This has been a lingering project and the stars finally aligned to get this baby out for body and paint. Julio recently went out on his own after over a decade at Starlite. He's a super quality individual and his work is excellent. This car should prove to be a showcase piece for both of us. The car is a single owner '49 merc that has been in storage for about 50 years. We've had it for a little while but now the project is in high gear. all the pics are on my other 'puter so i'll post later, but i had to get a thread started or i know i'll procrastinate and never get it done. At some point in history the car was nosed and decked and the rest of the stock trim is in place. We're gonna leave it that way including the original Appleton spotlight So far, we've put in a tubular A-arm front suspension with power disc brakes, Installed lowering springs, put bearings and seals in the rear end, rebuilt the rest of the brake system, painted and detailed everything that came off, converted it to 12V using a Powermaster alternator in a stock housing and Keith from Advanced Mobile Installations rewired the car tip to tail. We have a new gas tank and radiator and all of that jazz. The stock flathead is still a good runner so we're just going to detail it and put it back in. its got a new clutch and pressure plate so it should be a nice reliable runner. Julio is gonna get this thing blocked out real nice and spray it in deep tuxedo black while Restoration Pieces in Lawndale handles all the chrome and stainless. Chito's Glass in San Pedro is handling all the glass. The interior was redone many moons ago but the vinyl is all gassed out and sticky and starting to yellow and the carpet is all torn up so Santy's Upholstery in Hawthorne is going to recreate what's in there. We're gonna run skirts and '57 caddy caps on bias ply look radials. I'm in need of skirts, the center piece for the grille, 2 exterior door handles, 1 interior door handle, and the drivers door lock cover is missing.
Great merc, looks like a good plan. Good luck finding a good pair of outside handles for the 49. I thought they must be easy to find because so many are shaved but far from it. Took me while to find a restorable pair here on the HAMB. The only thing I would change are the 57 Caddy hubcaps as IMHO they are much overused. There are so many classy alternatives.
The Jalopy Journal
