My "1927 Mercury" phantom

[Hotrodfil]

Apologies for my creation not being quite stock. It's evolved out of parts I've acquired along the way. Long time happening this one.
Started this eons ago. I had a stock 1927T Tourer.


After failing to sell it around 2005, I bought all the interior, sheetmetal bits and top to get it finished. I decided to make it quicker and fit the running gear I'd bought from an early RHD 1928 A roadster. Somehow along the line though I acquired another T chassis - and another '27 tourer body... Plan was an all T panelled creation on 100" wheelbase.



Well. That project failed to reach the road when real life stepped up and gave us a kicking. As a 40 year old widow with two young kids, my car plans changed. The engine eventually went in the Fordor for a while, and the extra Tourer body went to a friend.

Roll on to 2011 and the chance to buy back the Tourer tub was too tempting. I brought it home and started installing her on a completely stock (so far...) rolling 'A' chassis I'd acquired.



I decided to stick with the Model A wheelbase and build a longer bonnet. This would give me a little extra legroom. An early oval T tank sunk down under the front seat just fine. Rear wings are narrowed and shortened '28 A roadster ones. Smoothed out all the dents and replace a couple of thin sections. Same on the body - the rear panel was particularly transparent in places but luckily I lent the body to a friend to take measurements from and he made me a replacement panel.





I rebuilt all the rear seat frame, opened up some boxes I've had since 2005 and tried out the seat springs.
I also opened another box from 2005 containing two new full height screen posts from Speedway only to discover... they'd sold me two offside ones. Arse. Probably a little late to complain.
Ah well - Pimms time.

[Hotrodfil]

Costs nowt to beat on bits of old tin...
For those that have never darkened my doorstep - behold the horrors of my shed. That's not all my shit. No, I store some of it somewhere else...


For hitting bits of steel I found this recent £10 ebay purchase rather handy.


I cut out all the footboard area to make space for unmodified Model A pedals. Handy hint no.1. Don't used 1mm cutting discs where you cant actually see what you're doing.
Handy hint no.2 Teach someone in the house where to find plasters before you try to cut your finger off.
Handy hint no. 3 Model A bearing caps with the babbit out are a snug fit round a Model A steering column.


I had a radiator built in Cambridge by Anglia Radiator Services. Superb! T top tank scalloped out to miss the fan and an A bottom tank.

[Hotrodfil]

Comes a time when you need to hear it run...



Jury rigged a switch, fitted an electric pump and it fired up almost instantly. Ran like a bag of crap. Knackered condenser and a mile wide points diagnosed plus rust on the valve seats. Probably. So - time to drive it out of the garage? Nope. Stuck clutch.




Still, fading light, cleared the drive and went for a quick charge down the road. Clutch freed off and driven back in the garage. Still popping and banging, big backfire when I turned it off (yup - checked the timing...) but - Brill!!!!!

Bonnet fabricated except for adding the clamps. Hinge gap looks a little wide as I've just rigged it together with 3mm stainless rod rather than the 1/4" rod I used to roll the hinges. I ended up adding some louvres before it was painted.



Outside with the top irons up.



Finally - stripped and painted.


More to come later...

[1931 flamingo]

HOLY COW ! ! ! ! !
LOOKIN GOOD ! ! ! !


Paul in CT

[2manycars]

That is an interesting story and result. There is a model T roadster on a model A chassis in eastern Connecticut. It looks very good, and reportedly runs fine.

[Hotrodfil]

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Anyway - a spot of trimming, electrickery and MOT work. Yes, I had to carry on building it on the driveway as we had a few tons of bark chippings delivered and I couldn't swing into the garage.









At the MOT station. Passed!!




Pouring down with rain for most of the summer here. So I spent a day tapping tacks through my fingers in the confines of the garage.
Bring on the dancing bears - it's circus Big Top time!





Finally my registration turned up so took a maiden voyage to town.



And finally time to see if the top actually folds back down. Henry's 'one-man top' took three blokes but tada!





Well that all seemed fine so I'm tore out the engine and box out and changed the back axle...

B engine stolen from the Fordor, close ratio gears, and a 3.27 rear end, all fitted and fingers crossed.

