Projects 1951 mercury build

Well got some good news this week. Matt got done with my rear bumper and taillights and all I can say is "BAD ASS LIGHTS." These things are ovedr the top and I want to say THANK YOU MATT.

Please note the pain staking work he has done to these lights. Look at the mercury head in the lens. Too Cool. Can not wait to fit these to the car and see what they going to look like.
Once again Thank you Matt for all your help

 

Those lights are an "OUTSTANDING" example of the work of an expert. Well done, Matt.

 

Matt (slddnmatt) does awesome work, I was just talking to him today getting his help on my windows. He's a great long-distance consultant, I've spent about 4 hours with him and worked out a $.

 

wow!

 

Beautiful!!!

 

WOW! Those are gorgeous ! Beautiful workmanship and they will be awesome on your Merc!!

 

Just beautiful. Great work from one of the great guys, slddnmatt!

 

I think it looks awesome how you have mercury head in the tail lights any hints on how it was done.

 

Awesome work Matt. I need a set for my 51 and a 54 Merc rear bumper.

 

Larry has gotten the rear roof section in the car and is fitting it this week. I have attached some photos of it. I am liking it alot. It is like a breath of fresh air when you see things being done to your car.

 

Those tail lights are way over the top! I am glad you your car moved as well. I had a close up of the roof befor he started it looking great. Can't wait to see ths sled finished!

 

Looks great. I'd walk around the car as far as possible, and make sure you like all the angles, and if you do, get 'er done. How about a side shot, that shows off more how the roof line meets the trunk area...

 

Ok I am headed home to see the car and oh am I happy. I get to see my family and the work that has been done since we moved it to the new shop. I am in transit now trying to go home, but got these to help my thoughts while I travel. Man I am diggin the way this top is coming out. I also finally get to see what it looks like with all the sheet metal on it. Let me know what you think man

 

Lookin' great. Larry will do you right. He is an excellent metal worker and a stand up guy. Spent about half a day at his shop with my dad a couple years ago. Larry did a bunch of work on my dad's '48 Anglia. You won't be disappointed. Also liking the tail lights. Matt is doing a set for my '49 and I can't wait to see 'em. Think he was actually finishing yours up when I called him. They look sweet with the Mercury head in there. Keep the updates coming.

 

well I finally got to see my mercury and wow was I blown away. Larry and crew have been hard at it. They got the roof fixed and the rear window in and also put the drip rails back on it for me. Now they are getting all the gaps right and working on the dash install. I took some pictures of the dash sitting in the car before mock up so let me know what you think of it. They bast p[art is we hope to have primer on the car when I see it next time, and all I can say to that is HELL TO THE YEA.

 

some more pics

 

looks great. its come a long way. good luck with the rest of the build.

 

more pics

 

Looks awesome, subscribing.

 

Just got off the phone with Larry and I am so happy so I figured I would share my happiness with my fellow HAMBERS. Larry said once the rear bumper is fitted it will be time for primer and prep for paint. All I can Yell is WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Talked to SLDDNMATT and he is going to try and get the bumper mailed out so yes it is looking good and I think we are getting back on track with the build.

EXK I will be sending you some money to start building the wheels and the caddy caps for me.

Looking for a front bench seat for my car to if anybody knows where to get one?

 

I just wanted to say I understand the struggle!

Good work is usually hard to find, and great work is almost impossible for any normal budgeted guy to afford. Great work at a reasonable price from an honest guy, well if you find one of those, You Better post their name and number!!! Seems there's always a catch these days. We are not all rock stars and Corporate executives that have these cars built just for publicity or to sell something. Some of us still enjoy building things, and enjoying seeing what others come up with who don't have pockets of money to throw at a car they'll never even drive. Sometimes I wish I had bottomless pockets to build a garage full of cars, but then I wonder if I would actually enjoy them as much.

There's nothing wrong with spending money to be happy, but at the point in which our happiness has become stressful usually means you're either living outside your means or somebody is just flat out screwing you. It just sucks that the struggle in this case has come from a dishonest shop! Wouldn't it be nice if you could actually trust everyone on their word? What a strange concept...

It's ridiculous to think that a full frame off custom build would come without struggle, however chasing a dream should ultimately be worth every minute of it. After all you've been through already with this build, it's great to see some good things coming out of it all.
I'm pulling for you man, and it seems like you've got some other guys on here pulling for you as well. Hopefully your next struggle in this project will be having to decide which car shows to go to, because everyone wants you to bring your finished Bad AZZ Kustom Merc!.........

