Hi all, I've been a long time rat rod admirer but never owned anything that would qualify. I've owned some ratty cars but nothing that would get a thumbs up... For a few months I've been thinking of selling a couple cars I was attached to get one that really got my blood pumping, and my wife was on board but never saw anything that I could afford that I was willing to give up these two cars for. I was just window shopping on craigslist when I saw a 55 Merc Montclair for sale with a 352 with a 427 crank and a 4 speed and decided that I would be willing to sell those two cars to have this. It is a true rat rod in the sense that it has its share of work to be done. It is quite rattley, and pretty much nothing works except the drivetrain, brakes and brake lights, most of the blinkers, and you can have the windows in any position you want as long as you want the passenger and back windows up and don't mind that if the cracked driver's side window is up, there is a 1" gap between it and the back window! The frame is good, it has a sticker good till next April, it runs and drives and is @#$%^&* loud with the unmuffled sidepipes. I have had an absolute blast driving it and have never had the experience of getting a thumbs up every few minutes. To be honest I am not too familiar with this site and I do have a couple of technical questions for you guys- one having to do with air in the hydraulic clutch line (already tried the usual procedure) and one with the passenger door being a PITA to latch. What would be the proper place to ask those questions? I look forward to having some conversation and someday helping out a newbie like myself! No pics yet as all my pics are on my phone, and my phone and laptop (where I'm typing this from) do not get along. This weekend I will take some pics with my camera and upload them. Thanks!
Welcome, but you won't find any r. . .r. . .s here. This is a traditional site. You can find a lot of good information here and answers to your questions. Just keep the term r. . .r. . . to yourself. Just possibly you might not understand the term, just because a car needs work doesn't make it a r. . .r. . .
To the unwashed, everything not finished and everything old is a Rat rod even their mini van. Come on in and take a shower and look around. It’s a dirty word around here.
All the more reason why Newbies should spend a little time navigating around the site before posting stuff and learn what the place is all about. Stick around black55merc, your Montclair sounds like a fun ride.
Welcome with your under construction car. RR is not accepted here but stick around it is a Great Place!
Pretty sure @black55merc has a different understanding of the word(s). His Merc looks “ratty” to him, as in knarly, rough, begging for love...just as our rides did when WE were newbies. Welcome aboard sir. Things will settle. Looking forward to pics! Good luck.
In the past, I would have popped some popcorn and taken a seat. Shit was about to hit the fan, however... in today's environment, who know's? I like my popcorn old style!
I will be honest, I did not spend much time on this site before I posted. I saw alot of gorgeous old cars and trucks and the word "jalopy", and saw this site as a place where there was an obvious abundance of talent and knowledge on older cars. I have an immense respect for the talent that goes into building a car as original, or a car that is designed to look very not original - I won't use the R word- but mechanically sound. The responses from 55 Ford Gasser, Lothiandon1940, roadster1927, and shutter speed gave me the inspiration to give it a second shot... So call it what you want- my Merc is a car that appears to have been gradually modified/ignored to the xth owner's whims to the point where it now has what I believe to be the original 352 block with a 427 crank, I assume probably bored out but who knows, a BW 4 speed, flat black paint, missing trim, floorboards that have been patched who knows how many times, drivable with non-functioning almost everything but the drivetrain (except for the air in the hyd clutch which is eventually one of my questions). She has nothing if not an abundance of character as I explained in my original post. Shutter Speed hit the nail on the head about how I feel about her- "knarly, rough, begging for love..." and I plan to make her my own, but she is already not "original" and will still not be when I am done making her mechanically sound, not sacrificing any of her character. I have searched for a site that I thought would fit the bill and came up with this one, so how about a second chance if I promise not to use the R.... R... word again? Let's just call it a car that needs work, as 55 Ford Gasser said?
Welcome...well you have been schooled on the r,r thing and it sounds like you understand what thats about..alot of the problem with new guys coming into the hobby , in the traditional hot rods and customs part of it, is that they are picking up the slang terms and what things are about from all these tv shows and movies, was going to say publications but they are going away, street talk. And if you go by all that crap your going to have 20" wheels , fake patina, and "Old School" everything on your "Sick" ride. In my opinion, the best way is to buy a stack of old "little pages" ...old hot rod magazine's from the 50's...and other old hot rod and custom publications, and read up on and get some info and understanding of the history of this great hobby. Then I bet you will have a better understanding what its all about...if you didn't live it ,thats probably the closest your going to get. Anyways enjoy the ride ,be safe..and that car is big enough so when you come to any pot holes on here , you can just run over them and keep on cruising. Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
.......Welcome, welcome, welcome! Glad you are staying around. I admire your ability to take some honest criticism and good natured ribbing and not take it personally. You are just what we need around here. Keep us posted on the progress with your Mercury........Don.
