Features Can Anyone Identify This 40 Merc?

Does anyone have any info or pictures of this 1940 Ford/Merc? Kustomrama posted the photo with no info on the car. It seems to have a 55 Chevy (?) grill in it.

 

I believe it's a Merc.......may help with your search. Tim

 

Thank you, I have updated the title and post

 

That poor Merc

 

The grill might have been inspired by the early Ferraris. This is #0124AM, a Type 340 Barchetta, built in 1951. Very similar cars with smaller engines were made in 1949, so the Merc's inspiration may well predate the '55 Chevy.



I think the original grill would have looked better, but obviously the builder wanted to set his car apart!

 

The Ferrari egg crate grille was the inspiration for the 55 Chevy grille design.
The 55 grille looks way out of place on the Merc. Chances are good that if the Merc still exists, it does so with a different front end treatment as I bet someone would have built in an improvement over the years.

 

Let's hope so, that is really out of place on that style car

 

If the guy wanted a Volvo, he should have just bought one instead of hacking up that Merc

 

There is more info on this Merc owned by Virgil Shuck on the Kustomrama site.

 

Thanks Rik, that's it !

 

Thanks @MannyK and @Rikster !
We're currently trying to relocate this old West Virginia custom for Virginia custom enthusiast Roddy Moore.
Built in the late 1950s, the car ended up in a junkyard in Christiansburg, Virginia, before it was sold to Ohio In the 1970s or the 1980s.


This is the last photo we have of the car, now sporting a flame paint job. I must admit it looks better from the angle in the photo you posted MannyK

 

You might be onto something there Terry! The Chevrolet grille might have been a convenient and affordable way to achieve a Ferrari look on the Mercury!

Merton Peterson wanted to achieve the same look on his Shoebox:

Merton's grille was formed using exhaust tubings....another custom from our Lost and Found section btw...

 

Superfleye: I take for granted Roddy Moore is still around and messin' with old cars. Does He ever frequent the Hamb? I'm just curious, I bought a channeled '34 Ford roadster from him in 1979! Tim

 

Yes he his still messin' with old cars @timwhit Not sure if he's on the HAMB....now you got me curious about that '34 roadster. Do you have any photos of it?

 

Oh yeah. Not a very good pic. Its a pic of a pic in an album from the late 70's. I have more if your interested. Tim

 

I actually kind of liked the grill from the angle in the first picture, but from that angle oh my