[Hotrodfil]

Reason for the running gear change? A trip to Le Mans for the Classic 24 hour. Background to the trip - the boy turned 18 and left college this year. My new girlfriend Lynda is partial to a spot of vino and I'm the kind of vegetarian well served betwixt fromargerie and boulangerie. Probably the last chance for an epic family holiday so I booked my daughter out of school and the gite about a year ago. A friend Mark with an A Sports Coupe seemed up for a wedge or two of fromage and organised the ferry from Newhaven - 11pm crossing so we'd be twilighting France when we landed. Pre-booked weekend tickets for €49 and some free club parking spots courtesy of the VSCC? Sorted.

Our humble accommodation for the week.



Plotting world domination from the back of our staff car. A rare top down moment from the week away.

[glenn in camino]

Looks like fun.

[Hotrodfil]

Jobs left to do - I'm not happy with the top - too late I realised the top bow was too high so I'll be stripping it off to redo later in the year. Couple of the doors need repainting as they were quite pitted, and one rear door needs replacing as it turned out to be an English Drop Frame one.

Apart from that? I took us four up on a 1200 mile journey with nothing but a broken fan to contend with so I'm more than happy so far!

[Hotrodfil]

Oh - swapped the Holley 94 out for a little 1-1/4" downdraft SU before I went to give us some kind of range out of the T petrol tank. Fastest speed on the trip was a sat nav 61mph with the top up and everybody and their luggage on board. Top down there's plenty more left...

By the way - I fitted Ted's Floaters to a set of '32 brakes up front and they were superb!

[Aerocraft]

Great job, some will think it is "factory" ! Gar Williams

[RcT]

Outstanding... I have to admire people with your skills. You have created a beauty. (I agree with you on the top... looks a little out of proportion, but I love the looks of it with the top down). My one big question is how in the world did you register the car? They must be very liberal in Europe. Again, well done and drive it in good health.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Very nice work. I was going to mention that the second top bow from the front doesn't appear to be folded completely into position. That would lower the hump and make the top look better.

[Ray in La Mesa]

Kool story and a very unique and great result, I love the engineering.

[dumb person]

How did you make the louvers? And how does the fuel get to the carb'?

[al's28/33]

I remember a story of a similar mad scientist eccentric inventor, took a race car from a pile of smoking melted ruins and turned into a magical flying car!!!

EXCELENT STORY!! You are a very talented man and thank you for sharing.

[Hotrodfil]

Originally Posted by dumb person

How did you make the louvers? And how does the fuel get to the carb'?

Friend of mine has a small set of louvre dies that fit in a fly press which was handy!

That's a Diamond B engine in there at the moment with a stock 'B' fuel pump. I'm putting together another A engine to replace it with so I'll have to put an electric pump back on.

[700rpm]

I'm a stock purist, but I also admire good work, and you've done a fine job and created one of the most interesting Fords I've ever seen.

[CHuDWah]

Sweet car - kind of a "baby-Rolls" look. But isn't the steering on the "wrong" side?

[Hotrodfil]

Originally Posted by RcT

My one big question is how in the world did you register the car? They must be very liberal in Europe. Again, well done and drive it in good health.

Registration is based on the chassis frame number and the engine number, plus a points system based on the use of original axles, suspension, steering, gearbox etc.

The actual body does not carry any points and is not included.

The registration was issued based on the 1930 engine and chassis used. That's why I waited until it was registered before swapping in my known good engine. It will be going back to another A engine (pressurised, ported, good cam, Winfield head) once I've finished building it.

[Corn Coupe]

Cool, car, cool trip - and it was at times!

M

[Hotrodfil]

A short fairly dull journey from town to home. Just a pleasant summer evening. I've fixed the loose squeaky steel floor panel now. Thought I'd post it as a reference for anyone considering a 3.27 final drive. That's a close ratio gear set whining away in there too. I'll do a better video when I have a moment.

My '27 Mercury video

[Peter J]

Very pleasing lines. Looks quite "British" in a good way.

[Hotrodfil]

Cheers - that was kinda the plan. It caused a bit of head scratching on a VSCC run the other day.

