can you build a Custom of an old Mercedes coupe???

Ugh. That thing is ugly! Reminds me of these 70s era Stutzes. Well, maybe a little better looking than that...

 

Im sorry, but i dont get it.. Joke? Please explain it to me..

 

I think it would make a great semi-custom using only a few modifications.The bolt circle of the wheels is the same as a Ford(I believe)but am not sure about the center hole.You could always reverse the centers on the stock wheels,chrome them,and use the small dog dish Mercedes hubcaps with the paint removed.The Euro headlights are nicer than the US versions and I would probably just upgrade the bulbs(they should be H-4's I believe)to maybe 80/100W rather than the standard 60/55W.

I would try and get some chrome tape maybe 1/2"(13mm)wide and use it on the ribs of the taillights for a different effect.Maybe remove the outer door handles and trunk emblems.I think for a paint scheme,a nice panel paint job using the stock white base and blending some shades of blue(or whatever color you like)going dark around the edges and center and fading to a lighter shade moving out from the middle of the panel.A mild lowering job(maybe a coil out of each spring)completes the job.

The standard 250 engine is a pretty decent motor in stock form(although the US versions had a lot of problems with the Solex carbs)and I don't know that there is any aftermarket equipment for it.Just my two cents.

 

Before Moses came down from the mount with the "rules" on what could or couldn't be a rod and custom, anything was fair game. Look at all the Bantams, Anglias, Austins, And even Beetles that have been turned into hot rods. On the custom sided, There were a lot of "mini Mercs" built out of older Volvos, and some looked damned good.

That said, stick with a mild clean-up and lowering, nice paint, and enjoy it.

My two cents FWIW.

 

Dr.J is right on. . . (it happens occaisonaly ha,ha). . .that car he shows is a respectable custom of ITS era. It mixes up stuff from different marques of the same time period. I'd say really successfully. It isn't my style. . but somebody sure did do a good job of it.

 

You could go with a 70s-retro style. In the USA, the Euro-look was hot then.

People were emulating the AMG-Hammer look on US sedans and coupes. Find some old BBS spiderweb wheels and design around them. Lower it, and maybe paint it a color popular then. I remember that Mercedes had a really nice burnt orange metallic color in the early seventies which showed up on a few rods of the time.

Someone, somewhere really wanted a tricked out Mercedes Benz in 1969 but could not afford it. He's older and well-off now. Build it right, advertise it, and he'll be begging you to sell!

 

Wow! Have never seen any shots of that custom 56 Continental Mark2. Pretty incredible. However have to correct the good Doctor, the Mark2s were built by the Continental division of FOMOCO and were not in any way connected to Lincoln other than by the name theft. But since the demise of the Mark2 after 57 Lincoln got the name back, and the confusion continues. When I purchased my Mark I made the same mistake but have since been educated by the Lincoln crowd.

 

That Mercedes is a great car. I have a '70 model that I drove for 4 years. Four-wheel independent suspension & disc brakes. Great driving & handling car - perhaps the best I've ever owned. I have an LT1 & 700r4 to go in it when I get the time. I was thinking shaved, frenched headlights, '67 Firebird taillights (they're slotted - similiar to the others mentioned). Remove the rear bumper & replace it with the two lower front bumpers, for a split rear bumper. And of course a front spoiler & small rear wing.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.

 

Saw this at the Grant's Pass, OR, Swap meet a month or so ago....

 

I drew this a long time ago....and oddly enough, thought '67 GTO HEADLIGHTS would look good on it...I think my version is a little older, but extended fins, some frenched '68 cutlass tail lights, custom rear pan, new grill and hood scoop where the ugly stock grill was.....might be wasted effort here, but with the resources your limited to, I'd give it a shot...

 

I didn't post that car for anyone to think it needs to be cloned or copied at all.
Just to show that there is a history of using American car parts together with European car parts in custom cars. And thaat they can work together.
Actually, when I first saw this car in '65 I kind of had the "don't change it just to make it different attitude about the Mercedes grill since it's not an improvement over the Continental grill, just different, but I had the mag sittinghere when this came up so there ya are...
I think the only reason more of the European "different" shaped headlights werrent used is because we had that stupid DOT sealed beam law about them that we didn't shake till about a decade ago.
I've always liked those tall Mercedes and wide Jaguar headlights, and thought they would look good on cars here. I'm convinced that that's the reason for the (illegal on the street) frosted headlight covers Barris, Starbird and other customizers used on cars to hide the boring 7" or 5" round bulbs.

I guess that's part of why the article only refers to it as a "56 Continental"?

Of course you know the "Lincoln crowd" can be as confused and at times as halucinatory as the next wacko. I've met people who make stuff up as they go along either because they get a kick out of how gullible people can be or they have actually convinced themselves about their own fantasy. The Continental Mark I was considered a Lincoln in '40-48 and if it was seperated from Lincoln for the Mark II version I'm fairly sure it was so the corporate bean counters could keep better track of how much money it made, or lost.
It's still FoMoCo but it sure as hell wasn't any part of the "Ford" line of cars.
Who's showrooms did you buy one from?
Lincoln-Mercury or Ford dealers?

