Motion Pictures American Graffiti Merc

Anybody know the latest on the American Graffiti Merc., who own's it now, what conditon it's in? Is it on the show circuit or just sitting in some barn. I know it went through a bunch of hands and some even tried to make a descent car out of it. Just wondering if all finally gave up on it or if somebody out there is really finally in love with it ....

 

I think it is in some collection but the poor thing is right there in the top ten of my least favorite Merc chops.
I loved the car simply because I was just getting my 51 back on the road when the movie came out and no matter what it had some serious coolness in the movie. That made my 51 a bit cooler to my students at the time and to my friends.

 

I don't care how bad or good that car was. It's the only one that was in the movie. Therefore it is a bitchin Merc. Lippy

 

Shit. I love that car. Love the back window, and the profile, too. It's the AG Merc. BITD, they weren't all perfect.

 

Don’t shoot me.
The Merc and the 32 are my favorite poorly built/proportioned cars.
The movie was great
The cars were great.
The chop is bad and the grill shell on Milners 32 is goofed up.
That being said, I’d drive the wheels off both of em.

 

the-cars-pharaohs-51-merc.html

 

I've always heard that the Merc and the 32 were both kind of pieces of junk.

 

So were many of the Hotrods and Customs of the past...some were built by experts and many were built by average folk that lacked the finesse of those that were gifted...

 

Oh I'm not knocking them man! I'd be happy to own and drive any of them!!!

 

Gotcha NW...
The coupe was being ripped recently...Hollywood gets blamed for hacking and not getting Hotrod alot but many of those vintage movies featured the real deal...

Sorry, I already have a non showcar and I actually prefer rough around the edges and the innocence of non perfection... that is what I have and like you I'm happier than a pig in you know what...



@1pickup...that's a great link...

The pic above is said or assumed to be after Setzer sold it...the Fella who bought it passed and his very busy brother inherited it and may be attempting a resurrection...or so the story goes...




...sitting in New York...hopefully it'll get a well deserved return...
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This is interesting... a couple of years back at an indoor car show at the Abbotsford airport in BC they had a display with the "original" '32, '58 Chev, and the Merc. Had the two female leads and the head of the Phaorohs (my memory for names is buggered and apparently spelling as well! LOL). I was sceptical but was assured they were the real deal. Who knows...

 

Theres pics of that at that site @1pickup shared along with the theories of the whereabouts of it...

 

Thanks Stogy.

 

If you find the Merc, hang some of these in the back seat!

 

Yeah Pharoah's are old mummies aren't they...

Grease for Peace...Bow, Bow, Booow!!

 

............More about, "Hey, who cut the cheese, man?"

 

I nominate this as the best quote of 2020.

Russ

 

Hey I resemble that remark...

 

Merc Methane...ewe...



https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/pharoahs-merc.780659/

...Another Thread worth checking out...
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The Merc is a lot like those western towns slapped together for the movies that had storefronts with no buildings in the back. You can own that car or own one of those towns, but you really only own what's left of the dream that was. Often enough it was never real in the first place.

 

I'll take the Merc...

 

Wow, no offense meant to the Pharoah's CC...I didn't realize that it was a force beyond Hollywood...does anyone have a cloned AG Merc in the club?...

 

No offense taken. The Pharoahs (note the spelling) was formed in 1948 long before the movie. The club came very close to folding in the 70s but our current President stepped up and saved it. At that point according to him, we were down to 12 active members. We now have 51 US chapters as well as chapters in Canada, Finland, UK, and some others I don't remember. Here's our official blurb describing what we're all about. Gene Winfield was one of the founding members and was the club's first Vice President. Also a pic of the current Modesto chapter where it all began.

 

Hirohata merc was made (at first) to show, with little go. The chassis fabs were pretty crude. Still, one of the best looking mercs of all time

 

@Stogy - Google. It's a wonderful thing... I had seen that page a LONG time ago. Didn't even remember it, until I searched to add to this thread. FWIW: Brian Setzer, Guitarist extrordinare (sp?), has had several cool cars. He admits this one was a P.O.S.

 

Don't know of any member who has a clone of the Merc but we do have some guys who built close copies of Milner's coupe and the Black 55.

 

I guess if you have an iconic car modding things to improve POS complaints will have to be carefully considered with keeping the identity intact...mechanically many improvements could made especially if it is to be driven again without effecting the visual car we all know...

I often refer to my Hotrod as a horse drawn buggy with an engine in it...primitive is something I understand is something that's inherent in these old Hotrod/Customs. I can without question make changes to improve it's short comings...but I hop in and am not so critical of the lack of many modern things we appreciate in our Dailys as it's literally a Jalopy...

 

Great Stuff @NHBandit...I wonder if the Name was used in the Movie spelt differently to escape copyright issues as your club has a sizable history...referencing reality in fiction is not uncommon...