{{Short description|1950s lead sled custom car}} {{Infobox automobile | image = File:NHRA Museum.jpg | image_size = 300 | caption = The Merc on display at the NHRA Museum in 2007 | name = Hirohata Merc | manufacturer = Barris Customs | production = 1953 | body_style = Club Coupe | engine = Heavily Modified {{cvt|4184|cc|cuin|0|order=flip}} Mercury flathead engine | transmission = 3-speed Auto | wheelbase = {{cvt|118|in|mm|1|order=flip}} | length = {{cvt|4877|mm|in|1}} | width = {{cvt|76.9|in|mm|1|order=flip}} | height = {{cvt|61.9|in|mm|1|order=flip}} | weight = {{cvt|1440|kg|lb|0|order=flip}} | designer = George and Sam Barris | sp = us | layout = Front Engine, RWD | powerout = {{cvt|400|hp|kW|0}} @ 3,600 rpm <br /> {{cvt|310|lbft|Nm|0}} @ 2,000 rpm }} The '''Hirohata Merc''' is a 1950s lead sled<ref name="revsinstitute">{{cite web |last1=Institute |first1=Revs |title=Emerald Icon from a Lost Era - The Saga of the Hirohata Mercury |url=https://automedia.revsinstitute.org/emerald-icon-from-a-lost-era-the-saga-of-the-hirohata-mercury |website=Revs Automedia |access-date=30 October 2023 |date=18 March 2021}}</ref> custom car, often called "the most famous custom of the classic era".<ref name="Tim Bernsau">{{cite web | last=Bernsau | first=Tim | title=Favorite 50 Rods & Customs| work=Rod & Custom | date=2003-12-01 | url=http://www.hotrod.com/articles/0312rc-favorite-50-rods-and-customs/ | access-date=2018-02-15}}</ref><ref>''Rod & Custom'', 8/89, p.12.</ref> Setting a style and an attitude, it had a "momentous effect" on custom car builders,<ref>DeWitt, John. ''Cool cars, high art: the rise of kustom kulture'', University Press of Mississippi, 2001. {{ISBN|978-1578064021}} , p.69.</ref> appeared in several magazines at the time,<ref name="DeWitt, p.70">DeWitt, p.70</ref> and has reappeared numerous times since, earning an honorable mention on ''Rod & Custom''{{'}}s "Twenty Best of All Time" list in 1991.<ref name="DeWitt, p.70"/> The impact may be measured by the fact that, after more than fifty years and numerous owners, it is still known as "the Hirohata Merc".<ref>DeWitt, p.80</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Peek |first=Jeff |date=2022-01-18 |title=Hirohata Merc, George Barris’ legendary custom, sells for $2.145M - Hagerty Media |url=https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/auctions/hirohata-merc-george-barris-legendary-custom-sells-for-2-145m/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417083338/https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/auctions/hirohata-merc-george-barris-legendary-custom-sells-for-2-145m/ |archive-date=2024-04-17 |access-date=2025-08-23 |work=Hagerty Media |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Construction== Constructed in 1953 for "Bob" (Robert Masato) Hirohata,<ref name="Masato"> *{{cite web |title=Robert Masato Hirohata, born on April 15, 1931 in Los Angeles County, California. |url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/robert_masato_hirohata_born_1931_1452035 |website=CaliforniaBirthIndex.org |access-date=30 October 2023}} *{{cite news |last1=Berk |first1=Brett |title=A Custom Mercury, With a Batmobile in Its Family Tree, Heads to Auction |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/business/hirohata-merc-auction.html |access-date=30 October 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=6 January 2022}} *{{cite web |title=Robert Masato Hirohata April 15, 1931 – May 14, 1981 |url=https://www.rosehills.com/obituaries/whittier-ca/robert-hirohata-8454475 |website=rosehills.com |access-date=30 October 2023}} </ref><ref>''Rod & Custom'', 8/89, pp.12 & 14.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Hoving|first=Rik|title='50s Hirohata Merc Photo's [sic] album - including article from Rod & Custom October 1953|url=http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_car_photos/beautiful_custom_cars/barris-1/hirohata_mercury-1/50s_photos/|publisher=FOTKI INC|accessdate=February 14, 2018}}</ref> it was designed and built by George and Sam Barris, assisted by Frank Sonzogni.<ref name="Jalopy Journal">{{Cite web |title=History MILESTONE CUSTOM CARS: Bob Hirohata '51 Mercury - THE H.A.M.B. |url=http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68232ad.php%3Ft%3D68232 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328123333/http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68232ad.php%3Ft%3D68232 |archive-date=2014-03-28 |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.jalopyjournal.com |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>''Street Rodder'', 1/85, p.111.</ref>
After the U.S. Navy, Hirohata took a 1951 Mercury Club Coupé and a blank check to Barris Kustoms.<ref name="news.yahoo/161500379">{{cite news |title=Exploring the Hirohata Mercury, One of History's Most Famous Custom Cars |url=https://news.yahoo.com/exploring-hirohata-mercury-one-historys-161500379.html |access-date=30 October 2023 |work=Yahoo News |date=1 March 2021}}</ref> George Barris procrastinated 83 days, working on other cars, Hirohata demanded the finished car for Motorama, so the shop built the Hirohata Merc in only 14 very long days,<ref name="hagerty/hirohata-merc-14-days"/> with 10 workers. George Barris said he billed Hirohata "about $3,500" ($36,500 in 2021 dollars). Hirohata told ''Rod & Custom'' that he was shocked when he got the bill, "I had to sell everything I owned and put my great aunt in hock to pay for the car, but it was worth it."<ref name="oldcarsweekly/hirohata-merc">{{cite web |last1=Gross |first1=Ken |title=Car of the Week: The Hirohata Merc |url=https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/car-of-the-week-the-hirohata-merc |website=Old Cars Weekly |access-date=30 October 2023 |language=en |date=December 27, 2021}}</ref>
