khier Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Did the '49 Mercury and ford woodies share the same body? As far as the front door is concerned, teh answer is No. But what about the rest of the body. Background (although I guess everybody guessed it already): to use Revell Mercury to convert AMT 1949 Ford. If the answer is no: Any recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I've been wanting to do the same conversion myself. But, I still haven't bought the Mercury woody to do it. I'm pretty sure the bodies are the same. They just have different doors and front clips like you mentioned. The plan I have in mind is to swap the front clips (cowl too perhaps) and doors. Then add the wood framing to the doors to match the body. Without both kits in hand, I'm not sure if that plan would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 In the 1:1 world the Mercury was built off of the base model Lincolns in the '49 and later models. Up till WWII Mercury's were slightly longer Fords. I believe there are resin body '49 thru '51 Ford Woody bodies available from several different casters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 As for the station wagon bodies themselves--both Ford and Mercury used the same body shell for 1949-51 Station Wagons, the only difference being in the side sheet metal--Ford's front fenders are taller than those of the Mercury, nearly level the the hood, while Mercury front fenders are considerably lower than the hood line, and their shape blends into the front doors. So, in order to adapt the '49 Mercury body to a '49 Ford front clip--the front doors will have to be changed over to those from the Ford, then the wood paneling/framing replicated on that. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khier Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) Thanks all for your replies I believe there are resin body '49 thru '51 Ford Woody bodies available from several different casters. Apart from the R&R '49 I am not aware of any resin model. If only JF does not waste his time and energy on phantoms Edited March 2, 2015 by khier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) The biggest problem is the driver and passenger door to match a 49 Ford front end to a 49 merc woody body. The merc woody doors indent at the A posts. I just finished examining photos of both Fords and Mercurys, and I think it could be a fairly simple job Edited March 2, 2015 by Bob Ellis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenrat Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I briefly had an R&R '49 Ford Woody body. It wasn't very nice. I sold it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I briefly had an R&R '49 Ford Woody body. It wasn't very nice. I sold it on. R&R did that one by adding an AMT '49 Ford front clip and doors to the old, and rather poorly done Aurora Mod Squad '50 Mercury station wagon body. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khier Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 I briefly had an R&R '49 Ford Woody body. It wasn't very nice. I sold it on. Thanks for the feedback. What didn't you like about the R&R kit? Accuracy, detail or quality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpier Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT AN EXPERT from the OP: what is the goal? if it's to have a '49 Ford woody, couldn't you leave the body intact, remove the trunk lid, and graft just the roof section from the '49 Mercury? you'd be left only filling a wedge from the beltline to the top of the rear fenders. sounds like you're no stranger to cutting & fabricating, so the interior tub won't pose much of a threat. then overlay the door & side panels with some .025" styrene strips to border your panels and fill in with faux wood or decals. i guess you're cutting across, and i lengthways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT AN EXPERT from the OP: what is the goal? if it's to have a '49 Ford woody, couldn't you leave the body intact, remove the trunk lid, and graft just the roof section from the '49 Mercury? you'd be left only filling a wedge from the beltline to the top of the rear fenders. sounds like you're no stranger to cutting & fabricating, so the interior tub won't pose much of a threat. then overlay the door & side panels with some .025" styrene strips to border your panels and fill in with faux wood or decals. i guess you're cutting across, and i lengthways No. The woody body shares nothing with a coupe body. Look at a coupe and a woody. You'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 The trick here (IIRC) is the Ford's front fenders have to be split along the top and widened at the rear where they meet the doors on the Merc body, and the upper part of the doors then reshaped to align with the fenders. Speaking of the Mod Squad woody, one of the sellers I watch on eBay just sold one last Saturday - only $36.00. Looks like the Revell kit took the wind out of its sails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpier Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 (edited) from here: http://www.allcollectorcars.com Edited March 4, 2015 by southpier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpier Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 from here: http://www.collectorcarads.com/Mercury-Woodie/39001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pharoah Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I've been wondering about this conversion too. Is the Merc windshield the same width as the Ford? I wonder if you could cut the Merc body right above the door handles where it starts to bulge outwards. And then back to the vertical door line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I've been wondering about this conversion too. Is the Merc windshield the same width as the Ford? I wonder if you could cut the Merc body right above the door handles where it starts to bulge outwards. And then back to the vertical door line. Lorin Sorenson's excellent book on Ford Motor Company's woodie station wagons, 1929-1951 covers the '49-51 Ford and Mercury wagons