Hello all! First post. Brett from CA. I've been reading along for quite a while and thought I'd finally jump in to introduce my project. It's a 1940 Mercury 8 Town Sedan that I got from my grandpa back in 1983. He gave it to me as my first car and it was in the same condition then as it is now. I've attached a picture from a few years ago.
Since that picture, I've moved it from the warehouse location it was in since 1984 (a few months after grandpa gave it to me) and finally took it home. It's still inside and I haven't done any real work to it. I'm currently in the long process of trying to gather and collect parts that were missing (or shot) since I got it. As a little history, my grandpa had a Dodge car dealership back in the '60s & '70s and grandma told me years later that he took the car as a trade in favor for someone. He took it out to their house where he kept various cars and it sat until he gave it to me. It was rough even then and the surviving license plate is the CA black with yellow, so it's been off the road for a loooooong time. I took the hood home back in 1984 and primered it myself for something to do on it. But at my age, it was all I could do.
Here's a picture of the interior from when it was in its warehouse location... Pretty rough... And those 'plastic' dash pieces are barely holding together, but I'm glad they're still there...
I'm no expert on the 1939 - 1940 Mercury, but I believe the short block is a replacement from back in the early post-war years or something. Here's a picture of what I'm currently working on. I'm trying to source a good right-side tail light housing. The original is long gone and was replaced with a left-side. The bent bezel is all that is left, but I've found a replacement bezel and both lenses for good measure.
Since getting 'er home, I've found a great replacement ignition lock cylinder with keys (since my original keys are, of course, long gone). I've also found a trunk latch handle and lock since mine was broken. I'm still on the hunt for a front bumper, front right side bumper bracket, and the previously-mentioned right-side tail light housing. There'll be more for sure, but I'm on the long path I suppose...
As I was looking everything over about 2 years ago, I found this underneath. A proper Columbia 2-speed rear axle!
Well, that's my oldest car project. My first car; and the only time I ever drove it is when grandpa towed me the five or so miles from where it was in 1983 to where it stayed from 1984 to about 2020. From my research over the many years, it was painted Cloud Mist Gray and appears to have last been registered in 1972. Anyhow, that's it for now I guess. Thanks for looking!
Brett- Welcome to the H.A.M.B. Been a Flathead V-8 person, All of my Life ... see a few of my post(s)... *send PM if needed ?
....You can avoid thumbnails simply by hitting the "full image" button before the "reply" button....Welcome.
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