How low can you go? You can...        read full caption How low can you go? You can barely slide a sheet of paper under the frame of Mike Watson's '49 Merc convertible. Yet the finished car should ride and handle great thanks to its Vette-suspended custom chassis built at D.F. Metalworks.

The chassis was based on the...        read full caption The chassis was based on the centersection of the original Merc frame. New framerail pieces were fabricated to accommodate the front and rear C4 Corvette suspensions.

In back, longer and higher...        read full caption In back, longer and higher frame kick-ups were fabricated and grafted to the frame. At this point, brackets for the third-member crossbeam had been tacked in place. Still to come were a support for the third-member housing and brackets for the four-bars.

We all know that the right stance can make or break a custom car's cool factor. Generally speaking, we like 'em low.

For some people, however, ride quality and handling are as important, if not more critical, than just getting a car low. And when these guys want to combine cornering agility with a super-low stance on a 50-year-old car, some serious chassis surgery is usually in order.

Mike Watson, of Huntington Beach, California, wanted the best of both worlds when he brought his '49 Mercury convertible project to John West at Dan Fink Metalworks. It just so happened that John and his crew had recently finished grafting forth-generation ('84-96) Corvette independent suspensions on both ends of a '59 Cadillac frame, and they were pretty confident a similar approach would work on the Merc.

Adapting the suspensions to the Merc frame required fabricating new rear frame kick-ups to accommodate the IRS, and making new front framerails for mounting the Vette front crossmember and IFS. Both suspensions were set up with ShockWaves from Air Ride Technologies, which will allow the Merc's frame to almost kiss the pavement when desired.

Besides the suspension, the D.F. Metalworks crew set the chassis up for a big-block Chevy, TH400 transmission, and under-floor power brake booster and master cylinder. They've also been exercising their sheetmetal skills, fabricating new floor pieces and a recessed firewall. Still to come are some mild body mods like rounded hood corners, custom taillights, and maybe even a slight top chop.

We're not sure yet whether the finished car will run traditional wide whitewalls and hubcaps or more modern rolling stock. Either way, it seems destined to look great. While we're waiting for a finished car to drool over, though, we thought you might enjoy images showing how it got this far.

In front, new framerails were...        read full caption In front, new framerails were made from 3x5-inch square tubing grafted to the original frame; the Corvette crossmember was relatively simple to fit on the new straight 'rails. Temporary bracing was used to keep the frame from twisting during surgery. Note also the support plates added where the new framerails were welded on.	Once the chassis was a "roller,"...        read full caption Once the chassis was a "roller," the body shell was mounted and the crew went to work mocking a bare big-block Chevy in place; we hear that a healthy Bill Mitchell mill may eventually reside here. Note the Air Ride Technologies ShockWaves on the front suspension.	The shop's sheetmetal expertise...        read full caption The shop's sheetmetal expertise is coming into play as the project progresses. A custom rear floor section had to be made to cover the new rear frame kick-up, and a recessed firewall built to accommodate the big-block mill...
...An ididit tilt column is...        read full caption ...An ididit tilt column is already in place, and you can see that Mike has his priorities straight--check out the painted and pinstriped dash!