"I guess I wanted to build something that isnt really a traditional custom car at all. I wanted to build my idea of what a factory prototype show car would look like, a car the factory may have sent to the Paris auto show in 1940. There is more about the stock 1940 Mercury that I like than dislike. There is more to leave alone than change. The stock roof line can be reworked to make the car look just as elegant as any French Talbot-Lago or Delehaye of the same era. The original Mercury side trim breaks up the lines and the door handles look like little sculptures to me. The front end, well, who could improve on that? Everyone gets so carried away removing and shaving everything that we often forget that we are starting with a near perfect design"

Rudy Rodriguez

From the very beginning a decision was made to start with the nicest 1940 Mercury available. Not only does this help by eliminating the need to locate missing parts, it ensures that no added work will be added to the already difficult process.

This was an original California car

with less than 50,000 miles.

The car was completely stripped and

 cross braced for the surgery.

Because the intent was to go very low,

 very little of the original Mercury roof

 could be used. This photograph

 displays what would need to be hand

 made to get the new roof to flow

 naturally into the trunk area.

With the A pillars and rain gutters

removed, the metal is cleaned in

anticipation of the new roof.

With the roof going down so low,

(roughly 9 inches in the rear and 5

inches in the front) the back side

window can become incredibly small.

This problem is eliminated by

lengthening the entire side window

opening including the rain gutters so

they meet the body further back than

 stock.

Then the basic design of the new roof

is pieced together using the original

Mercury rear window.

The area around the front window

openning becomes very small when

going this low. The roof will not flow

if the front window is too small. The A

pillars are welded and the actual

windshield openning needs to be made

larger. This appears to be a backwards

move but the freshly chopped

windshield area is cut again to be

moved up into the roof 1.5 inches. The

result is a window line that matches

the sides.

The new twice-cut windshield area is

ready for finish welding.

Side windows have always presented a

problem with a chopped 1940

Mercury. A comon way to handle this

problem is with standard "C" channel

window frame material. Rudy has

never liked this method and decided

early on in the build that he would

modify the stock window frames.

Rudy used two complete sets of

original Mercury stainless steel

window frames to make one set of

windows for his heavily altered top.

Each window frame, jewel molding,

and exterior trim piece was custom

made to fit each opening. The result of

this tedious process is window frames

that look factory built. 

The stainless steel was welded

together seamlessly by controlling

speed and heat to compensate for

modern mixtures of stainless welding

rod and material differences in 60 year

old stock Mercury frames.

With all the frames in place Rudy

checks final fit and adjusts gaps to

original factory specifications. The

desired effect is window frames and

moldings that look untouched.

The original stainless steel corner detail could not be modified to match the new heavily chopped radius so a new one was custom made to look original.

With the metal work done on the roof and the windows fit, Rudy begins the finish body work.

The roof on chopped 1940 Mercury Coupes often get stretched at the rear beltline giving a "thick" look behind the rear side window. This photo shows how the stock belt line under the side windows continues and fades away into the trunk area.

This car has a fully custom adjustable suspension utilizing the Columbia Overdrive rear end this Mercury came with.

The completed 1940 Mercury coupe being loaded by 2009 "America's Most Beautiful Custom" recipiant and Top Gun Award winner, Hotrods and Hobbies in Long Beach California for black paint.

The panels were all stripped to bare metal and the gaps worked to absolute perfection.

After months of tedious block sanding and maticulous attention to detail by Dante ValVerde and Scott Bonowski at Hotrods and Hobbies in Signal Hill California, the car was ready for paint.

Once back in Rudy's shop the car is prepped for the chassis details and final assembly.

In the spirit of the build, the engine will appear as though it just left the showroom floor. In Rudy's words, "The engine will be understated and stock but highly detailed like I assume the factory would do if this car was being built to send to the Paris Auto Show."

After hours and hours of detailed paint and restoration, the car gets the final engine installation and the Columbia overdrive mechanisms are installed.

The finished chassis awaits the next step which will be the installation of the stainless window frames and glass.