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Fifty Shades of (primer) Gray; the 1948 Mercury Coupe

Friday, March 13, 2015


I struck me like a shovel to head while scrolling through Craigslist, tiny pictures of a rusty, gray primered coupe. I liked it a bit at first, thinking "What a great parts car!" for a hot rod. I mean the brakes.... suspension... flathead drivetrain....

That little seed of a thought grew into something wild and out of control. Google searches of finished cars, custom (kustom?) cars done by a very young Barris, I could barely keep it out of my mind.

1948 Mercury Coupe

So I bought it.

1948 Mercury Coupe

1948 Mercury Coupe

It's almost totally complete, missing really only the parts that have rusted and fallen off. My first rust belt beater, hailing all the way from cold, distant Pennsylvania, if the stated assigned serial tag screwed to the firewall by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue is to be believed.

It's my first flathead Ford powered vehicle, this one having an 8BA transplant from a '52 or '53 Ford backed by a transmission from a '41 Ford.

The flathead is currently stuck from sitting, but I'm somewhat optimistic it'll run. A tear down and visual inspection will determine more.

1948 Mercury Coupe

What will the future hold for this rusty beast? Depends on the flathead!

1948 Mercury Coupe

Many thanks to Kevin for helping me once again trailer home a rusty piece of crap.