Photography by THE AUTHORhat’s the philosophy that has evolved over the years for Denny Merritt, owner of Merritt Auto Repair in Georgetown, Indiana, established back in 1987. While Denny enjoys building custom cars for clients, he likes it even more when he has time to create unique additions to his own collection, like this deceptively stock-looking 1950 Buick Sedanette. His latest is part of a long line of customs to include a 1970 Barracuda, a 1940 Ford, a 1971 El Camino, 1972 Avanti, and a 1948 Studebaker pickup. He takes his individualistic approach one step further, smiling when he says, “Everything I do eventually expands into something that I wasn’t planning on doing!” The results always seem to justify the extra effort since his cars regularly find their way to the winner’s circle.
The first step was separating body from chassis and having both dipped to ensure a rust-free future. The original framerails were reinforced then upgraded with a Nova clip and a 10-bolt GM rear with 3.73 gears. In order to eliminate future parking woes, a modern Flaming River power rack-and-pinion steering wheel ensured the heavy Buick could be guided with just one finger. The same theory applied to the huge set of Baer brakes with six-piston calipers and 14-inch rotors. They are the biggest Baer makes, capable of bringing the big rig to a stop in an impressively short distance.
“The original plan was to simply create a nice driver,” Denny says modestly. Clearly, he has succeeded and then some. The old Buick has become a technological tour de force with enough power to unleash that tire-melting hooligan that we usually try to suppress! While the Buick is definitely great on the road, the fun part for Denny is the building process and he already has a couple of cars in the wings lined up for a dose of that famous Merritt creativity.