Here's to the struggle being as positive as a struggle can be, and actually making through to the other side of it!

 

Thanks for all the support and words of encouragement. I have found a GREAT shop and they are super. It is RODCRAFTERS and the owner is LARRY SHOAF and he is a true professional and a great guy to deal with. He speaks to you like a person and helps you when you need directions on your build. He has really helped more than he knows. My car has been there for a few months and he has far surpassed the other shops work and also has corrected some of there mistakes as well.
The other shop had a metal man that was very good, but the shop was more worried about retiring off of me instead of building a car. They only wanted the money and had no help other than that.
Larry is real good at his job and his employee's are of the same caliber. His metal man Chris is great too. He has done so much to impress me and this car has came a long way in the few months they have been working on it. Larry is also very reasonable with his rates, and when he tells you he has 40 hours in your car. You can believe he has more than that in it.I do not regret taking my car to him and I recommend him to all I talk to. I know there are great builders out there and I have met 2 of them. Here is Larry's address and if anybody needs a good man on the East coast he is your man.

Larry Shoaf Rod Crafters, Inc. 341 Industrial Drive Welcome NC 27374 (336) 731-0008 larry@rodcraftersinc.com</pre>


Now onto another fine gentle man that I have never met in person (yet) but I am proud to call him my friend and one hell of a metal man too. He also knows so much about Mercury's when I grow up I want to be just like him.
The man I am talking about is none other than the great Matt Townsend and he is a fellow HAMBER (SLDDNMATT). Please give him a PM if you need anything. He can work wonders with metal and plastic. Look at my taillights and bumper work he did for me. I can not say enough about him. He listened to all of my rambling and worked his magic and made just what I wanted. He is my West coast man. He is also very resonable and just like Larry, he is as honest as they come.

I would not hesitate to send anybody or any car to either of these two fine men and sleep well at night knowing that they will do what they say they are going to do and will do it the right way. I am a very firm believer that if you are going to do something do it right the first time. Well these guys will do it right, and they will let you know if you are wasting your time or if it can be done. Well enough of my ramblings but I could go on about the two gentlemen, but look at the pictures on this build and they speak for themselves.
They have both worked there ass of to make my dream a reality and hopefully it will be completed this year, and will debut at the GNRS next year. If not it will not be from lack of trying, but it will be done for shows next year that is for sure.

Some of you have heard about the little surprise I have for this car but I am going to wait till it rolls out to show that. So until then I will keep posting pics but will not show that part of the build till the show.

Again thanks for all the support and the great people I have met on the HAMB here.

 

That is going to be one cool Merc!

 

Larry has got the dash mocked up in the car, and he has made some other progress on the car.

 

Nice, is that Chevy? Did you most of the typical body mods to the car too like rounding the hood corners..etc?

 

Wow... Very gorgeous

 

John no that is a 55 mercury dash. We cut it down and we was also able to keep the working clock and the original radio in it to. Now I have to decide on a steering wheel that will look good in there. I wanted to keep it all mercury/ford and I have never seen this dash in these cars, so here it is. Remember what we have been told. "You can not do nothing to a 49-51 mercury that has not been done before." Well I want to go outside of that box some and see if it goes over well.

Got the bumpers being fitted now,and I can not wait to see those on here too.

Thanks for all the compliments too.

 

Here is a few pictures of the dash out of the 55 mercury before we started to cut it up. Hope to have it fab in by the end of the month.

 

Love the proportions.... Keep it gangsta and keep it traditional.

 

well bought a good bit of the interior got the wheels today. I decided to skip the billet shit and keep it looking old school. I found a set of 1956 caddy steel rims and plan on running the 56 caps to. I like the deeper look on these wheels. Beside it is always to easy to change the caps. I found a good stock bench seat for the front. I just hope it fits with the tranny tunnel being so high. I also got a rear t bird seat complete with surround that is being cut to fit in it as well.
I go home in May and can not wait to see what it will look like then. Larry and crew are rollin on this thing. Trying to get ahold of Luck7 for the interior. If anybody can reach him have him send me a PM. I have sent several emails to his web page with no reply. I know he is very busy so I just wanted to get a spot before they were all gone.