Projects Unfinished Business: A 1951 Mercury Build Thread

Taillights came stock on Canadian Monarchs. Lenses are the same as Lincolns. I agree they look way better than a 'normal' 51 Mercury. Wouldn't swap them out for anything - other than maybe Packard Clipper tails......

 

October 2016 Update:
April 2011: '51 Merc purchased and disassembly began:
April 2011 through May 2014: All of the work seen in this thread (until this point) happened in that time frame
June 2014: Merc drives for the first time in 30+ years, onto a trailer headed for Detroit.
June 2014 through October 2016: Merc has sat in storage.
Life's route occasionally requires your hobbies and interests to be put on hold. I had a job offer in 2014 that I accepted, moved cities, etc, etc.... I haven't wrenched on the Merc in nearly 2.5 years, though I see it often. Well, that's about to change. In the next month I'll be moving the Merc to my garage, and progress can resume...

 

You are still light years ahead of most of my projects....the longest term I started in '84. Stripped one project to bare metal almost 3 years ago and found out I needed back surgery shortly after.....it's been sitting in the same place since. LOL Hang in there. Looking forward to seeing you back at it!

 

A few months back I moved the Merc to it's new home... and here it is. Though it hasn't seen any progress for a long time, it's still in the back of my mind. I picked up some nice 8RT water pumps for it, and I'll switch over to a wide belt at some point. I'm deciding between a few different grilles that I've picked up... Got my hands on a sewing machine. Quite a few things that need to be done before it's roadworthy.

 

I love a Merc (just like everyone else) and will be watching this one. I couldn't find the right Mercury for me (that didn't require I sell the kids) so I settled for my Capri. I traditional custom Mercury is still high on my bucket list.

 

So it's January 2019, and it appears I've officially dropped the ball on my '51 Merc build. I haven't done anything to it since I moved it two years ago. Last time I did anything substantial was April 2014. I haven't even been around the HAMB much in a few years. But, all is not lost. Don't count me out yet. I still have it. I still love it. I still see it everyday - you'd think that would be enough to motivate me. Truth is, as many of you know, other stuff in life just seems to jump in front of it. The past two years in my spare time I worked on house, Harley or off road truck projects... knowing my Merc will be waiting patiently when I get to it. I'm hoping to gain momentum this spring and move my Merc along in summer 2019. I just want to get it on the road. I still have a long list of things to do so it can be road ready.

 

I am in the same boat my friend!!!

 

I am in the same boat, my Merc is in four separate locations!!!

 

Was wondering what happened? Yes- life has it's ways.... and Priorities first. Get cracking back! last I saw, was LQQKING good, and progressing.......... Get er' done!

 

super cool build, hope you get back going on it. i have been dealing with similar problems, had a kid, hes 19 months old now, working on house, opened and closed my 2nd company, the reality is this...its not going to happen until you add it to your weekly schedule and execute it. you will ALWAYS have something else you could be doing. a major milestone will be getting it reliably road worthy, once you can get in it, pull the choke and fire it up first crank it will dive headfirst to the front of your priority list. get her roadworthy! the rest will fall into place, just my 2 cents, best of luck, absolutely beautiful car

 

The Doctah....good to hear from you. I feel ya on cars being on the back burner....got mine half painted almost 4 years ago and it's still only have painted. But, since then there's been both a bathroom and kitchen remodel, a back surgery, a daughter getting married and countless other projects that move up the list ahead of cars. It's good just having them to look at and piddle with now and then in anticipation of making real progress again. It will be great just having it road worthy and getting to enjoy it that way even if nothing else beyond that happens very fast. Still driving mine...half paint and all, but it's enough for now. LOL

 

Hi, was following your build and I was curious if the aerostar front springs were tall enough to use with the front lowering blocks?

 

Yes, if I recall correctly, I had aerostar springs with 1 inch tall front lowering blocks and dropped uprights. The front was too low with those three things, but it fit together. I removed the front lowering blocks. In post #3 there are some photos of the set up.

 

Doing some youtube searches just now for 1951 Mercs.... I see a thumbnail for a video and the car looks familiar. Yep, it is my car. Someone took all of the pictures from this build thread and made a 15 minute video in 2018, over two years ago. The comments section is priceless. I had a few laughs. Some people like it. Some people think I'm a restoration shop. Some people think my color choice sucks, most likely because it's billed as a 'restoration', versus a custom. I'm just a guy building a car by myself and funding it with my own pocket.

 

Wow! That's funny that someone would take the time to take someone else's pics to make a video....not like they could be promoting their own work there. Haha. Nice of them to do that for you.

 

Doctor D,
This was a favorite build thread of mine. Some fantastic work. Are you thinking about getting back on it after all of the very detailed work that you have into it?
Best Regards,
Mike

 

Thanks for the nice words. Yes, I'll be getting back on it. I see it every day, so there's no forgetting about it. Watching that video of my own car was reminding me of all of the time I've already spent on it, and motivating me to continue.