in great detail! Those wagons shared EXACTLY the same body shell all three of those years. The only differences in the real cars are in the front clips, side doors, instrument panels and steering wheels--that is it. The station wagon doors (and rear quarter panels as well) are set inward about 1/2 inch or so, in order that the molded, laminated birch "framing" could be flush with the surface of the front fenders, which meant that both the Ford and the Mercury used a door structure that was different from the rest of their respective lineups of passenger cars. So, yes, the windshield openings and glass are identical on both the Ford and Mercury station wagons. The bodies themselves were devoid of any surface sheet metal, save for the roof, A pillars and cowling, and of course, the C-pillar, along with a sheet metal sill below the rear tailgate. In place of sheet metal door and rear quarter skins, Honduran Mahogany was laminated into plywood, then molded under heat and pressure to their curved shape, as were all the hard maple "framing" strips (which were trim only--having no real structural purpose). These panels and their framing were then given a couple of coats of spar (marine) varnish, and once dry, were bolted into place on the body sides. The upper door frames, and the framing around the rear quarter windows were solid maple. The interior side panels were also mahogany plywood, as was the inner panel of the tailgate "drop gate". 1949 and early 1950 wagons had their lift-gate and drop-gate framed entirely in hard maple (Ford's traditional station wagon framing wood), with amahogany plywood surface, trimmed with hard maple. Starting fairly early in the 1950 model year, Ford's Iron Mountain MI plant began installing stamped sheet metal lift and drop gates, and Ford had planned to begin using sheet metal panels covered in mahogany "Di-Noc" (which is basically PVC shelf paper today!), but the outbreak of the Korean Conflict and the sudden rearmament due to the Cold War lead to steel rationing for civilian products, so very few Ford or Mercury wagons got those sheet metal panels, which remained in production through the end of the 1951 model year. Hope this clears things up a bit. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pharoah Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Has anyone compared the AMT 49 Ford with the Mercury? I just did,and it doesn't look good. The Merc is bigger. The doors are longer,the front clip is longer ,and the woody body appears to be a little wider. It looks like it would take a lot more work than I originally thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Has anyone compared the AMT 49 Ford with the Mercury? I just did,and it doesn't look good. The Merc is bigger. The doors are longer,the front clip is longer ,and the woody body appears to be a little wider. It looks like it would take a lot more work than I originally thought. For starters, as to width--better to use a pair of calipers (digital calipers are not very expensive!), and get the measurement that way, rather than by eye. Also, the Mercury front clip is longer--that's where most of the overall length and wheelbase differences between the two cars are. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khier Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 It looks like it would take a lot more work than I originally thought. Indeed. I hope the whole thing does not end replaced by this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTORMAX-1949-FORD-WOODY-BEIGE-1-24-New-Without-Box-DIECAST-CAR-/400594595618?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d454c6f22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pharoah Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Still thinking... I'm wondering id the best way to do this is to cut the Ford right behind the doors and across the roo,and do the same for the woody. Use the Ford chassis,with modifications. Is it just me,or does the Ford woody roof look taller above the windshield,compared to the coupe?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Definitely taller. If you're going to build a Ford wagon, you'll be using nothing more than the front clip from the Ford coupe's body (and that will have to be modified). Something nobody's mentioned - the '49 Mercury design was originally supposed to be the '49 Ford, but late in the game the Ford got an all-new design and it wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't enough time or money to do a separate wagon on the new platform, so they used the already-done Mercury for both. Anyone know for sure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Definitely taller. If you're going to build a Ford wagon, you'll be using nothing more than the front clip from the Ford coupe's body (and that will have to be modified). Something nobody's mentioned - the '49 Mercury design was originally supposed to be the '49 Ford, but late in the game the Ford got an all-new design and it wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't enough time or money to do a separate wagon on the new platform, so they used the already-done Mercury for both. Anyone know for sure? Uh, for starters, from 1941 (the first year that a station wagon was offered in the Mercury line, through 1948 (the last model year of an all wooden constructed station wagon body at Ford, Mercury used exactly the same station wagon body as was offered by Ford. As for a need to modify the AMT '49 Ford front clip to fit the Revell Mercury wagon--IF both companies have their dimensions in line here, there should be no need for any mods to the Ford front clip, save for cutting it free from the coupe body. This is where a digital caliper comes in very handy! Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpier Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 in the "Those were the days..." series American Woodies 1928-1953 , there's mention of a Canadian car, the Meteor Custom DeLuxe Station Wagon (pg #59). it's described as "... basically a low price Mercury clothed with a Ford body ..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.