Saw a rare, rare, rare, car whilst shopping for a Flathead...

Following a month or so of discussion about The Race of Gentlemen, my friend has decided that he needs to rebuild a Ford Flathead. He doesn't have a car to put it in yet, and isn't even really sure what he wants, but he figured that he'd get started by building an engine.

I mentioned that I knew a guy who might have a candidate at his shop and I stopped by there today to inquire. I arrived unannounced, so taking pictures wasn't really an option, as it would have seemed intrusive, but there in his shop I found an amazing car that was nearing the end of a frame off restoration. It was a 1942 Mercury woodie wagon with Marmon Herrington four wheel drive.

Think about that for a moment.

In 1942, the Mercury brand was only three years old. Auto production halted on February 10, 1942 because of the war. Woodie wagons were always among the most expensive vehicles sold by any manufacturer. And this one had four wheel drive from the time that it was new.

He said that there were only two built. And it's perfect.

I can't imagine how far into the six digits this car would sell for. It may be my new dream car.

Way cool - Fords with Marmon Herrington 4wd are unicorns. Mercs - alien unicorns.

Very cool. You should let this guy know about it. He is a woody wagon guru and quite the collector. Not to mention he is an incredibly cool guy.

Scroll down for details on the annual woody party he hosts at his house in Charlotte.

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/tag/tom-cotter/

On a related note:

I also found a Flathead for my friend. It's a '51 and came with an extra pair of Mercury heads and an engine stand. $250!

Woody wrote: On a related note: I also found a Flathead for my friend. It's a '51 and came with an extra pair of Mercury heads and an engine stand. $250!

If that block is not cracked you sir are a Pip. I cannot find one locally for anything like that.

No obvious signs of cracking, but it hasn't been Magnafluxed yet, so our fingers are crossed.

One of two. Breaks my brain to even think about. I'm sure it'll be all over Hemmings when it's done, right?

Wow. Wonder if the other one still exists...

I know that all '42 Mercurys are rare enough that there is a specific registry for them.

I like it with the 4X4 look.. I think if I ever decide to make a hotrod.. it will be woodywagon on a jeep frame. That should upset the folks on HAMB

mad_machine wrote: I like it with the 4X4 look.. I think if I ever decide to make a hotrod.. it will be woodywagon on a jeep frame. That should upset the folks on HAMB

+1

Not the same car, but you get the idea.

Good god....that car makes hens teeth seem common

Hey Woody, my neighbor has a '49 Ford coupe with a flatty in his shed. Needs totally restored/ratrodded/whatever, but it's pretty solid. Hasn't moved in decades, but it's been out of the weather that whole time. I think he said $1500 a few years ago when I'd inquired. Might be cheaper now, he knows he'll never do anything with it, and either his wife nor son want to deal with the mountain of cool stuff he's collected throughout the years.

Now that you have the engine make it look like this 53 Merc that my BIL has in his 40 Ford.

That's the plan.

We tore the Flathead down today and can't find any obvious cracks. It's been rebuilt at least once and has some scoring on two of the pistons. There's one stuck valve but the bearings looked surprisingly good. If the measurements check out, it's going out next week for a hot tanking and magnaflux.

I'll probably start a new thread for this. It sounds like we're going to have to build a hot rod.

sounds good woody.. keep us in the loop

mad_machine wrote: I like it with the 4X4 look.. I think if I ever decide to make a hotrod.. it will be woodywagon on a jeep frame. That should upset the folks on HAMB

I think Willy's already made those, no need to go frame swappin'!

H & H in La Crescenta, CA is the place for all things flathead. They have a fantastic state-of-the-art machine shop run by crusty old flathead guys. They are also have fully engineered blower kits and are the official licensee for Navarro Racing Equipment. They're still making that stuff new. Sounds like a really fun project.