49 mercury

[f1builder]

I don't know if this is the right place but I have a question. I just got a 48 mercury 4dr ---- nice body, project, no motor or tranny. it is missing the lower A assembly on the passenger side. I have a set of the lower A's I got off an old 53 or 54 mercury Monterey I had. will the lower A's match up to the 49? thanks for any help.

[f1builder]

sorry, its a 49 mercury not a 48.

[tubman]

The '53 might, but the '54 won't for sure because Ford and Mercury went to ball joint front suspension in '54. If I had to guess, I'd say the '53 probably wouldn't work either, but I'd crawl under it with a ruler before I threw the '53 parts away.

(Edit : Fatman lists the same dropped spindles for '49-'53 Fords and '52-'53 Mercurys, but the listing for '49-'51 Mercs are separate.)

[f1builder]

ok-----thanks a lot for the info. will grab my tape measure and see ----- as soon as the snow melts.

[Alaska Jim]

I am pretty sure you will find that only 49-51 will interchange as a direct bolt on, but I my be wrong. pretty sure they went to ball joints in 54, while the 52-53 still had king pins, I think the A arms are different though. This will probably be the reason they will not interchange. same for the 54's.

[Paul Bennett]

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There are no end of suppliers for 49 50 51 front ends. Van Pelt has good drawings and knowledgeable people. Careful as Merc and Ford parts are not identical. I would suggest you look into replacing both sides to insure both sides match.

Also, you will wish to lower the front end, do NOT use drop blocks on the A arm. You will want to switch both front coils to '90s Ford Aerostar springs ($55 Amazon) Moog CC850 which give 2 1/2" drop and better ride as they are non-linear.

There is good advice on this forum which caters to restoring but more is available on HAMB which caters to custom cars.

[rotorwrench]

The above illustration is for Ford cars and 52 thru 53 Mercury cars. The 49 thru 51 Mercury cars all use the same A-arms and have the 15/16" king pins and are different than Ford. They also share some parts with the baby Lincoln cars but the Lincoln had a lot heavier motor and a suspension to hold it.

I've purchased NOS A-arms from flea-pay before but the stuff doesn't come up often. You can do a conversion or find someone (say on the HAMB for example) that has the old stuff laying in there parts pile after they converted to bags or something of that nature. The 49 thru 51 arms are interchangeable from side to side so they will fit either side.

[Alaska Jim]

rotorwrench, Thanks for that info. I did not know that they were interchangeable from side to side.

[19Fordy]

49-51 Merc suspension parts are the only suspension parts that will fit a 1949-51 Merc.
Ford parts appear similar but Merc parts are bigger and beefier. Example: king pins and suspension bushings and bolts.

[f1builder]

well I dug out my lower A's that were in storage===they are identical. I crawled under the 49 and they are identical to the one I have on the car.....go figure. I got so many parts and I know I should be marking them. so I just need the rebuild kit now. thanks everyone for the help and info.

[tubman]

It looks like you lucked out. It has to happen once in a while; good for you. I am kind of surprised they would fit. Do you know what year they actually were?

[Paul Bennett]

Good on ya. Don't skip the coil switch to Moog CC-850 Aerostars.
I've got a '50 4dr and welcome any questions.

[estout81]

Paul Bennett,
What is the problem with drop blocks on A arms?

[nbrskn]

I run a 50 merc in the navy with drop blocks on it .
drove from millington Tn to
st Louis Mo area. Did OK

[51 MERC-CT]

Originally Posted by estout81

What is the problem with drop blocks on A arms?

There isn't any problem so long as the original springs are used with them.
If used along with the Aerostar springs the result is that the springs are too short and when unsprung, the springs tend to be loose and change position.

[19Fordy]

f1builder; Check to see that the A-Arm bushings and bolts are the correct size. Mercs are larger dia. than Fords.

[Paul Bennett]

Originally Posted by estout81

Paul Bennett,
What is the problem with drop blocks on A arms?

Much of what I know is not from personal experience but from extensive reading, mostly on H.A.M.B. That said, when mentioned in many threads, they claim, while the look may be great, the driveability and/or rideability is awful for an initially good front end car.

In order to lower a Merc front end, guys have used drop spindles ($800), blocks in the A arm, and cut coils (silly bad) and modern coils ($100 best) and air bags ($xk). Each will provide 2" or so drop except air bags whose only limit is your wallet. Air is probably best but again it's spendy. Start with substitute coils, which I use and advocate. Next are drop spindle. You are now at 4" still with a driveable good riding car. Drop spindles keep you from going to disc brakes later on as today's disk kits won't fit. Bags, having electrical components aren't as reliable as a pure mechanical system. More reading

[estout81]

Paul Bennett,
Confirms my experience with a '51 Ford I bought. Had lowering blocks front and rear plus chrome reversed rims. Drove like shit! Removed blocks and used stock wheels w/205/75 15 tires. WOW what a deference!

[51 MERC-CT]

Originally Posted by Paul Bennett

Drop spindles keep you from going to disc brakes later on as today's disk kits won't fit.

This is only if one is incapable of using ones imagination or has no fabrication skills.
I have drop spindles installed along with one of "today's disk kits"
For those who are wondering, this is the modification.

[corvette8n]

Originally Posted by 51 MERC-CT

This is only if one is incapable of using ones imagination or has no fabrication skills.
I have drop spindles installed along with one of "today's disk kits"
For those who are wondering, this is the modification.

Your picture is not showing up, maybe hosting problems.?