I'm building a 50 Merc and I'm considering going with an alternative as mines not really worth straightening. I'd love to see a thread filled with Bumper alternatives if your willing to contribute.
Here's a nice example I found on the net. It's what I think is a one piece Tri-Five Chevy unit. one of my favorite looks!!!
As much as I love the Hirohata exactly as it is, that bumper looks awesome with the grille and the flow of the front end.
Yes I've heard of this thing called Google... I've also heard of things called picture threads on HAMB and have enjoyed and contributed to them many times since joining a few years back.
This HAMB thread will give you plenty of examples. Remember, the larger you bumper, the less your eyes will be drawn to the actual grille. One should not over power the other. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=192705
Well, here are some I have from my files. Of the zillion I seem to have, most all are either Merc bumpers with some variation of guards (or none) or the previously mentioned Desoto bumper. Here are the few different ones that I found. Some of these cars are familiar and some are just pics I've collected of nameless cars.
Well, hmm. Now that I look at the pics as a group, looks like even still there are groups: The Merc bumper group, the Desoto group, tri-5 chevy-ish group, Pontiac split bumperette group, Cad, and that cool lavender one with the blade bumper. LOL
But, when one takes into consideration Cad bumpers, I would have to say I would not chose one from the 70's…. Saw this Merc at the KKOA Hangin' Dice Nats in Ft. Smith in 1986. While I'm not hating the car over all….and I have to say they made that bumper fit as well as one ever could…..I'd still have to say no to the bumper.
'55 Dodge fits and looks real nice on the front of a Merc. Earlier and later years might be the same...can't remember. Plymouth might be the same or similar...don't know, I'm not a Mopar guy. Don't have a pic...sorry...
That is AWESOME! I'd bet it was on the Caddy chassis, and they used the Caddy dash too, right?? (I knew a guy back then who built low-buck rods and kustoms and he was big on using the "square" dashes in his cars. Heck, that might be one he built!) Surprised it didn't have the Cadillac hub caps on there as well.
I looked closer and I think those ARE the '70s Caddy hubcaps, aren't they? Waste not, want not! Sorry to sidetrack the thread. As far as what looks good, I think there is a reason so many Mercs have DeSoto bumpers on them: they just work well with the size of the car. I've never seen '55 Dodge on a Merc but that could look good as well. Personally I'm a fan of pre-'53 bumpers only. The later ones always look out of place to me. (Yes, even on the near-clone of the Hirohata above. Sorry.)
I remember a chopped, sectioned Merc from the 80s that used late 40s Packard bumpers front and rear. Not sure if they cut down the rear one, since they wrap around a bunch, but I think I remember thinking they looked OK on that Merc. Definitely unusual.
I'm subscribed, have the same dilemma, starting my Merc this summer and the front bumper is done, the wrecker bent it dragging out of the barn, where is sat since 1973.
Just my two cents, but it sounds like both you guys (tikiwagon13 and Lono) are looking just because your originals are toast. May I be so bold as to suggest that you just get new Mercury bumpers? They always look right. The Sam Barris Merc and the Hirohata both look pretty sweet to me, and they are both running Merc bumpers on the front.
Might be this Merc you are thinking of? Took this pick at Hangin' Dice 1989. Over all, it seemed like he had a good start, but I never saw this car finished .or fully welded for that matter.
Thanks for posting that pic, Drdave, yeah, that's the one. Think I saw it at another KKOA Leadsled a few years earlier, when it was in grey primer, and yeah, I think the hood was screwed shut. And they painted it that way??? Wonder where it is now. Looked like a helluva good start then, loved how it sat. Think it was from Oklahoma?
I bought a pair of those Packard bumpers from Old Car City in Georgia after I saw that sectioned and chopped Merc. Still got 'em, never used them.
I had in my mind all these years that it was all pop riveted together until I recently scanned the picture. I see now it is mostly spot welded, but yes, the hood appears to have a few screws holding the cut together. Might have been from OK since I saw it in Arkansas. I don't have a pic of the back to be able to see the plate.
I'm not against using a stock Merc bumper, I'm using the rear one, but if something comes along that looks great, well I might just use it. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The funniest part of that picture is the TWO "Please Look but don't touch" signs on that car! Were they afraid of getting fingerprints on the...primer? I never actually did it, but I intended to get some "Please touch" signs for my own car. I won't say I love that bumper on there but it is certainly interesting and if they put a bit more modification into it they would have had something really sharp. Those really were the dark days of kustoms, weren't they? At least some were still building them, I guess.
I don't think they were dark days at all. I went to the first Merc Deuce Reunion, and KKOA events all through the 80s and early 90s. Some of the cars from those years wouldn't be of the standards we all appreciate now, but I saw some impressive, ballsy customs. Like all big shows, the quality varied a lot, but I remember some of my favorite customs from that era. But I also remember full custom, running Mercs for sale for 5-10K that looked damn good. Not dark at all. When I learn how, I'll post a few million pics from those years.
I've done two '51 Mercs with '55 Dodge front bumpers and it's a complete coincidence that both customers chose that particular bumper...I think it looks great...but there's nothing wrong with any of the stock '49-'51 Merc bumpers. '51-'53 DeSoto is a bit heavy and boxy in my opinion...they kinda look like a Checker cab bumper. Pontiac bumpers with Kaiser guards on the Bettancourt Merc are great too! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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