So I've got a '52 mercury and I was wondering because I've never actually seen another one in person and I see very few for sale online, if the car is either rare or just not a very popular or sought after car. I'm curious because another factor is the ones that are up for sale tend to be pretty cheap.
It's my understanding that the 52-54 Ford/Merc is still considered a good value, since the prices aren't as high as the 49-51, or the post 54. Still a flathead, and they make great customs. I remember several 52-54 taildraggers from my youth, and they all looked pretty damn cool to me. Didn't take a lot of modifications to make them look good.
Our next door neighbor had one when I was a kid 50 years ago. You are right, there are not a lot of them around. I don't know why. I always liked their looks especially the big chrome tail lights and the airplane like dashboard controls.
I drove one to school, it was a really nice car but the axles were a little weak, snapped a couple and not from hot rodding but normal driving. They are around and good looking.
I had a 53 Merc that I lowered, nosed and decked. Sold it to a friend years ago, he still has it. Don't see a lot of them but they aren't rare just not real popular. They do make a nice traditional mild custom.
A 52 is a one year car from many points,3 piece back gl***,rear stainless on the "FENDERS" leading edge and spear,front bumper,mostly a trim thing as it was the first year of the design.Not sure how many were made,I had a 52 Monterey two door hardtop for many years,wish I still had it!! ROY.
1952 model year Mercury and Fords are both more scarce than the 1953 models. I just looked up the production figures for both makes and both years. Mercury production for '52, all body styles, rounds off about 172,000 vehicles.....for '53 it is a bit over 300,000 units. Ford production for '52 is about 670,000 units and '53, a bit over 1,200,000. So Mercury production figures were roughly one fourth of Ford's numbers in both years. I would speculate that two things worked against 1952 production. First, the post WWII pent up demand for cars had pretty much been satisfied by '52 and second, the Korean War (1950/53) caused some material shortages that affected production of many goods. Ray
MercOmatic - post some pics. my first car, before I had a driver's license was a '53 with V8/overdrive trans - lots of fun.
Alright sorry it took me awhile to get back to you guys but here she is she's different and not a car everyone likes because it's not painted and it's a bit of a shop car but its the car I bought when I was 15 did all the work on and still drive everyday (18 now)
I love 52-54 mercs but I think they have way to much gl*** area ! They look much better chopped or with a carson !
'52 merc is totally a cool car. I have a '54 hardtop and I rarely see '52-'54 Mercs at the shows. Keep looking around and you'll find that they are easy to customize and look amazing slammed with whitewalls and skirts! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
All the the patina is fake haha I personally sanded it all to bare metal and painted it 4 times in a paint booth it's all for looks
the hardtops are a bit hard to find parts for because from the beltline up, a lot of the parts fit to super rare sunliner and convertibles. I've been on mine over a year and just now found vent windows and tracks for the right hand door the completely gutted when i got it. Iv'e got a 54 special custom coup and they are near impossible to find trim for. i ended up putting a 52 front bumper on it because i couldn't find the 54 in close to decent and filling the beltline trim holes. The vent trim where it meets the a pillar and the tails are potmetal junk so they are getting next to impossible to find in good shape.It's a good thing you have a 52 with the trim intact. the side stakes on the 54 were a popular mod on other cars. Good luck not giving up your spleen and taking up with a loan shark to pay for some. I would upload pics of the engine swap and whats been done so far, but it says my files are to big. NOW.... does anyone know what headers will fit these because the forum for the cars that had the swap info in it is gone.
I've had my 52 since I was 16. I've only seen another one in person once. Also, not all 52's seem to have the 3 piece back gl***. Mine is 1 piece and appears to have always been so. The hood hinges are a nightmare though. Need to get mine rebuilt.