What’s most remarkable about early customs – and I’m talking those from the 1930s through the 1950s – is that the guys customizing them weren’t fiddling with cars more than a year or two old. It had to have taken some fortitude to lower and chop the top of a brand-new car, as Charles Marr and Gerry Huth did to this 1940 Mercury for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller’s description:
Only a handful of genuinely ‘pre-war’ California customs survives today—and among them, almost none exist as originally executed. A marvelous exception is this striking chopped-top 1940 Mercury. Customized right after it was delivered to its first owner in late 1939, this was the first 1940 custom Merc convert in the greater Los Angeles area. It was later stored, with its original custom metal work intact, for decades. After reemerging in 2005, the car has very recently been delightfully restored, in exacting and authentic detail, to its circa 1940-41 custom appearance and configuration.
Original owner Charlie Marr, of Burbank, California received his new 1940 Mercury Convertible in November 1939. Within two weeks, Marr and friend Gerry Huth had chopped the windshield three inches. A Carson removable padded top was added soon after, making the car the first ’40 Merc ever to be so equipped.
A thorough restoration was performed in 2008-2009, during which every possible effort was made to use only authentic pre-World War II era parts. After the car was totally disassembled and dipped, all bodywork was done in lead before the epoxy primer went on. Custom Sikkens Autocryl green metallic paint replicated a hand-rubbed multi-coat lacquer finish. Paul Reichling of Cedardale Upholstery recreated the original Carson top, while Guy’s Interior Restorations of Portland did the two-tone interior—which is period-custom correct right down to the column shift, ivory-colored 1940 Buick steering wheel and matching knobs.
See more Mercurys for sale on Hemmings.com.