The Mercury is Rising

The mercury is rising where I live, both literally and figuratively. Over the 4th of July weekend we saw triple digit heat here which actually ended up being a good test for the Mercury's new cooling system. The Holiday weekend also marked the completion of the Merc, or at least as complete as my funds will allow at the moment. The important thing is that it's running, looks good, and I'm now able to take it to car shows.

Here is the engine all detailed in period correct black and gold. Yes, the flames on the air cleaner are gold also!

Here is a shot of the rims that are now on the Merc. I actually managed to stuff 275/60/15's in the rear wheel openings! You can also see the retro-red painted brake drums.








And now the moment that you all have been waiting for. Here is the Mercury in all of it's final glory...

As with most of my cars, it will never be completely done. I can think of at least a half a dozen things that I could do next, if I only had some extra money. I have said it before and I'll say it again, when you have the money you don't have any time and when you have the time you don't have any money. Unfortunately, due to the current state of the economy, I'm in the crap load of time category right now with no end in sight. Just thinking about it ticks me off. Now my mercury is rising...

Give Me a Brake, Part 2

So I thought I would update the curious on the current state of the Merc's brakes. Given the condition that the front brakes were in, it should have came as no suprise that the rear were equally as bad. Although I really wanted to do a disc brake conversion on the front, it just wasn't in the budget, especially after discovering that all the brakes needed replacement.

I have also learned that I should stop looking at stuff, because everything that I touch on the Merc either needs repaired or replaced. Knowing that I am the third owner I have concluded that the first owner really took good care of the Merc and apparently owned it for quite awhile. The second owner did not own it for very long, used and abused it, and repairs were done either without common sense or with just plain stupidity. So now, not only do I have to repair items that are wore out, but I also have to repair (and find) mistakes. So far the list includes a leaking freeze plug, wore out radiator, bad spark plug wires, missing carburetor base gasket, leaking power steering ram, pump, and hoses, door locks not working, no keys, bad battery cables, missing battery hold down, missing thermostat, missing trunk lock, and that's just what I've found so far. What have I gotten myself into?

After removing all the wore out parts, I throughly cleaned the backing plates which seemed to be caked with 49 years of crud.

Here it is all cleaned, painted and ready for new parts.

Finally, new brakes! The original drums were pressed onto the hubs but the replacements are slip fit.

Of course that meant that I had to press in new wheel studs, but that gave me the opportunity to completely clean and detail the hubs.

I'll spare you the before shot of the rear brakes. Suffice to say it was polar opposite of what you're viewing here.

Why is it so much easier to remove stuff then it is to replace it? Notice the radiator missing? It was junk...

Work is progressing at a slow but steady rate. I am hoping to drive the big Merc to a major car show in a couple of weeks, but the jury is still out on weather or not it will be done in time. I guess "done" is a vague word, because is any project car ever really done? I'll leave you with those words of wisdom and a recent photo of the Merc wearing it's new shoes. Stay tuned, there's more to come! Now I need a break...