Hey, I'm justing looking for some help with my 51 merc 4 door. I have lost interest in working on it, especially cause its really cold out and I don't have a heated garage. It is taken apart and rockers are almost replaced all the way and headlights were in the process of being frenched. I am looking for anyone that has knowledge in the merc area or body work area, haha. I'm about 45 min. west of Chicago and I'm a full-time student living at home, so i dont have much money, but if you could led a hand whenever, it would be greatly appreciated. Any help would be great. Thanks
Hang in there with the merc. It will be worth it when it is on the road, great project car and a lot of fun. Just try to get done what you can inside till it warms up and shop for parts, make a list of all you think you will need and start on it, these things take time and nothing comes easy. Good luck, ask questions, people will want to help. If I was in your area I would be there to help but someone will get a hold of you. george s.dakota
There is a rodders journal a few issues back with a pic of a (swede?) built 4 door into two door man its beautiful ! check it out man if that dont give you reason to plow through nothin will !
Here in In it's been on average about 5-10 degrees or so. I use a Kerosene heater and a lp heater to heat my garage. I'm working on a 1950 4 dr that I'm converting to a 2 dr, with a chopped top. I have NEVER done any bodywork at all. Friends have gave me some pointers and I read every book, magazine I could get my hands on to do it. Ether has been a great help with it too. Your merc looks pretty solid and shouldn't be to hard to get road worthy. If you get discouraged just think of how cool it will be to have a merc you built on the road. There is just something so satisfying about doing it yourself vs paying some shop to do it. Anybody can write a check,Look at all the Boyd cars. If you get a chance check out my page and look at what I started with. Yours is a lot better condition. Drop me a Pm with your tele # and see if i have or know where to get anyparts you need. I have lots of local Merc contacts. Thanks Matt
Thanks matt ^ Really long bump...just in case someone wants to help me I have put my car up for sale, but after looking at some finished mercs again, i really think that i want to keep it and finish it.
Don't sell it! Stick with it. Small bites at a time. Take a look in my album and you can see what can be done with a moredoor Merc and beer.
oh dont sell it unless you have to... take a break start later make it fun instead of a job little at a time it will get there
HANG IN THERE: mate. Like Chopped 51 said, small bites at a time. And before long you will see that the puzzle is slowly coming along. Stay focused and if you have a bad day, just go fishing or spend some more time with the family. oz40 (Tom) ... Mexican Merc 50
Thanks for the encouragement guys. But i've had it for almost 5 years and its moving very slowly...btw, chopped51...im only 19, so i cant legally drink yet haha
its not costing you nothing. to let it sit there. hang on it .it took a buddy of mine 13 years to finish his car .ive had mine for 5 years and its far from done ..your young you will get back on it hang in there ..
you need to do a little at a time as mentioned , dont give up as theres a lot of folks that would be willing to give up a left nut for a merc! if you sell the car you will regret it.. good luck!
Your 19 and you have a Merc. Damn. Hang on to it. 5 years when your 19 seems like a lifetime. It's not. Just chip away at it when you get time. If you sell it you be back on these forums in a few years posting about the Merc your kicking yourself for selling.
Ive got a similar problem to yours that I've been working out. Too many projects! Just recently managed to sell a couple of them and have been rounding up parts for the ones Im keeping. Now to concentrate on just one of them and getting it finished is my goal. I started keeping a log of the time and results achieved. i.e. 9/4/09 10:30-12:00 90 mins sand, prep, and etch prime right fender. I'm not looking to put alot of time into it rather get some results for the limited time I have to work on it. I've already pondered enough. tnrotter
If you can hook up with a few guys close to your age,with the same love of old cars,it can speed up your learning curve. I started with VW's and sought out other young kids with them and we all learned how to fix our cars. Within a year we all had our VW's running and started a club. There's lots of clubs around with young guys who have old cars. Being a member of the HAMB will help you a bunch!!! If you don't have to sell it...DON'T!!!!!
