Recognize this 40 Merc convertible?

You seem to be pretty intimate with this project, I'm very curious about this car, can you post some photos of the dis***embled pink Zaro car and some build pictures of the Zaro roof getting welded onto the other car ? Thanks.


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That would be VERY interesting to see for sure!

 

I`d like to see more build shots of the convertible.

 

Yes can we PLEASE see some photos of that famous roof getting reinstalled ?

The "Who's Who " I like that one.

 

All I have.. unfortunately no before primer shots. There might be a reason for that!

 

I know this was in September of 2012 but, If people think this is the most original Johnny Zaro Merc. And is a true Barris original, then why hasn`t it sold yet (and it might have sold already). $45 grand for a true Barris Custom seems cheap to me. If I had the money, I`d buy it in a heartbeat if I was lookin to buy a car. But to me it doesn't resemble anything like the original Zaro car. The fact is: parts from the original Zaro car is now on two separate cars. Which would you choose after reading this thread. If I had the money, I`d pay double for Kurt`s car, Hell, even triple would be a steal.

 

I'll talk to Kurt and see if he has any more info to add, or if he even wants to.

Kurt is a good friend of mine and he is the absolute nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. If you know him like I do, you would understand that he is very p***ionate about historic customs. Sometimes these cars come into his collection missing lots of parts and in terrible condition...what most people would consider beyond repair.
I've been told that the lower 2/3 of the car was just not repairable to the standard that he brings them to and all that sheet metal would have been cut off and refabbed, so technically there wouldn't be any original steel anyway. Plus most of the lower body wasn't even the original factory 40 Merc steel when Kurt got it due to decades of cheap repairs...there just wasn't anything worth saving. Seems as though the opinion is that Kurt merely cut the roof off, but technically it was cut along the belt molding so it is the upper 1/3 of the car...look closely at the pics.
Draw your own conclusions on the convertible that was built...I can't say anything one way or the other because I know nothing of that build...I can only guess from the photos that Rik posted.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not trying to bash anyone else's car and I'm not trying to bash anyone else's opinion, I'm merely trying to bring the truth to the table. We are all brothers in this custom world and we all have the right to our opinions, but please consider all the facts before forming those opinions.

 

This has been a very interesting read.

It is definitely slippery slope when it comes to restoring a custom that was in as bad a shape as this one sounds like it was. Does replacing every panel and the frame ,if indeed they need to be replaced (or already have been), one at a time make it more historically correct that putting the cowl and roof on another car? To me it is kind of 6 of one and half a dozen of the other.

 

This pretty much says it all right here......at least in my opionion.

 

The chips have landed where they are, I've dealt with Kurt on parts for my 40 Mercury Coupe. The story in the Rodders Journal was a great insight about this Custom and it became the Custom it is today. I wish he would have kept the parts and just stashed it, now we have this so called Zaro/Convertible Custom puzzle of left over parts. When you get down to it, it's all trivial in my opinion. Why a buddy of a buddy or whatever has to explain his/her interpretation of what "really" went down is giving me a sour taste about this whole ordeal. I'm just better off conjuring my own dreams while looking at the old mags and Custom Annuals and leaving it at that. I understand why people are isolating themselves from all this and walking their preferred path. "Calgon take me away!" hahahaha

Kenny

 

They said the frame fell apart when Kurt took the body off it was so badly rusted so one has to ***ume it is not original, and if StLouisSled is correct the floor was rotted out (no surprise) so it probably has been completely replaced, the front clip wasn't the original Zaro clip and the lower portion of the rest of the car was rusted out to the point that it all needed to be replaced. So really what does that leave of Johnny's car when all those repairs are done? Is it still the Zaro car once all that sheet metal has been replaced?

To me neither are "really" the Zaro car anymore because there is not enough of the original in either one to be considered the same car but I would say Kurt's has the most important part of what is left.

 

Well. I'm the guy who restored the Merc and 3 other cars of Kurt's. The Zaro Merc. was about as rusty as a car could be. The lower1/4 or so was rusted gone and galvanize sheet metal was pop riveted on and covered with plastic. Floors and trunk also. Fenders also had alot of galvanized sheet metal covering rust with lots and lots of plastic. Horrible car. We used a rust free lower body,fenders and frame. It was restored in 1997 and still looks good.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anything negative about Kurt or his car, and I'm not saying that the Zaro Merc in its pink form was a cream puff and not rusty. I only question why Kurt's Merc is called the Zaro Merc, that's all.

