One of the iconic hot rod bodies to be sure. Lowered and skirts would do it for me. Never understood the spot lights or lake pipes, but I was born just before the British invasion. Blocks and aerostar springs have been proven, no need to reinvent the wheel. My mother drove a 4 door version of this to highschool, enjoy!
I think that what @firstinsteele is saying is that it's ok to LOSE the visor and bumper overrider, but if you just LOOSE them, they will bang around and cause damage to whatever they are LOOSELY attached before they eventually fall off! Am I right, @firstinsteele ?
Look, I'm the "Master of Gook Wagons. You can either make it look like every other de-chromed Merc, or you can make it stand out from the rest. Although most of the HAMB will tell you different, gook wagons ARE traditional and were more common you think. And, both of my "JC Whitney poster child" builds seemed to draw a lot of positive attention at shows..
„gook wagon“ sounds familar. Maybe a old amish word? i am from germany, we use the word „guck“ ( same pronunciation as gook) for „look at“ and „gawk“. Lol
The absolute cheapest thing to do is "DO NOTHING" I willing to bet that if you took that to a car show, you would get more people drooling over it than a chopped/ modified version. It is a desirable car, and they are only original once.
FRIGGING UGLY ASS VISIORS DO NOT BELONG ON MERCS NO MATTER what the experts at the barber shop say. There I said it and I mean it, why uglify one of the best looking cars around with a visor that no customizer ever put on one in the 50's except the guys who loaded their cars down with crap from Pep boys. Custom Car Chronicle Search every page of Mercs in Ricks Custom Car Cronicals and when you find one Merc that is an actual custom report back.
Aw come on man...Don't confuse "customizing" with "personalizing" your car. Sure Rick's Site (and all the magazines) show the best of the customs, but for every chopped, lowered and frenched Merc out there, there were probably 100s of "average Joe's" trying to make their daily driver a little cooler (personalized) with accessories. Are these "personalized" (visors, skirts, etc) cars as beloved as full customs? HELL NO...but they existed in great numbers back in the day. So, for that reason, using period correct accessories to personalize your car should be considered very traditional...and not scoffed at...even if most of you guys feel it's not your style.
Do a Google search for "Hirohata Mercury" Then start moving in that direction... Also look at the black 51 merc built by Arizona Street rods Chappy
Yeah but, the OP said "mild period correct customising," not period correct accessorising. Big difference.
Ditch the bumper overrides, the window visors, spotlights, gas filler door guard and the added side trim 'flag-thingies' on the front fenders! No Skirts (besides being a pain in the ass, they look goofy). The '51 is the high point of that body series ('49-'51) and look 'right' just as they rolled out of the factory EXCEPT about 2 1/2"-3" too high. They are not a 'hot rod', they are a cruiser!
Guys, to be clear: I bought this car since it’s original and NOT customized. and as @hotrodjack34 sayed, „there were probably 100s of "average Joe's" trying to make their daily driver a little cooler (personalized) with accessories. „ and yes, i am one of them. I will NOT chopp the car, co channeling, no frenching. no flames. But maybe in 50 years my Merc is one of the last in original Stance, no silicone tits, no lifting, no botox. Joe
What the heck are you talking about? The OP likes "original" cars and likes "Bling". Although he says the word "customizing", he mentions NO custom modifications to the Merc...just adding accessories...It will be period correct personalized, not necessarily customized.
To the OP, @GTfastbacker - Possibly someone with the Photoshop skill set can post up a pic of your Merc lowered a little and skirts / lakes pipes added. Whatever you choose, I hope that car gets some road time. Way too nice to leave it sit! Enjoy your car.
Very happy to see you will not be chopping it (or anything else that extreme). There was a time and place where this was acceptable, but things have changed a lot since then. My advice would be drive it like it is for a while to get any potential bugs out. This will also provide you with a better feel for the car and what (if anything) needs to be done.
I agree 100%. Very few guys had the skill or the money to chop or cut and customize their cars in the day.Same thing today,I cant do a chop nor afford one.Accesorize it the way you want and skrew the narrow minded!
If your asking opinions, start unbolting things. Visor, bumper overrider as stated before, then the wind screens, antennae and spot light. Don't put anything else on, no skirts, no spots, no antennas, no dangling shit from the rear view mirror. Level drop it - no ass dragger Then shove a 15" steel wheel with nice clean hubcap and as wide of a blackwall radial in there as it'll take. Like a 245 to 275/60/15, plenty of sidewall height. It will be clean stock lines and will stand out because of its awesome stance VS a skirt wearing ass dragger. no offense, other merc guys.
t Hey Joe, something like this? Looks pretty damn good to me. I do prefer the rocker mouldings over the lake pipes though.
Absolutely! These Rocker Moldings are very sharp. You are right, much better looking than Lake Pipes. Is there a scource to buy them? Maybe i would go one step ahead. Extending the rocker Moldings over customized fender scirts, who following the straight bottom line of rockers. Plus black tire only. Wondering the „Monterey“ Letters on the Door too. Mine don’t have them. I am a big Fan of Vinyl tops but in this case, no. A accent colored roof maybe. Great looking car !!!! Joe
The Mercury Monterey was the top model designation in the 1950 and '51 model years. They were the same as 2 door sedans with a lot of addition options, of which the most obvious being the vinyl or canvas covered top.
That car is definitely lacking. Curb feelers and a mirror muff just to name two. I'm sure others will chime in. Excellent suggestion!
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