Engineering:Hirohata Merc

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Short description: 1950s lead sled custom car
Hirohata Merc
The Merc on display at the NHRA Museum in 2007
Overview
ManufacturerBarris Customs
Production1953
DesignerGeorge and Sam Barris
Body and chassis
Body styleClub Coupe
LayoutFront Engine, RWD
Powertrain
EngineHeavily Modified 255 cu in (4,184 cc) Mercury flathead engine
Power output400 hp (298 kW) @ 3,600 rpm
310 lb⋅ft (420 N⋅m) @ 2,000 rpm
Transmission3-speed Auto
Dimensions
Wheelbase2,997.2 mm (118 in)
Length4,877 mm (192.0 in)
Width1,953.3 mm (76.9 in)
Height1,572.3 mm (61.9 in)
us|uk|Kerb|Curb}} weight3,175 lb (1,440 kg)

The Hirohata Merc is a 1950s lead sled[1] custom car, often called "the most famous custom of the classic era".[2][3] Setting a style and an attitude, it had a "momentous effect" on custom car builders,[4] appeared in several magazines at the time,[5] and has reappeared numerous times since, earning an honorable mention on Rod & Custom's "Twenty Best of All Time" list in 1991.[5] The impact may be measured by the fact that, after more than fifty years and numerous owners, it is still known as "the Hirohata Merc".[6][7]

Construction

Constructed in 1953 for "Bob" (Robert Masato) Hirohata,[8][9][10] it was designed and built by George and Sam Barris, assisted by Frank Sonzogni.[11][12]

After the U.S. Navy, Hirohata took a 1951 Mercury Club Coupé and a blank check to Barris Kustoms.[13] George Barris procrastinated 83 days, working on other cars, Hirohata demanded the finished car for Motorama, so the shop built the Hirohata Merc in only 14 very long days,[14] with 10 workers. George Barris said he billed Hirohata "about $3,500" ($36,500 in 2021 dollars). Hirohata told Rod & Custom that he was shocked when he got the bill, "I had to sell everything I owned and put my great aunt in hock to pay for the car, but it was worth it."[15]

It started out as a 1951 Club Coupe.[16][17] Nosed, decked, and shaved, the top was chopped four inches in front and seven inches in back,[18] and the vertical B-pillar was reshaped so that it curved forward at the top.[11] The rear window had its posts removed, and was raked steeply forward, requiring a new roof piece to be fabricated.[11] Side trim was replaced with that from a 1952 Buick (the spears),[11] augmented by grille teeth from a 1952 Chevrolet (three per side)[11] and functional scoops. The front wheels are fitted with traditional sombrero ('47-'51 Cadillac) wheel covers.[11]

Skirts were added, fitting flush.[11] Three '51 Ford grilles were used to custom-fabricate one, and the bumper was fitted with dagmars.[16][19][20]

Barris used a vee-butted windshield,[16] a very common customizers' trick in that era, rather than a one-piece windshield, which was available on the '53 Merc. He added Appleton spotlights,[11][16] frenched the headlights (which were fitted with '52 Ford rings),[11] and added '52 Lincoln Capri taillights.[21] The exhaust pipes were routed out through the rear bumper, beneath the taillights,[11] and a pair of radio antennae were frenched into the rear quarter panels.[11][22][23]

The Hirohata Merc was painted in two shades of green, a total of thirty coats,[11] which were applied by Junior Conway.[24] The interior was upholstered with tuck-and-rolled naugahyde. The dash, seats, and headliner were white with dark green inserts, matching the exterior lower body color (below the Buick spears).[11]

Later changes

Hirohata later replaced the original Mercury flathead engine with a transplanted Cadillac engine, creating the nickname "Mercillac"[25] ("merk-ill-ack"), in the fashion of rodders of the period, who in the same way created Fordillacs and Studillacs.

In 1955, the Merc made an appearance in the film Running Wild, for which it was painted gold over the original ice green.[26]

Hirohata sold the Merc not long after the movie was released,[11] and the car changed hands several times. "The Merc was repainted, sold, crashed, neglected".[13][27][28][29]

An owner, Robert Waldsmith, who used it as his daily transportation, was hit by another car, requiring repairs and new paint.[14] Another owner, Doug Kinney, was an employee of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, who repainted it lime green.[14]

In 1959, a teenager, Jim McNiel, bought it for $500, painstakingly restored it for seven years and kept the car his whole life.[13][30] McNiel used it as a daily driver for years, then placed it into storage.[11] Ultimately, McNiel restored the Merc to her original configuration.[11] The paint was done by Hershel "Junior" Conway at Junior's House of Color.

