New Guy Need A Little Advise

[RICH MUISE]

Nice garage..nice toys. Is that merc a '55? Let us know if you're happy with the '57 after checking it out thoroughly...hard to imagine you're gonna find too much wrong with it. I'm starting to see a lot of 4 dr anythings that have really changed my mind on whether I'd consider one....I guess as many as we're starting to see lately alot of guys feel the same.

[petew]

Hey Rich,
Just moved here and the garage is spanking new. The Merc is a 56 .
Got the 57 up on the lift and spent time under it looking at some of it's issues. I had discovered most of them when I inspected it in Ca. and didn't really find any other problems today. Mechanically it is a nice original car with all of it's clips, springs,hangers and brackets still in place which makes my very happy.
There is some shoddy body and paint work complete with sanding scratches, it will need a driver side dog leg and partial rocker, the pass side front fender is bubbling at the bottom and the rear of the rocker on that side has a small hole in it. In short the car presents very well but will come apart to be made as presentable and reliable as possible.
So I will be hunting for some patch panels and drivers door trim among other things.
Seems that these cars are well supported parts wise so I should be able to hunt up everything that I need.
I have been watching mid 50's Ford and Merc wagons for two years now. They are getting popular as we baby boomers look back at our childhood memories. Tough to find nice ones as they were family workhorses and not really pampered, at least ours wasn't when I was a kid !
I agree that there are many four door cars that are interesting and stylish, the 55 and 56 Merc Phaeton is one that comes to mind.
I look forward to the project.