Few cars ever lent themselves better to customizing than the muscularly bulbous 1940 Mercury. Ford Motor Co. had introduced Mercury just the year before, in a move to fill the void that existed between the low-priced everyman’s Ford V-8 and the luxurious, expensive and exclusive Lincoln Zephyr V-12.
Additional early ’40s custom touches include the ’37 DeSoto ‘ripple’ bumpers; ’41 Studebaker taillights, teardrop skirts and ‘flipper’ hubcaps. The unusual above-the-bumper dual exhausts are the way they were, as are the dual Appleton spotlights.
A 1940 flat-head V-8 block was bored and stroked to 276 cubic inches for the Merc. The ported and relieved engine runs an Isky 3/4 cam. Authentic pre-war speed equipment includes the chromed cylinder heads, Weiand dual-carb set-up and modified Lincoln-Zephyr V-12 dual-coil ignition. Also in the hot-rod tradition, the Merc’s three-speed manual transmission has Zephyr gears and a Zephyr two-speed overdrive rear axle.
The frame is “C’d” over the rear axle, while a Zephyr hypoid differential allowed the car to set lower without reshaping the factory-shape driveshaft tunnel. Zephyr self-energizing hydraulic brakes provide stopping power. “All of these period modifications make for a very nice driving car that can cruise comfortably at highway speeds,” the vendor states.
Take a look at these fabulous photos from Driver Source to see 1940 Mercury Series 09A Custom Coupe.
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