Magazine appearances

  • Hop Up March 1953
  • Hot Rod March 1953
  • Motor Trend March 1953
  • Rod & Custom October 1953 "Kross Kountry in a Kustom"[31]
  • Trend Book 109 Custom Cars 1954 Annual
  • Rodding and Re-styling January 1956
  • Trend Book 143 Restyle Your Car
  • Rod & Custom August 1989
  • Road & Track August 2004
  • Trend Book 133 Custom Cars 1957 Annual
  • The Big Book of Barris[32]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Institute, Revs (18 March 2021). "Emerald Icon from a Lost Era - The Saga of the Hirohata Mercury". https://automedia.revsinstitute.org/emerald-icon-from-a-lost-era-the-saga-of-the-hirohata-mercury. 
  2. ↑ Bernsau, Tim (2003-12-01). "Favorite 50 Rods & Customs". Rod & Custom. http://www.hotrod.com/articles/0312rc-favorite-50-rods-and-customs/. 
  3. ↑ Rod & Custom, 8/89, p.12.
  4. ↑ DeWitt, John. Cool cars, high art: the rise of kustom kulture, University Press of Mississippi, 2001. ISBN 978-1578064021 , p.69.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 DeWitt, p.70
  6. ↑ DeWitt, p.80
  7. ↑ Peek, Jeff (2022-01-18). "Hirohata Merc, George Barris’ legendary custom, sells for $2.145M - Hagerty Media" (in en-US). Hagerty Media. https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/auctions/hirohata-merc-george-barris-legendary-custom-sells-for-2-145m/. 
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Rod & Custom, 8/89, pp.12 & 14.
  10. ↑ Hoving, Rik. "'50s Hirohata Merc Photo's [sic album - including article from Rod & Custom October 1953"]. FOTKI INC. http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_car_photos/beautiful_custom_cars/barris-1/hirohata_mercury-1/50s_photos/. Retrieved February 14, 2018. 
  11. ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 "History MILESTONE CUSTOM CARS: Bob Hirohata '51 Mercury - THE H.A.M.B." (in en). http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68232ad.php?t=68232. 
  12. ↑ Street Rodder, 1/85, p.111.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "Exploring the Hirohata Mercury, One of History's Most Famous Custom Cars". Yahoo News. 1 March 2021. https://news.yahoo.com/exploring-hirohata-mercury-one-historys-161500379.html. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Peek, Jeff (29 July 2020). "How Barris Kustoms built the Hirohata Mercury in only 14 days". https://www.hagerty.com/media/video/how-barris-kustoms-built-the-hirohata-mercury-in-only-14-days/. 
  15. ↑ Gross, Ken (December 27, 2021). "Car of the Week: The Hirohata Merc" (in en). https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/car-of-the-week-the-hirohata-merc. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 "Barris.Com!". http://www.barris.com:80/gallery_cars/Kustoms_HotRods/gallery_hirohatamerc.html. 
  17. ↑ The same body style as D'Agostino's Merc. Street Rodder, 1/85, pp.52-3.
  18. ↑ Hirohata, Bob (2004). "Kross Kountry in a Kustom". in Leah Noel. Rod and Custom in the 1950s. Motorbooks International. p. 29. ISBN 0760316309. 
  19. ↑ Peek, Jeff (22 July 2020). "Thanks to Barris Kustoms, this Hirohata Mercury fueled the custom car trend". Hagerty Media. https://www.hagerty.com/media/video/legendary-hirohata-merc-shines-in-historic-vehicle-association-video-series/. 
  20. ↑ "1951 Mercury Hirohata Merc". Hagerty. https://www.hagerty.com/marketplace/78598943/national-historic-vehicle-register/743b213f-c2d4-4d15-a6de-11700e28da1f. 
  21. ↑ They are identical to those used on D'Agostino's Merc. Street Rodder, 1/85, pp.52-3.
  22. ↑ "A 1951 Mercury Just Sold For Nearly $2 Million At Auction" (in en). Jalopnik. 18 January 2022. https://jalopnik.com/a-1951-mercury-just-sold-for-nearly-2-million-at-aucti-1848377417. 
  23. ↑ Barris, George; Fetherston, David (in en). Big Book of Barris. MotorBooks International. ISBN 978-1-61060-820-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=ATjy1tKxfjYC&dq=%22Bob+Hirohata%22&pg=PA28. Retrieved 30 October 2023. "Bob Hirohata proudly displays one of the trophies for his Mercury on the curb outside the parking lot where he worked in Los ..." 
  24. ↑ DeWitt, p.72.
  25. ↑ DeWitt, p.69
  26. ↑ Rod & Custom Magazine, 8/89, p.12.
  27. ↑ "Bob Hirohata Archives". Custom Car Chronicle. 26 August 2019. https://www.customcarchronicle.com/tag/bob-hirohata/. 
  28. ↑ "Bob Hirohata". https://www.hemmings.com/blog/tag/bob-hirohata/. 
  29. ↑ "Bob Hirohata". https://www.streetmusclemag.com/tag/bob-hirohata/. 
  30. ↑ "Favorite 50 Rods & Customs" (in en). 2003-12-01. https://www.hotrod.com/features/0312rc-favorite-50-rods-and-customs. 
  31. ↑ DeWitt, Jack (September 1, 2009). "Cars and Culture: The Hirohata Merc — So Cool.". The American Poetry Review (World Poetry, Inc.). https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Cars+and+Culture%3A+The+Hirohata+Merc--So+Cool.-a0207228143. 
  32. ↑ "Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury Custom - The Hirohata Merc - Barris Kustoms - Kustomrama" (in en). https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Bob_Hirohata%27s_1951_Mercury_Club_Coupe_-_The_Hirohata_Merc. 

References

Template:Kustom kulture



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