Projects Bought a Mercury on purpose

Love see the shop class progress on this Merc. Very cool. Good on you.

 

Make that a Candy Apple ( might help determine paint colour) and you’d be in for sure!

 

I graduated high school in 1962 (class of 20) in a small farming community outside Oklahoma City. The brand-new building was the 3rd most modern school facility in the U.S. at the time but the school board had a pre-WWII mentality. Girls were expected to go on to be secretaries or nurses and boys were expected to be farmers or factory workers. Skilled trades weren't taught at this "modern" school. It took quite a few funerals before the school board changed their ways of thinking and the school system actually entered the modern era. After graduation, I wanted to go to Okmulgee Tech which had an excellent automotive program that covered everything from basics to design and how to make the cars better. My parents were determined that I was going to be a "Professional", doctor, lawyer, engineer (engineer of what was never decided). We were at stalemate almost immediately, so I became one of those who attended the "School of Hard Knocks".

In the Chattanooga area, the only automotive program taught at Chattanooga State is for mechanical and electrical systems, nothing for body repair. Their other courses are for things like medical or dental assistants, HVAC repair, truck drivers, business courses and such. Since Volkswagen opened a very large plant here, they have developed a course at their own facility directed toward what they require in their production lines but nothing about design or maintenance. The Cleveland, TN high school shop courses are geared towards machining, welding and robotics, all of which would be useful in the VW plant and their associated vendors. They don't teach anything remotely related to what @anthony myrick teaches in his classes. Let's hope that what Anthony does continues for a long time and that someone else comes along after Anthony with the same dedication that he has.

 

Anthony you have it figured out ! You get paid to supervise your custom car get built with free labour and materials. Way to drive it !

 

No.
No free materials.
I buy my own paint, parts ….
When we built the bus, I bought everything and refilled the gas and wire in the MIG.
I do use the schools building, equipment and electricity. The bus goes to shows representing the school on my dime. It’s used to recruit students. The past 2 years I’ve been at the Alabama Auto Show with the bus representing skilled trades. 4 day events for $0 as far as compensation for my time.
6k worth of tool was provided to the school from the bus build and car donations. We load up in it and visit businesses all on my $$$
The one trip to Charlotte we did in the bus our school bought the gas.

free labor. Well, if those students mess up something, and they do, it’s on me. Something I can do in an hour might take them days.
We’re not paid like coaches. All the after school stuff and weekends are on us instructors. Even the pizza.

I do have a commercial account from our local parts store but it’s not tax free.

I tried convincing some outside people into us building something cool. No one stepped up. Yea, people will “let” us paint their old car all day long. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m not here to glass over rust and watch students DA rust off an old ride.
When we found out North and South Carolina had a build off contest, we asked to join it. A wealthy business guy was funding any build in those 2 states. We were OKd to join but no funds. No problem. We built the bus. We were the only school that met the criteria. A running, tagged, 5k build. Then drove that junk straight from the shop nearly 500 miles from the school. 1100 mile round trip maiden voyage.

So, after that we approached a couple car guys that could afford to do something cool. No takers.

well, I bought a wrecked merc. Some students pulled and worked the sheet metal. That may be all they do at the school. My wife suggested, since the car was already loaded, to knock that part out before starting on it at home.
I guess we will see what happens next.
We’ve got other things we have to do.

on a side note, our automotive instructor is talking with a “person of means” on funding a possible T-bucket build.
I guess we will see.

these older cars we work on aren’t the focus. They just get the most attention

 

But, we have kicked around the idea that if I chop it, to do that over the summer with students. ……maybe.

 

We started this kinda as a fun experiment
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/caddy-roadster-high-school-shop-build.1085408/
a rotted out caddy I bought for $250.
It’s was fun watching students imaginations put things together. Then covid hit. It’s in a storage container. But it’s just cut up qtrs and a couple fenders.
But, just having started that got us to the table with a couple business people interested in the t-bucket build. The idea was to find and fund say 5 schools willing to do a buld off starting with a simple bucket kit.
So even if it stays in the storage container, it was not a waste of time

 

Its got to be tough trying to juggle everything in order to keep your program alive so I hesitate to throw this out there but here goes. Maybe your school has a graphic arts program that could design and produce some T shirts with the bus or other logo on them as a fund raiser? Of course that opens up a whole other can(s) of worms with accounting and other issues. But if it could be made to happen I'd be in for an XL short sleeve and long sleeve one as well. Just a thought.

 

Me too and if it's an American made shirt, I'll take two.

 

A question. Would the "possible T-bucket build" be able to be sold or raffled off by the school to help finance yet another build or, better yet, a scholarship fund for students continuing in the automotive field? I believe that some school systems don't allow things like that because of liability issues. I hope that would not be the case where you are.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Wasn’t trying to bust your chops. Why do you have to recruit students? Don’t all the kids in the district show up on the bus for Monday to Friday? Maybe we have to pass the hat for a hamb build.

