Ah i see, well thats all right. Your car looks great. Have you decided what shiny color you will be going with in the future?
Thanks man,it will stay in the red family.A little darker then now but not burgundy.Its not that I dont want to repaint it.......its just the way work is right now.
Out of curiosity, is that long GM style battery stock in a Merc like that? Man, that whole engine bay looks so "right"
Just in case anyone forgot about this prime example of a custom from this era...... Cant leave out Bens Buick.
Well it's in the stock location but they didn't have the long battery at least not that I know of.Thanks again for the compliment.
Thanks man....seriously.I swear im not trying to brag or be a picture whore with my own car ,I just want people to get fired up about this small era of customs.I think its been missing on the Hamb lately and I figured I would try.As far as posting the engine pics,I haven't posted that many before but since people are diggin this era I wanted to show a car true to the era under the hood as well.
Amen to that. While you were being held hostage I felt like I was the only one trying to keep this thread alive. I think this is one of the best threads going right now. Minus a few people posting ignorantly "heres my shoebox with triple lakepipes, visor, 59 caddy lights, and a sick forward rake.." Im so tired of the JC whitney clad, radial tire'd, "80's 50's" cars.. they just seem so generic and boring to me. There's something incredibly appealing about a car that sticks to an era.. it just seems right. Kind of like it would be weird to see a girl wearing a 40s dress, a 60s hippy shawl, 50s cat-eye glasses, a bee-hive, and 80s tennis shoes....... Sorry for the rant... just keep posting pictures of traditional cars!!!!
I just love this sled right here.Rikster got a hold of the pic from a guys album.The picture is dated 1952.Gorgeous 41 Ford,the owner lived in Bakersfield and was a county western singer.Rik posted this on the early custom thread a while back,this car is just so nice.
I find it hard to believe nobody knows or remembers anything about this great lookin car?A pal is hanging on the steel guitar forum,I`ll ask him to post this photo and see if they can come up with anything.If the owner really was a singer around Bakersfield area there must be a fellow musician who recalls him.At least the car is hard to forget..
If that pic was taken in Bakersfield the first name to pop in my head was Buck Owens, always was in to cars until the end.
Love your engine, Jeff! Here is the Hirohata Merc in 1952. Check the battery... And the restored one in Jims car. But this thread is for contemporary built cars, not vintage shots. If it's not only for a brief moment of inspiration. We already have the kustom threads for cars from the golden era. Must have been built more cars in this style over the last 20 years? Neither my engine compartment or my engine is ready yet. The dual carbs will be on for this summer. But wiring and much more needs to be done. Looks like this now.
Thanks J.B. Wow man......your engine looks real nice.Im so glad to see that flathead in there.......I love it.I really like how you are into the era under the hood as well.I know Mr.Matranga was really into his engine too,at least that's what I have heard.
I know you have the best of intentions and I thank you for the enthusiasm. However, I don't think yelling is called for, before anyone knows the result or look of any car being built. We have had this discussion some time before and it is impossible to be 100% period correct. We all have to draw the line on a more moderate route. Personally, I want the feeling with my car to be the way that the guys that built them back then, could have felt when using it. Never a 350 Chevy or disc brakes or any of that, just because some say that they NEED that for any reason whatsoever. Modern traffic speed, economy etc. A Ford flathead V8 can easily cruise at speeds of 70 mph with a good rear axle ratio. Don't know where you need more than that for a longer period of time. And if you start using the overheads that came out in 1949 -up, well then you have even more power. It is easier to hide modern stuff on a kustom car than on an open wheel hot rod. But the more era correct, the more I appreciate it. A nice looking kustom can make me loose a lot of interest if it's built with modern driveline and chassies. I have something that I started to kick around in my head lately. What do you guys think of 6 volts? Any ideas around this? Myself, I got pretty tired of 6 volts and rebuilt my Mercury generator to a 12 volt after some years. But for my new project, I'm not sure...
My 49 Hudson is 6 volt and starts great and I've had people flash their lights at me thinking I have my high beams on. Alot to do with that is the way it sits, lower in the back so they get all my 6 volts can give them. I can buy a battery locally for $87. Only drawback that I have is the radio. AM stations in Sacramento suck. Jeffsled and JB your Mercs are truly inspiring for my next project
Love seeing the photo of your engine Jeff! Most of us feel Customs look best closed up , but it is always a treat to see a vintage powerplant under the hood! Here are a couple shots of the 216 under my hood.
I think he liked to go fast too. Here is the Oakland program. #417 I have stock bore and stroke now. My engine needs to be properly rebuilt in a couple of years and I have a nice set of 3 5/16 pistons lying on the shelf and also a good 3/4 cam. My Merc is not intended to be a clone of the Matranga Mercury. My inspiration is clearly from that one, but I have more plans for it in the future incl. a different style of sidewindow channels. The chop on the Matranga Merc is what really sets the car off, so me and Wolf put many hours just studying the different angles and had for example Kurt McCormick to provide us with unknown vintage Matranga pics too. This was before the "Rik Hoving era" with his fabulous website and his work with the kustom tradition. Now we can much more easily find stuff that was impossible to gather before and he has opened many doors for us to find knowledge about these great cars. Now I just need to see more newly built ones!!! Here is a new pic from the Swedish photographer Condor. Too bad with the ground leaning forward, makes the car look almost level... ha ha..
Too bad it's only a photoshop... I think I have seen that front bumper somewhere... Ron! Lovely engine!
Wow Ron !!!! That is just gorgeous.You are right about the vintage powerplants....I love em especially in a custom.Thanks for the compliment and thanks for showing us your engine.
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