So I'm looking to step up from my '39 ford rat... and i found this... '51 merc custom... Interesting front grill, haven't seen anything like it... But... wait for it... it has no doors? What the heck... any thoughts? What kind of things should I look for. It does have a v8 flat head with three deuces and seems to run very nice....
I assume it's a 4 door sedan with the roof hacked off and they filled in the doors. I wouldn't doubt they did this because after the roof came off, the doors wouldn't open or close properly because they didn't reinforce the body properly beforehand. Could never even put a Carson style top on it with this setup, it'll be hard enough as-is to crawl in and out. Grille looks like a '55/'56 Plymouth bar with the center missing and the outer pieces cut off. Fits poorly, I can see the open end of the bar in the pic. Damn shame what was done to this car, would be near impossible to make this into something worthwhile. A good running Merc flathead is worth something I guess.
oh, that is disappointing... read a thread where it discussed reinforcing the body ... started suspecting the above myself... thought of opening it up from the inside to see what had been done to it. Guess I could check the vin maybe? agreed on the fit of the grill bar... looked like it could be finished in...
What parts are fiberglass? Windshield chop is excessive and makes it look out of proportion. No functioning doors or top are big negatives. plus the hood doesn't help it. What are those chrome bumps on the trunk? Someone put a lot of effort into ruining a Merc.
Here's a closer of the front... looks like spot on about the plymouth... and yes, it's kinda pieced together... I actually liked the style, just not the implementation... headlights are siliconed in to.
My next step was to check each panel and determine what was fiberglass and what isn't.... attached a picture showing the hinges...
I would of liked to but I don't think I should jump into this one... the opportunity was trading two bikes for it... '05 harley road king and a '07 bmw GS1200...
It's a Ply grill bar. If mine, I would fill the hood and lose the lake pipes. Replace the grill bar with teeth. French the headlights then look toward a Carson Top. Round it out with twin Baby Lorraine's. I'd also take it back to opening doors with remote actuators. At 56 years old, the last thing I would want to do is to try and crawl in it like some youngin' !"
I like the grill bar, but no doors, f-ed up hood, and whatever is wrong with the trunk lid fit would keep me from buying this one unless it's going cheap. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
I'm definitely concerned the body is flexing... so would need to reinforce somehow ? and agree, at 59 I'm not thrilled with hopping over the door myself.... so electric doors, chevy teeth, fix the trunk, and fill in the hood...
call me newbie but still trying to figure out what twin baby lorrains are... heck when I started this I had never heard of a carson top... with the help of this forum I'm a little more educated, emphasis on little Appreciate all the opinons, observations and help. Thanks !! wait... spotlights? no way....lol..
That's what they want for the Merc??? Watch how long it takes to sell and for what it really sells for if it ever even sells. When they look bad in a picture they are much worse in person! I repeat, don't do it.
I'm with 19Fordy. My first thought was that the entire car was fiberglass. Starting with an old Gene Winfield/Pete & Jake coupe. The squarish front rolled pan and flared front fenders look like the fiberglass cars. Plus that warped tulip panel looks like unsupported (roof lopped off) fiberglass, along with the external hinges that are a tell tale there's no inner structure. Here's a P&J bodied Merc:
I would not touch this with a stick. Even if it's cheap, I bet my Merc and my house that this was cobbled together in a way that would cost you a ton of time and money to make something decent out of it. On the other hand if the 39 Ford you mentioned is the one in your avatar, even this merc would be clearly an upgrade.
where would you park it if it's 51 feet long? *the apostrophe goes before ( '51) to denote the removal of the 19....not after the 51
Had a customer car where they engraved the year and owners last name on the valve cover, but put the apostrophe in the wrong spot. Still call the car "40 foot Beers".
Don't even think about swapping for or buying that Merc. You will regret it as the cost of "saving it" will put you in the poor house. Look elsewhere.
After seeing that picture and the picture of the rear of the car, I think Hot Rods Ta Hell is on to something, it's very possibly a fiberglass body with the roof cut off, which makes sense why they had to fill the doors and also the poor fitting trunk. Once the roof was cut off, all of the structural strength of the body was lost and there was no way the doors would ever open and close anymore. Although if that's true, it's surprising that it would have a flathead in it. Either way, I don't see a whole lot of value in this car. If you liked it as-is, basically a big impractical toy with very little possibility of ever being a legit fully functional custom car, I guess it's OK if it was dirt cheap. Might make a cool rolling advertisement for some kind of business or something like that, or the parts have some value. But if the $18,000 number is really the asking price? Not a chance. Maybe a third of that, and then only to the right buyer.
Your are Crazy if You Pay 18K for that Thing ! its probably worth the Going rate of Scrap Metal! Just my 3.5 cents Live Learn & Die a Fool
Thanks for all the constructive and not so constructive advice... it is a '51 running frame , motor, trans, etc. Hydraulics added. Complete fiberglass body. Nice interior but it is a fiberglass body. My hopes and dreams...dashed on the barren shore... exiled to leprosy rat rod island
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