Building a 1960 Mercury Park Lane convertible

[mercs4fun]

Well, I usually have luck with these, but when I disassembled mine some rubber seals got damaged as they were really dry and brittle. So last night I spent hours searching my parts manual and the internet for rebuild kits, but had no luck for the 59/60 Mercury kit. Then I found that every part I needed also are included in the rebuild kit for the 61 Lincoln brake booster, so I started searching for that and those kits are easier to find. Mark II Enterprises in CA had 5 in stock and and also Lincoln/Mercury Old parts store web site say they have it. BTW, part number for the kit is C1VY-2A154-A.

By the way Rick, I still might have a few NOS parts for 59 Mercury. Nothing really exiting, but at least a pair of tail light lenses, a running light lens for the spear, a windshield wiper cable, a pair of back up light lenses and a few more small things. I used to have so much but gave away most of it when I sold my 59. BTW, what are you using for door weatherstrip for your convertible?

[58-Pagoda]

Very interesting project you are working on. I have never seen a 1960 Mercury Park Lane convertible, only a couple coupes and sedans here in California. The front and rear remind me of the 1960 Eldordo Seville- one of my favorite cars, and I think the Heather color will look great on your car.

[Shelby#18]

By the way Rick, I still might have a few NOS parts for 59 Mercury. Nothing really exiting, but at least a pair of tail light lenses, a running light lens for the spear, a windshield wiper cable, a pair of back up light lenses and a few more small things. I used to have so much but gave away most of it when I sold my 59. BTW, what are you using for door weatherstrip for your convertible?

Hello Gry,

As far as NOS stuff we could use, parking light lenses, lug wrench, front cigar lighter, and an AC proportioning valve are about it. The proportioning valve we have is not serviceable, but we still may be able to fix it.

For door weatherstripping, I ordered a set from Mercury Old Parts Store well over a year ago and still have nothing to show for it. I'm thinking I'll find the closest thing I can buy by the foot, remake the ends and mold them together.

All the best..
Rick

[mercs4fun]

Rick, forget about the not so good reproduction door weather strips from the incredible expensive place in Florida. (I can't even afford to write their name) Order a set (or even better 2) for a Ford Sunliner 1960-1962 Dennis carpenter part number C0AZ-7620530-PR and you are almost there. These are inexpensive and the quality is the best. They will fit perfectly with just very minor modifications. Also for the quarter window to the door glass seal I am using a Ford part from Dennis Carpenter, C3AZ-6530146-PR, and I can go on with exactly what to use from Dennis Carpenter for most everything on your car except for the convertible top seals. I have tried to figure something out there, and 61 Ford is close, but not close enough.

Regarding the parking light lens, are you aware of that there are 2 versions, the one with 59 marking and the later with 62 marking on the lens. Those with 59 on them are getting pretty hard to find, but I might have a set I can let go. (I just need to check that I have a set for my car first) I also have one extra set of the 62 version if you prefer them.

59 lens to the left, 62 lens to the right.

58-Pagoda, thanks for posting that picture of the 60 Cadillac convertible. The car pictured also has a silver interior so it made me even more sure that the Heather color is right for my car

[mercs4fun]

I've been doing a lot of boring dirty work this week, so the pile of parts ready for paint is growing every day. Here are the inner fenders, radiator support, battery tray and a lot of other parts for the front of the car stripped from undercoating, old paint and surface rust.

Then I have a ton of old bolts, nuts, clips, brackets and all the other parts from my car that were electro plated originally and that needs to be restored. They were sorted into what used to be silver, gold and black, and on Monday I will ship these to a company that used to plate all the bolts and such for Saab and they will make these look like new.

I also had to take apart the power seat mechanism so the seat tracks can be restored at the same time. Originally I planned to use a memory seat from a 59 that I restored a few years ago, but the problem is that the memory seat wasn't on the option list for 60 so there is no matching switch bezel available for the 60 Mercury dash. So I will install a regular 4 way power seat, just like it would have been from the factory.

Yes, there are two power seats in the picture. I decided to take both apart and then pick the best parts to make the best one possible.

I have also pulled my power window set up down from the garage loft to inspect what I have and to take off the plated parts that needs to be restored. Otherwise these seems to be in really good condition and they should be easy to restore back to new condition.

Finally I have one part that bothers me and that is the old transmission mount. I have not been able to locate a NOS one, and there is no reproduction on the market. I guess I need to find someone who can restore it, but so far I have not found someone here that can do it. Any advice is welcome.

[58-Pagoda]

On the transmission mount, I would check with Dale in Oregon. He has been rebuilding harmonic balancers for 35 years, including other rubber and silicone castings. I have used him many times and trust his work which is backed up by a lifetime warranty. He should be able to tell you who can rebuild the transmission mount if he cannot do it himself.

http://hbrepair.com/harmonicbalancer_018.htm

[Shelby#18]

I'm checking to see if any of mine are good enough to send you.

[mercs4fun]

I guess it's time for some updates on the progress now. I have spent a lot of time cleaning all the parts that needed to be painted semi gloss black.

Then I have painted all the parts, first a layer of epoxy primer....

....then some heavy coats with good old fashion acrylic paint. So far I think I have had about 120 different parts painted black, then there are parts painted cast iron gray and then some to be painted other colors like the cooling fan, air cleaner and valve covers.

After a week of painting black parts it is nice to do a different color

Here are most of the fresh repainted parts up on my garage loft resting and curing while I am working on other things.

[mercs4fun]

It sure took a long time to get the frame back from the sand blaster guy, but in a way it was good to not have it here for a while as my space is very limited. Anyway, this is how it looked when I got it back home.

So I hung it up in my garage and started the paint prep work. The whole frame needed to be sanded to make the surface smooth and nice and I also used a little bondo here and there to remove signs of previous surface rust.

Then again, Epoxy primer on everything to prevent future rust.

And here it is done It sure looks nice now or what?

[Shelby#18]

It looks like new! I absolutely love the attention to every detail.