Family Affair. Rostraver, PA
1951 Mercury Lead Sled
I found the information below on this car from Motor Trend magazine.
Rich Spanovich's light green '51 Merc custom was a father-and-son project that took several decades to complete.
Spanovich's 13-year-old son Rick was with him when he towed the Merc home to Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, from the used car lot where he'd bought it. You could still buy '51 Mercs from used car lots in 1973.
This car was bought to fulfill a dream to build a Merc in the style of the Barris brothers. Due to other car projects and other distractions, it was several decades before that would happen. In 2002, Rick—who had followed the lead of his father and built several customs of his own—turned his attention to the Merc. When he was done, the body had been modified with shortened rear quarters and lengthened doors—plus a hood grille shell and front fenders borrowed from a '50 Merc. Rich had planned for a DeSoto grille, but plans changed to a combo of '47 Olds grille pieces, hardware store rack teeth, and dummy spot housings. Side trim came from a '53 and '54 Merc. The taillights are from a 1951 Buick. Rick sprayed the PPG Rock Moss Green paint.
The stock chassis was retained, with drop spindles, de-arched springs, and lowering blocks used to put the Spanovich's custom 5 inches lower than stock. Mopar caps cover the 15-inch steel wheels, wrapped in whitewall Firestone/Coker rubber.
More of that light green paint shows up on the Chevy 350 small-block. The senior Spanovich assembled the engine, which is aspirated by a four-barrel carb crowned with a custom dual snorkel air cleaner. The TH350 transmission and a 2.41:1-geared Camaro rearend back up the small-block.
The interior is mild and modest. Upholsterer Margie Winters used two tons of Naugahyde to finish the stock bench seat—evergreen for the outsides and oyster for the rolls 'n' pleats inserts. Stewart Warner gauges were added to the '51 dash. Lokar provided the shifter. One modern amenity—a CD player—is installed covertly in the glovebox.
Family Affair. Rostraver, PA
1951 Mercury Lead Sled
I found the information below on this car from Motor Trend magazine.
Rich Spanovich's light green '51 Merc custom was a father-and-son project that took several decades to complete.
Spanovich's 13-year-old son Rick was with him when he towed the Merc home to Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, from the used car lot where he'd bought it. You could still buy '51 Mercs from used car lots in 1973.
This car was bought to fulfill a dream to build a Merc in the style of the Barris brothers. Due to other car projects and other distractions, it was several decades before that would happen. In 2002, Rick—who had followed the lead of his father and built several customs of his own—turned his attention to the Merc. When he was done, the body had been modified with shortened rear quarters and lengthened doors—plus a hood grille shell and front fenders borrowed from a '50 Merc. Rich had planned for a DeSoto grille, but plans changed to a combo of '47 Olds grille pieces, hardware store rack teeth, and dummy spot housings. Side trim came from a '53 and '54 Merc. The taillights are from a 1951 Buick. Rick sprayed the PPG Rock Moss Green paint.
The stock chassis was retained, with drop spindles, de-arched springs, and lowering blocks used to put the Spanovich's custom 5 inches lower than stock. Mopar caps cover the 15-inch steel wheels, wrapped in whitewall Firestone/Coker rubber.
More of that light green paint shows up on the Chevy 350 small-block. The senior Spanovich assembled the engine, which is aspirated by a four-barrel carb crowned with a custom dual snorkel air cleaner. The TH350 transmission and a 2.41:1-geared Camaro rearend back up the small-block.
The interior is mild and modest. Upholsterer Margie Winters used two tons of Naugahyde to finish the stock bench seat—evergreen for the outsides and oyster for the rolls 'n' pleats inserts. Stewart Warner gauges were added to the '51 dash. Lokar provided the shifter. One modern amenity—a CD player—is installed covertly in the glovebox.