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40 Years Later

CARL CASPER’S KNIGHT CRUISER IS A BLAST BACK TO THE FUTURE

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Picture of Gerry Burger

Gerry Burger

Photography by Gerry Burger & Carl Casper

Carl Casper: A Legendary Name in Custom Car Culture

Carl Casper’s name has been synonymous with the custom car movement for a long time. As a teenager, Casper created his famous ’51 Chevrolet custom, the Exotic Empress. The car went on to win the 1961 NHRA National Custom Car Championship. (You know it was a long time ago if NHRA was promoting car shows!) Carl Casper is a talented guy who can perform virtually every task required to build a world-class custom car, from metal fabrication to paint and upholstery, and while many of his creations took the form of wild custom cars, they were all driveable.

The Dream of a Mercury Custom

However, when young Casper was building his early creations in the ’60s, he was aware that the ’49-’51 Mercurys were truly the kings of the customs. After the success of the Exotic Empress (which, by the way, is undergoing restoration in Casper’s shop as you read this), Casper had every intention of building a Mercury. However, the rigors of the show circuit, after which he became a show promoter himself, forced the Merc project onto the proverbial back burner. The thought and the desire were still there, and eventually a search was begun in the late ’60s for a very good Mercury to begin the project.

Finding the Perfect Mercury

After months of checking out cars, a rust-free, low-mileage ’51 Mercury was found and purchased in Tennessee. The Mercury was brought back to Casper’s shop in Louisville, Kentucky, but once again the project became sidetracked, and the pristine car was relegated to the corner of his storage building—this time for almost 30 years!

Reviving a Long-Lost Dream

In 2001, Casper decided that maybe it was time to finally tackle that Merc, and visions of sketches he had drawn way back in high school began to circulate in his mind. Before long he was penning new renderings of the Merc with the idea of building a true late-’50s mild custom. The Merc was rolled out from the dark recesses of the shop storage area and into the front workshop, where the transformation from stocker to custom would take place.

Building the Knight Cruiser

With ’50s nostalgia growing, Casper decided to build a custom that would be a tribute to the many street-going mild customs of the era. He brought together a talented team consisting of long-time friend and master metalworker Pat Keating and ace mechanics and fabricators Glen Miller and Mike Taylor.

Sticking to a Classic ’50s Design

Any good rod or custom must have a plan, and that plan must be adhered to. Casper held true to his original ’50s design, and in the process resisted such temptations as installing a new crate motor, contemporary wheels, tires, or sculpted interior. No, this one was going to be strictly ’50s, right down to the original Merc flathead motor.

A “Less is More” Approach

As a matter of fact, the entire project became an exercise in the school of “less is more.” Pat Keating has chopped well over 200 tops in his time as a custom car builder, but this Merc would maintain stock roof height. This was done because Casper believes that most young guys in the ’50s couldn’t perform or afford a top chop. Building a mild custom would truly represent the mainstream customizer of that period. Taking that thought into this century, the Knight Cruiser is also intended to demonstrate how a really cool custom can be built on a reasonable budget.

The Custom Modifications

Pat Keating began the modifications by adding a set of ’53 Ford headlight rims to the front fenders while frenching the headlights. After metalworking the fenders, a thin coat of 70/30 body lead was used to finish the panel in true ’50s fashion. The grille cavity was filled and rounded, and a full-floating ’55 DeSoto grille now fills the opening. A ’52 DeSoto front bumper replaced the original Mercury piece. Prior to chrome plating, the bumpers were filled and smoothed. The hood corners were rounded and the Merc was also nosed and decked. Once again, no filler was used during the modifications.

Enhancing the Classic Look

The hood was vented with 150 louvers, adding even more ’50s flavor in the process. The stock door handles were removed, as were the lower rocker moldings, in an effort to clean up the sides of the car without radical modification. The windshield was V-butted to eliminate the center strip, and dual frenched radio antennas rest in the front right fender. Out back, the stock taillights were lowered 1 1/2 inches in the quarter-panel and then recessed on an angle. At first glance, the lights almost seem stock, but they are obviously tunneled, making for a clean custom treatment.

Chassis and Powertrain Details

The chassis on the Merc remains nearly stock, with C’d front and rear framerails to allow for additional suspension travel. Air shocks from Air Ride Technologies allow the Merc to come some 8 inches closer to the ground. All-new brake lines and rebuilt suspension components complete the chassis.

