Hello everyone, The new guy here, asking for a little ***istance. I'm going to guess if you are a frequenter of this site you have much more experience than I on this topic. So, I just purchased a 1950 Merc that has been sitting in a garage for the last 15yrs. Its is in amazing shape, and at bare minimum would like to make some upgrades to improve it's drivability. I am thinking disk brakes, power steering and maybe an upgrade to the suspension. Our initial vision was to find a Merc to have chopped, shaved and frenched into a real hotrod, but after getting this one I would kind of feel bad for chopping it up. So, we are not sure in which direction we are going to proceed with the car, but regardless it needs some updating. I will divulge my dirty little secret, I am not a car savvy guy. I was an Aviation Electrician for the Navy for 30 years and know my way a Harley. I am pretty savvy with fixing things and know the basics of engines, but I just don't have the knowledge a lot of the car stuff. Crossmember and steering links are like reading Greek to me. Needless to say I finding parts in a junk yard is not my strong suit as I wouldn't know what I need without pictures. I looking for info on conversion and bolt-on kits. If you have a a 49 - 51 Merc, and you used it on you ride, I would love to know what it was and how you liked it. I appreciate any help y'all could provide. I'll through a few pic of the Merc in here. Please let me know what your thoughts are. Keep those old beauties rollin! Thanks, Kevin
Almost any car that has been sitting for 10 or more years will need the following, new wheel cylinders, new master cylinder, gas tank removed, flushed and sealed, carb rebuilt, fuel pump rebuilt, water pump rebuilt. After that start driving it and fixing all the other stuff that will show up.
Pretty car & welcome! Had a ‘ 50 Merc years ago and loved it. I realize this doesn’t answer your questions and curious to see what others say.
Your honesty is refreshing and this is an awesome resouce for learning. May I suggest a good place to start is do a little search and try and find some merc build threads. We all had a 1st car, some of us didnt grow up in garages and everyone starts somewhere and it looks like you have started with an awesome car. Personally the better car you start with for a custom the better off you will be in the long run. If your dream was a chopped, shaved etc I wouldnt hesitate to do that to that car. Its just a Merc not a Duesnberg. Be prepared for a significant spend though as none of that is cheap is paying professionals to do the work. Before spending any money get a clear vision in your head of what you want to achieve and go from there. Questions like, how will you drive it etc. This will save you spending money 2 or 3 times. If you have basic mechanical knowledge and a couple friends who know what they are doing you can achieve a lot. When starting out one little rule I really like is for brakes, steering and suspension get professional input as if they fail you have the ability to hurt or worse other people. Mechanical and body work will most likely just leave you on the side of the road.
BJ, I'm tracking on most of what you are putting down as far as the gas tank, fuel pump, carb, and knew the brakes would be something I would have to look at. However I was not thinking about rebuilding the water pump or replacing the master cylinder. Am I correct in ***uming there is a kit to rebuild the water pump? Also, here is my automotive ignorance shining through, I am not familiar with the term wheel cylinder. Is this part of the brake system or part of the axle? Thanks for the help. Kevin
The wheel cylinder is the other end of where the fluid from the master cylinder goes to. When you push on the brake pedal the fluid goes to the wheel cylinders and they have pistons in them that expand the brake shoes. You may also want to replace the rubber brake hoses that go to the front wheels, and one to the rear brakes.
Panhead, Thanks for the advice. We are not dead set on not chopping it. I actually haven't even seen the car in person. My father-in-law found it for us and my wife flew back to Ohio to look at it and purchase it. It is supposed to be delivered tomorrow so I am very excited. It does run, but I am going to do what BJ suggested and go through the usual suspects and then drive it for about a year and figure out what we want to do with it. I think after that year we will most likely have it chopped. I look at the pictures of the car and say, that is a nice car. What I don't say is, I would cut off two of my fingers if god would let me own that car! And the "two finger" car is the one I want.
I was thinking it was the older version of the brake caliper, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for clearing that up.
Car looks great, welcome! I wouldn't worry about power steering personally, my 51 Ford steers quite easily without. Disc brakes are nice, I have them, but properly maintained drums stop just fine too, my last ride was all drums. The guys here are an amazing resource for sure and have helped me out of a few jams. Everything said above was good advice. Start with all that and let us know when she fires up! What's under the hood? How about a Pic?
No suspension upgrades needed. The stock Merc drives very well. The 1-800 fit all bla bla bla everyday mods you hear are not necessary. Power steering? With the proper tire size, the stock merc steers great. Want it lowered without cutting? Add some lowered uprights(spindles). And or spring spacers. A simple lowering block will work for the rear. There are bolt in suspension upgrades that do not involve a welder or torch. Tube control arms, newer style spindles, steering link upgrades are available. These are not cheap but can be done without fabrication skills. When your friends mention “Crown Vic swap” pay them no attention as they have just exercised a lack of 49-51 Merc knowledge. unless you like front wheel drive offset wheels. If so, purchase a gold chain necklace. Brakes, the stock drums are not bad restored and even better brake linings can be purchased. Discs, may require spindle mods. Research. Updated master cyl, they look better under the floor than hanging on a firewall. Been sitting for years? Brake rebuild, if it isn’t leaking now, it will soon after ya start to drive it. Inspect brake lines and hoses. Change all fluids. Inspect all suspension components. Grease everything with a grease fitting. Check the radiator, replace hoses and belts. Does it run? If so, crank it and check for leaks. Do a tune up. Make sure the gauges work and it’s charging. Look for damaged/rat eaten/rotten wiring. Gas tank? Stored with corn fuel? May need to drain it and blow through the fuel lines. Replace the rubber fuel hoses with modern EFI fuel hoses. These hold up to corn better. Clean out the carb and replace the fuel filter. Tires? Check em. Drive the snot out of this as you make upgrades and keep us posted. lucky.
