Canadian 1946-1948 Mercury 114

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by RalphG

Yes, I've read there were trade issues over the border that were part of the reason the Meteor and Monarch came to be.

Ford kept it interesting. For 51 the Meteor got it's own grille, no longer able to fit the big Mercury grille in the Ford front end. By 52 the top line Meteors got the Mercury engine and dash.
We never had six cylinder engines offered until 1955 as far as I know. Also Fords kept the flathead through 1954. Meteor also.
This is a locally owned 53 Meteor, top of the line Customline with the Merc engine and dash. Shows up at the local car show every year.

Hi Ralph. need some new videos for 2021 you make of your car.


Engine makes sense. I have a set of nos early Canadian aluminum 24 bolt heads in boxes for that one motor I'm going to build.


Did you take any pictures of the interior? Just for curiosity.


Hope you and the family are well. Have a great new yr. Well it can't get worse anyway, can it.

[RalphG]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Hi Ralph. need some new videos for 2021 you make of your car.
Did you take any pictures of the interior? Just for curiosity.
Hope you and the family are well. Have a great new yr. Well it can't get worse anyway, can it.

Never say it can't get worse because I'm pretty sure it can. For me its been a good year and I can't complain. I definitely have plans for more Mercury videos. Hoping to a winter view "follow" one with the new drone. Maybe this weekend if the weather co-operates.
No, I don't seem to have any photos of the interior of that 53 Meteor Customline but I remember it as looking pretty much identical to my 52 Merc right down to the levers on the dash.

[mercman from oz]

Tinker asked if Ralph had photos of the interior of the 1953 Meteor? Well, I took photos of the 1954 Meteor Dash and Steering Wheel. Note that it is totally different to the same year Ford Dash. I hope that photo this helps?

[RalphG]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

Tinker asked if Ralph had photos of the interior of the 1953 Meteor? Well, I took photos of the 1954 Meteor Dash and Steering Wheel. Note that it is totally different to the same year Ford Dash. I hope that photo this helps?

Thats a 54 alright but totally different from the 52-53 Mercury and Meteor Customline dash. In fact I prefer the 52-53.
I discovered that I do have a shot of the dash of Andy's 53 Meteor Customline. Same as my 52 Merc. Only nicer shape.

[mercman from oz]

Here is a larger picture of that 1953 Meteor Dash. It is unusual that the 54 Meteor got a completely different dash? I know that in the USA, the 54 Fords got a new Dash, but in Australia, they retained the 52-53 Dash, as well as the Flathead V8 Engine.
Question - What does the Dash of the Canadian 1954 Ford Customline look like? Did it have the carry-over 52-53 Dash, or did it get the new Dash like in the 1954 USA Fords?

[mercman from oz]

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Here is a photo of an Australian RHD 1954 Ford Customline Dash. Notice that it is the carry-over style from 1952-1953. The 1954 Fords in USA got a completely new Astra-Dome Dash. The style was carried over to the new 1955 Fords and Australia got the new Dash in our local 1955 Ford Customlines. So, what did the Dash look like on the Canadian 1954 Fords?

[RalphG]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

.
Question - What does the Dash of the Canadian 1954 Ford Customline look like? Did it have the carry-over 52-53 Dash, or did it get the new Dash like in the 1954 USA Fords?

The top of the line Meteor (Customline in 53, Rideau in 54) would have had the Mercury dash and instrument panel. Low line (Mainline) Meteors had the Ford dash. I can't comment on what Ford dash looked like for 54 as I'd have to research it myself.
I have this ad showing the 54 Meteor interior with the 54 Mercury dash. Top of the line (Rideau) model.

[RalphG]

Co-incidentally this photo showed up on FB tonight showing what I believe to be a model 114 47 Mercury. From right here in Sask.

[mercman from oz]

From my observation, I believe that all Canadian 1946-1948 Mercury 114 models got the full length chrome strip on the Hood.
On the same era "large" Mercury USA models (built on the 118 " Wheelbase) in early 1947, the Chrome Strip on the Hood was shortened with a Block with the block letters Mercury appearing just in front of the short chrome strip.

[RalphG]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

From my observation, I believe that all Canadian 1946-1948 Mercury 114 models got the full length chrome strip on the Hood.
On the same era "large" Mercury USA models (built on the 118 " Wheelbase) in early 1947, the Chrome Strip on the Hood was shortened with a Block with the block letters Mercury appearing just in front of the short chrome strip.

I think they had to make the Mercury trim fit the Ford fenders and hood because these 114s were Ford bodies.

[mercman from oz]

While we are on the subject of Canadian Cars, here is another classic book written by the Late R. Perry Zavitz entitled "Canadian Cars, 1946-1984". I wish that I had a copy of this book in my Research Library.
If anyone has a copy that they would like to sell me, please let me know. Regards Mercman <><

[mercman from oz]

A slightly modified 1946-1948 Mercury 114 Sedan Coupe that calls Australia home.

[Custom51]

My first car was a 1950 Meteor. I also owned a 53 meteor... I have a book produced by Ford Canada.
In this book it states that Ford Canada needed more dealers, as we had a smaller population back then, so they came up with the idea of a different model so they could have more than just one Ford dealership in the vast rural towns.. So the Mercury Monarch and Meteor dealerships became a different idea that way they could have more than one dealership in the same town... Monarch. Meteor and Mercury, Trucks became became another option to try and sell more cars, they were Canadian made only... As for NZ and Australia, Most of their Ford products came From Canada they were all part of the British Empire. They had no trade deals with the US...

[coolcoupe]

Don't know how to enlarge a picture from my avaitor but I can't help but wonder how the workers felt about the different models looked so much alike. There were likely some mistakes made on a Monday morning or Friday afternoon.

[RalphG]

Originally Posted by Custom51

My first car was a 1950 Meteor. I also owned a 53 meteor...So the Mercury Monarch and Meteor dealerships became a different idea that way they could have more than one dealership in the same town... Monarch. Meteor and Mercury,

We had a Ford Monarch dealership in town. Lincoln-Mercury and Meteor were a separate dealer from Ford- Monarch. i imagine its pretty confusing for those outside of Canada. I have enough trouble myself keeping all the info in my head. Lucky I have the vintage ads to look at.

[mercman from oz]

We all know that the USA 1946-1948 Mercurys that were built on the 118" Chassis all came with 15" Wheels. The same year Ford Deluxe and Ford Super Deluxe had 16" Wheels.
Can anybody tell me what size Wheels were standard on the similar year Canadian Mercury 114 models. Was it 15" or 16"

[Bill]

In '64 I owned a '46 114 Merc sedan, black, identical to the one shown by Ralph in post # 48. Mine even had a Fulton sunvisor! To the best of my recollection (Well it wuz the 60s) the rim size was 16". Traded it for a '35 three window. Would love to relive that transaction... Bill

[RalphG]

I'll have to check my 1929-1949 Ford Fast moving parts catalogue as i think it might have the answer to wheel size.

[RalphG]

Checked my fast moving parts catalogue and it looks like long wheelbase cars got the 15 inch wheels while short wheelbase (114-116 inch) got the 16 inch wheels. Here is the page

[mercman from oz]

Thanks Ralph for the clarification. Regards Mercman <><