It started out as a 1951 Club Coupe.<ref name="Barris.com">{{Cite web |title=Barris.Com! |url=http://www.barris.com/gallery_cars/Kustoms_HotRods/gallery_hirohatamerc.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019055204/http://www.barris.com/gallery_cars/Kustoms_HotRods/gallery_hirohatamerc.html |archive-date=2011-10-19 |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=www.barris.com |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>The same body style as D'Agostino's Merc. ''Street Rodder'', 1/85, pp.52-3.</ref> Nosed, decked, and shaved, the top was chopped four inches in front and seven inches in back,<ref>{{cite book|last=Hirohata|first=Bob|editor=Leah Noel|title=Rod and Custom in the 1950s|year=2004|publisher=Motorbooks International|isbn=0760316309|page=29|chapter=Kross Kountry in a Kustom}}</ref> and the vertical B-pillar was reshaped so that it curved forward at the top.<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> The rear window had its posts removed, and was raked steeply forward, requiring a new roof piece to be fabricated.<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> Side trim was replaced with that from a 1952 Buick (the spears),<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> augmented by grille teeth from a 1952 Chevrolet (three per side)<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> and functional scoops. The front wheels are fitted with traditional sombrero ('47-'51 Cadillac) wheel covers.<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/>
Skirts were added, fitting flush.<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> Three '51 Ford grilles were used to custom-fabricate one, and the bumper was fitted with dagmars.<ref name="Barris.com"/><ref name="hagerty/video/hirohata-merc">{{cite news |last1=Peek |first1=Jeff |title=Thanks to Barris Kustoms, this Hirohata Mercury fueled the custom car trend |url=https://www.hagerty.com/media/video/legendary-hirohata-merc-shines-in-historic-vehicle-association-video-series/ |access-date=30 October 2023 |work=Hagerty Media |date=22 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="hagerty/78598943">{{cite web |title=1951 Mercury Hirohata Merc |url=https://www.hagerty.com/marketplace/78598943/national-historic-vehicle-register/743b213f-c2d4-4d15-a6de-11700e28da1f |website=national-historic-vehicle-register |publisher=Hagerty |access-date=30 October 2023}}</ref>
Barris used a vee-butted windshield,<ref name="Barris.com"/> a very common customizers' trick in that era, rather than a one-piece windshield, which was available on the '53 Merc.<!--Did it fit? On GM products, it did.--> He added Appleton spotlights,<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/><ref name="Barris.com"/> frenched the headlights (which were fitted with '52 Ford rings),<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> and added '52 Lincoln Capri taillights.<ref>They are identical to those used on D'Agostino's Merc. ''Street Rodder'', 1/85, pp.52-3.</ref> The exhaust pipes were routed out through the rear bumper, beneath the taillights,<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> and a pair of radio antennae were frenched into the rear quarter panels.<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/><ref name="jalopnik/1848377417">{{cite news |title=A 1951 Mercury Just Sold For Nearly $2 Million At Auction |url=https://jalopnik.com/a-1951-mercury-just-sold-for-nearly-2-million-at-aucti-1848377417 |access-date=30 October 2023 |work=Jalopnik |date=18 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Barris |first1=George |last2=Fetherston |first2=David |title=Big Book of Barris |publisher=MotorBooks International |isbn=978-1-61060-820-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATjy1tKxfjYC&dq=%22Bob+Hirohata%22&pg=PA28 |access-date=30 October 2023 |language=en |quote=Bob Hirohata proudly displays one of the trophies for his Mercury on the curb outside the parking lot where he worked in Los ...}}</ref>
The Hirohata Merc was painted in two shades of green, a total of thirty coats,<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> which were applied by Junior Conway.<ref>DeWitt, p.72.</ref> The interior was upholstered with tuck-and-rolled naugahyde. The dash, seats, and headliner were white with dark green inserts, matching the exterior lower body color (below the Buick spears).<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/>
==Later changes== Hirohata later replaced the original Mercury flathead engine with a transplanted Cadillac engine, creating the nickname "Mercillac"<ref>DeWitt, p.69</ref> ("merk-ill-ack"), in the fashion of rodders of the period, who in the same way created Fordillacs and Studillacs.
