As a guy who has been attending car shows his whole life, I’ve metaphorically seen it all. While I’m drawn to the factory look, it’s clear that there has always been a strong accessories contingent, and this 1950 Mercury Sport Sedan was clearly owned by a member of that group. Sadly, this is an estate car, but the sellers say that it appears to be original (including, perhaps, the paint), and it might even have 38,000 miles on it. There are a couple too many “believed to be” statements to take them as fact, but either way, it’s a nice Mercury that you’ll rarely see at your local car show. Reliable Barn Finder T.J. found it on craigslist in Indiana, Pennsylvania (is there a Pennsylvania, Indiana?), with a very reasonable price tag of $13,900. But do the accessories stay or go?
If I were buying it, they’d be gone almost immediately. Let’s take a count. The amber lights on the bumper can stay, because they may be a factory accessory. I might even leave the spotlight because the holes are already drilled, but I’d have to turn it around to face forward because I like to see where I’m going. Those headlamp eyelashes? Gone. The vent window deflectors…also trashed. The fur coat on the antenna? Yuck. The fuzzy dice? In the can with the eyelashes. What you can’t see are the curb feelers. I own a car with expensive wide whitewall tires, and although I would never want to scuff them, I would also not want to own a car with curb feelers (although I do love Adam-12…did you know that some of their black-and-whites had curb feelers?).
But no judgment. I am a firm believer that your car is your car, and if you like these things, live it up.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s look at the car itself. The Mercury had few drivetrain options in 1950; the only engine available was the long-lived flathead V8, a 110-horsepower 255-cubic-inch model that was about as good as it got when it came to factory Ford flatheads. An automatic transmission was still about a year away, so Mercury buyers got a choice of a three-speed manual or a three-speed manual with “Touch-O-Matic” overdrive.
If the T-handle below and to the right of the steering column is to be believed, this Mercury has the overdrive option, which afforded a 4.27:1 axle ratio compared to the stock 3.90s. The interior is wonderful, and the fabric matches the factory literature. The seller believes that the car’s “Royal Maroon” paint may be original; it would be almost unbelievable if the interior was. If it has been redone, it appears to have been done well.
Ford Motor Company chief stylist Bob Gregorie was rightfully proud of this Mercury, and for good reason. While stock coupes are almost extinct because most of them have been turned into customs, you can still occasionally find a nice sedan, and this is certainly one of the nicest. But I might have to get rid of that chrome exhaust deflector. And are those tack-on reverse lights? Were they a factory accessory? While those of you who hate accessories may have a little work to do when you get this Merc home, it would be worth the effort.
It’s a cool Merc. I’m with you Aaron, most of the “Fuzzy” accessories would go away on its first day with me. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen eyelashes on one of these. My Dads uncle had a Mercury 4 door like this. I believe it was green ( black and white photos). I always thought they were really unique and beautifully styled. I lean towards the 4 doors like this one myself. It looks great otherwise and that Overdrive will help that old Flathead keep up with traffic. I’d keep the foglights and spotlights, because like Aaron already mentioned, hiles have been drilled.
Family had a ’49 4 door in dark blue. It had similar backup lights. The thing I always liked was the 5 pod instrument panel. A few years later l built a dashboard for my ’32 5 window out of an old ’49. Seemed to go right along with my ’48 Merc engine. Nice looking cars, even the ’50 with that new hunk of chrome around the parking lights.
In 1974 I bought a 1949 Mercury sedan, basically the same as the featured car but painted black. It was in original condition with a verifiable 36K miles – it was one of the best cars I’ve owned, I must say, and it had the optional Borg-Warner overdrive which made for comfortable highway cruising. But the accessories added to this car are ridiculous and I hope they will be removed by the next owner. The chrome and paint look good in the photos, but I would need to do an in-person inspection to really check this one out. Right now, it’s priced between a #2 and #3 condition car. BTW, Indiana, Pennsylvania is the hometown of Jimmy Stewart, actor and WWII veteran.
I still have a 1956 Christmas picture of my family standing in front of our black ’49 Mercury sedan. I totally agree on the accessories.. if it was mine they’d be gone asap. Jimmie was one of my favorite actors btw.. I really really miss those days sometimes.
Aaron I am with you on the add on equipment. I am sure that was the style back then.
Well, it’s probably no surprise I say leave it as is, in fact, I’d get MORE 50s gee-haws, why? Because, the 50 Merc is supposed to look like this, it was the car of choice for all hot rodders and customizers, and sadly, we’re losing that. If future generations want to know what the 50s was like, a stock Merc,,,meh, but a custom hot rod, that’s what gramps was talking about. Those reverse lights were an add on, but totally correct, and I like everything about it, the exhaust tip, the little wind deflectors, the spot light, the visor and little headlight visors, someone walked many a mile at swap meets to get all that, I bet, and should remain this way. With the stick,the only ones that will appreciate all that, is another old timer. After that, yeah, it will all go in the trash.
