Should you build a ’49-51 Merc custom you can rest assured that the obligatory top chop will be part of the final form. Before beginning the build process at HAR the sled made a stop at Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop for the 4-inch chop, a freshly constructed floor, and fitment of body to the Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) chassis. Other body alterations include Frenched headlights with ’56 Lincoln trim rings and the requisite DeSoto grille, the bumpers were then cut, sectioned, and flipped, custom side moldings, shaved door handles, smoothed taillights, one-piece front sheetmetal clip, ’50 Merc rear glass, custom window moldings, along with the stock hood. The following bodywork, of which there’s a great deal, was handled at HAR with the painting sprayed on by Marc Neron of Menace Customs in an RM Unripened Green Metallic with ghost flames by the master Josh Shaw. Shaw laid out the flames and sprayed the color after Neron did the mixing and prepwork. Neron then laid down the clear and Shaw pinstriped the flames.

I’ve mentioned the chassis earlier but let’s take a “deeper” look. The AME chassis came with an IFS and a Ford 9-inch rearend with Moser axles and 3.42 gears. From here you will find Strange Engineering coilovers in front and airbags in back, a Flaming River rack-and-pinion, AME front and rear sway bars plus a rear Panhard bar, and Wilwood discs in front and drums in back, all operated by power brakes. The wheels are ’56 Caddy Sabre wheels measuring 15×7 with 4-inch backspace at each of the corners. The rubber comes by way of Toyo with custom whitewalls measuring 225/50R15.

For a long time the powerplant that rested beneath the hood of a custom was often “forgotten” territory. I can remember on those rare occasions getting a glance under the hood of a true custom only to be disappointed. The engine of my pickup looked better. Not anymore. The ’51 Merc on these pages has a beautifully crafted engine compartment and V-8 paying homage to early Mercurys and vintage powerplants.

One of the rarest of the vintage motors is the ’58 Mercury Super Marauder of which it’s reported only a 100 were made. This was the most powerful V-8 of the era, producing 400 hp (the first Detroit motor to publish this number) via a Holley Tri-power out of 430 ci. (In 1959 the Mig M, as it was called, was detuned.)

Residing underhood is one of the vintage Big M motors now featuring a Comp Cams bumpstick, a Mercury distributor that’s now electronic and is matched to an MSD coil, and a set of Taylor wires. Included are a Holley fuel pump, factory exhaust manifolds with 2-1/2-inch stainless exhaust tubing, along with a pair of MagnaFlow mufflers and a CVF Racing serpentine belt system. Powermaster received the nod for both the starter and alternator. The vintage V-8 is backed up to a Merc-O-Matic three-speed modified by Arnold’s Transmission using a PCS Electronic shifter. The Mercury Turnpike Cruiser was made in 1957 and 1958 and featured the Merc-O-Matic when used behind the 368, 383, and the 430 motors. (It should be noted that the name “Turnpike Cruiser” was christened to commemorate the creation of the Interstate Highway System.)

Inside the Merc does have all the prerequisite creature comforts, such as air conditioning, tilt column, and electronic shifter. The Vintage Air unit has its airbox mounted in the trunk and from there the registers (vents) are ’57 Lincoln Mark II roof vents. The controls are hidden within the center console beneath a sliding door. Other console-mounted controls belong to the PCS electronic shifter. The electrics are handled by an American Autowire system position by Rodney Hadwiger with the juice coming from a battery that’s also trunk mounted. The steering column comes by way of ididit with a Chrysler Imperial steering wheel all residing beneath the factory dash and gauges that were restored by D&M Restorations. The seating is a combination of a pair of ’64 T-bird buckets in front and a custom-made bench in back. The stitchwork is from the sewing machine of Steve Holcomb of Pro Auto Custom Interiors in a brown leather with Daytona Weave for the carpeting and a suede headliner.

Well, there you have it. The custom is alive and well and this ’51 Merc is the perfect standard bearer of what we should expect to see in the future. Expect more exciting Mercs because of this award-winning leadsled.