Welcome! Be sure to fill out your profile (location, etc.). You might be surprised to learn there are other HAMBers near you that would gladly help with the Merc.
Thanks for the 2nd chance! Yes I sure did step in it I guess! No 20" wheels ever for this guy and no fake patina! Here are some pictures. According to the seller, this setup (stroking the motor and 4 speed stick conversion) was done in the 70s and taken to the dragstrip regularly. Not sure if he got that info from other POs or just figured it from the several different dragway stickers on the back window... anyway I tell you one thing I have never had so much fun behind the wheel of a car as I've had with this one. No RudeStude, unfortunately I did not live the '50s, but my teenage years were in the 80s driving cars like my 71 Skylark and my '68 Riviera. God I miss those cars. That '68 Riv was the oldest car I ever owned until this one. Always loved the mid 50s cars and could not pass this up when I saw it for sale.
This is a lot better than you led us to beleive. You just needed to drop the "gangster" style description and be open and honest. I for one liked you much better in post #13. I see potential. See below..........(even in satin black).
Crap merc......you hit the mark, and hit it good on that one. Thats just the kind of stuff that I liked and was driving in hi school, class of 80, ya I had a 67 Chevelle SS , 67 Buick GS , 66 Charger, 70 Cuda, 55 Chev , 62 Pontiac Bonneville plus many more, most all BB and 4spd's, .my favorite look was nice rake, black or chrome reverse steel wheels ,dual pipes, and 4spd. And still to this day......its my favorite, infact my current build, one of them, is a 50 Studebaker Starlight coupe . And its getting the stock appearing body with a slightly lower with a nice rake stance, black steel wheels, rear, and skinny torq-thrust ,front, and a M-22 4spd....oh ya its also got a tunnel rammed 327, narrowed and spooled Dana 60 with some 15"x29"x18" Mickey's hanging on the ends, Coilovers and long ladder bars to finish. Front is a 4" drop tube axle, 4 bars and coilovers, the engine is getting set back 10% also. Its looking like this is going to be my last full build so Im doing alot of things that I wanted to do to the first "Bullet Nose" that I wanted when I was 16, that my dad said no to, Get out there, grab some gears and have some fun...stay safe. Crap...did I just put grabbing gears,having fun and stay safe in the same sentence? Sorry ..I must be getting old. Anyways..Enjoy the ride. Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks for the photos, really glad I didn't post anything I'd be sorry for after reading your first post. Welcome to the HAMB. Bob
Thank you for the warm welcomes. I am about to head down to the garage to try to fix this pesky air in the clutch line issue so I can "grab a gear, have fun, and stay safe" tomorrow. Rude Stude, you have excellent taste in cars. Shutter Speed, I am in Wakefield. I tried to add that to my profile but didn't see how. Probably simple but computers and I usually don't get along too well....
Welcome. Just a thought about your "pesky air in the clutch line " issue. I ran FE's in my 55,56 and 57 Fords. The original clutch Z-bar and linkage worked really well for that car and should be fairly easy to find. Unless a previous owner has cobbled up the motor mounts, simply turning the original Y-block side mounts around and setting the 352 on them will let everything including the tranny bolt up.
Nothing ratty about that merc, got that look going on that ain't far from being menacing welcome to the HAMB, @Stephen Barrett is up in your neck of the woods...
Welcome aboard. Beautiful car and not ratty at all, great cruiser and looks like fun. Ton of knowledge on this board and the nice thing it stays all about the cars and that is nice compared to other sites. As questions and you will be Amazed at the amount of help and experience you will find here. Enjoy the ride. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Welcome to the HAMB and cool Merc. Seems you are learning fast here which is good. Lots of great folks here and tons of knowledge to be gained. I am similar to you in that I grew up in the 80's and drove lots of muscle cars, etc. I didn't get into the traditional stuff (at least for myself) until around 20 years ago. Although I had a ton of fun in some fast muscle cars years ago, I have come to love this traditional hot rod and kustom stuff so much more.
The Jalopy Journal
