Merc' Melange

When we left Tony Gaglio yesterday, he had sold his beloved 1951 purple Mercury Monarch, missed it so much he asked the buyer to sell it back to him, and had been turned down flat. Now for the rest of the story...

"I kept calling the guy every couple months," says Gaglio, who lives in Parsippany and is co-owner of Parsippany Fuel Oil. "He kept saying 'no,' but I kept calling him.

"One day he calls me--his name is Joe Bucco, he lives in Somerville. He said he was moving to Florida. I was there in half an hour.

"It cost me $5,000 extra, but I got it back. Actually, when I sold my '49 I got $5,000 extra for it, so it worked out okay."

The Mercury is actually more one-of-a-kind than it appears. The body is a 1951 Mercury Monarch, though "chopped" (the roofline lowered; note the bunkerlike, low-rise windows) and "channeled" (the interior lowered into the chassis to compensate for the loss of headroom).

Apart from that the Merc' is a crazy salad...

The taillights are from a 1954 Mercury.

The grill is from a 1955 DeSoto.

The hubcaps are from a 1957 Cadillac.

The steering column and steering wheel are from a 1976 Monte Carlo.

The body sits on a 1978 Oldsmobile Regency chassis, including the suspension, the engine, a 405 cubic inch Olds V8, and the drivetrain.

The Regency gives the Merc' power windows and door locks, air conditioning, and cruise control.

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