Joe Wilhelm's 1936 Ford Coupe - The Mark I Mist

The first version of the Mark I Mist as it appeared in 1960.

The Mark I Mist as found in 2025, still wearing its original Joe Wilhelm–applied silver finish. After being off the radar for decades, the radical 1936 Ford custom resurfaced untouched and all-original. Now part of The Tim McMann Collection, it stands as an authentic surviving example of early 1960s show car craftsmanship. Photo courtesy of Tim McMann.

McMann also purchased Joe Wilhelm's old shop sign with the car. Photo courtesy of Tim McMann.

1936 Ford Coupe restyled by Joe Wilhelm of Wilhelm's Custom Shop in San Jose, California. The Mark I Mist began as a concept in Car Craft September 1959, where Wilhelm was asked to design a custom combining early-style coachwork with the latest late-1950s customizing techniques.

Wilhelm chose a 1936 Ford coupe as his base and priced the build at approximately $2,000 in parts and labor. The body was sectioned, chopped, and channeled, and the front end was reworked to accept canted quad 1959 Lincoln Premiere headlights, a 1959 Edsel grille, and handmade bumpers. Other modifications included side pipes and 1957 Chevrolet Corvette taillights. Once completed, the car was featured in Car Craft October 1960, powered by a 1957 Corvette 283 V8 with dual four-barrel carburetors and a Powerglide transmission.

In Car Craft February 1961, the Mark I Mist was highlighted as one of the nation’s ten best customs.

The Mark Mist GT

Little is known of the car’s history between 1961 and 1965, when it resurfaced in Rod & Custom June 1965, under a new name — the Mark Mist GT. By then, Wilhelm had reworked the car significantly. The grille was shortened, the Corvette taillights were replaced with a custom light panel, and the car received extensive mechanical upgrades. The powertrain was swapped for a 1956 Buick 322 Nailhead engine paired with a Cadillac Dual-Range Hydramatic transmission. The engine featured four single-barrel carburetors on a fabricated manifold, and the body was mounted on 1952 Jaguar XK140 frame rails, likely retaining its Oldsmobile rear suspension setup.

Later Years

Joe Wilhelm eventually purchased the Mark I Mist himself, keeping it in his personal collection until his passing in 1998. After his death, Bruce Glascock helped Joe’s widow, Marion Wilhelm, sell some of his belongings, including the Mark I Mist. Bruce brought the custom to the Paso Robles Cruisin' Nationals, where it was seen publicly for the first time in decades.

Bruce had sold the Rod & Custom Dream Truck to Kurt McCormick some years earlier, and he knew that Kurt was into old customs. Bruce also knew a guy named Steve Woodburn who lived in Daneville, California. Steve was very much into Joe Wilhelm cars, and he owned Al Lauer's 1941 Cadillac, an old Harry Westergard kustom. As Steve was not interested in selling the Cadillac, Bruce came up with a 3-way trade. Marion needed a new car, so Kurt traded the Mark I Mist for a new car. Then he offered to trade the Mark I Mist for the Al Lauer Cadillac. The plan worked out, and Kurt traded the Mark I Mist for the Al Lauer Cadillac.

In 2010, the Mark I Mist appeared at the Sacramento Autorama in unrestored condition, still residing in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rediscovery and New Ownership

In June of 2025, Tim McMann of Vancouver, Washington, announced that he had purchased the Mark I Mist, which had survived completely intact. “BIG FREAKIN’ CUSTOM CAR NEWS,” McMann wrote, sharing that the car had remained untouched since Wilhelm’s widow sold it in 1998. “A radical custom that’s all original to Joe’s initial build in 1959 as well as his redesign in 1963,” he noted. McMann credited Bruce Glascock for helping make the acquisition possible and described the car as a true time capsule: "Three owners over 27 years have made no changes to the car since it was sold by Joe’s widow in 1998 – can you believe that? Every bit of it is truly magnificent."

After acquiring it, McMann sent the Mark I Mist in for a light mechanical refresh and cleanup, vowing to preserve it exactly as Joe Wilhelm last built it. He plans to debut the unrestored car to the public sometime in 2026.