Last updated on November 26, 2025
Today’s car is a 1950 Mercury Lead Sled built by Cypress Autobody in Hawaiian Gardens, California. I photographed it at the 41st Annual Outriders Picnic.
When Mercury first appeared in 1939, it was essentially a dressed-up Ford, and it looked the part. That all changed a decade later. Thanks to chief stylist E.T. “Bob” Gregorie’s bold new design, the 1949–51 Mercury finally had a personality all its own. Under the hood sat Ford’s famous flathead V-8, now with more displacement and horsepower, giving Mercury real performance to match its fresh styling. Priced in the middle of the market, it went head-to-head with Oldsmobile, Buick, DeSoto, Nash, and Kaiser, and, for the first time, Mercury was a huge success. James Dean drove a 1949 Mercury coupe in the 1955 movie “Rebel without a cause” making the 1949 – 1951 Mercury coupe a very popular part of the American custom car culture.
This 1950 Mercury is finished in a House of Color Brandy Wine with ghost flames with a light tan and brown leather interior. It is powered by 350 cu in, small block Chevrolet V8 engine, with a 4 bbl carburetor and transferring that power through a General Motors TH-350 3-speed automatic transmission. The car is sitting on a 1979 El Camino chassis. It has independent front suspension with dual A-arms, air suspension and a anti-roll bar. The rear suspension has air suspension. radius arms. De Dion axle. and an anti-roll bar.
Body modifications include a 7-inch chopped top, radiused hood and trunk corners, frenched headlights and taillights, skirts, and frenched antennas. The grille is a modified 1954 Chevrolet piece, and the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado hubcaps are a lead-sled standard. The car is fully accessorized with power windows, seats, steering, and brakes, along with air conditioning.
The original MSRP for a 1950 Mercury was $2,150.00. The total number of Mercurys produced in 1950 was 293,689 of which 151,489 were 2 door coupes. In 1950, and for the very first time in Mercury history, the Mercury 2-door coupes outsold the 4-door sedan 151,489 to 132,082.
The original MSRP for a 1950 Mercury was $2,150. Total production that year was 293,689 cars, of which 151,489 were two-door coupes. For the first time in Mercury history, the two-door coupe outsold the four-door sedan — 151,489 to 132,082.
This is a great-looking Lead Sled, the kind of car that draws crowds at custom-car shows and is always a hit at Cars and Coffee events. Thank you for traveling along. Frank
