Some custom cars were just meant to be, such as the Pick of the Day, a 1950 Mercury Club Coupe built in the classic style of a lowdown “lead sled,” smoothed out for high-style urban cruising.
“Lead sled,” by the way, refers to the old-school customizing technique of filling seams and contouring the body with lead filler to create a sleek and flawless form. While lead has largely been replaced by more-modern (and less-hazardous) fillers, the term lead sled has stayed with us.
This Mercury was professionally built with a spectacular result, according to the O’Falllon, Illinois, dealer advertising the custom coupe on ClassicCars.com. The car, which has gone just 180 miles since completion, is painted in Candy Apple Red with pearlescent ghost flames.
“This coupe is a car that the more you look at the more attention to detail you see,” the seller says in the ad description. “Starting at the front underneath the phantom flames, you’ll notice (the) subtle touches such as the corners of the hood being smoothed out and given a better fitment.
“Moving back to the center of the car, the door handles have been replaced with a set of custom billet buttons that allow you to open the doors. Last but not least is the hidden trunk latch that is located inside the gas filler door, helping to give the rear of the Mercury a great sleek finish.”
While most of the chrome trim bits have been extracted and the mounting holes filled in, such flourishes as the side spears and gas-door surround have been kept to accentuate the clean lines of this Merc. he roof has not been chopped, nor has the suspension been drastically lowered.
The coupe has loads of rumbling power to turn heads on the street, the seller says.
“Underneath the hood lives a 383-cubic-inch stroker V8 that starts with the greatest of ease and produces more than enough horsepower to move this cruiser down the road while producing a great throating rumble,” according to the seller. “Handling the job of shifting gears while you are rolling down the road is the TH-350 automatic transmission that also adds to the comfort of this lead sled.”
The custom interior has been finished with tuck-and-roll leather seats in red and white, with aftermarket gauges housed within the original deco dashboard.
The Mercury looks very clean and well-finished in the gallery of photos with the ad, and it should be well-worth the asking price of $49,995.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
I remember it well, it all started with the James Dean movie"Rebel without a cause" everybody wanted a black 49 to 51 Merc- and many bought them- some had the dash on the left also put on the right side- all different in some way- me I like the rear fender skirts to fit flush- not over lap(just me) great engine- but what safety features did it receive- like newer brakes and handling- I painted my 1953 Ford Victoria- high school car a similar color 1959 GM maroon- still have the car in one of the garages. Thanks for showing the car. Robert/bob