She had sunk about 6-8" in the ground. Last time it was tagged was in 1996. My great uncle bought the car in June of 1960.
As for the interior well I hope you fellas can tell me what's original and not. Helpfull info greatly appreciated
Lots of potential there. That car is just begging to be a tail-dragger custom with skirts and a Carson top. Of course those Cragars will have to go away.
Damn sweet opportunity there. Dig the front nerf bars, and no clue what the rear bumper is from. Looks like a 70/80's GM column....I had an Olds' with a similar steering wheel. Wood isn't original.....but all in all....it sure looks fairly intact. Someone will be along shortly with better information....I'm sure. Congrats' !
If your great uncle is still with us he will be able to tell you what he did. There were no keyed steering columns till 1968 and you mentioned he purchased it in 1960, therefore he must've been the one that changed it. Did that sit outside all that time with the top down?
Great uncle passed 3 weeks ago. I'm 25yrs old and never personally seen the car till today. The original flat head v8 is not in the car. From what my uncle said, great unc swapped in a 327.
The car sat outside with the top down covered in plastic, over that a huge rubber tarp. Weighted over 100 pounds that was 4 inches under ground.
40 Ford convertibles are rare and worth BIG money. A 40 Merc is even rarer and therefore would be worth even BIGGER money. Your great uncle did you good by leavin that to you. Enjoy and lookin forward to seein your progress on the build.
Looks great for sitting outside that long. Surprised there were any floors or interior left, tarp really did it's job. Good looking car but can't stand the wooden dash they put in back in those days. Will be interesting to see it come alive, hope you plan on leaving it mostly as is.
Sorry about the passing of your great uncle, would be a wealth of knowledge I'm sure. The hanging pedal assembly & gas pedal are not original as well.
Too bad the old 99A motor didn't go with it. Those early Merc 239 engines were good hot rod foundations. There is enough there that a guy could go back original with it. The convertibles were really nice cars. If the floor is still solid, then it would be a way lot easier to restore than one with extreme cancer.
Sad thing is me and my uncle's may not be aloud to hang onto the merc, multiple family members included in the will just want to liquidate all of his belongings while us guys want to keep everything.
I'm just trying to gather as much information as I can and share with both my uncle's about the car. They remember going for rides in this merc when they were growing up.
We are going to Jack the merc up and pull the wheels off to tinker with the brakes. I'll be posting pics as we peel apart the car. Depending on what happens it might stay with the family or be sold.... Stay tuned for more pics and posts. Keep the info coming! Please! And possibly web sites we can buy parts! Thank you all for the help And comments
It may be electrically operated by a solenoid. Look for a switch or button and then put power to it. If not it may have a cable somewhere. Worse case you will have to crawl though from the interior. Don't know how hard that would be with the top in the down position.
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