1949 Mercury Coupe - pictures wanted

[Colonel32]

Hello.

The AMT kit lists all possible factory color combinations for a 49 Mercury Coupe, including few two-tone variants. The problem is, that it does not show exactly what parts of car should be painted one color and what parts should be painted the other one. And I am unable to google any pictures, that would show the stock version with two tone. Even the original 1949 brochures show only single color versions. Could anybody help with a picture or blueprint?

[Kit-Builder]

I haven't had much luck in the reference material department for this car either...

[Art Anderson]

Hello.

The AMT kit lists all possible factory color combinations for a 49 Mercury Coupe, including few two-tone variants. The problem is, that it does not show exactly what parts of car should be painted one color and what parts should be painted the other one. And I am unable to google any pictures, that would show the stock version with two tone. Even the original 1949 brochures show only single color versions. Could anybody help with a picture or blueprint?

I want to say that the color breaks were at the bottom of the A-posts, around the base of the top, where it met the beltline and tulip panel, and following the drain moldings that go up and over the quarter windows and doors, but I might be a bit incorrect there.

For a really definitive answer, you might log on to the website of AACA (Antique Automobile Club Of America). AACA's forums have one that covers the era of Merc's you are asking about. Now you will have to sign up as a member of the forums (it's totally free of charge, and easy to do--so do that with no worry!), and once you've been accepted (which is as close to instantaneous as instantaneous gets, BTW), scroll down to the appropriate topic area for your Mercury. Ask the very same question there, and I would bet that within 24-48 hours, someone will give you the correct answer! I've used AACA's forums for asking questions regarding several model car projects I was building--most helpful they are!

Something to consider here: Ford Motor Company, as with the likes of GM and Chrysler, had a pattern, from the early 30's until about 1950, of introducing what were called "spring colors", meaning that they came out at about the midpoint of the model year. Those colors may show up on autocolorlibrary.com.

Art

[Ace-Garageguy]

From the '49 brochure...left side car is 2-tone.

[Ace-Garageguy]

From the '50 brochure, here's where the color break is...

[Ace-Garageguy]

'49 apparently had the tail / decklid in the secondary color, unlike '50.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Here's a bunch of pix of a 2-tone 4-door.

http://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=47565&country=us

[Art Anderson]

Bill, some excellent references there! One thing to consider when researching such information to consider:

From sometime in the mid-30's onward to the late 50's, even into the 60's, automakers sometimes came out with so-called "Spring Colors" (Ford, for example actually termed them that for a few years!) which were mid-model year new colors and even 2-tone color schemes intended to "spruce up" their lineups going into the final months of the production year--which by the end of the 1930's tended to end in mid-late July, with a plant shutdown for at least a couple of weeks to get set up to produce the next-year's new models, allow for dealer inventories of the outgoing year's cars to run down, and build up a stock of new cars for introduction by early October.

"Spring Colors" didn't always show up in the larger dealer brochures--often shown in print advertising, and perhaps a smaller, thinner flyer type brochure, given the much shorter selling period for those newly unveiled paint schemes.

Art