Influential 1951 Hirohata Mercury custom headed to auction

An icon of the custom car era, Bob Hirohata’s 1951 Mercury customized by the Barris shop, will go up for grabs at the Mecum Kissimmee (Florida) auction to be held Jan. 6-16. The rise of custom car culture paralleled hot rod culture in the post World War II period. Many shops in Southern California began customizing 1949-’51 Mercs, using the…