need 1951 mercury drip rail help

I am thinking of adding some drip rails to my 51 mercury, but unsure what they will look like, and unsure how to do it. Does anybody have a thread they can steer to or how to pictures?

 

hey john, i used 1/4" rod on this merc, welded up on both sides. or if you can find a donor and trim it off right against the body, it can be welded back up. i cut and lowered the gutters on this shoebox a couple of inches.

 

Thanks Matt hey did y ou get my email about the hood hinges?

 

damn i better start cutting all the rain gutters off my mercs so im politically correct. just because some mercs had the gutters off of them back in the day doesn't mean they all were...

 

ohh another purest-- I wonder what they said back in the day? you wanna cut the drip rails off??? what are you crazy? that aint how they did it..... use to be the rodders were odd folks, now they're "purests"people can't think for themselves any more

 

Tinwolf.

I am a huge Merc fan and hate chops done with the drip rail removed.
I guess I better put billet wheels on mine then and sign off from the HAMB.

 

I'm back and forth about keeping them. I did have mine restored because one side was bent up like something fell on the car in it's past. Would have been easier just to shave them. But I think they keep a little of the Merc-ness in the car but I like seeing the cars either way.

Continued good luck on your build, and keep snapping pics.

 

It looks alot better with the drip rails on 2 doors with them off look like the door tops are to high to the quarter window .4 doors look good either way with or with out bec the rear door top will still line up with the front door top where as 2 door do not and then just dont look right ...so id deft put them back on..

 

I drove a chopped merc for years with no drip rails......it sucks!!!!

 

my pops friend had a 50 coupe back in the 50's and it had gutters, although they were completly filled with lead to give them a nice filled and flarred look. he told me also the merc had a big green dragon on it which really blew my mind!!

 

TinWolf, I am another HAMB member and I'm sure I love a good custom as well as you do. If you think that you are representing me or other HAMB members in your tirade against a simple honest technical question from another member then you're dead wrong. You seem to think you have a black and white definition of "our Type" of custom. It's not that easy. Do us all a favor and keep your opinions to yourself.

If you feel inclined to fire the shit bazooka again, try to focus the nozzle a bit better, you're splattering your shit on the rest of us experts.

 

Matt your Merc is dope!!! I love the shoebox also.

 

I understand all of the recent comments from john51 and tin.

I joined the HAMB just a month after I bought my '51 Merc. I originally was going to run moon discs and paint my merc black or grey... sure sounds like a Cobra Merc clone eh? Then I read, read, and read some more, and remembered when I read Pat Ganahl's article in Hot Rod many years ago about the Hirohata Merc being found. Prior to coming here the only Mercs I knew about were the Hirohata, Cobra movie car, the American Graffiti car, and that's it.

Over time I fell in love with the early Barris and Ayala Mercs.

Now my Merc is nice looking in pics, but y'know. I don't have a lot of the things that Tin is talking about... I don't personally like spots... I'm not going to run bias plys the only time I run bias ply tires is for when I buy ET Drag slicks... I'm not running any side chrome, I'm running drip rails. It's like when some folks make comments about air bags. I don't plan to run them and I don't judge folks that are. I know my car won't ever get real low because the roads around me suck. Sometimes what we want to do and what some of us can do differs a bit. Heck I have a GM frame under my car... who cares. As long as I enjoy it, and some folks on here get some enjoyment out of my posts, pics, and hopefully a bunch of video that's all that matters.

 

Bickford I was going to run billet wheels when I first got here, am I a tool too? You guys have to take it easy on the newer guys.

 

I've got drip rails on my chopped 51 and plan on keeping them, even when I touch up the chop to turn it into a hardtop. Why keep the drip rails? I drive the car everyday....rain or shine. No drip rails in the rain=one wet dude walking into work with the waterfall coming over the edge when you open the door (even with a light rain). So really, what's the big deal? Some had them off (note those posted are all SoCal no rain cars), but tons had/have them on in places where weather happens. I'm pretty sure driving the stink out of my car is "traditional" so the drip rails stay....

To answer your question, I have seen it done with some "L" channel curved to shape on a shrinker/stretcher and then welded into place.

 

I have drip rails on my billet wheels.

 

well, if you gotta follow a "recipe" to build a car and be on this site then you're gonna end up with alota the same ole lasagina- lazagna- lasugna========= same ole pizza,, good luck with any diversity (do they all gotta be black?)

 

You are 100% correct. Just because everyone "did it" doesn't mean it was good design. Perhaps it was easier to remove rusty drip rails instead of fixing them. KEEP the drip rails on a two door Merc.- especially if its chopped.

 

I prefer drip rails. That doesn't mean I don't like Mercs without them,just that I chose to keep mine. It's just another preference thing!!!!

 

I'm keeping the drip rails on my chopped 51 Merc.

 

And in this corner wearing billet wheels and weighing 3,400 lbs! Wait, lost my head, easy dudes somebody will spill a drink. Can't we just all be friends. ~sololobo~ wow! prostockjohn, that Merc is lookin sweet!!

 

john asked a simple question about drip rails sense the merc he is building doesnt have any and he prefers them.. and by reading what tinwolf posted i would say he was being a smart ass, to screw up a simple question. plain and simple..

 

Bottom line .. Your car.. do what you want! You own it. I'm not chopping mine. I feel it's to rare to do it. Just be careful how you approach advice i guess.. i know i will...lol

 

Well said Tinwolf.

 

I don't really think that there were too many rusty merc driprails back in the '50's. Was more like copy cat thing. Let's do what he's doing...

 

I see this thread got a scrubbing... Probably a good thing.

Let's keep having fun and help each other out.

I'm glad I kept mine, since I'm not gonna run side chrome the drip rail breaks up the car a bit and keep it from looking like a Hudson (and I love Hudsons):

 

Yea I just bought the beltline trim and thinking on running it on mine too.

 

BELTLINE TRIM???????? oh now you jumped the shark

 

You are?????????? Oooops!

 

What???