In 1955, the Merc made an appearance in the film ''Running Wild'', for which it was painted gold over the original ice green.<ref>''Rod & Custom'' Magazine, 8/89, p.12.</ref>
Hirohata sold the Merc not long after the movie was released,<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> and the car changed hands several times. "The Merc was repainted, sold, crashed, neglected".<ref name="news.yahoo/161500379"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.customcarchronicle.com/tag/bob-hirohata/ | title=Bob Hirohata Archives | work=Custom Car Chronicle | date=26 August 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bob Hirohata |url=https://www.hemmings.com/blog/tag/bob-hirohata/ |access-date=23 August 2025 |website=Hemmings Blog}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.streetmusclemag.com/tag/bob-hirohata/ | title=Bob Hirohata }}</ref>
An owner, Robert Waldsmith, who used it as his daily transportation, was hit by another car, requiring repairs and new paint.<ref name="hagerty/hirohata-merc-14-days"/> Another owner, Doug Kinney, was an employee of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, who repainted it lime green.<ref name="hagerty/hirohata-merc-14-days">{{cite web |last1=Peek |first1=Jeff |title=How Barris Kustoms built the Hirohata Mercury in only 14 days |url=https://www.hagerty.com/media/video/how-barris-kustoms-built-the-hirohata-mercury-in-only-14-days/ |website=Hagerty Media |access-date=30 October 2023 |date=29 July 2020}}</ref>
In 1959, a teenager, Jim McNiel, bought it for $500, painstakingly restored it for seven years and kept the car his whole life.<ref name="news.yahoo/161500379"//><ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-12-01 |title=Favorite 50 Rods & Customs |url=https://www.hotrod.com/features/0312rc-favorite-50-rods-and-customs |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=MotorTrend |language=en}}</ref> McNiel used it as a daily driver for years, then placed it into storage.<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> Ultimately, McNiel restored the Merc to her original configuration.<ref name="Jalopy Journal"/> The paint was done by Hershel "Junior" Conway at Junior's House of Color.
== Magazine appearances == *''Hop Up March 1953'' *''Hot Rod'' March 1953 *''Motor Trend'' March 1953 *''Rod & Custom'' October 1953 "Kross Kountry in a Kustom"<ref name="thefreelibrary/a0207228143">{{cite news |last1=DeWitt |first1=Jack |title=Cars and Culture: The Hirohata Merc — So Cool. |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Cars+and+Culture%3A+The+Hirohata+Merc--So+Cool.-a0207228143 |access-date=30 October 2023 |work=The American Poetry Review |publisher=World Poetry, Inc. |date=September 1, 2009 |via=Free Online Library}}</ref> *''Trend Book 109 Custom Cars 1954 Annual'' *''Rodding and Re-styling January 1956'' *''Trend Book 143 Restyle Your Car'' *''Rod & Custom'' August 1989 *''Road & Track'' August 2004 *''Trend Book 133 Custom Cars 1957 Annual'' *''The Big Book of Barris''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury Custom - The Hirohata Merc - Barris Kustoms - Kustomrama |url=https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Bob_Hirohata%27s_1951_Mercury_Club_Coupe_-_The_Hirohata_Merc |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=kustomrama.com |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== *Automotive restoration *Kustom (cars) *Lead sled *Von Dutch
==Notes== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==References== *''Rod & Custom'' Magazine, 10/53. *[http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68232ad.php?t=68232 jalopyjournal] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110707213519/http://www.barris.com/gallery_cars/Kustoms_HotRods/gallery_hirohatamerc.html Barris.com] *{{Cite book |last=DeWitt |first=John |title=Cool cars, high art: the rise of kustom kulture |location=Jackson |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |date=2001 |url={{Google books |tm2dYHEmeEAC |pg=PA70 |plainurl=yes}} |page=70}}
==External links== *{{HAER |survey=CA-2328 |id=ca4307 |title=1951 Mercury Sport Coupe Custom (Hirohata Merc), Orange, Orange County, CA |dwgs=2}}
{{Kustom kulture}}
Category:Mercury vehicles Category:1950s cars Category:Kustom Kulture Category:Individual cars Category:Historic American Engineering Record in California