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Flame-Tattooed 1949 Mercury Coupe Plays the Lead Sled Card, Not Quite There

If back in the early 2010s, you were too young to care, the name Mercury might not mean all that much to you. The brand, a long time companion of Ford, was the Blue Oval’s most prominent victim during the economic crisis of that time.
1949 Mercury Coupe 14 photos
Photo: Vanguard Motors
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Born in 1938, Mercury stayed faithfully at Ford’s side until 2011. During its life, it mostly copied what the big brother was doing, but that does not rob it of some value in the eyes of car collectors. Especially when talking about the cars made in the golden age of car design, the post-war years.

It is those vehicles that have become favorites of the custom industry. Ever since the first post-war models rolled off the lines, people starting turning them into more extreme machines, rodding them to oblivion.

There is no shortage of heavily-modified Mercurys out there, some of them so radically changed they truly deserve the title of lead sled. We're talking about the heavy cars Mercury (and Ford) made from 1949 to 1951, lowered so close to the ground it hurts the eyes, and modified in a variety of other ways, too.

Being a 1949 model year, the particular coupe we have here nails the lead part – in stock configuration, it could have had a curb weight of 4,000 lbs (1,800 kg). Work done to it tried to nail the sled part, too but, despite the car’s official designation on the website where it sells, it doesn’t go the full hog.

That doesn’t diminish the other things this car has going for it. Shining as best as it can in its black overalls, with a tribal-style tattoo designated as white pearl flames running on the front fenders, it’s as elegant as others of its kind we’ve seen before.

What sets it apart from most is what hides under the hood. Pop it open, and you’ll no longer see the stock engine but a crate GM powerplant sized 402ci (6.6-liter) running a 3-speed automatic transmission.

As said, the car is for sale, and as you might have imagined, it does not come cheap: $84,900 is what the selling dealer is asking for it.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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