1953 Mercury Street Rodder - The Rascal

Like many, Ray Dunham began his love affair with anything with wheels at an early age. He started out restoring and modifying Schwinn bicycles and early VWs around the age of 15, and tinkered with both until it was about time to start college. With his attention on school and the adult life beyond, Ray's focus on tinkering dimmed but didn't disappear. He picked up a '57 Pan Head Harley about eight or 10 years after graduation, and the excitement of creation began again. Shortly after losing a close friend and gaining the love of his life-his son Tyler-it was back to four wheels. This time it was hot rods, and believe it or not, the '36 is his first.

Being new to the hot rod world at the time the coupe was purchased, Ray didn't know there was a difference between a rod and a custom. He did, however, know what he liked, and we're convinced his initial naivete coupled with his prior interests and experience allowed for the perfect blend of styling that makes the coupe so striking.

Ray purchased the car as a partially finished driver-one that he'd seen around town a few times. After putting some miles on it, he then decided it was time to tear it down and rebuild it-his way.

The coupe was totally dismantled and the stock frame refurbished and slightly modified. A custom front crossmember was added, as was a dropped I-beam, a reversed-eye spring, early Lincoln brakes, and a '40 box. Ray added a '68 Camaro 10-bolt and airbags out back, along with a pair of de-arched springs. For real hot rod power, he also chose to run a full-house Bob McKray Performance-built, Roadrunner Engineering-blown '53 Merc flathead backed by a Cornhusker bellhousing, a Wilcap flywheel, and a T5 five-speed trans.

Ray knew exactly what he wanted in the way of body mods, and also the perfect metal craftsman to transform his vision into reality-Chris Thompson out of San Diego, California. Ray and Chris put together a plan of attack that included cropping the grille down to form a 1-inch border and surrounding it with handformed panels, enabling a pair of '35 Ford fenders to be adapted to the modified '36 grille. A scalloped nose piece was also created to cover the top of the radiator and finish the front of the car. Headlights from a '41 Chevy pickup were also custom fitted to the '35 front fenders, and a single custom '35 taillight was used on the left rear. The body was chopped 3 inches, channeled 11 inches, and completely shaved, and custom sheetmetal rear skirts were handformed as well.

The color scheme was decided very early on, and, according to Ray, two-tone gloss red and satin black was a must. With the metalwork completed and the body ready for paint, Ray placed it in the more-than-capable hands of Kenny at Mascar Auto Body in Costa Mesa, California. Kenny covered the main body with multiple coats of satin black, and the fenders, running boards, and skirts with a glass-smooth helping of '01 Chevrolet Silverado Bright Red. As a perfectly fitting final touch, Don Q. of Don Q. Studios (also of Costa Mesa) laid out some perfect licks of traditional-style pinstriping.

Ray also knew exactly how he wanted the interior: nothing but bright red and chrome (influenced by the bubbletop Impalas of his youth). He spent a huge amount of time and effort dissecting and rebuilding a '72 Plymouth duster bench seat assembly, transforming it into a perfectly proportioned split-back that flawlessly fit the coupe's confines. The interior was then treated to the mastery of Westminster Auto Upholstery of Placentia, California, where they stitched up the coupe's bright red upholstery.

As is the case with most of us, Ray wishes to thank all those who had a hand in bringing the '36 project to fruition. He was adamant that it couldn't have happened without the help and encouragement of his pals Robert, Beanie, Chris, John, Tom, Flip, and Mike-and of course the "real" Rascal, Tyler Dunham.