury in the classic early-'50s ...

HOT ROD has stated several times in the past that 1949-1951 Mercurys can be considered the foundation of the custom car craze. Nobody has proved our claim better than legendary customizer Dick Dean, ...

Q: Hello Greg! I am an old ‘51 Mercury customized flat-head man and sure remember those wonderful cars from the 1950s and then also from the 1960s. The pictures in your recent columns have brought ...

How a young Navy veteran, two visionary brothers, and a 1951 Mercury created the most influential custom car of all time. Bob Hirohata and a Post-War Vision The story of the Hirohata Merc begins with ...

I personally don't really like seeing painted flames on the body panels of a car. They tend to make the entire custom ride, no matter how amazing rfom a mechanical standpoint, look kind of cheap, like ...