Projects ACME Speed Shop New Project Car

Lookin' good. Keep the updates coming.

Kevin
Ooltewah Speed Shop

 

Okay back with another installment of rookie car building in SoCal. My evening and weekends have been filled with summer activities with the boy so I have not had many hours on the Merc. When I left you last time I was off to break form some inner rockers and bead roll the floor pan (Big thanks to Jeb of Jeb's Metal & Speed Long Beach for the use of the bead roller) With all that done I went ahead and prepped-primed-and painted all the surfaces that will never see the light of day again. May be overkill but I like the insurance factor. Besides I plan to get on the ACME Speed Shop road trip to the Lonestar Round up and the pictures I have seen all include heavy rain shots!!

Enough Bullsh**, I fit and welded in the floorpan, went in great. I fit the inner rocker and then test fit the outer rocker over it before I welded anything. Good call as the inner need some adjustments to get the outer to sit where it needed to be. With that all out of the way I welded the inner and it went smooth.

I need to fabricate a door post corner now that must install before I weld the outer rocker. The plan is to make a template from cardboard and then transfer it to metal (saw it on TV - hope it works!!)

Floor pan installed


Inner rocker installed



Floorpan - inner rocker - outer rocker test fit



Floorpan - inner rocker - outer rocker test fit #2

 

WOW - my last update was in August, time really flys by when you have to work and raise a kid! The ACME Mercury project has been moving forward slowly. It collected a lot of dust during the holidays but my motovation is still high. I have also been putting in some hours on my buddies Metro Van. Those of you who know me will recognize this as the ACME Metro. Those of you who do not should check the van and the killer t-shirts and art at http://www.acme-speedshop.com/ You can click on "Our Projects" from the main page and find the Metro Van and the Mercury there.

So back to the Mercury, the drivers side rockers and floor boards are complete. This was by far the worst damage ans I imagine the car sat outdside with two flat tires for a portion of it's life. I am now into the passengers side. The inner rocker only needed some patch work. I could save the floor board but I have a rust free unit that is like new so I am going to replace it. last will be the outer rocker. I am pushing now to get the car back off the stands and sitting low on the wheels. Standing in my way is some big work in the truck area, more on that later. Below are some shots to keep you up to date.

As always feel free to chime in, I am a hobbist and can always use some advice.

 

Just a quick update, removed the passenger floor board and have started prepping the donor pan.

 

Looks fantastic!!!!!

 

I saw this car last week , and it looks like it's moving along in a timely fashion. Like the rest of the stuff that these guys do , I'm sure it will be something special .

 

Hey man I'd be interested in where you acquired the inner and outer rockers?

 

Hey there, I had to fabricate the inner rockers and I picked up the outers from Bill Papke. You can find cheaper outers but you get what you pay for, Bill's are nice one piece units.

Papke Enterprises, Inc. 17202 Gothard St., Huntington Beach, California 92647. Phone: (714) 843-6969. Toll Free: (877) 843-6968 ..

 

I've been wondering what happened to you and your Merc project. Any updated pic's?
I posted some of Papke's rockers and rear quarters in the classifieds for him. They are really nice pieces!!!

 

After a long winter break we are back at it over at the ACME Speed Shop. There has been things going on with the project but they just did not seem to amount to much forward movement. Today we rolled the Merc into the sunlight and took a trip to Long Beach, home of Cole Automotive for the next chapter. There has been plenty of parts collecting and idea swapping going on at the shop and over the next several months the Merc is going to get into paint ready shape.

Thanks to our good friend Ben D here on the HAMB there is a power plant and transmission pushed over in the corner. So in the shop we plan to be mounting the SBC up to the test stand and firing it up to see what we got.......

 

For those of you who followed along on the recent ACME Lone Star Trip thread I thought I should point out the use of the Norwell X Strap during to tow of the Merc

 

I'd have to say this thing is coming along nicely.

Aggressive looking with those blackwalls.

Awesome build, I'm subscribed.

 

I'll try to add some progress photos when I can. That is if I can figure out how to upload them.

 

Hey no porn, but I guess the x-strap can be an exception. A smokin build guys, these damn Mec,s just make ya excited lookin at em in almost any state. I love where this one is headed, congrats dudes. ~sololobo~

 

are you planning on chopping it,good looking project

 

I'm sure Bobby will give it the magic touch !

 

Still moving along. Tonight we got the Mother Plucker out and started strapping the power plant into the run stand so we can make some noise. It is amazing to me how my time is always used up. It seems as though every time I get started on something it is time for something else, crazy.

 

Great project...Ill watch for updates!

 

ok I know that's not in Mission Viejo.................great merc!.

 

The shop is in Santa Ana hidden away from the public where we can mess stuff up while no one is watching.

 

Wasnt Acme speed shop originally owned by Wile E Cyote?

 

sbcsay it ain't so!!!! Either way I still want this car.Lookin good so far, keep those pics comin'

 

So after a few months of waiting in line Bob Cole Automotive is on the move with the 50 Merc project. During that time I picked up some great Bear Claw latches from an Alliance HAMB member 38Chevy454. This week Bob got them installed and they are the hot ticket. They worked great thanks for the lead on the latches ACME Speed Shop. Below are a few photos of the install.

 

Doug , It's good to see that you're moving in a positive derection , keep us posted .

 

very cool! chop?

 

Very Cool, Chop or No Chop will still be a great smooth ride.

J168

 

very cool!

 

No chop guys, mild custom is the name of the game

 

I've had a couple of guys inquire about the replacement quarter panels I am using. Well yesterday I got to see them installed and they look great. Bob Cole Automotive is doing excellent work on my old Merc. Below is the information if you want to order a set and a few pictures of mine installed.

We did choose to weld mine in to have upgraded fit and finish over the factory bolt in install.

Cars Inc - 1-800-227-7462
replacement quarter panels for 1949 & 50 Mercury's. It does not show up on the WEB site but here are the part numbers #414911-Left Side #414912-Right Side. I just placed an order this morning and they sell for $849.00 ea"