[FL&WVMIKE]

Hotrodfil .........................
Very nice looking and interesting car. I like it !
Now, perhaps, a V8 flathead engine ?
MIKE

[Roadster62]

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Personally I'd rather see a nice overhead valve head on a upgraded B block. Bob

Originally Posted by FL&WVMIKE

Hotrodfil .........................
Very nice looking and interesting car. I like it !
Now, perhaps, a V8 flathead engine ?
MIKE

[Hotrodfil]

Hi Mike - I race a flattie powered '24T-modified in a hillclimb series over here. I sometimes do a spot of drag racing, sprinting and production car trials with it too.

As for the overhead? I have one under the bed...and a spare diamond block in the garage. But for now I'll be happy enough once the Winfield headed A motor is in there keeping everything pre-1930.

[Hotrodfil]

As I'd run the bottom end on my hillclimb car I took the 'Mercury' out for a trundle up Prescott hill last weekend...

[CountrySquire55]

Great looking result from all your ingenuity! Continue enjoying your car and wishing you many more miles of fun!

[painterrick]

Looks great ,good job of fitting peices together to make a neat car

[glenn in camino]

Not MY style, but I LIKE IT.

[Hotrodfil]

Bit of an update - finally had the Winfield headed full pressure A engine installed and on song. Bit of video of her singing at the inaugural VHRA event - GOW!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWJkArXpNFg

[Rock Hornbuckle]

I always appreciate great ingenuity and skill, no matter what kind of a car it is. I celebrate the talent that your car personifies.

[Patrick L.]

But,but,but, you put the steering wheel on the wrong side ! Didn't you ?

[Hotrodfil]

Had some fun on Pendine Sands the other day.
Launching for a 77.7mph run - on a beach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPkAuTo_oo8

[Tiny]

One of my favorite Soup Jobs!!!!!!!!!

[Roadster62]

Same here! Bob

Originally Posted by Tiny

One of my favorite Soup Jobs!!!!!!!!!

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

Where does the word mercury fit in?

[Hotrodfil]

I love 'what if...?' scenarios. Edsel founded the Mercury company in 1937 with the first production cars built for 1939. What if it had happened 10 years earlier? After all, Edsel was responsible for the Model A body designs and the late T's.

For my Tourer? It's late summer 1927 and Edsel spirits away an early prototype A rolling frame to create the first 'Mercury'...

[Roadster62]

The smallest model Chevrolet in 1933 was a Mercury, guess they didn't copyright the name. Bob

[Wick]

I Love it! Best story in a long time...and he's not scared to Dog the thing!
Great work!

[zmjc]

Wow. That's inspiring!

[MartinJ]

I am looking into reducing the roll in my 1928 Model A standard phaeton and looking again at your you tube video up Prescott, it would appear you have done something to the suspension, to alleviate the rolling, but which is not obvious in the various pictures you posted. Can you explain, please.

[Hotrodfil]

All fairly stock really. Couple of leaves out of the front spring, repro front shocks, T rear spring and MGB rear shocks. I guess the Tourer body is a bit lighter. I put the petrol tank under the front seat to lower the centre of gravity a bit. Driving it like an idiot helps.

[Juggler]

It does handle pretty well though. Which is handy when you are going round the Semicircle at the top of Prescott hillclimb in the passenger seat, holding on with one hand...

https://youtu.be/W3_klfNO2Wg

[MartinJ]

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Thanks for the response. You mentioned a 3.27 to 1 diff and close ratio box,
together with various engines. What are you currently running in it ?

[raprice]

Wow, what an incredible job!!! You accomplished what Henry Ford should have done. A combination of Model T and Model A. My hat's off to you. You must be very proud.
Rog

[Hotrodfil]

Originally Posted by MartinJ

Thanks for the response. You mentioned a 3.27 to 1 diff and close ratio box,
together with various engines. What are you currently running in it ?

Currently it's running a warm A engine, close ratio A box and 3.54's in the rear. The 3.27 was never fitted in the end - it's now in my Coupe.

