Robert's modified '69 Merc

[Guest]

[69 Merc]

I don't have any current pics.  I need to take some.  It's just been friggin' hot and humid here where I live.   

[69 Merc]

I kind of agree with Javier on the gear thing, MERC you have enough converter now, a 4.10 or 3.73 the car might feel stronger, meanwhile be more enjoyable to drive
I doubt you drive on the highway much, a 4.56gear with a 26"tire and a c4 would probably suck at 65-70

My Merc never sees any freeway miles due to the gearing.

Remember that with me in it the Merc tips the scales at 4000lbs so I need plenty of gear to move our heavy asses!  Anything below 4.10's suck in the take-off and acceleration department!

as far as hp MERC, working with what you have, on a budget, I think I would mill the heads and try to get the compression up to 10.25:1 or 10.5:1

The heads are milled to the limit.  The crappy cast pistons are 8.5:1 because of some friggin' tree-hugger.

and ditch the stack of spacers, go 1" open, or just ditch that intake altogether and look into a small runner single plane for now.

How come you don't like my stack of spacers?  I have 2" of open plenum added and because of the crappy OTS cam I need 2" more of a 4-hole spacer to improve the carb signal.  They are because of my OTS cam which sucks and I'm being cheap for now on this motor so I can save up for an upgraded new motor!

[Fst Blk]

What's the deal with the hood. It looks like it doesn't fit right in the rear. Also, what did you do to the rear wheel well? It looks like you got trim happy.
Bill

[69 Merc]

What's the deal with the hood. It looks like it doesn't fit right in the rear.

It keeps my motor cool and especially the carb's intake charge!  It's something I thought of.  Everyone asks me when I'm going to fix that and I reply by taking the hood off so they can see that I've welded the rear spring assembly together and I've installed hood latch pins there and also two more in front for a total of four latch pins and the OEM front latch, too so it isn't ever coming off.

Also, what did you do to the rear wheel well? It looks like you got trim happy.

A little bit trim happy.  


It will turn out better because soon I'm going to put on some sticky Nitto 555DR tires on it that will be 315/50R15 and they will take up most of the open space that my cutting wheel has created.  I hope! 

[289nate]

For some reason I've always liked that body style.  Especially the front.  Just looks cool to me.   

[gmatt9858]

3,750lb, I didn't realize they were that heavy. Montego's are 'midsize' right? Equivalent to a Fairlane? My buddie's mom had one, maybe a '68. Finding body parts must be a bitch. It's cool though, different.

[69 Merc]

3,750lb, I didn't realize they were that heavy. Montego's are 'midsize' right? Equivalent to a Fairlane? My buddie's mom had one, maybe a '68. Finding body parts must be a bitch. It's cool though, different.

I took it to a steel vendor and put it on their truck scale.  3750lbs.  Spare tire and all.

They say the frame is close to a Fairlane but I think it's heavier than a Fairlane.

I'm not able to find body parts -- its basically get out some steel, some Bondo, my welder, sander and cutting wheel time!

I like it because everyone's brother, uncle and cousin has a Mustang/Nova/Camaro.

[jayh]

"How come you don't like my stack of spacers?  I have 2" of open plenum added and because of the crappy OTS cam I need 2" more of a 4-hole spacer to improve the carb signal.  They are because of my OTS cam which sucks and I'm being cheap for now on this motor so I can save up for an upgraded new motor!"

everyone has different experiences, testing I have done, I've found a 2" 4 hole spacer to be worthless for anything other than a doorstop, it is a restriction in itself; the only time I think it could even be possibly worthwhile would be on a stockish build that is over carburated
a 2" open didnt work well for me on a dual plane intake, I believe that spacer would be worthwhile on a real healthy motor with a single plane intake thats to small, adding plenum volume and raising shift point maybe 200 rpm
my testing on a high rise dual plane found a 1" open spacer to be the only one that really showed any gains.

different combos will have different results, but Im really not wrapping my mind how that setup is helping you




