Joe Bailon's Custom-Built "Tall Candy T" Surfaces on Hagerty MarketplaceA significant piece of custom car history has turned up for sale on Hagerty Marketplace, where a 1974 hot rod built by Joe Bailon and nicknamed the "Tall Candy T" is currently drawing bids from collectors who recognize the name behind the build.Bailon is one of the defining names in American custom car building, credited with inventing Candy Apple Red paint and standing alongside George Barris as one of the two dominant forces shaping the California custom scene from the 1950s through the 1970s. A documented Bailon build carries a level of provenance that few customs from any era can match, which is part of why this particular T-based creation is generating attention well beyond typical Model T money. Readers curious about how Barris-built cars trade today can see a comparable case in this one-owner Lincoln once customized for Elvis Presley.The build itself backs up the pedigree. Bailon constructed the Tall Candy T on a custom chassis using Jaguar independent front and rear suspension, an inboard power disc brake setup, a custom driveshaft, and a quickchange rear differential, a combination of parts that had nothing to do with the original Model T and everything to do with a coachbuilder working without a parts-catalog budget. Power reportedly comes from a 2.8-liter V6 pulled from a 1970s Mercury Capri, feeding through a two-barrel Holley carburetor and out through chrome headers and Cherry Bomb mufflers, with a Ford C4 automatic sending power to 15-inch wire wheels. That Capri connection is worth a second look, since clean survivors of Ford's captive European import have quietly become one of the more interesting corners of the affordable classic market.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe cabin carries the same level of custom detail. The front seat is trimmed in brown leather while the rear passenger compartment and side panels are done in tan cloth, all wrapped around a four-spoke mahogany steering wheel mounted on a polished brass column tied into a Ford steering box. Stewart Warner gauges, brass lantern-style exterior lights, full running boards, and period-style fenders round out a car that reads as part limousine, part hot rod, and part rolling art piece.Ownership history adds another layer of appeal. The current owner acquired the car in 1996 and has put fewer than 2,000 miles on it since, showing it nationally and completing two refurbishments, the most recent in 2018. Paperwork tells its own quirky story: the car carries a clean Oklahoma title issued in the name of the owner's trust, listing it as a 1909 Ford, a reminder that customs like this one often get titled by whatever data point a state's DMV will accept rather than the year they were actually built. The auction includes a matching 2014 Cargo Craft enclosed trailer, along with a collection of memorabilia, a signed Joe Bailon T-shirt, and a custom car cover, effectively a turnkey package for a new owner.What the Market Says About the Underlying CarsA one-off custom like the Tall Candy T doesn't have its own line in a price guide, but the cars it's built from offer useful context. Hagerty Valuation Tools currently price a #3-condition 1915 Ford Model T Touring at roughly $15,000, with values down 21.1 percent over the past year and nearly 40 percent over three years, a reflection of a shrinking, aging buyer pool for brass-era cars in stock form. The donor engine tells a different story. A #3-condition 1977 Mercury Capri II, powered by the same 2.8-liter Cologne V6 fitted to this build, prices out between roughly $8,967 and $12,400 according to Hagerty, and the model's three-year value trend is up more than 23 percent as buyers rediscover Ford's forgotten European coupe. Recent Bring a Trailer results echo that strength, with clean Capri V6 examples selling in the $12,000 to $24,000 range over the past few years.That divergence is the whole point of a car like this. A soft market for stock Model Ts says little about what a documented Bailon build will bring, because buyers aren't shopping it against brass-era touring cars, they're shopping it against other pieces of custom car history. Vintage hot rods with real period pedigree, like this restored 1954 Mercury Monterey gasser, tend to hold interest for reasons that have nothing to do with a price guide's brass-era category. As of this writing, bidding on the Tall Candy T sits at $12,250 across five bids, with the auction scheduled to close on September 14.AdvertisementAdvertisementFor collectors who care about who built a car and not just what it started life as, that context matters more than any price guide line item. The full listing, photo gallery, and bidding history for the Tall Candy T are available now on Hagerty Marketplace.⚡️ Read the full article on MotoriousSign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
+66 others