I am not surprised that you like all the crap that ruins the lines of a perfectly proportioned car in stock form. Hopefully whomever buys this car has good taste and bins it all to give it some dignity.
Ouch
Why thank you, and being a public forum, it’s bound to attract disobedient malcontents like you, and us “normies” just have to put up with it. Why would you say something as de-constructive as that? It’s no wonder the site has to implement procedures for people like you that clog up the site. Go back to Facebook, eh?
Agreed, Howard. Should find one of those swamp coolers to hang on the window as well. Maybe even a plastic Jesus to put on the dash.
Amen, brother!
“I don’t care if it rains or freezes…” The fox tail has to go. However, get a necker’s knob to put on the steering wheel. With all the other J C Whitney stuff I’m surprised it doesn’t have one. I don’t know about the upholstery. I’m sure it’s accurate and it’s professionally done and in good shape but it looks like mattress ticking. See if you can find an old 1950s Rayco catalog.
@ Rumpledoorskin
Hulagirl. Grass skirt and all
I typed a long reply but appears it didn’t get posted. In sum, keep it like it is. “Numbers matching” doesn’t get cars admired and surrounded by attendees at cars and coffee, but this “decade matching” sure will. And the owner gets to explain what curb feelers are for, where all the add-ons came from, and why it’s more fun to work on an engine where the spark plugs can be changed without removing the top haff of the engine. Great car. Great post.
This and your comments below, Howard A, straight out of the fifties! Well **$#@* said!
and about those tires, wide whites, we “carefully” referred to them as “wife sidewalls” if you know what I mean. Hope my wife doesn’t see this.
My cousin had a 50 Merc the same color as this one. I used to love riding in it. It had vacuum wipers on it so when you stepped on the gas they went to the sides of the windshield and stayed there until you let off on the pedal. And the suicide rear doors were definitely different.
The 1950’s, early 60’s bits hanging on this Merc, are nothing compared to what happens to many of these. I don’t know how many 49-50 Mercury’s I’ve seen over the years at car shows with the “wrong” engines in them. Thats much worse than fuzzy dice and headlight eyelashes.
Some were turned into lead sleds.
I sometimes like to see what a teen driver might have saved up with paper route money for accessory wise back in the day. They come off easy enough – it was a different time back when this was a nice used card on a lot and some kid might have ponied up the $350.00 bucks for it and then hit the JC Whitney catalogue hard to “dress it up”. It lacks curb feelers and a dry cooler,….
Me too, as far as the eyebrows, vent deflectors, and fuzzy dice, but I love curb feelers, fog and backup lights (which I believe were factory or dealer options), and even the spotlight (sideview mirror too?). As a kid in the 50s, I thought that the windshield sun visors were cool, but as an adult (or at least a facsimile of one) I hate what they do to the body line of almost any car. I take that back. A 1951 Plymouth or Dodge could only be improved by any gaudy add-on (even a pig looks better with lipstick). In the Mercury case, the visor really detracts from it’s gorgeous and bulbous (zoftig) look. There’s a reason the chopped and sectioned lead-sled is iconic and it’s the starting point that makes it so.
Get rid of all idiotic add-ons on that car, I agree that kids put stuff like that on these cars back in old days, but it ain’t the old days anymore and we’re definitely not kids anymore. That car will look just fine without all those “improvements.”
The first car I owned was a ’50 Merc 4 door. It was all I could afford but, at the time, I was embarrassed by that car. It was black with the gray mohair (what’s a Mo?) interior. I did love the suicide doors and the size made it easy to pile all of my friends in. And, the trunk would hold three guys so we could get everyone into the Sky View Drive-In (Omaha, not Ohio) on the cheap. I wish I still had that car!
Leave it alone and don’t touch a thing. That Merc is cool as hell as is.
I;ve had many of the ford and mercury’s in my life, I believe you have the ratio’s back-ward on the overdrive. The lower number is the O. D. Beautiful car inside and out. It was still a few years before cars had back up lights so these are add on, all very nice. Leon
I had a ’49 Buick with back-up lights.
The 4.27 gear is shorter than a 3.90, which is why overdrive-equipped cars had that ratio. They had the benefit of better acceleration due to the lower ratio, and when you engaged overdrive, the engine was turning lower revs than a regular three-speed with 3.90 gears.
I got the ratios straight from Mercury’s literature.
Indiana Pennsylvania is Jimmy Stewart’s hometown
Not sure all the paint is original given the opened gallon of lacquer paint in the trunk.
I owned a black 1950 Mercury 2-door sedan around 1970. I bought it from the original owner’s son for $200. My dad told me about the car, but I was not very interested until I saw it and drove it. 46,000 actual miles and an overdrive transmission, no radio. It had a Fulton sunvisor on it and fender skirts. I drove it with and without and visor and skirts. I found a radio in a friend’s junkyard, had a new capacitor put in, and it worked perfectly. I sold it in 1972 to a guy in Ohio and thought I was doing great. I had bought an Isky 3/4 cam, 4-barrel intake, and headers that went with it. Out of over 200 cars owned and sold, that car is still one of my favorites!
