No Snow for this Sled

Story by Budd Stanley, photos by Grant McAvoy

The Mercury Eight is one of the most recognizable icons of the Hot Roding world. While many still refer to these cars affectionately as the “Merc,” the Eight was Mercury’s first named model. It was Mercury’s first design after the war, and was aimed to be something unique, and separate itself from its Ford cousin. Built from 1949 to 1951, the Eight was available with a 100 hp 239 flathead V8 and came in a 4-door sedan or 2-door coupe.

It was the 2-door coupe that caught the eye of North America’s youth. Since its beginnings these cars have been chopped, stretched, decked, channeled, lowered and given power upgrades designed to suit each owners tastes. It was a Hot Roders favourite right from the word go and has withstood the test of time to a remarkable degree. The Merc is also synominus with the name leadsled. Back in the 50’s and 60’s while North America’s youth were building these cars, the highly toxic method of melting and spreading lead onto body panels for use as filler, gave cars like the Merc and others its own genre: the Leadsleds. The Merc has become the iconic Leadsled, and how could it not with such a great streamlined look.

It was this rich history of the car that led Phil Maharaj and his sons Praneel and Rick to embark on a family project. When the three got together to figure out what they wanted, it was clear that it needed to be something unique. Attending many local car shows in BC’s lower mainland, one car they did not see much of was the Merc. There are lots of Chevs and Deuces, but you just don’t see many Merc’s rolling around. The Merc provided a unique body and shape, one that appealed to the whole family. So the plan was set, it was going to be a Merc.

Finding a car that had already had the roof chopped, the Maharaj’s began designing their dream car. The car arrived in decent condition, but still in need of a lot of work, making for a good base for family members to insert their own personal input into the build.

They came to a decision to keep it looking old school while having modern comforts. For this reason they kept all the chrome work and installed a set of rocker panel pipe runners also installing chrome Desoto grille. They also decided to keep with a set of old school hub capped wheels with whitewall tires rather than go with a set of oversized chrome modern day rims. A good decision on a car such as this. The body has been worked as you would figure a Merc should be. Along with the chop, the car has been shaved of door handles latches and the odd seam while adding a set of fender covers for the rear wheels. And what Merc would be complete without a set of spot lamps mounted to the A-pillars. The car also got a healthy coat of purple candy paint with a good amount of flake. This is finished off with a ghost flame treatment to the front end that looks the business in sunlight.

When it comes to putting power down to the ground, this big Merc uses a Chevy 350 producing about 350 horsepower and uses Chevy running gear. This was a popular idea even back in the 50’s as it was quite common to swap out the flathead V8 and dump in a Oldsmobile or Cadillac high-compression Over Head Valve V8 to give the leadsled a bit more bite. In true low-rider style, the Merc sits on air ride suspension all round and can be dropped right to the ground, making it look just as mean standing still.

Inside the Merc gets a full naugahyde white leather treatment with tuck and roll seats and purple piping to nicely complement the cars exterior. In the back is a curved wrap around rear seat with the Merc logo stitched into the leather. The cars automatic shifter is mounted to the floor and can easily be mistaken for a manual, while a nice clean dash represents the modern side of the design, which all comes together to make a very clean and comfortable interior.

The trunk is just as impressive as the interior housing three 800-watt subs and two 400-watt amplifiers. Also hidden behind Plexiglas is a set of polished air compressors used to work the suspension. Like the interior, everything is boxed in with the white Naugahyde. To keep the shaved look on the exterior, the fuel filler has been relocated to the trunk with a racing spec fuel filler cap set right into the leather. Makes fueling up a practice in precision

In short, this Merc is a gorgeous car. The colour, the interior and the design all go together to make a really good looking car. For the Maharaj’s, the chop is what makes the car what it is. Without the chop you just don’t get the same attitude. One thing is for certain; this car definitely sticks out in a crowd.

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