’51 Mercury

BACK IN THE DAY when guys and gals cruised boulevards religiously in their cars all across America there would always be one ride that received more attention than the rest. Some of the most popular customs were 1949-51 Mercurys with their low, long bodylines; round, fat fenders; wide horizontal grilles and wraparound bumpers. They’re still considered the ultimate lead sled.

Cisco Farias, who resides in Mission Viejo, California, has always had a passion for cool custom cars. He wanted to own and build a ’50s-style custom, so Cisco purchased a ’51 Mercury two-door coupe. He’s been a longtime fan of Ed Roth, who created Rat Fink in 1963. The evil-looking cartoon rat has been an iconic hot rod creature for more than 50 years. Roth was also known for many wild and crazy custom car creations like Outlaw Bandit, Beatnik Bandit, Rotar, Tweety Pie, Mysterion and Orbitron. Cisco was inspired by Roth’s work to build RatMerc. After obtaining the Merc’s pink slip, the creative journey began. Starting from the ground up, RatMerc’s pneumatic adjustable vertical stance was accomplished by Ponch “The Bag Man” Silva in Anaheim, California, via a pair of Bag Man 2-inch drop spindles, bellows-style airbags and Pete & Jake’s gas-filled shocks. A pair of ABS front disc brakes with 12-inch rotors, singlepiston calipers and an ABS electric power brake master cylinder stop the front end’s rotating mass. The rear suspension’s action was accomplished by installing a Total Cost Involved (TCI) 4-link and track bar setup that anchors the Ford 9-inch rearend that was stuffed with 2.47 gears. Two and half-inch C-notches were cut in the rear frame rails to allow the rearend housing more negative suspension travel, and a pair of Bag Man bellows-style airbags and Pete & Jake’s gas-filled shocks handle the rear suspension’s action. A set of Wheel Smith chromed Smoothies (15 x 7) wheels were wrapped with Coker BF Goodrich Silver Town whitewall radial (P185/70R-15) rubber for style and grip.

Bill Schuster & Sons in Laguna Beach, California, was responsible for dropping the 2012 GM Performance Parts Chevy 350-ci crate engine and GM Turbo 400 automatic transmission between the frame rails. Then the engine and transmission were wired, plumbed and tuned for maximum performance.

Numerous custom body mods were accomplished by Frank’s Body Shop in Henderson, Nevada, including shaving the door handles, frenching the headlights and taillights, and installing a 1953 DeSoto grille and a custom pair of rear wheel skirts. The crew at Frank’s Body Shop applied primer, and then block-sanded every square inch of the Merc’s skin smooth and straight. House of Kolor sealer was applied to serve as a barrier between the basecoat and primer. The incredible color was achieved by spraying House of Kolor Orion Silver Pearl and then covering it with House of Kolor Candy Apple Red. After color sanding the basecoat, it was buried in eight coats of House of Kolor Clear.

Cisco can be seen at many socal cruise nights and car shows rolling in his immaculate candy apple red ’51 ratmerc that took six years to complete.”

Just as the exterior showed its ’50s custom styling, the interior was just as period correct. The factory dash received Dakota Digital gauges, Vintage Air under-dash vents. The factory steering column was capped by the refurbished original 18-inch diameter steering wheel. A layer of Dynamat sound deadening material was laid down to help eliminate engine heat and road noise. The Merc came from the factory with no radio, so that was the way Cisco kept it—no audio.

Cisco can be seen at many SoCal cruise nights and car shows rolling in his immaculate Candy Apple Red ’51 RatMerc that took six years to complete. RatMerc is definitely not a trailer queen.

---

SPECS

OWNER: Cisco Farias, Laguna Beach, CA
BUILDER: Bill Schuster & Sons Laguna Beach, CA and Ponch “The Bag Man” Silva, Anaheim, CA
FRAME: Stock REAR FRAME RAILS:The Bag Man 2 ½-inch C-notches

SUSPENSION

FRONT: Bag Man control arms kit, 2-inch dropped spindles and bellows-style airbags; Pete & Jakes gas-filled shocks; Bag Man solenoids, manifold, valves, compressor, air tank and air-lines
STEERING: Manual
REAR: Total Cost Involved (TCI) 4-link with track bar, Bag Man bellows-style airbags, Pete & Jakes gas-filled shocks
REAREND HOUSING: Ford 9-inch stuffed with 2.47 gears

BRAKES

FRONT: ABS 12-inch disc brake rotors, single-piston calipers and electric master cylinder
REAR: ABS 12-inch disc brake rotors and single-piston calipers

WHEELS

FRONT: Wheel Smith chrome Smoothies (15×7)
REAR: Wheel Smith chrome Smoothies (15×7)

TIRES: Coker BF Goodrich Silver Town whitewall radials
FRONT: P185/70R-15
REAR: P185/70R-15

---

SPECS

ENGINE
Bill Schuster and Sons Laguna Beach, CA
GM Performance Parts Chevrolet 2012 350-ci crate engine

CARBURETOR: Carter AFB Competition series
INTAKE MANIFOLD: Edelbrock Performer, aluminum
HEADERS: Sanderson 2-inch diameter, block hugger, ceramic coated
MUFFLERS: Speedway Motors Smithy 22-inch glass packs
SIDE EXHAUST: Mooneyes lake pipes
TRANSMISSION: GM Turbo 400 automatic
BODY MODS: Frank’s Body Shop Henderson, NV
DOOR HANDLES: shaved
HEADLIGHTS: Frenched
REAR SKIRTS: custom
FRONT BUMPER: 1951 Merc Custom
REAR BUMPER: 1951 Merc Custom
GRILLE: 1953 DeSoto SIDE MIRRORS: Mooneyes iron cross
SPOT LIGHTS: 1951 Mercury factory
PAINT: House of Kolor Candy Apple Red over Silver Pearl
PAINTER: Frank’s Body Shop Henderson, NV
PINSTRIPING: Jimmy C Customs, styles, pinstripping and customs
INTERIOR: Mission Viejo Interiors, Mission Viejo, CA
SEATS: White Italian leather, with tuck-n-roll inserts and red piping
DOOR PANELS: White Italian leather, with tuck-n-roll inserts
HEADLINER: White Italian leather
CARPET: Red
STEERING WHEEL: 1951 Mercury factory
SHIFTER: Lokar long gooseneck
GAUGES: Dakota Digital
AIR CONDITIONING: Vintage Air

---