From 1990 to 1999 the Mercury was driven to so many shows its hard to even count ( I have the dash plaques though to trace its tire tracks)..In those years it made its first AmeriCruise, Cruise the Coast, Stray Kat show, just to name a few. The old car was beginning to show its age again, from road wear, to weathering the elements. It was time to give the car another make-over & freshen up the engine once again. ( at the time it had approx. 450,000 miles on the car) HARD MILES. Above is a shot from TMS GoodGuys show. Aside from being driven from state to state....the ol' girl went around Texas Motor Speedway at 130+ mph. Here is the action shot, that is Mom in the co-pilot seat. After leaving the track & parked back in the show spot, Mom said " the tires squealed and the car wiggled coming through the dogleg on the front stretch, I said, James!! That's FAST ENOUGH!" There were many more invitations that Dad received due to an old black Mercury, they attended Chuck Berry's 70th Birthday Party, at the request of the promoter wanting some hot rods lining up the walkway leading into the venue that hosted the party. Mom & Dad took part in numerous parades with the car. ( I would joke with Dad, telling him that's probably the slowest that car was ever driven). Dad was invited several times to take part in the opening parade down Texas Motorplex to kick off drag racing season. Dad later boasted after Ennis..."I turned in a low 10 at Texas Motorplex going down the dragstrip....that's 10 MINUTES...I was in a parade" 1999 Dad decided the car had enough, it needed cosmetic work & some other things done to it....little did we know.......''little things" meant FLAMES. The car now had new paint, a freshend up engine & transmission, all that was lacking was a nice interior to match. Dad scored a complete T-Bird interior with some trade out work of pinstriping & some cash..Major Score that put Dad closer to having the Merc of his dreams. Shawn Cook of Murphy ( Cooks Auto Top & Trim ) was called upon to handle the task at hand. White ultraleather with black inserts & carpet was Dad's request. The result was...TOO KOOL....Dad was beside himself. The car was 80% fresh from bumper to bumper now & ready to hit the shows again. The first outting would tell the tale......Dad had hit a homerun with the Merc....it got excellent feedback from anyone who saw it...Dad couldn't have been more proud.....once again...she hit the road..DRIVEN long....and Driven a lot. Numerous shows & trips followed....on the AmeriCruise in 2001....the editor of Rod & Custom asked Dad if he could ride with him for the day...Dad's response was..." you're welcome to..just don't get the impression that this is a $100,000 Custom, because its NOT" "This old car is DRIVEN" As they made the leg of the trip that day, Dad told R&C the history of the car. Later when they stopped......the editor once again approached Dad at the hotel....Dad said, " can I help ya?? Did you leave something in the car?" The editor said "no, James, I was wondering if you would like pictures taken of your car for Rod & Custom" Dad said....."well..I was about to go eat some BarBQue.....but Hell.I can get BarBQue in Garland" So...for the first time since 1974....the old Mercury got nationwide expossure. The title was appropriate..."Half a Mil" Many more car shows followed.......and a LOT more miles. One trip stands out more than any for me.....it was Father's Day Weekend & Dad asked me if I could take time off of work to go with him to a GoodGuys show in Colorado. I had to beg for the time.....but I got to go. In spite of the weather being cold, wet & miserable......we had the time of our lives. Upon getting the show grounds on Friday.....we discovered that GoodGuys used the old Merc for promotional handouts & the car was on the event shirts, mugs, and other merch. The show was over, we headed back to Texas. As luck would have it though....we broke a speedometer cable in Colorado while at the show. Now, Dad.....was NEVER accused of driving that ol' Merc easy.....some friends would be following him to a show & ask..."James, how fast were you going" Dad's reply would be the same, whether he was burning up TMS @ 130+ or 15MPH down a dragstrip....."I was going about 67 MPH" & then he would grin. Many years of car shows followed....Dad in the driver's seat....Mom in the passenger seat.....two of a kind out cruising the highway. Dad lost his battle with an inoperable brain tumor in Jan of 2010....and the Merc was the car that lead the funeral persession with me behind the wheel....just like Dad would have wanted. ( I love you Dad & Miss you Very much) My girl Vicki & I just returned from Lonestar RoundUp & I'm happy to report that ol' Merc got us there & back just like she always did with Mom & Dad. I want to thank everyone that took the time to read part 1 & part 2 of One Car's History.......this last picture is just SOME of the awards & trophies the car has earned under our 38 years of ownership. As of today...April 24, 2012......the car has 592,400 miles on it..I'm going for 600,000!! .....to be continued.....I HOPE
Sorry for typos & poor quality of some of the pictures...A REAL writer could have treated this story much better.......but I'm afraid they wouldn't have had the emotional ties that a proud son has. James Crawford Jr ( Jim )
Hey man, see that little speck of striping on that Carson topped Buick? I did it! We all hit the big time together! No seriously, Do you guys have the magazine that the car was in before it was chopped? Not to long ago, I stumbled across it unless they showed the pic in one of the features and that's what I'm thinking of.
Jim, I've always admired (loved) your Merc. It's great to hear the story told by you! The car everyone knew my dad for was his red '32 highboy roadster. I got really choked up on the last part as I lost my dad to cancer just 4 1/2 months ago. Following the hearse? My dad's '32, his '55 Bel Air, and about 25 other rods. The limo followed the hot rods, then the rest of the cars follwed the limo. Thanks so much for taking the time to write, compile, and share this with us. EPIC car, great family!
Sincerest condolences Daddio........our family extends our prayers of strength & healing.......God Bless Thank you for the huge compliments, Jim
Sharing stories like these are extremely theraputic, Daddio. By sharing these precious memories.....our loved ones live on.
Awesome, I loved the car at the Roundup. Had I known this about it, I'd loved it even more. How much you want for the Merc?
Sorry for the very late response, Houston HR, the Merc is not for sale....it is cool that the car draws so much interest.
I remember shooting the car with your dad in Lincoln for the Half a Mil story. So sorry to hear of his passing but I'm glad to see his Merc is still on the road. I'm sure he's riding shotgun every time you take her out.
Thank you SB....you shooting the Merc for Dad was an all time highlight of his life & one of his proudest moments. I'll be forever grateful for allowing us that opportunity. I'm still putting miles on the old girl............she's at 592, 450 mi.
A great story..... Let's hear more of these...There must be many more similar ones to hear. Daddio,....Our heartfelt condolences.... 4TTRUK
Jimbo, I have a pretty cool picture of your Pop and the Merc that I took at one of the local shows. I will dig around and try to post it.
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