Get the car professionally safety checked first thing. If you do not know take it somewhere you trust (preferably know) and have them go over it. If they will show you along the way all the better for you to learn. These cars are not rocket science and you are not stupid for not knowing. It was not your thing or you did not have the time. Now you do and want to know and learn. Some U Tube videos are good and very descriptive. Some are, well for a dummy by a dummy that does not know and cannot tell you. Get with a local car club and get some new friends that will show and help you. Welcome to the old car world and enjoy what you have, drive it awhile before you tear it all apart.
210, I know drums will stop the car, but I am just a little more comfortable with maintaining disc brakes. I rebuilt the drums on the back of my 93 jeep wrangler and it was a bit more of a challenge than the disc brakes I've maintained. The Merc has a flathead V8 that looks very clean from what I could see in the pics. I will attach a couple.
Yeah, that looks pretty damn good. I'm also much more comfortable working on discs. That should be a pretty straightforward job. Look forward to hearing it run! You gonna keep it 6v or switch to 12?
Not to be a smart ****, but really, you ought to buy a repair manual for these. If not specific to your car, at least a general one so that you can get to understand the basics of how things work and what they are called. If nothing else it will help you understand your car better, allow you to communicate better and hopefully prevent someone exploiting your ignorance and ripping you off for any work you get done. None of us were born with this knowledge, so do yourself a favor and go through some car maintenance manuals (older car ones) That's a real nice car. Hopefully all the jokes about plastic covering on seats will pay off for you!
X38, I do have the 49-51 Ford p***enger car shop manual. And it seems like the original manual and all the pics are black and white and the details really aren't in the pics. That lack of detail kind of makes it hard to identify the different parts they have lines pointing to. I haven't had the time to read thru the whole manual, but I do that before I start tearing anything I'm not already familiar with apart.
Nice looking Merc. Lots of good advice on this thread. Study it all. Anthony pretty much nailed a bunch of major points, as did other guys. Good luck, do not get in a hurry when you get started.
Mr. Proper, You have a beautiful Merc.! They are getting very difficult to find in this condition. As noted above, there is some good advice already given. Get a parts/service manual to help maintain it. Can you take automotive courses at a nearby educational ins***ution? If you do change anything, keep the original parts to put it back to stock. I hope you do not cut this one, it looks too good as is. I have a stock, original Merc and also spent a career in the Navy. If I can help, feel free to contact me.
Wow! Very nice car! Congrats and just keep hanging around here and asking questions. Tons of great info and lots of great folks here willing to help.
I bought my 50 Merc when I was a Sophomore in High School. I'm 70+ now and still have it. I have been doing custom Ch***is stuff for a living and even now retired can't seem to get away from it. I was around when the first of the M-II stuff started and did my first frame graph in 1968 on my 53 F-100. I've lost count how many I've done since, along with many tube ch***is and hand built A Frames as well as Strut stuff. In 1976 I did a T A graph on my Merc and a motor change. In 1996 I removed it and went with a Nova clip and another motor change. It has Never been what I call "better" at all. I totally regret ever changing any of it. If you know what your doing the Gennie stuff is all it takes to be plenty happy and drive anywhere. Wish I had it to do over. I wouldn't do any of what I did do.
That car don't need no steeenking chop! That's the beauty of '49-'51 Mercs...they look great right out of the factory AND you have headroom (and can see traffic lights without a visit to your chiropractor)!!! In addition to the manual you have, find a '49 though about '52 Motor's Manual. They have great detail and also have a 'general' section that will provide good info on contemporary mechanicals. Methodically go through the stock systems (fuel, brakes, electrical, cooling, suspension, etc.) and in the end you'll have a fun, reliable, easy driving cruiser. Enjoy it for a while, then formulate a step by step upgrade plan. Don't get so deep in mods that you loose interest and wind up letting it sit (or worse, selling it).
Welcome ! Thanks for your service & as others have said, being honest. Now, that Merc is toooo nice to .....just keep it close to original and drive it. Put your "signature" on it. I have driven those cars with a fresh mild flathead and no power anything, and rebuilt suspension and mild rake. Handled well and was comfortable, and stopped very well. .02 cents or non sense
Anthony, Thanks for all the good info. The trucking company will only bring to a location about 20 miles from my home so I opted to get a trailer for the remainder of the trip. It was started and driven a very short distance (1/4 of a mile) prior to shipping, but I simply don't want to take the chance with the brakes, belts and fuel system. I know all of those things need to be inspected, rebuilt or changed. As far as the lowering goes, from what the old fella that sold us the car told my Father-in-law, the read of the car was lowered a couple of inches. I ***ume using blocks but I need to get under it to verify. The chopping I was referring to was on the roof. We both love the sleek chopped roof hotrod look. Like I've mentioned before, we are still undecided. As far as swaps with new donner cars (the crown vic thing you referred to), I'm not ever remotely interested. If it is not made for my car I really would rather not put it on the car. I realize that may limit some thing, but that's the way I feel. As far as the fuel lines go, are they sold to the specific length need for the vehicle or are they just a hose I can cut to length and clamp on? Seems like a remember older vehicles being cut and clamp not lines with screw-on fittings. Thanks again for the info. Kevin
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