Power for the Merc comes in the form of a mildly warmed-over stock motor. Three deuces are perched atop the flathead, and the only concession to modern equipment is a chrome-plated alternator replacing the six-volt generator. Once again, Casper resisted the temptation to break the budget with a full-house late-model engine. Instead, he opted to keep the modifications minimal yet effective. A louvered firewall adds hot rod flavor under the hood, and the inner splash panels have been modified slightly to clean up the engine compartment. The stock radiator is still in service, and the flathead simply purrs like a kitten.

A Masterpiece in Purple

With the car complete and ready for paint, Casper opted for Passion Purple, and Mike Taylor handled the prep work and applied the paint. After color sanding the body, Casper entered the booth and laid out a set of conservative yet dramatic scallops in the same ’50s tradition as his original sketches. The style worked great then and still works great today, and when a master custom painter like Casper wields the paint gun, the results are remarkable. The scallops took the Merc from just a ’50s custom to a really cool ’50s custom. The scallops set the mood for the entire car, and when Danny Taylor added some fine-line striping, the look was complete.

Scallops: The Finishing Touch

The tri-color scallops also accent the chrome stripe with a clean flowing line that connects the front of the cruiser with the rear. Keeping the scallops down low naturally draws the eye downward when viewing the car, visually lowering the Merc in the process.

The Magic of Scallops

In one of our many discussions with Casper, he mentioned his particular success with scallops. As he put it, “Hey, I love flames, and I have done a lot of flame painting in my time, but for some reason I really like scallops and panel painting. I think they are the easiest and most economical way to put a powerful, energetic charge of excitement into any vehicle’s overall design.” We must agree; in the big world of rods and customs, there are thousands of well-executed flame paint schemes out there, but the skillful scallop is a ’50s touch just waiting to be reborn. Casper went on to say, “Scallops—and flames, too—can be used to accentuate existing lines or add new ones, and they contribute a personal touch that can create magic and flowing lines on even the most boxy and somewhat boring shapes.” Could multihued scallops be the next wave of ’50s-style paint to make a larger presence on the rod scene? Only time will tell.

(See a step-by-step tutorial on how the scallops were painted by Carl in our how-to article here.)

A Simple, Traditional Interior

On the inside, Casper retained the stock seats and laid out a very simple, completely traditional and highly effective interior design. Purple pleats measure 1 1/2 inches, while the bolster areas were covered in white pearl Madrid soft side. The stitchwork was handled by Steve’s Upholstery in Louisville, Kentucky. A simple trio of gauges mounts under the dashboard in ’50s style, and a monochromatic steering wheel sports a simple custom bullet for a horn button.

A Tribute to True ’50s Customs

It took longer than Carl Casper had anticipated to build this mild custom, but then, it seems that things just take longer nowadays. In the end, the Knight Cruiser is everything he hoped it would be: a tribute to true ’50s customs, and a car that is so simple, yet so exciting, that Casper anticipates hitting the road with the Merc and attending some cruise nights. Of course, the car will also be on display at his huge annual indoor car show held in Louisville, Kentucky, but the real reason for building a car like this is to enjoy good old-fashioned customizing. We applaud Casper’s effort and control in the project. One look at this and you might want to find a good ’50s car and build a neat, low-buck custom of your own.

The shaved rear decklid is clean and simple, and the stock taillights have been tunneled into the rear quarter-panels some 1 1/2 inches lower than stock and slightly angled forward. The clean, unchopped Merc makes a great custom statement.

Pat Keating fabricated new taillight housings and then recessed them in the end of the quarter-panels. In the process, the lenses were tilted forward–a very cool effect.

In front of a louvered stainless steel firewall, a basically stock Merc flathead motor carries three two-barrel carbs. The stock iron heads remain in place, with simple chrome acorn nuts adding a bit of flash. This Merc was built on a budget that almost any hot rodder could afford. The transparent red fuel line is something straight out of the ’50s, as is the trio of carbs.

What could say “ ’50s custom” louder than a fine rolled and pleated interior done in purple and white? Casper designed the interior, while Steve’s Upholstery handled the sewing. A simple plunger switch activates the doors since the outside handles have been shaved.

From left, Glen Miller, Pat Keating and Carl Casper take a break inside the shop during the final assembly. A more talented team would be hard to muster.
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