Pietro Dal Mas' 1949 Mercury

Pietro's Merc as it looked when he bought it from his grandfather in 2002.

Wanting a traditional custom car, Pietro fit the Merc with black steelies and fake white walls shortly after buying it.

Inside, the Merc was freshened up by painting the dashboard and window moldings the same color as the car. The steering wheel was painted bright white, and a shifter fit with a Dennis McPhail shiftknob was installed on the floor.

The Merc as it looked in 2004, after Pietro had installed a set of 1949 Ford hubcaps.

In March 2007, the old flathead was rebuilt with parts from Patricks Antique Cars.

While rebuilding the engine, Pietro decided it was about time to restyle the Merc further as well. The doors, trunk and hood were shaved for handles and emblems. The turn signals and window wipers were removed. The hood corners were rounded, the headlight were frenched and the car was lowered a little bit more.

The second version of Pietro's Merc was painted satin black with a bright red interior.

Beauty rims were installed to dress up the shaved Merc.

In addition to painting the dashboard and window moldings bright red, Pietro changed the steering wheel, extended the shifter and put some Mexican blankets in the car.

By May 2007, the wheels on the Merc had been painted bright red.

Pietro's Merc as it sat in January 2009, during the top chop.

The Merc as it sat in December 2009.

After the top was chopped, Pietro decided to swap the old Mercury flathead for a Chevrolet 350 smallblock engine.

1949 Mercury owned and restyled by Pietro Dal Mas of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Pietro bought the Mercury from his grandfather in 2002. Shortly after buying the Merc, he decided to turn it into a traditional custom car. Four black steelies were installed along with 1949 Ford hubcaps and fake whitewall tires. The stock mirror was replaced by an aftermarket peep mirror and the interior of the Merc was freshened up by painting the dashboard and window-moldings the same color as the car. The steering wheel was painted bright white, and a shifter fit with a Dennis McPhail shiftknob was installed on the floor.

By March 2007, the old flathead in the Merc had to be rebuilt. With parts from Patricks Antique Cars, this job was done in a friends garage. While he was at it, Pietro decided to restyle the Merc further as well. The doors, trunk and hood were shaved for handles and emblems. The turn signals and window wipers were removed, the hood corners were rounded, the headlight were frenched and the car was lowered a little bit more. By the end of the month, the modified body had been painted satin black, and the dashboard and interior moldings had been painted bright red. Beauty rims were installed to dress up the shaved Merc. A coupe of months later, Pietro removed the beauty rims and painted the wheels in the same color as the interior, bright red.

Late in 2008, Pietro decided to chop the top, weld the rear doors shut, and transform the Merc into a two-door. Not having access to the right tools and a welder, Pietro decided to have a shop do the work this time. At the shop, the Merc did also receive fenderskirts, and the door and trunk corners were rounded. Back from the shop, Pietro swapped the old Mercury flathead engine for a newer Chevrolet 350 smallblock engine. The body was lifted off the frame during the swap, and the chassis was painted and rebuilt featuring ladder bars with air-bags in the rear and dropped spindles from Fatman Fabrication with 1" lowering blocks and disc brakes up front. A set of Firestone 6.70-15 wide whitewall tires were installed.