Gent, I have asked some of the local NJ experts on this subject. Competent men I assure you. However, I'm looking for as much sage info as I can gather. 1954 Merc Monterey 4 door to a 2 door. Have you done this...whats the best way to accomplish the task. As always..thanks for the sage advise. Detractors kindly fo. Johnny O
they did a 2 part article in rod and kulture mag recently to a ford of the same body style, they took 2 door doors, and welded the rear doors far enough back to fit the longer doors. btw, 4 doors are better!
i've seen this done both ways.. slice the door middle section and lengthen to meet the new longer opening after the b post is moved, and also seen it done using donor two-door doors as well. both are a TON of work, but for a monterey 54? might be worth the effort
You could enter it in a destruction derby too. That would be the same waste of a good car. Ain't no "easy way". If you're going to do it, do it right. Lengthen the front doors or get some two door doors as said above. If you find some two door doors, bag the split back front seat while you're at it, and the 1/4 windows and crank stuff.
I'm with DrJ. 2 door, doors would be way easier then lengthening the 4 door, doors but if your strapped for cash then lengthen the doors.
What would be really cool is if you swapped the roof and doors from a 52-54 Ford business coupe onto the Merc and make a phantom Mercury business coupe. (see the included picture below. Has a much shorter roofline than the 2 door sedan but same body and wheelbase. Trunklid is the same too) There is an article floating around showing a '57 Chevy getting converted that used the whole roof, turned out great. My Plymouth didn't require a different roof, just 2 door sedan donor doors, but plans for my '57 Chevy are to use a whole roof from a '56 donor car I have in the back yard. Here's a rundown of my '60 Plymouth if you haven't read it yet. It's pretty straightforward. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78120 There are a few other conversion techs on the HAMB, check them out.
I want all the pieces of the car to be interchangeable with stock stuff. That means fully functional quarter windows with regulators, and unmodified doors. Not saying that the doors-only conversion isn't impressive, but I've got the pieces so I'm going to do it all the way. The car is eventually going to be restored stock as a Belair clone so I want all the stock shit to fit together.
Follow this link to see pictures of a '57 converted using the whole roof. That's what I plan to do with my '57. It's also how you could use a coupe roof and doors on the Merc to make the world's only 54 Mercury business coupe (I think) http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?&p=999&uid=1624796&gid=9157725&&imgid=38548840&offset=0
Wow! Lot of work. Even the guy who did it admitted it was. I especialy like this quote: Seriously tho, I'm QUITE sure the roof's are the exact same sheetmetal. All you really need is the doors, door jamb "B-pillar", and outer 1/4's along with the inner 1/4 sections from the passenger compartment. Oh, and also, the frame from around the back side glass.... No need to totally re-invent the wheel. Converting a Merc from a sedan to a short roof business coupe might actually require that much work tho. Either way, too much work for my tastes, no matter how cool the outcome.
I would think that it would be sensable to sell the car and use the money to find a 2 door that you like.
We're almost done with a 4dr to 2dr '50 Merc conversion. I had the opportunity to buy a set of two doors but I'm working on a thin budget and didn't have the extra $$$ to buy them. Ralph Schindel extended the doors from a parts car that I had in my back yard. Lot of work involved but it worked out just fine. Also Traditional Rod and Kulture magazine had one of the koolest how to articles that I've seen in a while. Two issues had a how to do it to a '52 or '53 Ford. Be sure to check it out!! For a guy that is limited $$$ and has some "How to" talent, this is the way to go. Happy Trails, Mick
Thanks gents...Squa, good tech article. The car is super solid (not an original northeaster) and I was just toying with the idea of a conversion. It's still a great car as a four door.
Just my opinion, but a 2 dr sedan 54 Merc is only marginally more attractive than a 4 dr. 2 dr hardtop is where its at, but then you are talking different roof, glass, nightmare for sure.
If your going to chop it too, you might be able to get the front doors to look longer when the roof slides forward. No one noticed this was a 4 door till i said something. click link. http://chrisclarkcustoms.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/chev_n_bus.308185116_std.jpg I took a side photo like this and chopped on paper first.
I say go for it. However, I say that giving you the benefit of the doubt that you are at least a semi-experienced metal worker with enough skill to put the car back together again. This is the equivalent of heart surgery for a car, so if you're unsure of your capablities, I'd recommend not taking the project on without the assistance of someone more experienced. I don't say that to be a douche, but this is a serious project, and you don't start swimming in the deep end. The best way I can think of would be to find complete 2 door doors, then cut the B pillar out at the rocker, move the entire assembly, shorten the rear door, and weld it in to essentially become the quarter. As Chris mentioned, the 2 door sedan 54 Mercs are still pretty homely, so a chop would be almost essential to justify all the work. If you do it, avoid the chop that most of these cars get, where the whole roof comes straight down and flattens the car rather than making it look more sleek. This is likely due to people trying to keep the door frame perpendicular to the post. Throw the rules out the window and do what it takes to get the roof line right, even if it means slanted b pillars or curved door frame. A shoebox rear window might be a good call. Regardless, if your rich on talent and broke on cash, this is a great way to achieve kustom glory on the cheap
My Desoto started life as a 4-door sedan. Then the factory turned it into a coupe UTE. If you take off the inside bed panels you can see where the rear door skins have been leaded in place. This is a little different path than everyone else has been going but I think it looks good with the original doors.