Try to arrange a garage party to get some help with the car. Go to the hunnert this weekend and get some motivation back. We are gonna chop the top on my 53 in a couple of weeks if you feel like taking a little drive to learn a little
Dont give up. The problem is a drive thru mentality. Youre not alone. I have a 57 ranch wagon that I've been dragging around for 25 years. Its got new brakes which I'm shure are shot without ever stopping the car. Its got a freshly rebuilt 312 which has 2 hours runtime and I'll bet it locked up. And it has 56k on the odometer. Its 4th in line for work and I'm not giving up on it. I paid 200 for it. Its a disease. If you bring it to Tucson I'll make it 56th in line and work on it when its 105 in the garage. 92 deg right now.
Back when a bunch of my friends were all getting into drag racing, we'd get together and work on each other's cars... Would make a lot of progress. All the pro body guys I know will charge so you I don't have any referrals. If you want to spend some money and take it to a friend of mine in Palos Hills who is a laid off body guy pm me.
Don't be a baby, I was 19 once, lived in freezing cold England, worked, went to school and still got shit done. Man up!
You can't eat a whole elephant at once. A piece at a time............. Stop the body mods like frenched headlights. Get it drivable. Nicest custom around don't mean shit if you can't drive it. Get it running. Get it stopping. Make the lights work. That will keep you happy for a while. How many 19 year old you seen driving a Merc? I've never seen one. So the bodywork isn't finished and it has primer on it. No biggee. Good things come to those with patiance. HANG IN THERE.
Wish I'd had a Merc when I was 19! I know it would have been daunting to me back then - hell it would be daunting now! If ya can't work on in or maby lost interest, at least hang on to it. Ya sell the thing and soon the money is gone. Ya end up without the money and without the car! This is the same thing I tell my 22 year old son about his "builder" '62 Nova project. There it sits on jack stands taking up room in our shop, but I know it's for a good cause. When he finishes school and gets a real job maby he will dig into the thing again - I hope so...
Hang in there bro I can feel your pain, I need more gas for my welder right now and I have to sit and wait until next pay day. But i still go down to the garage and see what else I can play with. Don't get rid of it
How many of us have had cars when we were 19, and sold them, and regretted it? Me for one. I'm 57 now and still kick myself for selling a drop top 56 be lair for 8 bux to the wrecking yard cause I never thought I'd get to it. And I almost had to fight the guy for the f'n battery. I tell you, if you sell it, you will be selling a part of your soul with it. A Merc is worth the pain. You have everybody here for advice. Take your time and do what you can when you can. Slow and steady wins the race. Don't give up.
I am a college student myself. I have 16 hours of class a week, work nearly 40 hours a week, and never know how much time I'll spend on homework. Yet any time I get a spare minute between classes I write down stuff I need to do, and work on my car in the evenings and weekends. I have my grandpa's 29 roadster that was basically a rust bucket from spending 37 years with mother nature. At 19, just think of the skills and confidence you will have having a restored car and college education acquired in the same time frame. Take it piece by piece, break it into sections instead of taking on everything at once. Imagine the car you will have a freakin 51 MERC!!,...and like others said, if you sell it now, you will kick your ass the rest of your life, unless your just not really a car guy.
Hey thanks for all the input guys. I guess i just wanted to get too much done too quickly, and now that its not done, im mad at myself for not getting it done. I decided i am going to keep it as of now, until my money situation gets really bad, but hopefully it wont. Thanks again for sharing, ill keep you updated on my progress if i start working on it again sometime soon.
I was 17 when I bought a '49 Merc fordor. Lowered, twin carbs, racy primer paint. I was the man.. lol. But a dumb one really. Didn't really realize what I had my hands one. Got a good offer and sold it in a flash.... I'm 57 now and still kick myself over it.. .
Read mags this winter and gather parts online or mail order a little here and there......Baby steps man.........don't give up! You'll have lotsa fun.....lots!......Remember that the "Bettys" love those Merc big back seats..........
Well, do you still have your merc BUGGY? jsut wondering how yur getting along. do you have most of the parts? we may have a few, a transmission etc. did not plan on getting rid of it till we sell our car, but if push comes to shove, i will. my friend does not have the patience to work on cars- I USUALLY HIDE ALL THE SLEDGE HAMMERS, AXES, AND ANYTHING THAT CAN BECOME A PROJECTILE. IT TAKES PATIENCE-AND $$$$
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