This Mercury is the quintessential classic hot rod with its black and red color scheme, machine punched hood vents, dog dish hubcaps and piles of stainless and chrome. The sound of the rumbling flat head Ford motor only adds to the nostalgia of this period correct setup. The Mercury’s style is reminiscent of movies like Two Lane Blacktop and American Graffiti that has inspired generations of car enthusiasts to buy and fix old project cars.

4 Wheel Disc Brake Conversion 12 Volt Conversion Column to Floor Shift Conversion
100% New Wiring Holley 4BBL Offenhauser Intake & Heads

From 1942 to 1945, America was at war and civilian car production came to a grinding halt as all focus went to war production. So when 1946 came around, the new face lifted Fords and Mercurys hit the market, ready for veterans and eager buyers. This Mercury two door “sedan coupe” was one of about twenty-four thousand made that year and sported Ford’s long produced flat head V8 engine. With only one hundred horsepower from the factory, this build would be focused on upping the power and bringing the car into the 21st century. Many standards of the 1940’s would be dropped in favor of more modern and user-friendly options. First on the list was a full four-wheel disc brake conversion featuring a firewall mounted split dual reservoir master cylinder and modern proportioning valve feeding Chevy style calipers and rotors. Next up for modernization and safety was replacing the unpredictable and often slow vacuum operated wipers with electrical motor driven wipers. A common modification done with older cars is converting the electrical system from 6 volts to 12 volts. which was done on the Mercury in addition to entirely new wiring throughout the car. With this upgrade an electric frame mounted fuel pump could be added as well for reliability and easy starting. Lastly for modernization was replacing the worn out and tired suspension with new bushings and rod ends. With maintenance and safety behind us, it was time to focus on hot rodding, something the flat head Ford V8 has been known for over fifty years now. The timeless look of Offenhauser cylinder heads was paired with their intake manifold and topped with a Holley four barrel carburetor for a old school hot rod look. With the hot rodded new motor the original column shift manual wasn’t going to do, so it was swapped out for a top loader manual transmission for a traditional floor mounted shifter.

 A full body restoration wasn’t in the budget, so the body was fixed up where needed and the front clip, underside, and cowl were stripped and repainted. The inner and outer rocker panels, floor pan, inner and outer fenders, and cowl sides would all need body work from decades of rust and poor patch work. On top of this, when the car was fully disassembled the under body and frame would be steam cleaned and wire wheeled for chassis painting. Overall, the work would blend well into the rest of the car’s decades old lacquer paint and bring new life into a tired old hot rod.