I have avoided close ups of the dash cause I am aware that for many folks it is sacrilege to make certain changes on a merc such as bucket seats, newer gauges, seat belts etc...forgive me for I have sinned.I installed classic instruments, these I believe were called , American Nickle, the had little chrome wings and curved glass and a nice color on the faces and followed me home from the parts store, what could I do.I had a problem installing them because they fell through the holes on the merc dash, after staring at the rubble heap for a while I mounted the speedo into the factory merc speedo ring, then I bought some gauges at the puyallup swap meet. These gauges were a 2 1/2" dia housing and my new gauges were a 2 1/8" housing. I carefully removed the stainless rings of the larger gauge and they fit behind my smaller gauges. This worked well because now they matched the look of my new speedo in the merc ring. First pic shows the large gauge with the ring removed compared to the smaller sw gauge which is the same size as the classic gauges.
Thanks guys, the paint on the dash is pealy, I thought I could live with it but I can't so now I have to disasemble it again to repaint it.
thanks for the kind words guys but my dash was out to lunch so I repainted it, seems like everything take to long to do.Here are a couple of pics of the gauge rings so you can better see what I did.
I was able to put the dash back in today, I also blasted and painted my garnishes, so I have the w.s. and 1/4s in the car along with the 1/4 windows. I also got the holy cow straps done.
Looking good. I also looked into Speed Hut instrument gauges for my 51 Merc. You can customize them by changing colors, font, bezels, and logos.
Well,I was able to locate a fairly decent Buick " ironing board "console , these were used in 64- 65 Buicks, these would have been bucket seat cars with column shift trans and not all the bucket seat cars had consoles, I really wanted this console because it had a fairly wild look about it and because it was an actual car part, not something that was fabbed out of wood , 18 ga steel or aluminum.This particular console doesn't particularly look like a muscle car console and is in keeping with mid 60's or older car parts.
I like how you made the rear quarter windows functional, instead of just gluing in a piece of glass there. You are doing a great job on it, taking your time and doing each step right.
I'm having trouble with the rear window fitting, I may have to rob the rubber from my other merc cause it fit perfectly, seems the Dennis Carpenter rubber is too large. Kind off hate to use the other one cause it's a few years old but I checked it last night and it still looks good. Guess a guy has to do what he has to do.
Well, I still have to change the rear window rubber but I did manage to get the seats done this week, as well as the carpet, console bracket, shifter boot and clock delete bullet. Here are some pics.
Thanks for all the kind words, the interior does seem to be taking on an old school look. I think the black and white vinyl color helps.These seats won't be as comfortable as some of the newer seats and lack a lot of adjustment but they seem to have the right look for what I want to achieve with this car.The hardest choice was to use vinyl instead of leather but again I do want to keep the old time plan as much as possible.This week I willl finish the door and kick panels, then I will start on the trunk, when that is done the chrome shop should have my grill and bumpers done.
Beautiful Merc, Been following the thread all along.....Your attention to detail is Superb. I've done two Mercs, yrs ago, and the little details are well worth the effort. Unless you've done one.....You can't appreciate the Time involved. Also, You were very fortunate to get the car you got........it was done right. I know you'll Enjoy. It's A Keeper fer sure.
The Jalopy Journal
