Projects 1950 Mercury coupe build “Worm Burner”

Hey everyone!

First things first. I want to thank all of you who post on HAMB. From projects to tech to art and just random custom cars and hot rods pics. Its been an encouragement and I have learned a lot. Time has been either on my side with “Quality Time” spent with my family and friends or a “Time Suck” with work and other nonsense so this car and others have been a long process in the making. Let me contribute to the cause by posting some progress pics and hopefully finish this thing soon.

Here’s a little background on the car. Bought it locally. It sat outside for years. Technically its a Texas car but by looking at it nobody would believe it. Iowa title, originally from Texas. There was no motor nor trans. I sold my daily for a craigslist special and this Merc and I had enough for the new 350, used 400 and basically enough for new parts to get it safely on the road.

For the past 2 years I’ve been doing some work and…
Here she is…

 

Should come out to look like this rendering

 

I had a perfect 1955 Cadillac rear end and it fits perfect. But now that I need these wheels to tuck in it’s just little to wide. I’ll try to get the wheels with an offset. It does not rub, just to close for my liking. Plus I won’t drive with deflated bags. IDK maybe I will never had an air bagged ride.

 

Oh and constructive criticism is welcome. A lot of this is my first time.
Previously I had my brake booster on the firewall, I decided to hide it. I think it was 8” or 9”. For the rear setup I decided to tackle it on my own with triangulated four link. It was definitely a learning curve. Got me one of those smart books of the net. Wow what a game changer. Simple measurements and calculations equals comfortable and safe ride. As you see top link are way too short

 

Very minimum movement of a driveshaft sliding in and out I think it was like 1/8”. No more then a 1/4”.

 

Oh and notice how the bags are angled in the pics above. They sit straight now.

 

Nice work bro
Did you do all the welding and fab work yourself? If so, very good!!!
Keep us posted on your progress

 

Looking good so far, keep posting progress! Me and the “Merc Man” love it when we see another one being rescued and put in the road!

 

Thank you. Yes I am doing all the welding and fab myself. I am hoping to run dual exhaust eventually all the way to the back but i would have to modify or make a new crossmember.

Rear end was swapped from 55 Caddy.

 

You might want to hide and not talk about your bags. Not HAMB friendly.

Looking good so far

 

Got lucky when a donor car showed up locally on craigslist. A lot better front end and various parts. Back was so bad that it was easier for me to just cut and paste. Turned out straight. The only thing I'm afraid to cut on this thing is this beautiful, straight, no rust no dents, not chopped roof. I don’t want to touch it. I have never done it, so don’t want to mess it up.

 

Thank you.
I just thought of a cool pic I should take today. I’ve read a lot on here about the “Bag Arguments” over the years. Traditional or not. It was definitely entertaining and I see both sides. I started IG account to keep it separate. Besides the set up, which I will post later, the car will look all traditional. Mild custom is the goal.

 

Yea bro don’t chop it, louver it or do whatever, but don’t cut it brutha, just sayin.
Keep up the excellent work!!!!

 

Nice job so far. I always enjoy new Merc builds showing up.

 

Firewall was shaved somewhat but I’ll clean it up bit more. Booster is going underneath and I’ll route wires lower so you can’t see them. There’s about 1.5” between the wall and the distributor right now.
Checkout before pic how that booster is just an eyesore. And thinking about making a radiator cover similar to this. I think its Voodoo Larrys car

 

Old rusty front end I will either sell or make an office desk.

 

Current setup.

 

Overall a great save. Don't let anything on that green 4 door parts car go to waste, whatever you can't use has a buyer.

 

Don't really know about all of the fuss over air bags not being "period correct". Back in 1963 I had a friend who had a 1958 Ford with factory air suspension. He hated it because the system had a slow leak and he had to wait for it to pump up every morning before he left for work.

 

One trick I've used thru the years on different vehicles to help "hide" the power brake booster is paint it the same color as the firewall.

When doing this I prefer to leave the master cylinder cast gray color. With lighter colors it seemed painting it black just drew more attention to it.

With lighter colors and a painted booster the cast gray just didn't seem to be as noticeable as a black master cylinder. Maybe because after all these years my brain is expecting cast gray so unconsciously it just looks by it when that color...

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Thank you. It was a lucky find.

 

My first air bagged vehicle, hope I don’t run into the same problem

 

That does make sense. Major eyesore I think I was rushing when putting it together.

 

The title says Worm Burner but the frame sits at about 2”.

 

This tunnel is one of the first pieces I made with English wheel.

 

Looking good, keep posting.