 

Here is a picture of my '51 with stock springs :

And with a set of Aerostar springs :

 

I know mine likely settled at least another full inch after being in the car a year or two. Looks like they didn’t make much difference on your shoebox.

 

Really? place a straight piece of card board (I used a busines card) on the side trim on both pictures and see where it hits the front tire. On the before picture, it hits above the whitewall, on the after picture it hits the bead. I believe those are 2 3/4" whitewalls. Given that these pictures were taken just before and just after installing the springs, I don't think anything had settled in the after picture.

 

Ok, I see it better now. I also now notice that you flipped the rear shackles at the same time.

 

A community college in western Nebraska has a trades program where they build a hotrod/custom and auction it off each year and they have built some very nice cars! I wish I had pictures of any of them but don't think I do, if I run across any I will post them here. Also at the local community college they have a very good auto body program which a good friend of mine teaches the second year students and they go to different competitions and always fare well!

 

Good eye, Jeff.

 

Don't have a before measurement, old springs were heated and crooked by previous owners before but trust me, you'll not want to go any lower and still drive it without worry. This is with 3 inch blocks in stock rear.

 

That’s about where I’d like to be

nice ride

 

You now have the secret combination!

 

Good point.
When the guy financed the build off in North and South Carolina, he and the schools that participated didn’t understand all the legal/school admin regs. It was a learning experience for us.
One reason our build was the only one driven was that I owned the bus. I insured it.
When money is donated to a school, it has strings attached. Only vendors that accept POs can be used. Some schools will put that $$$ in a general fund. If you donated $100 to help pay whatever for a student, we can’t do that. About the only way you could sponsor the student is to purchase whatever is needed and hand that to them.
Sux.
So for the T-Bucket deal, someone outside the school would have to legally own the car to eliminate a lot of BS.
Both instructions here, the automotive and collision, are master ASE techs. If the school system is ok with outside work, then how is building the T any different?

At this stage we are just trying to figure out how it could be pulled off. Each school system has different guidelines. Plus finding instructors as goofy as ours that would be willing to spend time after school and or Saturday.

but the general idea is to be able to auction or raffle the T to generate interest and funds.

kinda long winded, but that’s how it is.

 

Didn’t mean that to be do long but it’s a thing Ive heard a few times. A person once told me I had a great deal going by building and selling things built at school.
There was only one problem with that theory. I haven’t sold any build.
Students are bussed here from other high schools. We are not a high school, we are
a high school career center that serves the students in our county. Both city and county students. We recruit students from the 6 high schools in our county. Plus one private school.
We meet with every student in the county and discuss what we do. The bus is a visual that I use to gain students.

 

these are the 2 shirts we have. One from the buildoff and the other is our race team.
I’d have to talk to a print shop to get more or design another style.

 

I need an XL Electric Possum Garage shirt.

 

I’ll look into getting something.

 

Back to the Mercury. It was purchased to be my work ride. That’s why I was stoked about this ones interior. I’m fine with that
I sold my old daily truck several months ago. I’ve been holding off buying anything. My personal ride is a bus and a flatbed now. I’d like to cruise the Merc while I work on the wife’s ride and a couple others.
I can put 7500-10k a year on an old beater. So I guess this is my hesitation on keeping the flatty. How long will a flatty that hibernated nearly 50 years hold up.
I have no desire for PS, PB, auto or discs.
Would probably have to use a hydro clutch if I use a lever style clutch fork over the original set up. Using the earlier style trans would let me leave the clutch set up alone. Then use a SBC or Y adapter.
The 283 I have has a fresh L79 cam, lifters, chain and crank. Heads have been worked.
The 272 isn’t far behind that but no performance cam.
Looks like the Y is more fab work to install.
So I’m kinda leaning towards the 283 at this moment. Makes more sense to wear out a SBC over the others.
I’ll still see if the flatty will go but don’t plan to keep it in there long.

 

I would just get the flathead running and if it runs good, use it until it doesn’t. I have a buddy that puts that many miles on the flathead in his F1. He did put a T5 behind it though just for driveabilty. You can always put the 283 in later when the flathead is worn out (unless it already is).

 

I’m kinda thinking that.
If the flatty cranks, rebuild a carb, water pumps, hoses,……… and drive it a while.
I’ve got the older style trans in a parts car. I’d like to find the older style OD, then piecing that together with either the 283 or 272.

 

Cleaning out the 50 to make room for the 51

found these. Might keep ‘em

 

Got the stock brake pieces ready to order.
But I plan to upgrade the MS. With a little help from @Tman, this AMC master cyl is 1 inch like the original, a dual drum MC, and as far as “era correct” its a 63 - 60something unit

the ports are on the side away from the frame. Should just about fit the stock location with a simple bracket. No firewall stuff on this project.

and looks like a pressure switch underneath
hmmmmmmmmmm

on this set up, it’s raised a lot. Maybe to clear lines.
The original mounts at the yellow arrows. The hole with the red arrow is where the brake line passed thru the frame.
Should be able to use it for the front brakes.