1946-1948 Mercury Dash Boards

[mercman from oz]

Can anyone tell me the differences between these two Mercury Dash Boards. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that one has been converted to Right Hand Drive. And what great job this Craftsman did. Look at the work involved. That Glove Box and cut-out had to be hand fabricated to get a mirror image of the original Left Hand Drive Dash. But I can see two different centre pieces between these tow vehicles. The top one seems to be plastic, while the lower one is chrome, and a different shape. My question is, what models are these two cars?

[mercman from oz]

Just for the record, every Right Hand Dash in these 1946 to 1948 Mercurys looked like this one, save for minor colour changes. As most people would know, this style Dash was introduced on the 1941 Mercury (Fords of the same era also used carry-over 1941 Ford Dashes) but was redesigned for the 1942 models. It seems that Ford Motor Company didn't want to spend big money tooling up for a new design RHD Dash when the earlier one would do the trick for no extra money. And so it was. All Right Hand Drive 1942 to 1948 Mercurys used the carry-over 1941 Dash. These RHD Cars were assembled in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Great Britain and maybe elsewhere? The conversion of the genuine Mercury Dash in the previous Post is an absolute work of art.

[Karl Wescott]

I DO NOT KNOW, but could anyone step in as to if there were South American (Argentina etc) RHD Mercurys and what that dash would look like?


Also, as this could be a good archive thread, what the Canadian Monarch dash looked like.

[42merc]

The red Mercury dash is using aftermarket chrome pieces to replace original rotten plastic pieces.

[Automotive Stud]

The chrome speaker grill is Ford, not Mercury. It's somewhat common to see, as it adds some pop and original Mercury speaker grills in good condition are scarce.

[mercman from oz]

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Here is the centre trim on a 1948 Mercury. Is this one original? Is this one Plastic or Cast Metal?

[35ragtop]

definately cast and 48s were apparently.

[51 MERC-CT]

Could very well be the difference between 'standard' and 'deluxe' trim.
The red pic seems to be a convertible and would have the 'deluxe/chrome' design trim.

[mercman from oz]

Both of the cars in Post 1 and also Post 6 are Convertibles.

[42merc]

Originally Posted by 51 MERC-CT

Could very well be the difference between 'standard' and 'deluxe' trim.
The red pic seems to be a convertible and would have the 'deluxe/chrome' design trim.

All '42-'48 Merc's were deluxe, with plastic parts.
No standards, the questionable parts are aftermarket.

[51 MERC-CT]

It does appear that the one in post #6 is metal and much weathered with the speaker grille bent in multiple directions (not cracked)

[Automotive Stud]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

Here is the centre trim on a 1948 Mercury. Is this one original? Is this one Plastic or Cast Metal?

That's chrome metal, but the chrome aftermarket trim dates back to the '50's. Just because it's old doesn't make it original.

[swoopNZ]

Argentina was RHD until about 1946.
Also Uruguay changed around the same time.
They would have been originally supplied with 1941 RHD dashboards from Ford along with the UK, South Africa , Australia and New Zealand.

[mercman from oz]

From the above comments, I am led to believe that this Plastic centre section is correct for all 1942-1948 Mercury models.
Am I correct in assuming this?
As mentioned earlier, these updated dashes for 1942 onwards were never offered in Australia, as our Mercurys continued to use the carry over 1941 Mercury dash.

[42merc]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

From the above comments, I am led to believe that this Plastic centre section is correct for all 1942-1948 Mercury models.
Am I correct in assuming this?
As mentioned earlier, these updated dashes for 1942 onwards were never offered in Australia, as our Mercurys continued to use the carry over 1941 Mercury dash.

Yes this is correct.
Different color plastic for different years. '42 & maybe '46 being tan plastic, '48's that I've seen have been a "silver grey"

[rotorwrench]

Aftermarket sources manufactured the metal dash trim pieces for those owners that wanted the bright chrome look. The plastic didn't age well in the sun.