In real hopes of getting this '66 Mustang convertible (don't ask) out of my shop this year, I'm finally thinking about a "me" project. So, I've been sitting on a flock of 4-door Mercs and a very nice '49 Lincoln 2-door for a couple of years, now, and need to decide what to do with 'em. I've offered some for sale and let the ads fizzle because I really haven't had my heart in parting with some of 'em. I've been offered some cash for a pretty decent Merc front clip, but I have it in my head somewhere that the 2-door Lincoln I have is the same body and frame as the Merc and all I'd really need is a pair of Mercury doors, along with the hoods and fenders I already have, and I'd have a Merc 2-door. Have I got my facts straight? Are they the same body shell and frame? If so, has anyone done it? What are the pitfalls, if any, or is it a simple parts swap? I wouldn't be looking to fool anyone, so things like dash and trim aren't of much concern. Is there a build thread on the subject, maybe? If there is, I'd sure appreciate a link. JOE
They are NOT the same. The Lincoln frame and sheet metal from the cowl forward is all different. The doors don't have anything to do with it-in fact, you could take the Lincoln two door body complete and transfer it to one of the frames from under the 4 door Mercs and use the front end sheet metal from the 4 door and you'd have a two door Merc.
Sorry, I should have mentioned, it is a Cosmopolitan. To be honest, now I need to know what difference the Cosmo has to the others. I can already see this is going nowhere, so thanks for your time and replies. It may help answer the same questions for others in the future. JOE
The Cosmo is too different to be changeable. The Baby Lincoln has been changed to a Merc style before. There are body differences in the Lincoln between baby & Merc but I don't know if they share underlying similarities or not. You would need to take the dash and interior out of a baby Lincoln and compare it to the structure of the Mercs. The dash is a given difference but I don't know if the structure underneath is different. The Mercury 4-doors are the same as the Mercury 2-doors in the floor, cowl, frame, front clip, & running gear. Using a donor Merc 4-door frame, front clip, & running gear, you may be able to put the Lincoln body on with a Merc front end depending on whether the bolt holes align or not. Even if they don't, it may still be do-able but it wopuld take a lot more fab work to get it there. If yours is a Cosmo H-series, just keep looking since nothing will align like a baby lincoln would.
Very interesting. Thanks. Now I can finally purge that whole thought from my brain. Basically, if it's not a quick swap, there really is no gain.... until the world completely runs out of 2-door Mercs and we have to make one from scratch for a museum. JOE
The small Lincoln looks so much like the Merc you wouldn't have to even ask if they were the same body or not.
The Cosmo is a unique body shell on it's own 125" wheelbase chassis. The so called Baby Lincoln uses the Merc body but on a chassis with a 121" wheelbase. The Merc is only 118"w.b. The 3" difference between the Baby Lincoln and the Merc is all ahead of the cowl.
Too bad it's a Cosmo. One thing I'd love to see is a baby Lincoln with a Merc nose grafted onto that longer front end. I never liked those Lincoln sunken headlights.
You have a Lincoln Cosmopolitan 2 door? Wowee wow wow that is a rare car. Love the big 337 cu in flathead. You don't have to do anything to a car like that. Maybe lower it, give it a nice paint job and a tuck n roll interior. If it's a real nice stocker it should be preserved as a museum piece. But if it needs work you could make a real cool custom without changing much.
The Jalopy Journal
