1950 and 51 Mercury sedans are a staple of custom and hot rod history. They have great lines from the factory that lend themselves to customization. This one is an older restoration, but it still looks really good. It is a 1951 and can be found here on eBay with a current bid of $18,100. Located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, there are some parts of the car that can be refreshed and updated, but, overall, this is a really cool custom! Take a look.
Here you can see a couple of the custom touches on the rear of the car. The pinstriping is elegant and not overdone. The exhaust exiting through the bumper is a really nice touch that is not only a cool custom feature, but it also allows the car to get really low without scraping. The taillights have been frenched into the quarter panels as well, which is a classic custom touch.
The interior is definitely dated but still looks like it is functional. I bet when the car was first finished, the white upholstery and door panels looked great against the purple paint. The dash is beautiful and the custom steering wheel and gauges appear to be in great shape.
Along with the interior, the engine bay could use a refresher. The seller says the car runs and drives, but “could use some attention.” Apparently the 305 V8 has been sitting for about a year, so the carburetor will need to be gone through. It is also clear from the photos that a little bit of electrical clean-up is in order.
Overall, this is a really cool custom that deserves to be driven again. Hopefully, it will find a new home and it will be enjoyed for years to come. What do you think about these ol’ Mercs?
While the “lead sled” era was a bit before my time, these, to me, always represented the original custom car. Built many models of these. Before auto body techniques of today, it required a massive amount of skill to do these, and the results were stunning. Just how practical could be debated, but they didn’t get any cooler than this.
Nice car. Is it a ’51 with a ’49 dash in it or a ’49 with some rear ’51 metal in it?
Good catch it’s a 51 car can tell by the rear window but think it is a 49 dash my 1st car was a 49 Merc and it had the same dash maybe he just liked the round gauges instead of the square ones
Custom steering wheel looks ’69/’70 Impala to me. Bunch of thought went into this build. The Packard tail lights blend in nicely with the rear bodywork. Howard… none of this stuff is practical but it sure is fun. Little work to be done underneath….
You meant 59 or 60 for the steering wheel
Those dern teen agers with long greasy hair and the cigarettes rolled up in their t-shirt sleeves, hot rod hoodlums….and rock’n’roll has gotta GO!!
Chop top Mercury, looks real sharp.
It certainly checks all the boxes for what a period perfect Custom Merc ,should look like. I would think it is going to require some, maybe allot of TLC to become the car, you would want it to be. I have always liked and respected the 50 Merc Customs, but have never really wanted to own one. But if I did change my mind, this one would be a good choice.
lead as body filler = lead sled.
Nester; Years ago I did some lead filler work on a motorcycle tank and used a lead-tin alloy. Do you know of the “old timers” used pure lead, or a lead-tin alloy (“lead solder”) ?
Hi Dave, yeah, those “lead” artists are all gone, before the toxicity of lead was known. It was rare a bodyman lived to be an old man.
Howard; Yah, you don’t hear of many folks still using lead today…for good reason. I think that the old-time body guys who used lead got their exposure from breathing in the lead fumes. I wonder of something a simple as a using an air mask and breathing “clean” air from an air tank could have saved them? I guess, “what you don’t know can kill you” was the problem. :-( :-(
This is just me, as a product of the late 70’s and early 80’s, but, GROSS. Pass.
Could use some cut-outs showing behind the the front wheel opening to complete the look.
Just too cool !!! Great price this early. I’m thinking it may bring a big tag at the end. Just not alot of custom Mercs around any more !!
I thought they were Packard tail lights at first, but I think they are Kaiser tail lights.
Nice car.
Good eye now that you mentioned it I think you’re right they do look like Kaiser lights
I would love to have this despite the glaring issue with the wiring. Who ever did that harness made a mess out of it.
What does it cost to completely rewire a car like this with a new harness?
America Autowire and other companies make complete wiring harnesses complete with a modern fuse panels. color coded wire. In this case it would be a universal harness. Not a lot money and all you need is some time and patience.
Yeah, they look like Kaiser’s to me too. Beautiful car
Having built a few tubs (two featured in car mags) This is a well balanced and attractive car Cudos for details most guys don’t know exist..
Taillights appear to be from the ’51-’54 Kaiser model lineup. I like this big lead sled, I could have had a soft spot for these back in the 50’s. This old Merc should make someone a nice old cruiser and I bet they will have a lot of smiles per mile. Gonna buy me a Mercury and cruise it on down the road…..
After seeing this posting for the Mercury I could not help but think about the song “Mercury Blues” by Alan Jackson. Cruise it up and down the road..
The original from 1952:
https://youtu.be/QsTfCITzISM
What a striking classic, you used to see these more,it really deserves a much better engine than a 305 chebbie….
305? Are you kidding? This needs an FE or a y block to say the least. Keep it all Ford. BTW no disrespect to Chevy.
It has way to many bowtie parts for me…….LITTLE BOYS WEAR BOWTIES. Pull the boat anchor chevy out of it and put a FOMOCO In it and you’ll have a sweet ride.
Camaro guy… Look at the time I made that comment. Surprised I even spelled it right! I know the dash is ’49 because I used the gauges in my ’32 5 window coupe. Either way, great looking gauges in a great looking car. Brain pan also tells me that everyone hit it right on the Kaiser taillights.
How sad, Skorzeny.
Really a classic Mercury with a GM 305 turd in it? Thats sacrilege when you have so many better choices. At least a 302 or maybe a 390? What a shame, and wouldnt spend money on a car that I knew I would immediately change the drivetrain on like this one.
I had a great body guy that helped me replace rear qtrs on a 66 Mustang Fastback and just behind rear glass to qtrs there was old lead seam we had to cut out and replace with fiber mtal epoxy and not the factory lead that was used. Those were some deadly materials the factory did in the day