It seems like the '51s get all the love, and all the coolest taillight treatments. I'm hoping to get ideas for my '49. It's not quite time for me to do this yet, but ideas are brewing. Let's see what's out there. Here's the originals (w/ a blue dot added). They're nice. They fit the look of the car. The designers did a great job. But...I said custom (or Kustom). So, some "work" and some don't. It's totally subjective, I get that. I have opinions. Boy, do I have opinions. I hope I don't piss off too many people. Let's see some examples. Here's a few: Stock lenses (yes, I know, a blue dot) "frenched" and lowered. This example is done very well with what looks like round rod around the opening. The cut out on the inside for the missing reflector keeps it from being perfect, IMHO. I would have tried to incorporate the reflector, and that would have given the inside a nice, rounded edge. Maybe it wouldn't work. Still a good-looking example. Mmm... The Winfield custom bubble lenses. It doesn't get any better than this. Perfectly proportioned and mimicking the rear window. These are (again, my opinion) the best-looking Merc option I've seen. I believe they are made of unobtainium. OK. They're custom. Not sure what they came from, but it doesn't look "traditional" to me. Looks a little like an '80s - '90s build. Moving on. 2 examples of the ubiquitous '59 Caddy lights. Some work, and some don't. These have been done to death, but 2 side by side, mounted horizontally in a recessed/frenched oval would look pretty good. I haven't seen it done, but I'm considering it. Another I'm considering, is these Buick lights. I'd mount them horizontally and recessed/frenched. These are canted, to work with the front-end treatment on this fine example. '49-'50 Lincoln lights in a Merc. Traditional, yes. Good looking, meh. It may be sacrilege, but IMHO these don't work. Too big, and too round to make sense with the chopped top. Yes, they are fine for YOUR CAR, just not mine. These Hudson lights are cool. I've seen them mounted this way (sideways), and the normal way. Sideways, makes more sense on a custom Merc. I p***ed up on pair before and regret it now. I've seen a few different examples of in the bumper guard lights, and I like them. Show me your examples.
The stock ones look great as is. Just because a car is Custom doesn't mean that everything has to change.
There was a tech on here at one point about making the Winfield style ones. Not sure who did it but you might be able to find it. These days you could probably just 3D print a mold and cast them. Found it: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/making-a-taillight-lens-tech.31981/
@hrm2k Yes! I love that thread. But most of those posted won't work with the body style in question. For those that say leave the stock ones - well, it is a custom car, so... The originals look pretty good. I was hoping for other to post pics of what they have seen or have done. Let's add some more: These are another take on frenching the stock lights. These use the chrome bezel as well. I like these. Another using '59 Caddy. These appear to be '49-'50 Ford lenses, frenched. This is a unique approach. Not sure what the lights were originally. Hard to tell exactly from this angle but appears to be another take on the stock lenses. '40s Chevy, maybe? Looks like the same donor, but different approach. More Hudsons. Could be Hudsons too? The "Cool 50" Merc, has me seeing double. Voodoo Larry's Hawaiian Has some great lights in the bumper overrider. Any one else?
Totally agree with lothiandon 1940. The stock taillights with blue dots look terrific and BIG BONUS - they are already installed. Somewhere on the HAMB there is 1949/50 Mercury with a perfect chop that is the ONLY modification. It has all the factory chrome, grille, door handles, etc and it has the unique advantage of causing people to scratch their heads and wonder what it is about it that's different. JMHO. "Different strokes for different folks."
I agree on the factory taillights, it's one of those few cars that when designed was just about perfect when it rolled off of the showroom floor. Everything on those cars just "fit". It's like the designers actually put actual thought and process thru it's entire design. I do like the looks of the factory lights being molded in though. But I'd be hard pressed to move away from using the factory lights in one way or another if i were building one. ...
As said just changing something because you can isn’t always right. The original tail lights are custom enough to look great,the original designers got it right . Some slabo 80s led trailer lights look just like that ,oh wait 59 caddy for something different.
@anthony myrick I thought those Studes would also work on a Merc. It's not change for the sake of making a change that I'm after. I'd like something that works with the car, so no big round Lincoln's, '70's Vega, trailer lights, etc. I stated that the designers did well. I'm just thinking there can be something that looks like it could have been a traditional custom touch, works well with the car, and is a bit cooler than the big chrome bezel. I have the originals. They are in fair condition. This is an exercise in bringing ideas together in one place, to make easy comparisons. More: These would take some metalwork: This is something I am considering: First time finding a photo of this ^^ It's custom. It's clean. Uses traditional parts. I like it.
I fit the Stude lights to my 50. Would require grinding/shaping the housing to fit the Merc contour or recessing into the qtr. I was looking for something mild for my 51. So we ground the 51 merc bezel down a good bit then flush mount em A guy said no one would notice. That’s kinda the reason why we did it this way I think the stude lights could be done similar for a 49-50
@anthony myrick Nice work on those. Subtle works. @Russ B Yes, traditional. IMHO - they don't work. While trying to make the car look lower, longer & sleeker (you know, a custom) putting those big round lights in there defeat that purpose. Just because it's been done 100s of times before, doesn't make it right. They look huge, like '64 Galaxie taillights. You chop the top, to make it not so bulbous/round, and it looks better. It was traditional to chop the grille on the American Graffiti Coupe too. Totally screwed up the proportions.
'51 Ford? Not traditional, but they do flow with the car. Better (smaller) than Lincolns. Not a Merc, but these ('41 Stude?) look good Stock mounted lower. Buick. Would look better mounted horizontally.
Buick done nicely. Can't see these well, but they look correct. Mimicking the back gl*** and mounted low. Caddys - again. But these make sense & flow with the car.
So, what have we learned from this exercise? 1) The original Merc lights are pretty good-looking units, and flow fairly well with the car. 2) Some have changed them out for shock value, or points chasing at custom shows. 3) Some have achieved a nice custom look, and some didn't do the car any favors. 4) A lot of people on this board are afraid of change or being different. They're probably the same ones that think all deuce roadsters should be red, and all deuce coupes need to be piss yellow. They think something's not cool, unless they were TOLD it was cool several years ago. 5) Your opinion doesn't matter to me. I have a couple ideas brewing. I'm trying to do something traditional looking, using parts that would have been available pre-mid-sixties to match the rest of the build. But maybe not following the cookie cutter pattern. I'll roll it around the ol' noggin a bit more...
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