For many years I yearned for a '30s car, long before I even realised what it would take to own, work and run one. I went through various phases of car ownership from 1st car to reliable street V8, across to the necessary family wagon people mover then my first classic a '64 Falcon Coupe in 1996. With a long run with the Coupe (20 something years) and various modifications, the realisation came that a '30s car was a possibility arrived earlier this year. Then...BANG COVID hit, and the market for available cars changed completely. So the dream of a '32 Roadster or coupe began to shake...getting a little misty from week to week. Then, the reality of my strict criteria set in, and the realisation of this pushed the dream out the side door. The Roadster had to be original Henry steel all the way through !! A '32 Roadster? hard to find...change to a '34 Coupe, also hard to find, especially good ones with traditional running gear and all steel. Well, my finances it seemed would not go that far for the coveted dream of a Rod with a history (at least not in this country). What I did find was way out of $$$ reach. A solid talk to myself about what was important in that car made me recalibrate away from 20+ years of it had to be a '32 - had to be a hi-boy Roadster (John Milner). "Where were you in '62? The one absolute essential criteria remained! Original steel body car. Enter the cool custom look of a custom sled. After a few weeks of searching the COVID affected classified a few possibilities emerged. I have always been a Ford guy, so Mercury's or single spinners were the right flavours. Advice from a mate was..." don't build one as it may take years...buy one close and make it yours through putting your own touches to it" So the challenge of getting one with the right look was on. I'll know it when I see it I said to my wife. A traditional looking sled from the era '30s through to '50s with a Flathead...maybe? After much COVID market research and classifieds, searching enters the right car. A car imported into Australia from the USA A Maryland car, chopped and customised here in Australia (inside & out) with the period stance and motor. Still left had drive (bonus) 1939 Mercury 8 Jefferson Blue Original dash patina 239 cid Flathead V8 C4 transmission 9" differential Fenton alloy heads Offenhauser tri-power intake Stromberg 97's Fenton headers Wide five rims Firestone cross-ply tyres Cadilac hub caps 4 wheel drum brakes (boosted) Happy Enter the OZMERC !!
When I was 16, I had a paper route in our little town that I walked every morning. Every Saturday, an old man on my route would pull his '39 Merc Coupe out of his garage, dust it off, open the door for his wife and off they would go to the grocery store. I watched that for 2 years and finally asked the old man if he would consider selling his car. The answer was an emphatic NO. I've always wondered what happened to it. I'm glad you got yours, congratulations Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Beautiful car, perfect. It's nice to hear that this shitty year caused something good for someone. Sent from my Moto G (5S) using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Is that the one featured in Hop Up a couple of years ago? Love the Pillar treatment. Best thing about Canberra surely?
Hey CadMaD ... Having done a little research since owning the Merc I believe the car was featured in a few magazine articles. Hop Up could have been one of them. The car passed through at least one other set of hands before me. I am pleased to say that it will be with me for a long time before I consider anything but owning and cruising very regularly. You could be very close to what is the best thing about Canberra. Suffice to say we could be heading north to our new home in the near future.
This article? Looks similar but not sure https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hop-up-11-issue-1-steve-galdes-39-merc.978603/
That's a beauty, now you should remove that ugly steering wheel and get it out of your country, I can forward you my address and rid Australia of a Ford steering wheel that should be in a Mercury! HRP
Nice! What is the law for LH drive cars? I thought I read that they had to be converted to RH? This was quite a few years ago.
Crickey, that is one beautiful car! Love the colour. One teeny tiny thing I have to say needs changing are the plug wires. Get some more nostalgic looking ones for the complete look. I think we all need more pics!!!
How far north are you coming up? Come on up to beautiful Queensland. Though the car may have to Covid quarantine at my place for a couple of weeks. Yes it looks to be the same car. I’d lose all the unnecessary stickers and the pinstriping . It doesn’t need a bad girl, tramp stamp. She’s a sleek, elegant beauty.
Holy Merc-a-troid Merc Man, that is one fine 39 and i sure wish it was mine...... Alan Jackson shuold have been singing about your Merc.....so fine! You are blessed, congrats !!!
@OzMerc39, Congrats on this elegant acquisition...Welcome to the Hamb and may you enjoy taildragging into the Wild Blue Yonder Oh Yeah!!
Hey everyone ... Thanks for all the supportive comments. I sure intend to do a lot of cruising once events start to crank up again. There will be some individual touches as time goes by, but for now, I'm mostly happy with the look and feel. And, just because fortunate son asked... here are a few more pics !
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