I always did and still do consider the '60 Valiant 2dr HT I had to be a Plymouth... (Supposedly they didn't make 2dr HTs yet in '60 either, but I had one.?)

I think most people associate any Continental with Lincoln, and not "just another Ford" whether it was "divisioned off" or not. Besides, have you ever heard anyone call it a "Ford Continental Mark II"?

Besides, A Continental without Lincoln is a Tucker engine!

 

A bit of FoMoCo history trivia
In the mid-late 50's Ford had a plan to become a 5 division company to compete with GM, There was going to be Continental, Lincoln, Mercury, xxxxx, and Ford. The plan didn't last and they went back to their regular 3 division lineup again in mid-1960. Does everyone remember what the xxxxx car was?

 

Edsel?

 

Yep, I guess that was kinda easy. I read all about that when I was reading about Edsel's history. Did you also know that the Comet was intended to be an Edsel as well, but they sold it at Mercury dealers when the plug was pulled on Edsel? I'm fairly certain that all 1960 Comets have no Mercury badging on them anywhere, except maybe the data tag inside the door.

Way off topic now, but still interesting.

 

I would think twice about that as the parts prices for what parts you can still get are very EXPEN$IVE...I just finished over 26 years in Mercedes Parts & when it comes to window switches, regulators, motors, brakes, heating and cooling and even those ugly tail lamps that sell for hundreds of dollars each - I would recomend you check some parts prices first. If that engine is the carb version you should know those carbs got up to a couple grand before they discontinued them & if it is the fuel injection pump version CHA-CHING... You would be engaged to a money pit. If you could get ahold of the old 50's/60's Volvo 2 door body & build a square tube frame + add all of the good Chevy stuff to it (or whatever) you would be way ahead. Hey, just a thought. Gary 4t950 Chevy Guy

 

I'm bettin' the parts won't be that expensive in Sweden where those cars are much more common.

And you win the prize for the longest HAMB name I've ever seen.

 

Well thank you very much. Hey years back we would go to Wisconsin on the St. Croix River in St. Croix Falls. Really nice up there, Camp out and drink Leininkugels (?) beer brewed with Chippeawa (?) water at Big Eddy Springs - if I remember the can correctly. Is your HAMB name related to that beer?

 

Buy it and send a letter to MTV. Maybe they can do a Euro "Pimp my ride" episode.

 

If you are done with the Henry J, the 55 F100,51 victoria,57 vauxhall,
custom A,41 buick,and the rest of the cars you are going to buy,
Im sure you can do it.

 

Why would you go looking for a volvo body to do all that to when you could just as eaisly - & for the same costs - do it to the much sharper Mercedes body?
And... DrJ; the Valiant is a Plymouth - perhaps that's why you considered it one...
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Easy on the Giggle Cream!

 

Just bougt me a 1929 Ford roadster pickup so the Mercedes have to wait beside the Henry J,F100,Victoria,Vauxhall and Buick cause i have a lot of space when the sky is the limit.....

 

Well, I've noticed on your profile, it says you're from Sweden,right? You might not understand then. In the US, usually Volvo's are driven by snotty people who are strange to some degree or another, and want to act rich (Thats just a Texan observation...sorry if I offended any Volvo owners who aren't like that) These people usually live in suburbs(small prominent communities with lots of track houses and kids with drug problems). So, to answer your question, yeah, it was a joke.

 

Man, if you want to do it, Do It! Who cares what we think. What the hell. Just send pics when your done for all to enjoy.

 

Hahaha.. Ok now i get it.. Although i propably ruined it for everybody else.. I agree, gotta be strange to a degree to drive a volvo. Swedish people think im a strange, and propably dangerous, hells angel type of guy hwo drives around in a big old american car in 5 foot deep snow and not even the Volvos will start in the cold..

Thanks for the explenation..

 

Yeah, that's some good beer, kinda syrupy but good stuff nonetheless. My HAMB name is an inside joke with some guys I used to work with, and the name stuck.

The '60 Valiant was sold as a separate make from Plymouth, some Plymouth dealers even had Plymouth/Valiant dealership signs. When the end of the model year came, Plymouth wanted to retain it's #3 carmaker in the US status, so they grouped all Valiant sales with the fullsize Plymouth to retain their title. So the '60 Valiant was it's own make until the end of the year when they were grouped with the Plymouths. Kinda.

 

Along the lines of rodding strange euro stuff... Here are couple sketches i did a while ago.

The first is a Benz 220 SE mordor with a mild chop, major drop, no b-pillar and late model headlights.

The other is a pro-streeted Citrogen DS (drawn on the return trip from France) and a mildly worked over MG TC.

 

Hello rattlecanrods!

You really know how to use a penn and draw nice cars. Really like the Citroen.

 

They clean up nicely, and they are happy to be driven like you stole them... but beyond that... naaaaah.

http://burndup.kicks-ass.net/images/mbz/goodside640.JPG


I'm just a big fan of German cars... they're designed and built for DRIVING, but thats about it.

 

Thanks, I have been keeping my eye out for a clean Citroen DS that I could have a little fun with.... I really want to build it.