The 3rd Generation Mercury Eight was produced from 1949 to 1951 and was popular with customizers such as George and Sam Barris. They used a 1949 Mercury 8 to build one of the most famous Lead Sled’s ever which was named the “Hirohata Merc”. It set a whole new style and its attitude had a huge effect on custom car builders. This custom car started in 1983 with a 4 owner 1949 Mercury that had an original 36,992 miles. It underwent a 7 year transformation which entailed chopping the body 7 inches, shaving the door handles, relocating and Frenching the power antenna as well as removing trim pieces from both the hood and the trunk. It is 100% metal and is extremely straight. It was finished in a very unique light purple that gives this car a very distinguishable presence. It was fitted with a performance built 239ci Flathead V8 from 1950 Ford that is fed via a dual carb set-up and sounds awesome ripping through its dual performance exhaust. It has a custom interior from Brent’s Upholstery who kept the original dash intact with the exception of adding a voltmeter and a switch for on-the-fly air adjustable shocks. The original AM radio was converted to 12 volt and FM was added as well. It received air conditioning, power windows, a power trunk opener, a power antenna and power door poppers at the same time. The original 3 speed tranny and 10 bolt posi rear end were gone through and the front brakes were upgraded to disc brakes. All of the chrome was redone and shows incredibly well. Other notable features include the shortened body trim, the skirts from a 51, the dog dish rims and extra wide white wall tires. The car currently has 46,361 miles which is the correct mileage. The car was finished in 1991 and has been driven 9,369 miles since. It has held up incredibly well and shows like it was just recently finished. Building a car of this quality today would cost close to six figures if not more. This is an opportunity to own a high end Lead Sled for a fraction of the build cost. If you agree we suggest reaching out before it is too late!
