Frank Maratta's 1940 Mercury

As it appeared on the cover of Rod & Custom August 1957. Photo by Spencer Murray.

This is how the car looked when the work began.

An early photo of Frank working on the Mercury. Photo from The Ray Soff Collection.

Photo by Spencer Murray.

Photo by Spencer Murray.

Photo by Spencer Murray.

Frank constructing the dash.

Photo by Spencer Murray.

Photo by Spencer Murray.

Photo by Spencer Murray.

1940 Mercury owned and built by Frank Maratta of Hartford, Connecticut. Frank was operating a custom shop named New England Auto Body, and in order to show his abilities and get more customers, he decided to make a wild custom that would gather as much attention as possible. The build started on a 1940 Mercury 4 door convertible sedan, and in the end, less than 25 percent of the original body was left. 2000 hours of metal shaping and leading was spent after work hours, constructing the promotion custom. It featured endless of modifications, such as the handshaped tapered fins sloping down to a set of 1952 Mercury taillights. The front, dash, doors, trunk were hand shaped and modified. The upholstery was custom built, seats, door panels and dash padding were all 2-tone Naugahyde white and pink to match the exterior.

Magazine Features

Rod & Custom August 1957