Customs Pharoahs Merc

From an article in Street Rodder, May 1976.
The Merc was built strickly as a movie prop. Henry Travers found it in a spectators lot at a stock car track near Sonoma in completely original form-right down to the wheelcovers and whitewalls. After purchase it was delivered to Close and Orlandi's where it was immediately transformed into a custom. The top chop actually isn't bad for a "quickie". Other custom touches included shaving the hood,trunk, and doors,frenching the headlights,and creating a one-bar grille-all within a couple week. The engine and drive train were left stock.
In broad daylight the chopped 51 Merc looks like a movie star without her makeup. Built in two weeks,body mods include severly chopped top(no drip rails,rear window lowered into the package tray),dechroming,frenched lights,peaked hood,custom grille. Rest is stock.

 

Yes, I concur.

 

Thaks for the link man! I will read up on it!
Jay

 

Who pissed on your corn flakes man?
Jay

 

hahaha....I never noticed that before! You would think the guy who copied the Merc so well would have at least got the spelling on the jacket right,hahaha...

 

That is some funny shit!
Jay

 

I don't know about that. The Merc in the movie looks the way it does due to the movie budget and time. NOT to try to capture any realism of the skills greasers had in 1962. Customs weren't built by criminals back then...that's just stupid. Most Customs were built by shops like Barris,Ayala,Valley Customs,etc. Hot Rods,on the other hand,are a different story,haha...Pretty much,remove the fenders and bolt some speed equipment on. Customs took alot more time, money and skill.

 

At least it wasn't a tattoo....The guy could always remove the letters and re-sew them on. hahaha

 

As a dues paying member of the Pharaohs, member number 218 car coat and all. You would think the guy would at least look up the word and spell it right. Also he left out the black spots on each letter.

 

Maybe if he had spelled it right, and put the spots on the letters, and if the real Pharaohs caught him wearing it," they'd tie him up and drag him"

 

looks like it was painted with a garden hose, but if memory serves, the yellow deuce was the only car they couldn't find a buyer for!

 

Even you guys that consider the car an ugly turd have to admit that it would be a F^^king blast to have it for a Saturday night to run around in. My inner hoodlum begs for it.

 

That has always bugged me. I have some pages on our website for "Clubs With The Same Name" and this page for the Pharaohs has some examples of plaques spelled the wrong way and a link to a video clip showing the jackets in the movie spelled the right way.

Someone also made up a plaque that was probably sold at events where the stars of the movie were appearing and it was also spelled wrong.

 

Ooops. Looks like the video on YouTube has been removed.

 

Easy guys...This was the B -side

 

Most of the customs featured in magazines was built by shops.
But most not all "regular" customs...if we can call that turd
a custom was built that way by same tuffguy looser caracters.
fighting over riding shotgun ....geeesss
When they run that movie here the local scums got so inspired
by the pharahoes so they tied a guy to there 63 impala and
draaagd him after the movie

 

Did you mean to say Phara Hoes?

Hey ..... That sounds like a good name for an American Graffiti wantabe club. To be a member you would need to have a yellow 32 Ford 5W, a black 55 Chevy post, a white 57 T-Bird, a white 58 Chevy Impala or a chopped maroon Merc and Paul Le Mat would be the honorary President.

 

I wish they would have used your car!

 

Eddie Paul is probably lining up to sue your ass about now.

ps. Here is more about the MERC.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=423208

 

Thanks for that link!

I miss that car.

 

Don't be so sure. George Lucas was a total car guy as a teenager, and he personally rejected at least one '32 3-window as being "too nice" to be Milner's coupe so there is a very good chance that he intentionally let them use a half-assed Merc for exactly the reasons stated (i.e. where the hell would those guys get the money for a Barris-type car?).
The fact that it also meant they could do it quick and cheap was surely part of the equation, but you'll notice that Bolander's '58 Impala was not a turd.

Lucas was casting cars, not just actors. (And based on some of the things said about him as a director over the years he probably understood the car casting better than the human actors.)

I would love to own that car. I wouldn't change anything but the height and the wheels/tires/hubcaps.

 

I saw the merc back in 1976 at the front of the north hollywood tours gate. fur over the seats. she was sad at the time. but still a star ! and i have to view her as that star. As to the H merc I as a customs guy, hated to see the queen of the choptops Mercs looking so sad.

 

B-Nose,
are you aware that there's a Pharaohs Car Club in Socal that's been around since 1953?
Read this http://cincobuenos.wix.com/pharaohscarclubsouthbay#!__about-the-pharaohs

 

I don't keep track of lowrider clubs.

There are at least several other clubs from So Cal that have used the Pharaohs name .....

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and who knows, but this could be another .....

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This is the one I use!!

 

a GOOD fit! GOOD onya!

 

I never really gave that Merc much thought til now. Damn that f-ing thing is ugly

 

well ok ..... let the drama continue........no intermission in sight.........

 

Hahaha...I should have been so lucky! They just could have done a few things to make it look better in the movie,like wide whites,skirts and lowering. Lowering alone would have done wonders.