Projects Unfinished Business: A 1951 Mercury Build Thread

Thanks for all of the great comments... I purchased my Merc on April 16, 2011. I really want to be able to drive it around the block on April 16th, 2012. If all goes well, I'll at least fire up the Flathead in January, but I need to finish reassembling the engine components, install the radiator, etc. I'm surprised I've already reached 200 posts.

 

Keep it up, its good inspiration for those of us that are just starting ours

 

I'm looking for tail light lenses from a '51 Monarch or '51 Lincoln in decent condition if anybody has them.

 

Hey Doc,
Thanks for bringing your build to my attention,. I haven't had a lot of time to spend on the HAMB since my business went upside down.
It's looking great!!!!!!
Merry Christmas
Guy

 

Project Update: Exhaust fabrication and brake line, fuel line routing going on currently. Recently mounted the fuel tank, and had the radiator pressure checked, and fuel tank cleaned and lined. Determined seatbelt locations for front and rear retractable shoulder belts, painted the driveshaft and pinions, master cylinder bracket and master cylinder. I'm using the original fuel tank, with a few dents for character. I had to pull out the 1" lowering blocks up front because the Aerostar springs were loose and not seating when the front suspension was unsprung. With the blocks in, one of the front springs wedged itself in the front spring pocket area, which turned a 30 minute job into a much longer job because I had to get a spring compressor that went inside the coil. All that meant I had to repaint the front springs and shocks. Recently got my hands on a replacement RH fender because the old one had a substantial amount of sideswipe damage. My 12" Brockman Mellowtones arrived today.....

 

Great build 51's are my favorite...

 

Project Update: It's been about two months since my last update, and things are still moving along. The major part of what I've done since my last post is replacing floor sheetmetal, along with other body related projects. Last fall I took the body to a body shop, a real business, not just some guy in a garage, to have some minor rust fixed in the floor. It required cutting out the old, and welding in the new - something easy for someone who has an entire body shop and years and years of experience. I thought it would help move the project along while I focused on a lot of chassis related projects. Well this asshole did a terrible job. It had me pissed off for a few months. Finally in January, I decided to cut it all out and do it myself. I've never done this before, but you know what, I'm pretty happy with the job I did. I learned a hell of a lot. Sure, most of you could have done a better job, but I'm pretty satisfied with the 30+ hours I spent repairing the floor. I also welded in seatbelt brackets, weld studs in various locations to mounting the battery in the trunk, for some sort of audio equipment, etc. I had to get all of this out of the way because last weekend, I was finally prepared to paint underneath the car. A few coats of black Corlar 2.1 PRP with seam sealer in between, followed by a few coats of Silver Metallic Imron 3.5 HG (high gloss), and it looks pretty friggin' awesome. It was a long weekend of working on it more than 30 hours from Friday - Saturday - Sunday, but it was worth it. On Friday night, around 1:00am I wanted to finish up a few more things before I was done for the night. I wasn't paying attention to the clock. When I was done I assumed it might be 3:30am. I checked the time, it was 6:00am. I had a laugh, and drove home in the morning light. Now I can get serious about putting the body back on the frame. I'm pretty happy about it.

 

Gee, I've never seen a pvc exhaust system...I wonder how it will sound ?

 

I'm only using pvc until I save up enough tuna cans to make a real exhaust.

 

YOU CAN DO IT!!

Looks great, April 16 is just around the corner, keep at it.

Godspeed
MrC.

 

Unfortunately, I won't make my goal of driving it around the block by April 16th, but I'm not far off. I still plan on firing up the engine in April, and putting the body back on the frame in May.

 

Looking great! No question about how nice the floors are in your car.

 

you may not make Apr 16th, but you put a major heap of work on your merc that will inspire you to take it to the finish line, a line many never cross , good work, keep it up.

 

A few more photos of working on the floor, seatbelt bracket layout, etc...

 

nice build, love the detail. well done!!

 

I've spent hours on small details that nobody will ever notice, but I know they are they are there.

 

Looks great, keep up the good work. I had a similar experience with my 50 Merc and a HAMBer. Got SCREWED by this HAMBer. He got my money and I got SH....T. Ended up doing the work myself after the Merc sat for months. It pissed me off everytime I looked at it. I hope you feel real good about yourself when you step back and admire your accomplishments!

WELL DONE!

 

Thanks for the comments, guys. I appreciate it. I keep imagining this car done and driving the hell out of it, just looking for reasons to get in and drive..... "We're out of beer? I know of this beer store about 40 miles from here...."

 

Here are links to other threads related to this build:

Merc-o-matic Question:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=694695

12 Volt Flathead - temporary wiring advice needed:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=692002

Opinions On This Exhaust Routing - '51 Mercury:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=666424

Starter for 8BA Flathead with Merc-o-matic:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=622529

Pic Request: '51 Mercury Firewall & Front Frame:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=599314

 

Looks really nice. I'm gonna make my new frame look clean. Well,......clean enough!

 

Progress pictures.... Brake lines are bent, but not installed in this picture. Shortly after I took this picture, to show radiator mounting and install, I was moving the chassis by pulling it with a forklift. The garage door started to close and I stopped the forklift quick, but the chassis kept rolling, and the forks went into the radiator. So now the radiator has damage on both sides because it was pushed against the fan. I was extremely happy with that. It might be able to be fixed, but I doubt it will be cheap. Radiator is now out of the car.

 

I finally started my Flathead, and it was awesome.
See links to the youtube video in this post:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=704542

I also cleaned up some other parts, both old and newly fabricated. Does anyone else find plenty of enjoyment in disassembling dirty, old rusty parts, cleaning them with a wire wheel down to bare steel so they look like new? I do. Throw in a few coats of paint and I call it a good day.

 

Looks great, you must be one hell of an employee to have that kind of access to your employers shop - especially staying as late (or early) as you do.

By the way, the following comment and response made me laugh my ass off.
Just what I needed tonight. Keep up the good work.

 

Pete.... I finally have enough tuna cans saved up, so I'll start fabricating the exhaust this weekend.

 

Finally finished polishing up the brake lines, installed them, bench bled the master cylinder, built all the drum brakes, and got the body back on the frame.....

 

very cool build you got goin on here. nice

 

Been following your build for awhile. I love all the detail work you've put into the chassis. Looking great, man!

 

Thanks for the compliments... I sometimes think all of the details slow me down, but in the end I'll be glad I took the time. Here's the steering column and steering box all cleaned up, and painted black.

 

Ya may not be able to see all the details once the car is completed but it's still more satisfying knowing you did all that extra work. You'll still get a few folks that'll kneel down and try to take a peek at the underside and they'll appreciate all the extra effort, too.

 

A few photos underneath...