The interior is correct for a 50 Mercury. When I bought mine, it had seat covers front and back. I decided to take them off and discovered seat covers in the same condition as the Mercury above. My younger brother had a 50 Olds 88 2 Dr that also had seat covers. He decided to take those off to see if he could find the same thing as my Mercury. It was not to be, as he found out why his Olds had seat covers – not a pretty sight!
Brought back a memory of mine, Tom. I bought a 5 year old 1960 Buick Le Sabre 2drHT. Great looking car. It had seat covers and they were some kind of woven plastic material. When I peeked under the driver’s seat portion, I found a mess. The crappy plastic fabric had chewed up the original upholstery so bad I had to leave those ugly cover on.
Posting deleted by author.
Have any of you seen those ridiculous tomato basket rims the folks in Houston put on their cars,these add ons look way better .
@Howard A
Im with you, Howard. As a kid I loved all that junk. I was the queen of J.C. Whitney.
On rare occasions it can be overdone, but this car embodies the 50s, not just the car but the accessories also. It could use a set of spinners, and white fur around the rearview mirror inside. Just noticed there’s no “makeout knob” on the steering wheel. That’s a must.
As an open forum, you know me, Howard. Good thing he attacked you instead of me.
So, when’s lunch?
Yep I can tell you like all that junk too lol.
Over the years from 1961 to 2018 I owned several 49 -51 Mercuries, and a few were Monarchs — Canadian born. All were 4door and the suicide rear doors got more comments at car shows than any 2door car got comments on being a coupe. I restored a ’49 Monarch in the 80s and drove it until 2018. I converted it to 12 volt, O/D with a floor shift and duel exhaust . Everything else was stock. Additions were skirts, peep mirrors, WWW, cassette player for Beach Boy tapes and yellow driving lights. The ones on the car here look too big, mine were a little smaller and they bolted over small raised sections on the panel behind the front bumper. I had a visor and a spotlight but never put them on. too gaudy. Sure miss that sweetheart.
Oh, forgot to mention my foxtail. I put it on the antenna at every car show but never drove with it.
looks like a JC WHITNEY spokesperson with all that gack on it
Accessories or not, this one has been snapped up already and the Craigs list has been withdrawn. I wonder if the new owner will ditch all those tacky accessories.
I hope not! A follow up story is called for. Aaron?
Hey, if I find out where it went… :)
It looks like a JC Whitney catalog got thrown at it. All it needs is the wolf whistle and the stuffed kitty cat in the back window that’s eyes blink in the direction the signals are turned.
Busy day today so I missed the CL ad. Man, this car sure racked up a bunch of comments. I never knew accessories could be so controversial. As a young fellow I was a JC Whitney fiend even though I didn’t have a car. It’s fun to reminisce about the old days when what amounts to pocket change today could buy everything from the foxtail to the curb finders. And that’s what folks put on their cars back then. And a whole lot of other stuff. My Boy Scout troop leader had a cradle for his pipe mounted on the dashboard right next to his compass. A friend of mine actually had a real foxtail on his antenna. Successfully repurposed from roadkill. As I always say; to each their own. There shouldn’t be any disrespect towards preferences on this website. No need to insult ‘51 Plymouths. Be nice.
Leave it as it is. Folks on this site are always demanding that cars be “numbers matching”. But at cars and coffee, who really gives a damn? ie: what cars are admired and oohed over because of that? This one will be surrounded and the owner will be answering questions all day. “What are those?” “Curb feelers. Here’s what they are for. “what a neat engine. You can change your own spark plugs without removing have the top.” This car is “decade matching.” Yes, it’s what gramps – and gramma -drove, but their grandkids would enjoy their grandparents description and explanation of their memories.
Aaron; The spotlights are turned around to protect them from rock chips- and they look better that way.
Howard; I have no problem with you enjoying all of the trinkets slathered onto this Merc. I’d pull about half of them, personally. As far as what would have been done with it back in the day, Gramma & Grampa (maybe Mom & Dad) would’ve been driving this. No self-respecting hood would have been caught dead in a four door.
At local car shows, the fact that it has suicide doors should be enough to get lots of interest. And BTW, fuzzy dice on a car such as this is a rite of passage.
I have a friend that lives near Myrtle Beach who owns an all original black coupe. He regularly attends car shows in the area and takes it on short runs. The car is a beautiful example. He babies it but drives it and says he wants to enjoy it and not let it just sit like so many have been left to do.
I don’t know if the upholstery is stock or not. But I do know that mattress-like pattern was used in 1950 because my 1950 Commodore Hudson had a similar looking upholstery pattern.
I don’t remember what my parent’s 53 Ford strippo had, but it was dark and single color. My grandparent’s 49 Plymouth had some sort of olive green cloth with a slight nap. The upholstery on the Merc is probably period correct but I doubt it’s original. It doesn’t look like it would hold up. Also, it’s ugly.