Ford & Mercury 1939 - 40 custom & mild custom

c'est représentatif d'une époque, mais c'est trop torturé pour moi   

Custom Car Craftsman Rick Dore is an icon in the world of custom cars. And this car, one of his breathtaking creations, started life as a 1940 Mercury Coupe. This highly modified steel bodied masterpiece features a 327CI Chevrolet V8 linked to a 350 Turbo- Hydromatic Transmission. From the Italian White Pearl Bucket Seats to its iridescent paint, this car is one of the finest custom cars you can find.

1940 Mercury restyled by Barris Kustoms for Johnny Zaro of Bell, California in 1947. After being discharged from the Navy in 1947, Johnny and his buddy Al Andril decided to buy a pair of 1940 Mercury's to cruise around in. During their conversations about the coupes, they decided to have the tops chopped. They choose Barris Kustoms do perform the task. The brothers convinced them that several other modifications should be done as well. Sam Barris started out rstyling Al's coupe. After nine months it was in primer.[2] Barris needed to do some major damage repair on Johnny's car before the restyling, as Johhnny had crashed the car on his way to the Barris Kustoms shop. The car was nosed, with only a small chrome trim molding left on each hood side. Trunk and door handles were removed, and substituted by electric push-buttons. The fenders were molded to the body with an elegant curve on the rear fenders. The top was chopped 5 1/2 inches, and the body was channeled over the frame. Special taillights were built into the rear bumper guards. The bumpers were 1938 DeSoto ripple bumpers, and the skirts were steel teardrop units. Up front, the Merc was lowered by using a Dago dropped axle. Overall height of the car was 4' 11". Ground clearance was 4 inches in the rear. Single bar Flipper Hubcaps on wide whites and Appleton spots wrapped up the style. Using the lessons learned during the process, on Al's Merc, they were able to complete Johnny's car in six months.


The interior was fitted with heavy plastic dash pieces attached to the chromed panel. Top and side panels were upholstered by Bill Hilborn in a two-tone scheme of padded leatherette that matched the polychromatic maroon exterior paint. The engin was hopped up featuring adding Edelbrock heads and a Weiand Manifold.[3] The car was built almost identical as Johnny's buddy Al Andril's 1940 Mercury. The idea was to create two near identical customs so the two friends could cruise the streets in style and to create quite an impact on the other street cruisers.


Johnny traded away his Merc for John Vara's 1941 Ford. The Merc went trough several owners until Kurt McCormick purchased it. When Kurt bought it, the Merc had been neglected for a long time, and it was in need of a restoration. Over the years, the car had suffered through a series of indignities which included the installation of a Vega grille and a coat of Pepto Bismol pink paint that hid all of the graceful styling done by Barris Kustoms. Kurt was able to confirm that it actually was the real Johnny Zaro Merc. Because of all the modifications, temporary fixes and its advanced state of detoration, Kurt needed to get a donor car in order to restore it back to its former glory. Kurt had Dave Conrad of Kirkwood, Missouri to cosmetically restore it once he found a donor car. The frame was boxed, C'd and a flat rear crossmember was installed. A 10-bolt Chevrolet rear end was attached to the stock transverse spring. Up front, the add-on independent front suspension was replaced with a Merc solid axle, a split wishbone and a transverse leaf spring. Everything was painted for the upcoming completed body. The body was in a rough condition, between the rust and intended mutilation there was very little which had not been touched by the hand of doom. Dave had to massage every piece of sheetmetal on the car before it could be painted. The next task was to find the Titian red color to duplicate the original look. Jack Stirnemann and Harry Stirnemann were able to custom-mix a batch of Sherwin Williams enamel, enabling Dave to cover the Merc in its proper hue. Kurt created the red plastic that would cover the chrome dash and prepared the engine. Skip Berger machined the Small-block Chevy engine chosen to power the Merc. The enigne was painted red and backed up by a Turbo 350 transmission. When all the body, chassis and mechanical work was done, it was delivered to Dave Fissel's Stitch N Fit upholstery shop in St. Peters, Missouri. The original interior was preserved but the quality of the original work was far exceeded. A maroon and ivory rolled vinyl upholstery with a designed front to rear headliner highlighted with contrasting piping. The restoration was finished during the spring of 1998.

Hot Rod Magazine February 1949
Street Rodder September 1999
Trend Book 208 Custom Cars 2012 Annual


http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Johnny_Zaro%27s_1940_Mercury

1940 Ford Custom Convertible!

This 40' Ford Convertible has been Chopped 4"Sectioned 5" and channelled 6" 47 years under construction!

Exterior finished in Tangerine Pearl with Tan leather interior. Tan fabric set on top

Newer chassis and running gear 350 Chevy V8 Automatic transmission Power Steering Hidden CD Stereo Runs and Drives excellent!

Won several awards including Best in Class 2010 Santa Barbara Concours

SUMMERS BUILT CUSTOMS FOR MOVIE STARS AND HOT RODS FOR RACERS AND CUSTOMIZED CARS STARTING IN THE 1930'S LAST COMPLETE BODY WAS FOR TONY NANCY'S STREAMLINER IN THE 60'S
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