Customs The art of the mild custom

FLAWLESS! You'd have a hard time getting me out of this one.

 

Much of the reason for this, is new technology. Way back when, most of us only had a few tools and big ideas. Also, the cars were our daily drivers, therefore, we couldn't take months to years in making modifications...even IF we'd had the space, cash, and equipment to build our rides.

 

Great lookin merc! Did you build this car? It looks like a car that a friend of mine had for a while. He didnt build it either but it sure is a nice merc.

 

Mine.

 

I totally agree with you. In my neighborhood there might be only one person/ or business that had a welder. Lots of us had an electric drill, a bug sprayer for painting, and plenty of experience with hand files.

You can see why some parts of the country had cars with lots of bolt on type customizing.

 

Exactly! When we were fixing up my brother's 53 Bel Air Sport Coupe in the 70's, we would do all the stuff we could (nosed, decked, shave the gravel guards, lowered, split the manifold on the 235) and then wait for when my uncle who was a painter would come to Texas on vacation from California, and prep it for him to shoot it!

 

Another nice one is the one that had a 6 part series in Car Craft from april 55 to September 55 called The Japan. It showe readers what they could do with a 52-54 Merc and 52-54 Ford. I still cant post pics on here of it maybe Rik can post some pics of it or anybody else that would hve pics?

 

Its a nice car... but I have seen better grille treatments...

 

Dang Rik your fast!!! Thanks for posting..I agree on the grille treatment. However I think there thinking behind this was to show readers a simple way to kustomize the grille without major modification

 

I like that Merc pretty well, and I had completely forgotten about it. I don't think it got a lot of exposure other than that Car Craft series.

It's funny to me: the '52-54 Fords and Mercs are nice looking cars, but they weren't (and aren't) very popular with customizers. Jimmie Vaughn's and Mark Morton's cars, although they are both extremely conservative, may be among the best ever done on that platform.

 

I agree with the Vaughn car but I still think that with the Morton car albeit has mild custom touches around the body it will still put it in the Full Kustom class with the chopped top. I do see what you are saying with these cars and I agree.

 

Morty's Merc is the same deal as D'Agostino's '58 Olds: 95% stock body with a chopped top. I wasn't representing the Merc as "mild", I just said that it was extremely conservative.

 

My 53 Merc.
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Nice ^^^. I think the Pontiac grille works so well in those Mercs that, overall, it looks better than either the original Merc OR the original Pontiac. Good choice.

 

Sorry about that. Reread your post. I should of worded mine differently.

 

50Fraud--Thanks ,I like the Pontiac grille a lot also.I was working on
different front before I decided on that grille.Lowering the stock
53 Merc bumper and making a tube grille.

 

that one looks good also two chops....i don't think I've seen one with a tube grille before. the pontiac is a nice choice. I was going to go with one on the Lincoln but decided against it

 

I too enjoy mild kustoms and here is (was) my '55 Victoria and my pal Buzz Mohr's cool '53 Coupe plus my Bro-In-Law's '50 Sedanette and his old '53 Riv......Enjoy!

 

couple of oldies....

 

Other old timers correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the progression of terms (defined by car show rules) were Mild, Semi, Full and Radical. Mild was defined as trim removal, lowering and bolt on stuff like lakes, skirts, spots.

Semi custom was all that plus frenching, molding, filling seams, maybe adding scoops, sunken antenna, etc.

Full custom had all that plus extensive metal work and re-shaping.

Any or all of the modifications such as chopping, sectioning or channelling turned it into a radical custom.

 

Couldn't help myself.

 

Here's mine in '63 & with a different front & rear treatment in '67.

 

Thanks for posting Rik...Some real nice ones in there...

 

Here are three that caught my eye.

 

Precisely Tom....that's the line up........Centurion9

 

yep!!!

 

x2...i think this was explained in one of the custom books too....

 

My 64 Fairlane Wagon.