The Mickey Ellis Photo Collection

Shelby Cornett's 1947 Chevrolet Convertible. "This is another example of how low our cars sat, as this is how Shelby drove it every day." Shelby was a fellow member of the Stags of Ogden car club. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

How low can you go? A low angle shot of Shelby Cornett's 1947 Chevrolet Convertible. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Good friend and Stags of Ogden car club member Ray McMullin's 1941 Cadillac Coupe. This photo was taken as it was put back together after just being painted Candy Red from its original dark Blue color. Mickey believed the event took place around 1959-1960. "Jack Harris may have been the painter," he told Kustomrama, adding that Jack painted a lot of the Stags cars back then. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Another shot of Ray McMullin's 1941 Cadillac Coupe. This photo shows the custom interior Ray ran in his Candy Red beauty. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

A photo of the Carlson Pontiac Model T altered drag car taken at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Ron Maxwell's 1934 Ford 5-Window Coupe at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Rob's '34 was originally built in 1954. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Dave Jorgenson's 1955 Mercury convertible at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Dave was a member of the Falcons of Salt Lake City car club, and his mildly restyled Mercury featured a shaved hood and molded headlights. The emblems were shaved from the front fenders, and the front end appearance was simplified by removing the bumper guards and the vertical teeth. When the car was shown at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama, it was painted in grey primer. It was lowered all around, and ran Oldsmobile Fiesta style hubcaps and lakes pipes. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Karl Henderson's 1951 Mercury at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Karl's Mercury was originally restyled by Earl Mitchell for Stags of Ogden member Noal Johnston. Noal bought the car when he was 17 years old, in 1957. Karl bought the Merc from Noal. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Kent Lee's 1954 Mercury four-door at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Kent was from Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a custom body and paint guy, and the Merc showcased his skills. Kent's green Mercury, named "One Step Beyond", was shaved for door handles, and it featured a gold panel paint job with a fogged effect. It was lowered all around, and it was dressed up with dual spot lights and lakes pipes. The lakes pipes lowered the appearance of the car additionally. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Mickey Ellis' 1956 Mercury at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Mickey was a member of the Stags of Ogden car club, and he bought the Merc in 1959 so he had something to drive besides his hopped up fendereless Model A roadster. This version of the Merc featured distinct scallops by Mickey. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Dick DeCarver's 1953 Ford hardtop at the at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Dick was a member of the Falcons of Salt Lake City car club, and his car was nosed, decked and shaved for door handles. The hood was louvered, the headlights were frenched and the stock grille had been replaced with a 1954 Chevrolet grille that Dick had fit with extra teeth. The wheels were dressed up featuring Oldsmobile Fiesta hubcaps. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Mike Hemingway's 1948 Plymouth sedan at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Mike was a member of the Falcons of Salt Lake City car club, and his lowered four door sedan was fit with a custom upholstery, dual spotlights and later model hubcaps. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

Noal Johnston's 1956 Mercury at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Noal's Merc was nosed, decked, shaved for handles and lowered all around. Custom accessories included lakes pipes, dual spotlights, Fiesta style hubcaps and a custom upholstery. The car was painted dark green. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

A photo of Dennis Titensor's 1956 Chevrolet convertible taken at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Dennis' mildly customized Chevrolet was radically lowered all around, shaved for handles and fit with a custom grille, hubcaps and dual spotlights. At the time the car had also received a scallop paint job. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

A photo of fellow Stags of Ogden member Shelby Cornett's 1955 Chevrolet convertible taken at the 1960 Stags of Ogden Custom Autorama. Another mild custom with the Utah look according to Mickey. In the late 1950s and 1960s there were very few full or radical customs in Utah, but most cars were very low. Shelby's Chevrolet was nosed, decked and shaved for door handles and emblems. It also seems to be fit with 1955 or 1956 Oldsmobile headlight rings. In addition to crossbar hubcaps, Shelby's Chevrolet did also feature a tarp over the backseats and steering wheel cover. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

A photo of fellow Stags of Ogden member Lyle Mason's 1956 Chevrolet. Lyle's mildly customized Chevrolet was shaved for most of it's chrome. It was nosed, and most likely decked, and the door handles were shaved. Custom accessory included lakes pipes, dual spotlights, a tube grille and Dodge Lancer hubcaps. As you can see, the car was also lowered radically. This photo was taken at the 1960 Stags Custom Autorama at the Ogden Rodeo Arena. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

A photo of Mickey with his 1956 Mercury at a car show in Salt Lake City. Mickey bought the Merc in 1959 so he had something to drive beside his hopped-up Model A roadster. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

A photo of Stags of Ogden member Lyle Mason's 1956 Chevrolet taken at the 1962 Stags and Road Hawks Custom Autorama. This photo was taken after Lyle had un-chopped it, installed a smallblock engine, raised the suspension, installed racing slicks, and gone racing. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

By 1960 Shelby Cornett had sold his 1947 Chevrolet convertible and bought a 1955 Chevrolet convertible. Mickey recalled that he sold the '47 to fellow Stags member Ralph Wiggins. Ralph drove it for a year or so before he sold it to Junior Bright. Junior was going to make a show car out of it, "so he had a whole bunch of engine and undercarriage stuff chromed." Unfortunately, that was about all that ever got done to it, and it ended up sitting outside for years. Mickey recalled that Junior would not ever consider selling it, so it just sat. What happened to the car after Junior passed away is unknown. Hopefully, it is stashed away somewhere. In this photo, the old custom is sitting under a tarp behind Junior's ambulance company. Photo courtesy of Mickey Ellis.

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Mickey Ellis of Ogden, Utah. The Ogden area had a strong car scene in the 1950s and 1960s, and cruising Washington Blvd, the main street of Ogden, was the thing to do every night. Mickey got his first car, a 1949 Chevrolet in 1956. He was 16 years old at the time, and with the help of a friend, the inline 6 in the Chevrolet was shortly swapped with a Studebaker V-8. Mickey drove the Chevrolet until 1958, when he conned his dad into helping him buy a channeled Model A Roadster. Local Bonneville racer George Imaizumi built the 296" flathead for the roadster. In 1958 Mickey became a member of the Stags of Ogden car club. A club that was started in 1957. According to Mickey, there were around 10 to 15 different clubs in Ogden at the time. In 1959 he bought a 1956 Mercury so he had something to drive beside the roadster.

In 1977 Mickey completed a 1940 Mercury custom. The '40 was originally owned by Don Telen, and it was featured in Hot Rod March 1957. Mickey took some amazing photos back in the 1950s and 1960s that he has shared with Kustomrama so we can show you all how the scene in Ogden look back in the days.