Phil Schmidt's 1952 Mercury
While Phil Schmidt was in the Navy he didn't want to sink his weekly paycheck into a lot of excess baggage and not wanting to save all of it either. So he went to work on his 1952 Mercury with the willing help of the crew at Styler's Custom Shop in San Diego, California. Throughout the operation, Phil helped in the work during his hours of liberty. The car was nosed, decked and shaved of handles. Small micro-switch buttons hidden beneath the side trim pieces operated the doors. The windows and trunk lid were push button operated as well. A master switch to lock the entire car was placed and concealed in the grille. The gas filler spout was removed to the inside of the trunk, while the outside opening was filled in. The stock air scoop on the grille was molded into the hood and faired down in front to form a wide center ridge. All the chrome trim from the grille were removed except the center bar. The lower half of the bumper was painted the same color as the car. The headlights were frenched to achieve a cleaner look. The rear fenders were extended at the top rear by an inch and a half at the bottom rear. The stock taillights were kept, but recessed in the process of extending the fenders. Phil built his dual Duff and Roy exhaust system into the tips of the rear bumper using small rounded extensions to finish off the job. A Chevrolet license guard was fit to the bumper. The insignias and ribbons on the rear fenders were removed. Since Phil was not believer in tail draggers, he only lowered it two and a half inch both aft and rear. The interior was upholstered in black and white Naugahyde. Once the bodywork was done, it was painted Carnelian burgundy. 1953 Studebaker hubcaps on wide whites wrapped up the style.[1]
Magazine Features
Car Craft August 1954
Car Craft December 1957
Custom Cars March 1958
References
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