[Terry, NJ]

Very Nice Job! One thing that annoys me is, a month ago, I put over 5000 miles on my little Ford Transit Van and never got out of the US. In the UK, You only have to go, maybe 2-300, then a fifty (?) mile, or less on a Sealink ferry and you'r either in France, Holland, Belgium or Germany! For us, Canada, except Montreal and Quebec, is like the 51st state. Can't get the exotic feel of being in another country!
Terry

[Juggler]

Originally Posted by Hotrodfil

Currently it's running a warm A engine, close ratio A box and 3.54's in the rear. The 3.27 was never fitted in the end - it's now in my Coupe.

Where's the Coupe thread?

[clo2jim]

To Terry in #49

You should go to Newfoundland & Labrador. It will be an experience that you will never forget. Also. Yukon and Northwest Territories and Nunavik

BTW. Canadians do not like the reference to being considered a 51st state.

Every province is an unique experience from British Columbia to The Maritimes that needs to be explored other than just in the border areas. It just takes awhile to get there away from the border to the interior ares to experience what Canadians love about their country

[old31]

Great story, great talent. Thanks for sharing.

[Terry, NJ]

Not for nothing, But there are far greater differences between a New England Yankee and a person from Newark, NJ (Soprano country) 200 miles away, There a huge difference between north and south Jersey. Forget about California and everywhere else! Ditto for Texas! Maybe it's just me, but I tend to think of there being only two distinctive provinces, Quebec and Alberta. I concede, I've only been there 3 or 4 times since 1970! I have to admit, of all the Canadians I've seen on the NJ. Parkway, the Canadians are the most polite drivers. Until they passed, my wife's family used to visit her relatives in Ontario at least once a year. The comment about the 51st state refers to the similarity of our two countries, It's not an insult. As far as Newfoundland goes, from what I've seen of it, it may as well be the west coast of Ireland or Scotland, Very picturesque, but nothing much happens there! Am I wrong about that?
Terry

Originally Posted by clo2jim

To Terry in #49

You should go to Newfoundland & Labrador. It will be an experience that you will never forget. Also. Yukon and Northwest Territories and Nunavik

BTW. Canadians do not like the reference to being considered a 51st state.

Every province is an unique experience from British Columbia to The Maritimes that needs to be explored other than just in the border areas. It just takes awhile to get there away from the border to the interior ares to experience what Canadians love about their country

[clo2jim]

Terry - No Problem

Since 1978, I have travelled in 49 states, 10 provinces and 2 Canadian Territories - all of them except Newfoundland in the same truck and camper. we have also been in Newfoundland twice since then - great experience each time. All areas are great. And recently to New Zealand and Australia meeting up with several Model A groups and having great time over the 2 months, we were down there.

The best thing, about travelling these days, is meeting with others who have a common interest in Ford Model A's

This Thread, regarding the "1927 Mercury" phantom is great. Lots of good information and great story. Thanks for sharing.

[Terry, NJ]

I've only been to 45, I still have Maine, Rhode Island, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Last years trip was supposed to include them. but my wife looked at the Hagstroms and thought the ride from Minnesota to the Yukon and chickened out. We could have gone to Dawson which I want to see before I die and the Chilkoot pass and pee on Soapy Smith's grave LOL. She said NO! It's too much of a ride and we did have to get to our daughter's in Denver (And stop in at Berts) So, No Alaska this year either, we went south to Texas and my other daughter's. I have been to the UK, Scotland, and Eire several times. Australia? Probably Never! From blue lined octopus to salt water crocs, to box jelly fish, From Red back spiders to brown snakes, from Taipans to something else with a toxic bite, I like getting off the beaten bath and I don't think I would like it there.
Terry

Originally Posted by clo2jim

Terry - No Problem

Since 1978, I have travelled in 49 states, 10 provinces and 2 Canadian Territories - all of them except Newfoundland in the same truck and camper. we have also been in Newfoundland twice since then - great experience each time. All areas are great. And recently to New Zealand and Australia meeting up with several Model A groups and having great time over the 2 months, we were down there.

The best thing, about travelling these days, is meeting with others who have a common interest in Ford Model A's

This Thread, regarding the "1927 Mercury" phantom is great. Lots of good information and great story. Thanks for sharing.