 

Here is Johnny Zaro's Merc in it's pink form...

 

What is more Zaro ? This ?

 

Or this ? Theres ALOT of pink here !!!!! That's all I'm saying...

 

But if the whole front clip isn't from from the original car,it has a different frame , the floors have been replaced, the top 1/3 is on Kurts car and the bottom 1/4 is pop rivited panels and bondo how can you still call it the Zaro car either?

 

Restoration, recreation, replica, whatever term you want to use Kurt's car recaptured the look and spirit of the original Zaro car. Based on his owning the original car and saving all the parts he deemed salvagable allows him to call it a restoration, at least it does in any other facet of the automotive world. The other car doesn't even resemble the Zaro car if the photoes are correct.

 

It's my understanding that the frame, cowl and Floorpans are still the originals.




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With all due respect, your making no sense. The Hilborn and So-Cal streamliners are beautiful recreations that capture the look and essence of the originals, but they are still recreations.
And if your gonna make the argument about the recreation of the Zaro Merc having the roof then your basically saying that if every guy that found a SWC Willys fender in the trash can at a drag strip put it in a car and painted the car blue that he would have an original SWC Willys because he "captured the essence". A roof is just that, a roof, it's not a car. Johnny Zaro did not drive a roof around, he just took shelter under one when it rained. What he drove was that pink car.


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Dude, you got a serious burr up your **** over this car. You seem to be the only one that has a problem with what is accepted by the m***es. Numerous magazines and publications are OK with it.
Little rebellious?
You are making a mountain out of a mole hill and downplaying the fact that Kurt bought what was left of THE Johnny Zaro Merc and saved all the Sam Barris work that remained. The lower part of that pink version of the JZ Merc is BONDO AND CHICKEN WIRE. What's left other than that? Some rusty inner braces? There was no savable metal left. The frame was toast so who knows whats under that convertible.
Anyway, let's just look at the beautiful car that it has turned into thanks to Mr. Conrad and enjoy the fact that another early custom was saved.

 

I don't have a burr up my **** about this car, it's owner or its restorer. I'm sorry that I don't agree with you or the m***es, I just have a problem with cars that have some parts from a historical car attached to them, then ***ume the iden***y of the original historic car. I will not post anymore on this thread so you can go ahead and say that "another early custom was saved".


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Parts or sections are one thing and early Custom cars are another.

I think its very cool what Curt did but... I dont think it is or should be considered the Zaro Merc.Im sure the m***es do

 

I think the confusion comes from Kurt selling the parts he deemed unusable. It allows the other person to claim a partial ownership of the Zaro car. But a restorations goal is to recreate the original form of the historic car. In my mind , which I admit is small, one accomplished that and the other didn't. Does that make sense ?

 

So here we are almost 5 years later and the owner of the convertible is considering selling the car. I have read thru this thread and would like to add my observation. I walk past this car in the shop everyday and have looked over it completely after reading all the posts. The convertible was in terrible condition when it came to the shop. It was a rolling ch***is and most of the car was there. The owner went through every panel cut out all the garbage and bondo. Then welded every panel in, to its correct shape, with very little filler. As stated the owner was building other 40 Mercs and was always on the hunt for more sheet metal, when he stumbled across the pink body Merc. He had no idea it was parts to a Barris car. A seller representative was trying to sell the car for the owner and did his own research and called it a Sam Barris car. I don't think that the amount of work that it took to get it to its present condition would have been worth it to most people. Most would have done what Kurt did and keep the important roof and cowl and build another car. This owner could not do that to this car, once he discovered what he had. So when it goes up for auction in a few months, what should I call it? A mostly Johnny Zaro 40 Merc? I want to be as accurate as possible and I hope not to see 3 pages of how its not what it is

 

This is the pic of the pieces from the Zaro Merc hanging on the new cowl before body work

 

The Remains of the “ Zaro Merc” is back on EBay.