Vehicle Description
1948 Mercury 89M Club Convertible
Mercury is a defunct division of the American automobile
manufacturer Ford Motor Company. Created in 1938 by Edsel Ford,
Mercury served as the medium-price brand of Ford for nearly its
entire existence, bridging the price gap between the Ford and
Lincoln model lines. Competing against Buick and Oldsmobile from
General Motors for decades, the brand also competed against
Chrysler's namesake brand, (following the closure of DeSoto). Its
namesake is derived from the Greek god Mercury, who ruled over
wealth, good fortune, commerce, fertility, and thievery. He was
also the god of manual arts and eloquence.
For consignment, a real decked out to go to the ball type car in
the form of a 1948 Mercury 89M convertible. This car is a black
beauty which is adorned with miles of extra chrome and is also a
convertible! It runs beautifully and is definitely a candidate for
the Belle of the ball.
Exterior
Styling just never ends with this automobile starting with the
shaver style grille framed below with a massive shiny chrome bumper
with a protector bar on its central top. More wider chroming is
below the shaver and has horizontal ribs just behind the bumper.
Moving upward a central Mercury badge is just below the bulging
hood and on either side is a rectangular bezel turn signal light.
These rest just beside rounded fenders that have a single round
headlight on either side and 2 chromed trim spears on their sides
and a wider one on the bottom edge. From the front of the hood
rearward, another chromed trim spear is seen and it runs the hood
back to the windshield. A single door on either side lines up
nearly perfectly with the black painted bodywork on this car. On
the back, another rounded fender begins to melt into the bodywork,
but not before using a leading edge chrome gravel guard and 2 more
trim spears just above. On the back is a rounded over trunk
housingtail lights surrounded in..you got it... more chrome bezels!
These are horizontal and line up with a wide badged chromed
trimming that runs across the trunk. Below is another massive
chromed bumper with some painted in red stripes for accenting
interest. Over the passenger compartment is a black canvas
convertible top with red piping on its edges. This is a power top
but is currently not working to go up and down. Wide whitewall
tires are wrapping ribbed chromed dishes in the wheels, and some
ribbed moonscapes are badged in their centers with more ribs and a
winged god.
Interior
In contrast to the black paint, blazing red vinyl covers the door
panels and seats which are dual benches, the front having a split
back so access to the rear seats can be had. Beautiful shiny smooth
vinyl is the motif and these are just wonderfully preserved. In
front a faux wood grain painted rounded steel dash drips with Art
Deco Styling and more chromed accents. A lineup on the driver's
left of square gauges is seen and this runs up next to a large
round sweep speedometer that is part of a platinum gold aluminum
ribbed panel that makes up the central dash. On the passenger's
side is another large round, this time showing as a clock. The
radio is in the center and a few more knobs and pulls are seen
peppering the lower faux painted woodgrain part of the dash. Below
is a heater box and far right is a chromed trimmed glovebox. A
large steering wheel is atop a platinum gold covered steel column
in front of this nice dash. The interior of the top is also canvas
and presents in clean cream coloring. The floor in front is rubbed
rubber and in back some dark tan carpeting resides under the rear
bench. Everything is very nice inside this beauty.
Drivetrain
Under the hood is a blue block 239ci V8. It shows some patina and
stain markings around the hose to engine connections. A 2-barrel
carburetor sits underneath an oil bath air cleaner covering, and on
the back is a 3 speed manual transmission with Columbia overdrive.
A 3.78 axle brings up the rear. This mill is a flathead V8.
Undercarriage
Some road dirt and patina are noted but no rust. Strong steel in an
X frame configuration holds the body to the car and solid floor
pans are above this framing. Dual glasspack style exhaust and
mufflers are on, and the car rides on transverse leaf springs. Drum
braking is in all 4 corners.
Drive-Ability
A quick starter and smooth runner, on the test track is performed
swimmingly. Shifting was easy on the tree, and all functions were
working at the time of my drive save for the earlier mentioned
convertible top
A real stunner with the nearly perfect black paint and loads of
chrome accenting. The red interior does not take anything away
either, and Art Deco styling is fab. Too bad the convertible top
does not work, but it is in excellent condition otherwise. Put on
your Dorothy round sunglasses, curl your hair and cover it with a
bandanna. We are going for a cruise in high Mercury style! Now
that's a Chattanooga Choo Choo baby.
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.
