50 Merc pros and cons?

mhsprecher

mhsprecher

Well-known member
I am looking at a 50 Merc 4 door sedan. It looks and drives nicely. Older restoration very well cared for. Any pros or cons for this model? Not something I was looking for, but I was intrigued. I have been looking for a flattie to buy and have looked at a shoebox and a few 39 Fords. Almost anything else is outside my price range.
 
I will be surprised if the Merc isn't out of your price range, Mercs were kinda low manufactured cars, and after James Dean movie Rebel With Out A Cause, all the guys wanted one, there heavy, to much for the horse supplied for them, a Merc engine is just a flathead ford with a 1/4" stroked crank, a merc crank id 4" a ford is 3 3/4" a horse power gain of about 25 hp, on the other hand they are beautiful cars, and you don't see many of them on the street or car shows, the 49 and 50's are the most popular, but the are all high dollar cars, if you can get it I would recommend you to buy it, altho every one wants the two door, but they are hard to find, 4 doors are real nice too and a lot cheaper
 
Westcoast summed it up well. They are the 50's car to have, but then I am bias. I would take the Merc before the shoebox.

Neal
 
Save your pennies and buy a 2 door Merc if at all possible. But, if you really want a 4 door, make your move.
 
Unless you are looking to 'flip it' and make a killing... I suggest that you buy what you want, in your price range, and have fun with it. There are significant differences between '39 Fords and '49 to '51 Ford shoeboxes and still more with '49-'51 Mercury's.
 
The Merc is a beautiful car and a great cruiser. I had on in the late 50's and got 19mpg cross countey with the OD trans.
My suggestions for am up date would to be to build more cubes in the engine (276) EAB heads stock cam Up grade the ignition and carb (2GC) and disk brakes. Now you have a great cruiser, and it will stop. Something the original had a problem with.
 
I have two early 1951 fordor sport sedans but not by choice. My Pop gave me his after I had already purchased mine. I'd love to have a 6 pax coupe but love the room the old suicide rear doors give to get in & out. I learned to drive in my Pop's old Merc. He had a 51 coupe back in the day but the family was growing and they had an accident with it while up in Denver way back. It seems Pop hit the brakes hard because he couldn't see the stop light on one of the infamous one way streets close to the capitol hill area. My sister fell down on the back floor and her head got mashed between the seat back and the base when the back returned to its normal position. It scared my pop so bad that he traded it for a 51 fordor as soon as he got back to Kansas. My sis didn't get hurt too bad thankfully but that is a good reason for locking seat backs and seat belt restrained child safety seats that we use now days.

I like all of the mid century Merc models 49 thru 51. Woody wagon, convert, 6 pax coupe, and sport sedan. What's not to like? I prefer the 3-speed with overdrive but the old Merc-O-Matic wouldn't be too bad either. The key is finding one that you don't have to replace the floor & rockers on. They like to rust and become flintstone cars if you don't store them well.
 
This one has an OD. I am partial to manual transmissions.

The coupe is cool, but they are a lot more and I like the practicality of the 4 doors. I might end up with a 39 Ford at some point, too.

What I like about the 49-51s is that you can pretty much take them anywhere you would take your modern car. With my Model A's, it requires a lot of planning. A 39 would be better, but I would still be limited.

Ol' Ron has some great suggestions, although I tend to leave my cars stock, but I like upgrades for safety. No flipping as it is owned by a guy who knows his cars. I worry because I have limited storage space and two antiques already, but as most of you know, you it's hard to have just one.
 
You'll enjoy the '39 as well, they too are excellent road cars, although the do handle a bit differently from the 'big' Merc's. I drive my '39 CS all over the South East.:)
 
49 Mercury has been part of me since childhood, then my first car, and for the last 27 years, a copy of the first one. They are great runners, sound good, hold the whole family, and get lots of compliments. I have a 39,love shoeboxes too, and a 50 Ford tudor is tops on my list of Fords loved but never owned. Buy the Mercury if you like it.
 

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Id buy it mercs are sweet riding cars esp on the highway with overdrive. Lots of room inside You could drive it across the country and be comfortable. I have a 50 merc and its way more comfy than my 51 victoria
 
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