History 1938 mercury...i'll be danged..anyone else have one?

I had a 38 Mercury sedan just like that. Except it was a Chevy. And it was a coupe.
I know that strange things happen in the car world, but come on.

 

my ex lied about her age too

 

Prototypes and calendar years muddled with calendar years...
A trivia point: Golookat the hubcaps; first few Mercs got hubcaps with logo that said "Ford Mercury". Very rare...possibly developing thought om Merc's position in the company, as a superduper deluxe Ford or a separate division...?

 

Nice thread jack.

 

Here was a 1939 merc tudor I sold the front clip off of to HotRodHon, other pieces went to HAMBers in distant parts of the US, and the rest..... I think the garnish moldings are still hanging on the wall

I better get on the phone and get the pieces back to restore it, after all it could be a 38!

 

Id put it in Hemmings with the 38 Title, call it a prototype and ask 100K, since no one seems to know, You'll probably have a couple of Yuppie types fighting over it !

 

Factory prototypes were cobbled together to get a full size walk around car to eyeball.
These were not production vehicles.
This baloney about a 4" shorter Merc make no sense. Ford would not make a 4 " shorter chassis for a hand full of models, late in 38 when he was introducing a new model in a few months. Shorten a 1939 Mercury chassis 4" and you have a Ford chassis, what a coincidence.

 

Here in OK, where hotrod-Linkin hails as well, my 1951 Caddy, originally sold on Jan 1, 1952. It therefore received a 1952 title, and Oklahoma WILL NOT CHANGE IT.

 

My last port here, as this horse is dead.
All the car manufacturers had a longer chassis, in those years, for the classier models.
Mercury longer than a Ford.
Cadillac longer than a Chevy.
I still say Mercury came out with it's first available production vehicle in 1939.
Good luck with the continuing debate.

 

'39-40 Mercs had their own unique frames and bodies, whereas the '41-8 were Fords underneath. These later ones simply had the fron crossmember slid forward (many frames have both sets of rivet holes) and an adaptor to move wishbone ball, along with the special front sheetmetal. The '39-40 Mercs really shared only mechanical innards with Ford--everything else looked ford but was a fully formed larger piece, not a stretch. That prototype was obviously a cobbled Ford for sure, probably meant just as a rack to hold up the new grill and hubcaps for viewing...

 

So you must know more than the people who built the car RIGHT? okaayy!

 

What I always love is when someone asks for help in regard to something they aren't knowledgeable with....and then continue to tell everyone that they are wrong when they share their help and wisdom.

"was X model made in X year?"

"no" x 50

"I don't believe any of you so I will just continue to inform you about the truth as found while searching google"

 

It maybe an early "39 sold in "38 check the numbers you may have a very eary Merc.
Some states dated the car the year it was first sold. I have a Dodge that was made in mid 1929 sold late March is and titled as a "30.

 

Car Spotter's Guide 1940 thru 1965 issue.
Just an FYI.... I have several Ford Motor Company books and they all say Mercury's first year is 1939.

 

Ill go with the clerical error.

In 1958 I bought a 53 Ford that was listed with the state as a 54.
It had king pins and bushings not ball joints and it had a 53 grill
and all of the 53 customline trim and taillight lenses. Looking under
the hood, by golly, it still had a flathead instead of the 54 OHV.

 

Hi All,

The very first Mercury is in the Henry Ford Museum...it's a Green 39...I saw it while at the Autorama this year.

Murph

 

Interesting thread. I got curious and googled it myself. Kanter seems to think there was a 1938 Mercury...

http://www.kanter.com/catalog/content/Mercury/kanter_72831.html

 

Here's an interesting photo I found from New York's Union Station in 1938, debuting the brand new 1939 Mercury. The car in the photo is most likely a prototype. Notice the lack of outside mirrors. Sorry about the huge photo, but I thought you'd want to see detail.

 

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

 

Heres a good link. http://www.mercuryarchive.com/1939to1948/
I think he has a '39 with 38 from dmv on title. UNLESS its the one prototype '38?

 

The pictures just above are the ones you find when you Google '38 Merc prototype. The nose does look shorter than a typical '39 or '40 Merc, so it was probably on a Ford wheelbase. No mystery there.

Interesting that both cars in the OP's pictures have '39 Merc grilles -- no '40 in sight.