1951 Mercury Series 1CM

E.T. 'Bob' Gregorie was creating his last design and the one intended to be the 1949 Ford, when Ford's new post-war management argued for a new direction, resulting in a lighter, slab-sided 'shoe box' of George Walker. The discarded Gregorie design became the 1949 Mercury instead. It was introduced on April 29th of 1948 and was among the first of the all-new post-war styles, beating the shoebox Ford by over a month. Minor revisions and a new dashboard followed in 1950. For 1951, the rear fenders were lengthened and the grille received wrap-around edges. Horsepower produced by the 255 cubic-inch flathead V8 increased to 112 bhp. It had a downdraft carburetor, dual exhaust, a 3-speed manual transmission, and a semi-floating rear axle with a hypoid differential. An overdrive and Merc-O-Matic automatic transmission were optional. Standard equipment included a vinyl or canvas roof, and chrome gavel shields, and rocker panel.

Mercury body styles for 1951 included a Sport Coupe, Monterey Coupe, Sport Sedan, Convertible, and a two-door eight-passenger station wagon. 3,812 examples of the station wagon were built and 6,759 of the convertible. 157,648 sedans and 142,166 coupes found ownership in 1951.

Other changes for 1951 included lower rear quarter panel trim and vertical taillights.

The basic form of the Gregorie-designed Mercury became a favorite of customizers, no doubt inspired by the cameo role of a black 1949 Mercury Club Coupe in the James Dean movie Rebel Without a Cause. This generation of Ford's 'middle marque' is often known as the 'James Dean Mercury', and Custom Merc Lead Sleds have seemed to outnumber stock examples. Other movies like the George Lucus film American graffiti, Badlands with Martin Sheen, and Cobra with Silvester Stallone have popularized the Mercury and made them pop-culture icons.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2019

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