Ulf Jansson's 1956 Mercury

A photo of Ulf's Mercury taken at the 1971 Hot Rod Show in Stockholm. Later owner Lennart Sahlin believes Ulf came second in the custom class with the car at this show. Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

The purple version of the Merc at the 1972 Hot Rod Show in Stockholm. Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

A photo of Lennart with the Merc in 1974. Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

Another photo of Lennart during the restoration. Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

A photo of the Merc from 1976. Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

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A color photo of the car from Colorod Magazine. The photo was taken at the dragstrip in Huddik in 1976. Photo by Bo Bertilsson, courtesy of Colrod Magazine.

A photo from the story Bo Bertilsson did on the car for Colorod Oktober 1976. Photo courtesy of Colorod Magazine.

Stickan Amren with the Merc at the Hot Rod Parade at Mantorp in 1976 or 1977. Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

Lennart's Merc at an indoor car show in Ostersund in 1977. Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

A photo of the Merc taken around 1978. Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

The Merc at a Power Big Meet show in the late 1990s. Photo courtesy of Lennart Sahlin.

1956 Mercury owned and restyled by Ulf Jansson of Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Ulf traded a 1957 Chevrolet for the Mercury in the 1960s. He liked the more rounded body of the Merc and felt that it would make a better-looking custom. Ulf started restyling the Merc shortly after he got it. The stock roof was modified with glass from a Crown Victoria, and the taillights were tunneled deeply into the quarter panels. The corners of the deck lid were rounded, and the car was fit with sunken antennas, a popular custom trick in Sweden in the 1960s. The Crown Victoria chrome trim was also used on the inside of the car.

Purple

In 1972 a purple iteration of the car was shown at the Hot Rod Show in Stockholm. The purple version featured white pinstriping.

Sold to Lennart Sahlin

Lennart Sahlin of Sollefteå bought the Mercury in 1974. When Lennart got the car, it was very rusty, so he had to repair a lot of rust damages. Colorod Magazine ran a featured story on the car in their October 1976 issue, by then the car was powered by a 292 y-block engine that ran a 312 cam and crankshaft. The carburetor was a 2-barrel unit from a 289 Mustang. The engine was hooked to the stock 3-speed transmission with a floor shift. Lennart ran the Merc on 7 x 14 Cragar SS wheels with 205 Cleber tires. He did also lower it an additional 1 1/2 inches up front. All body modifications were done with lead, so no traces of bondo was to be found on the car. The canted quad headlights on the car were Opel Cibie lights. When Lennart restored the Merc, he laid down a lot of work into the interior of the car. Most of the dash was taken from a 1965 Chevrolet. All knobs came from a Jaguar, and seats from a 1954 Volvo Duett were installed along with a center console from a 1964 Ford sport coupe. A Grant steering wheel and an 8-track stereo system was top of the line in 1976. The upholstery was done in white diamond pleats. Once the bodywork was done, Egon Andersson gave the car a Copper Metallic paint job. When the restored version of the car was featured in Colorod Oktober 1976 Lennart had spent 3 years and 13.000 SEK restoring the car. Bo Bertilsson photographed the Merc at the dragstrip in Huddik, before Lennart had installed the grille.

Sold to Stickan Amren

Lennart sold the Merc to Stickan Amren in 1976 or 1977.

Metalflake Paint

After Lennart sold the Merc, it was given a Metalflake paint job, similar to the Copper Metallic paint job Lennart gave it.

Magazine Features

Colorod Oktober 1976