HOWEVER, a number of years back, Dick decided to tackle building a Chopped  '49 Merc.  Now he had NEVER built a Custom up until that time, in fact, in all of his years building some of best Roadsters & Hi Boys to ever hit the streets, Dick had NEVER chopped a top !

Once a Montana rust free-dry '49  was acquired and in the garage, Dick proceeded (with some encouraging help from Mr. Darryl Starbird) to craft one of the smoothest Mercs ever done !

The chop was spot-on perfect, the running gear was all-Ford, and the Lincoln seats were upholstered by Dick's wife, Lois...who even imported the Wilton Wool headliner fabric from England.  And the color ?   Can you say "Red" ? !

Dick  & I met and became friends at Darryl Starbird's many years ago, and it was at the 14th Annual Induction Ceremonies in 2009 at the Hall Of Fame Museum that we sat down to do this Interview.  Dick, and his wife Lois, have been to the Museum many, many times, and Dick has some very great observations about both the Museum AND Darryl Starbird.

Listen and enjoy these stories from a life-long street rodder/builder/owner, and one of the nicest people in the Industry: Dick "Magoo" Megugorac.    JK

(Top of  Page: Dick's Chopped '49 Merc on the cover of the 2003 Custom Rodder Calendar; Above: Dick's '29 Hi Boy; Center: Dick's Hi Boys on the 1979 & 1987 Covers of  Street Rodder; Below: Dick & Lois where you could normally spot them:  On The Road ! )

NOTE: Top photo of Merc/Calendar from JK's personal collection; other photos on this page courtesy of  Street Rodder Magazine, and Custom Rodder Magazine.

(For a great story on Dick and his career, see Brian Brennan's story on the Street Rodder WebSite .  And, Chris Shelton's story on the Custom Rodder WebSite covers more info on the Merc.)

TO TAKE AN ON-LINE TOUR OF THE NATIONAL ROD & CUSTOM HALL OF FAME MUSEUM JUST CLICK-ON THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.darrylstarbird.com/index1.htm