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The Hirohata Merc is a 1950s lead sled [1] custom car, often called "the most famous custom of the classic era". [2] [3] Setting a style and an attitude, it had a "momentous effect" on custom car builders, [4] appeared in several magazines at the time, [5] and has reappeared numerous times since, earning an honorable mention on Rod & Custom ' s "Twenty Best of All Time" list in 1991. [5]
The Hirohata Merc, one of the most famous cars in the lead sled style. A lead sled is a standard production automobile with a body heavily modified in particular ways [citation needed] [dubious – discuss] (see below); especially, though not exclusively, a 1949, 1950, or 1951 model year Ford 'Shoebox' or Mercury Eight car.
Traditionally, "Lead", (a mixture of 70% lead and 30% tin) is used in bodywork of the area instead of modern polyester fillers or fiberglass, after the metal shaping is done to prepare for paint. "Leading" connotes a true Kustom "Lead Sled", a term that gained traction in the 1950s to imply a large, heavy lead-filled car.
Roof chopping became popular with drag racers for much the same reasons as it did for lakes racers, and was applied also to custom cars, kustoms, and lead sleds. The first roof chopper is considered to be Sam Barris (brother of auto customizer George Barris), who chopped and customized his brand new 1949 Mercury. [2]
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Drawing inspiration from the lead sleds and Mercury Eights of the 1950s, CadZZilla attracted considerable attention. Hot Rod magazine's Gray Baskerville called CadZZilla "the most incredible transformation he'd ever witnessed", [ 1 ] and in their "History of Hot Rods & Customs" the auto editors of Consumer Guide praised it as "the first really ...
This led to styles of modification such as lowriders, kustoms and lead sleds emerging and growing. [14] 1950s kustom car builders would often swap trim and panels from other cars, cut through the sheet metal and remove bits to make the car lower, weld it back together, and add lead to make the resulting form smooth.
By the 1970s, the 350 cu in (5.7 L) small-block Chevy V8 was the most common choice of engine for hot rods. [17] [18] Another popular engine choice is the Ford Windsor engine. [19] During the 1980s, many car manufacturers were reducing the displacements of their engines, thus making it harder for hot rod builders to obtain large displacement ...