"The heads are milled to the limit.  The crappy cast pistons are 8.5:1 because of some friggin' tree-hugger.

that really sucks. you need a piston swap, but to go through the trouble, a cheapo stroker kit almost makes sense

being a HFT, that cam is actually small, but your compression is in the gutter so that kind of stinks




"Remember that with me in it the Merc tips the scales at 4000lbs so I need plenty of gear to move our heavy asses!  Anything below 4.10's suck in the take-off and acceleration department!"

the only way to know would be to test, your converter is loose enough where it might like the taller gear. it'd definately be a more enjoyable driver IMO







do you have any engine pay pics?
how big is this car in proportion to a fairlane?

[Matt Paul]

Robert your car looks COOL!! reminds me of the old days, lifted leaf spring cars with shackels cut out fenders , I figure a bench seat with a coloum shift also, When I was a kid my dad had the a 1975 station wagon version yellow with wood grain total Griswold car.

[289nate]

Jayh, have you ever stacked a four hole spacer on top of an open spacer?  You would have laughed when you saw my old carb guy stacking spacers ridiculously high.  It was a trip but he claimed in certain cases it worked very well for him.

[69 Merc]

Robert your car looks COOL!! reminds me of the old days, lifted leaf spring cars with shackels cut out fenders , I figure a bench seat with a coloum shift also, When I was a kid my dad had the a 1975 station wagon version yellow with wood grain total Griswold car.

Thanks, Matt.  Yes the front seat is a huge bench seat and it used to have a column shifter.  Now it is a ratchet floor shifter.

[69 Merc]

Jayh, have you ever stacked a four hole spacer on top of an open spacer?  You would have laughed when you saw my old carb guy stacking spacers ridiculously high.  It was a trip but he claimed in certain cases it worked very well for him.

I have tried and tested many, many different spacer combos mixed with open and four-hole.  My present spacer combo with this motor is the best.

I was down and out when I got this motor years ago so it was actually a blessing.  Plus thanks to this forum I've learned quite a lot.  I'm in the save money mode for a future upgrade.  My new motor will have at least 10:1CR!  And forged internals, too.

[jayh]

Jayh, have you ever stacked a four hole spacer on top of an open spacer?  You would have laughed when you saw my old carb guy stacking spacers ridiculously high.  It was a trip but he claimed in certain cases it worked very well for him.

I have but only a 2" on top of a 1", didnt have that much room
did your old crab guy do this on a dual plane intake though? I did and it was fruitless. I can see how it could work on a single plane, just not on a performer rpm. every combo is different, so maybe it does work, Im just not grasping this situation 

I like the car a lot! old iron is especially cool. if it were mine though, Id find a way to keep the hood stock and (other than rims) make it a total sleeper! 

[69 Merc]

I have but only a 2" on top of a 1", didnt have that much room
did your old crab guy do this on a dual plane intake though? I did and it was fruitless. I can see how it could work on a single plane, just not on a performer rpm. every combo is different, so maybe it does work, Im just not grasping this situation 

It's kind of turning my RPM air-gap into a single plane because now the cylinders get to pull fuel from all 4 barrels of my carb and not just two barrels like before the open spacers because of the plenum divider that is built into the RPM manifold.

I like the car a lot! old iron is especially cool. if it were mine though, Id find a way to keep the hood stock and (other than rims) make it a total sleeper! 

Thank you, man.  I love my Merc.

The hood is functional -- it helps get a cooler carb charge and with 4" of carb spacers a stock hood for sleeper appearance wouldn't close.  Not to mention just hearing it with my dual 3" exhaust anyone who knew anything could hear the modified power.

Quite often I have people drive up next to me at the red light and ask "what do you have under the hood of that thing?" because at times I like to drop it into 2nd gear while cruising and go WOT until the yellow tach shift light comes on!

[jayh]

maybe you could shop around for a deal on a used small runner single plane and do some test and tune?

sell whichever one off and recoup some of the money after some testing

heck if you are gonna need it someday anyway, try to find a deal on a used vic jr or super vic and try it out!