Vehicle Description
The Mercury lead-sled is probably the coolest of the cool in terms
of classic cruisers, and this fantastically built 1951 Mercury
Custom gets everything right. The ultimate lead sled, the
archetype, the one that everyone wants, this '51 Merc coupe defines
the breed. Rounded, lowered, smoothed, fender skirts - it has all
the traditional custom styling cues wrapped in a gorgeous Calypso
Pearl Green job that ideally suits the long, low-slung profile.
Paired with the bulletproof reliability of a 429 V8 and the
elegance of a totally custom interior, this is a lead sled that's
very easy to fall in love with. Featured in Rod & Custom magazine
with more trophies under its belt than we can count, this bespoke
Merc cost way more to build than our asking price might suggest (in
fact, we'd wager a duplicate build would run north of $200K), and
with only 5584 miles on the finished restoration, its years of
dominance are just beginning.
This car could have been the prototype for every Mercury lead sled
built, incorporating some of the most traditional modifications and
a few tasteful touches that make it incredibly unique. The list of
body mods is extensive, ranging from the molded hood with rounded
corners, the custom-made front grille, 1956 Buick headlights, the 2
�-inch chopped roof that features a custom handmade Carson cloth
top, and the fabricated fender skirts that seemingly lengthens the
body even further. A stunning PPG Medium Calypso Green Metallic
paint job grabs all the attention, although the point of a custom
is to blur the lines so you can't find the mods, but nevertheless
the shade was a perfect choice to highlight this incredible build.
Somewhat unbelievably, the paint job is nearly 30 years old (it was
finished in 1994), but it's held up incredibly well after a
lifetime of showing this Merc off at the country's top car shows,
and it still glows from within with a deep, sugary look that makes
this car insanely appealing. In addition, it was recently
professionally ceramic coated, so it will continue to age
gracefully for years to come. After the top was chopped, a
hand-made Carson white cloth top was cleverly installed, and
although it doesn't come off or fold, down, it gives this Merc a
trick look and provides the perfect amount of contrast to the
seafoam-colored paint. Shaved door handles and the Desoto style
front chrome grille are led-sled trademarks, although the custom
rear bumper that was formed from the ends of a '55 Packard and the
center section from a '55 Studebaker is a bespoke piece we've never
seen before, but absolutely love. Big chrome bumpers and the chrome
'spear' on the profile offset all that luscious paint with a big of
flash, while the custom rear taillights and exhaust exits
incorporated into the rear bumper transform the car's rear end.
Man, the more I look at this car, the deeper I fall in love.
Bright white bucket seats punctuated with green piping are the
perfect complement to the high-visibility exterior, and the
overstuffed seats (the front are power-actuated units swapped-in
from a '65 Lincoln; the rear come from a '65 Thunderbird) mean this
is a fantastic road trip car. Naugahyde rolls and pleats punctuate
the supple ultra-leather hides, which are still in great condition
even after all these years, and matching door panels, plush green
carpets, and a custom headliner were all stitched to match by the
pros at Jasper Customs in Tacoma. The lightly modified Mercury
dashboard was filled with Dakota Digital gauges, A/C was cleverly
integrated underneath and it indeed blows cold, and the owner
created that one-off custom steering wheel and mounted it atop a
Ford tilt column. A Blaupunkt AM/FM/Cassette head unit was
installed into the headliner - although it's due for an upgrade -
and even though some of the interior components might look slightly
dated, everything is high-quality and is still in great shape. Even
the trunk was finished to match the cabin, complete with matching
carpet and hidden panels stitched like the car's door panels.
In contrast to the marque mixing and matching on the outside of
this big Merc, there's nothing but Ford-powered stuff along the
length of the drivetrain, highlighted by a powerful 429 V8
underneath the big hood. Built by Jim Harter at ABCO machine shop
in Washington, the gutsy big-block is fed through an Edelbrock
4-barrel intake atop a matching Edelbrock intake. This might be the
best-running lead sled we've ever featured, and the highest praise
we can offer is that it runs and drives like it was factory built.
Turn the key, and it fires, idles smoothly no matter how hot it is,
and the integration is seamless. There's a big radiator to keep it
cool, modern accessories close to the block, and even the firewall
and inner fenders were finished to show standards with matching
Calypso Green paint. The block was coated with Ford Blue engine
enamel, featuring several polished stainless pieces that help dress
it up. Underneath, the custom chassis was built by Street Machines
Unlimited and features a front clip from a '77 LTD (including power
steering, spindles, and front and rear power brakes), Monroe
front/rear shocks, a 4-link rear-end complete with a Sprint Car
torsion bar, and an Air Ride air-bag system front and back that
helps set the wicked stance. A C6 automatic transmission handles
the shifts, spinning a 9-inch rear end stuffed with
highway-friendly 3.00 posi-traction gears that help this big body
float down the road. 15-inch painted steelies with 1950-spec
hubcaps and beauty rings are the ideal choice, and they carry
195/75/15 front and 225/75/15 rear Coker whitewall radials, as you
might expect.
A lot of customs look great but don't drive very well, but this
Merc lead-sled truly runs as good as it looks. Call today!