Hi There, I wanted to run this past some folks here on the message board for a second opinion. I've got an uncut 49 Merc 2 door sitting in the garage. I'm at the point where I'm either going to have mine chopped, or sell it "uncut" to someone that appreciates it as is, and just buy another car with the roof already done (think the Townsend Custom's look). The purist in me has some hesitation cutting up a 2 door that's survived this long. Thoughts? Thank you, Dustin
Depends on your funding and how much of the work if any you can do yourself. complete chops with glass and moldings installed is gonna be expensive. on the other hand guys with chopped Merc's are not giving them away for chump change...
I have Had 3 .............2 door Merc which I have Sold I drove them for awhile and then Got rid of them. I have had my 50 4 door which was Great for My Family and had a lot of Guy's that wanted to Chop it & I would Not let them Do it I have had a Sleeper with this Car for a Lot of Years the First engine Change was a 57 Olds J2 back in the Day the Second was a Stroked Flathead & the Last engine is the 327/300 that is in it Now! I just had my Front seat Redone, the Car is a Mild Custom & I am going to Drive it & listen to all the Comments about what Color I am going to Paint. I Painted Flat Black 3 years ago. Just my 3.5 cents or when the Cows come Home!
I would build it and drive it awhile and then decide if I wanted to chop it or not. After driving it awhile you may find you don't want it chopped.
Stand out from the crowd and drive an un-chopped Mercury. I just personally like them un-chopped. I think they came looking good right out of the factory. Sent from my A520L using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Do not cut ........ if you choose to sell, your audience of buyers will be larger. Buyers who will not cut and buyers who will want to cut is your audience. The choice is theirs.
Maybe, but the scope of overall buyers may be less. The opinions here, on this thread indicate both scenarios are wanted ..... chopped and unchopped.
Iphone 6-16 051 by wicarnut posted Jun 24, 2016 This is a 3+ years running/driving project of mine not chopped, originally was going to have it chopped, but after driving it around awhile, like the fact I can see around me in traffic and the "Look" has grown on me. Drove chopped top cars 15 years and have decided to leave it stock height and the few Mercs I see around here are chopped, So it makes mine different. Have some winter plans/projects appearance wise for this car, slowly but surely I'll git er dun, I'm on the "Nothing Happens Fast" deal nowadays. Your Car, Your Deal ! Good Luck w/ what ever you decide.
The unchopped Rebel Without a Cause Mercury is one of my all time favorite cars just for it's simplicity.
If you lower it and don't chop it it sort of has a sectioned look. Pretty cool. I say NO to the chop, especially if it's a nice original car. Plus, tall folks don't like chopped cars.
Pretty sure the OP does not intend to chop it and then sell it. He wants to decide if he should chop it and finish it for himself, or sell it unchopped and buy one that's already been chopped. He has no intention of building and keeping an unchopped car, or chopping his current car to sell it. That's really going to depend on how much you'd have to pay for the already cut car. If there's one out there and the price is right and the work is done really nice, it could be a way to go. I'd be very scared of buying someone else's already cut car that has paint/upholstery on it unless they have really clear build pics. A poorly chopped car might look good but have lots of mud in it or poorly welded seams which can come back to haunt you and might take more work to fix than starting from scratch. On the other hand, if you would have to pay someone to do the work on your car, that can run into the many thousands, and you might be better off just buying one done to your taste. To really answer your question, you need to know the current value of your car, you need a propsective chopped Merc to compare it to, and we'd need to know how much of the work you could do yourself. That'll be the tell.
if you are set on owning a chopped Merc, then sell the one you have and buy one that has been - the expense and likely very long waiting period to have work completed by a reliable top notch bodyman can be overwhelming. you might talk to local shops that have chopped cars for customers and may get a lead on a good abandoned chopped project or finished one for sale
If you have your heart set on a chopped Merc, you will probably be dollars ahead if you buy one already done. The hard part is finding one that is finished the way you would build it for yourself. Mine is chopped, and I wouldn't change a thing on it.
I love chopped Mercs but I agree with the unchopped crowd on this post. Find one chopped with the look that you like. That way you know what the result is gonna be.
Chopped gets my vote! Jeff Neppls car is chopped just right. I agree with the earlier post, it needs to be done right. Don't need another hack job ruined merc with a 9" chop Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
And here I thought this was the fucking HAMB... Chop that bastard and come hang out with the hoodlums ! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You can really stand out with no chop and black walls.........MIND BLOWN Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thank you to everyone that's posted in this thread. Very helpful information. I've got some decisions to make. Love the pictures both stock and chopped. Both killer looks.