1949 Mercury Drag Car by Precision Designs
When you think of a ’49 Mercury, the image that most likely comes to mind is a long and low chopped custom. Smoothed handles, rounded corners, frenched lights, the works. Something designed to profile on the street without concern for horsepower or performance. Merc customs are all about looking the part. Talking the talk without necessarily walking the walk. They’re leadsleds, heavy and slow.
So how cool is this ’49 that’s currently under construction at Precision Designs in Denver? It’s got the look alright, with flawless metalwork and a perfectly chopped top. But underneath all that slippery sheet metal is a purpose-built drag car, designed to handle the rigors of drag and drive events and run a serious number. Not what you were expecting? We weren’t either when we caught up with this car at the ’24 Wheel Hub Live show at the Museum of American Speed.
From a distance, this car looks like an elegant in-progress custom. The profile is right on, the metalwork is top notch. In fact, Tom Stark and the Precision Designs crew studied the Hirohata Merc and other great ones from the past to get that chop just right. It all works and flows in a way that would make George Barris grin. But then you notice that the stance is a bit more aggressive than you were expecting. Instead of some skinny bias-plys under the rear quarters, there are beefy meats with plenty of room for more. And what’s going on with that exhaust? Flathead powered Mercury customs don’t usually have exhaust dumps through the fenders. Upon closer inspection, you realize that there’s much more going on with this thing than meets the eye.
Customs are supposed to be displayed with the hood down. That way the body lines flow as they should and the greasy small block under the hood stays hidden. Not this one. Under this hood is an LS-based engine with dry-sump oiling that breathes through twin turbos. The turbos are positioned behind the front tires and draw air through inlets in the wheelwells. Much of the turbo piping is integrated into the firewall, including the throttle body, which is actually inside the firewall. The engine will slurp methanol in race tune, but carry redundant fuel systems for gasoline on when out on the road. A TH400 backed by a Gear Vendors overdrive sends the power out back.
Tom and company have lots of experience creating cars that are built to run the number, then stay alive on the road from track to track. It’s a tough thing to pull off, and even harder when you’re packaging everything up in something as nice as this Merc. There’s trickery hiding all through the car. The rollcage is integrated into the interior so it hides in plain sight. The front sheet metal is easily removable for maintenance, with precision machined pins so that the alignment remains perfect through repeated removal and re-installation. Though the floorpan was much-modified to clear all the suspension trickery and slicks, it was all done with an eye on design that would look at home in a classic Mercury.
When it’s all done, Tom hopes the mighty Merc will run into the 7’s. That’s hauling the mail for any car, let alone one this nice. We can’t wait to see the finished product, but we’re really glad we got a sneak peak behind the curtain while this outrageous car is still under construction.