Customs 51 Merc -- Body OFF -- Custom Chassis

Hey Joe, It's realy looking good. Your ride height is going to scare the hell out of the local small rodant's. Oh my vote is for the 54 merc bumper

 

Rick: The pix in Post #30 is with zero pressure in the air suspension. Layin Frame in those pix. That height should scare even the ants....

 

Looks perfect in your avatar. wow

 

Thanks, yeah, I am kinda diggin the look without the fender skirts.

 

That's pretty inspirational.

We finally got the floor and rockers back together on the fordoor I have been working on. Now it's back on the stock chassis and we can determine ride heights. I'm sure if my customer sees this, he may want to ditch the idea of traditional suspension mods...

 

Lookin' REAL nice Joe!!!

 

Is that a fatman mustang II stub???

 

That looks killer man, glad you put it on that frame. The rear of the roof is dechrowned for laying that low, wouldn't make as much sense if it wasn't laid down like that, but I think that's pretty sleek.

 

Yes, SlddnMatt installed a FatMan Fab front clip on a stock 51 Merc chassis. Matt also added bags & shocks on all four corners. Rear is a Ford 9inch with triangulated four link.

 

Yeah, Chris you get all the credit for an absolutely KILLER chop!! You got the calibrated eyeball IMHO. Well Done!

 

Looking sick! I'll be keeping tabs for sure!

 

Thx, it lays low, thats what I want mine to do

 

Making some progress, but it is slow going because I got my 50 Merc back and now I am sharing time between both projects.

I removed the spare tire well (bunch of patches and did not plan to put a spare tire in there anyway). Finished up welding the sheet metal that replaced the spare tire today. Spend some time on grinding the welds and it will be finsihed.

 

Car looks sweet! What does a '51 look like with a '54 rear bumper?

 

A 54 Merc rear bumper is supposed to look really nice on a 51. Slddnmatt is doing a 54 for a guy building a 51 over here in Charleston, SC. That is my plan, but have to score a 54 bumper first.

 

Did more work on the complex shape that is required for the under-the-rear-seat-floor-pan area because of the air suspension and 9-inch rear and four link suspension. Designed and fab'd some features in the floor so that the upper L&R four links have room to articulate without contacting the floor. Have to do the same for the driveshaft. Lots of sheet metal fab in this area to include fabricating a cover for the 9-inch rear.

 

Looks good so far

 

Looking great!

 

Wow Joe it looks like you have your work cut out for you (no pun intended) but it looks like you have it handeld. Keep up the good work. I do have a question about your lower rear bag mounts as in your pic's i can not tell if they are attached to the axle or the trailing arm.

Rick Erickson

 

looks very good, twill be a sweet ride.

 

havent took any pics of the bumper after i finished it out, they fit ok without too much work, they are a little flatter across compared to a 51. you also have to mess with the ends a little or they will hit the body. if you want it to fit like a glove there is a fair amount of work to get them to fit tight. if i get a chance, ill take a pic or two tomorrow. Rick the lower bag mounts were attached to the axle.

 

Sweet build, keep the faith.

 

Looking good!!!

 

Been working the Merc alittle at a time. Struggling with the sheet metal fab because I don't have a brake. Have to make a trip to a friend's shop to make the bends, which really slows down the progress.

Had to remove alittle more trunk pan that originally planned because their was interference with the trunk pan and the rear suspension crossmember (used to be the upper attach point for the stock rear shocks). So, these pix show the removed section and then the new pieces installed in place. Still struggling with my new Miller 211 MIG, but getting there one tack weld at a time.

 

Now I have all the major sheet metal pieces to cover the rear suspension fabricated and fitted. Only some final welding/grinding and fasteners left to complete this task. Planned to use Dzus fasteners to remove the panel over the rear suspension just in case I wanted to repair, or mod rear suspension components. The end result looks simple, but it took some planning to get it right.

 

In the process of fixing rust in the driver's side front floor pan.

 

Just about finished replacing the driver's side rear floor pan. It was pretty beat after I media blasted the bottom of the body. It was very evident that it needed to be replaced.

 

looking good my man

 

looks badass man! i would love to see more pics of the rear suspension! i like the uppers, how he shaped them to help clear the seat maybe?

 

Onto the modified driveshaft tunnel installation. Doing some mockup to identify the cut-lines.